1 Samuel 30:7
And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
David's call for the ephod belongs to his return to Ziklag after the Amalekites had taken its people captive and its goods as spoil. It was before he became king, when he sought the Lord's direction about pursuing the raiders and then set out with his men to rescue the captives. The victory over the Amalekites that followed was thus a pre-kingship deliverance sought and gained by inquiry.
At that moment he was cut off from every human support, with all he held dear swept from him. Saul had driven him from his country, the Philistines had driven him from the camp, the Amalekites had plundered his city, his wives and children had been made prisoners, and his own familiar friends were banded against him and threatening him even with death. It was in that crisis at Ziklag, after the people threatened him, that he turned to God for divine help.
In that strait he reviewed his past life and saw his mistake in seeking shelter with the Philistines, and he encouraged himself in the Lord while unsure what course to take. Calling for Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod was his turning back to God for counsel, and the ephod was the means for seeking the Lord's direction for the pursuit. The breastplate was attached to the ephod and contained the Urim and Thummim, by which the priest could learn the Lord's answer, with light around the stone on the right meaning yes and light around the stone on the left meaning no.
In inquiring of the Lord he was heard, receiving an affirmative answer about pursuit, and deliverance was again promised. That inquiry marks the last recorded inquiry made through the ephod, around 1056 B.C., under Abiathar, who was the last member of the house of Ithamar.