Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it.
David was heart-broken to discover that his family and his livestock had been captured by raiding Amalekites, and that his hometown had been burned to the ground. I’m quite sure that his sadness turned to anger, and a strong desire for vengenance —a natural response. Yet David calls for the ephod in order to get direction from the Lord.
Although the ephod is not available to us today, the Lord wants to guide and direct our actions and reactions, if we but ask him.
