“How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?”
King James Version (KJV)
12:4 He entered into the house of God - Into the tabernacle. The temple was not yet built. The show bread - So they called the bread which the priest, who served that week, put every Sabbath day on the golden table that was in the holy place, before the Lord. The loaves were twelve in number, and represented the twelve tribes of Israel: when the new were brought, the stale were taken away, but were to be eaten by the priests only. #1Sam 21:6|.
Mt 12:4 Entered into the house of God. The tabernacle at Nob (1Sa 21:1). The temple had not been built. The shewbread. Twelve loaves placed upon a table in the holy place as a symbol of the communion of the twelve tribes, and a type of the Bread of Life to be given to the whole world. They were kept a week, renewed, and the old loaves eaten by the priests. If David could take these under necessity, so could Christ's disciples pluck corn under necessity.