I’d like to take the next couple of blog posts to tie up loose ends in the February Digging Deep study. We will talk more about the “persecution” aspect of the lives of David and the Messiah in March, but I wanted to notice a couple of things from Month 6 that are powerful in their applications for us.
We had come to the end of our video podcast time before we even got a good mention of Doeg. Let’s take a minute with this incredibly destructive man and make some applications. His story is found in 1 Samuel 22:6ff.
Doeg is the man who saw the priest, Ahimelech, give David the showbread from the holy place to eat as a common meal. He became a self-appointed spy for King Saul when he saw that exchange. He saw Ahimelech give David the sword of Goliath that was in the “vault” under the protection of the priests at Nob. Ahimelech had been deceived by David to believe that David needed these things in the service of King Saul, when, in reality, David needed these things to protect himself from Saul.
Doeg went directly back to Saul to report David’s confiscation of Goliath’s sword to Saul. Consequently Saul called for Ahimelech’s death. His footmen would not put their hand against the priest of the Lord.
Once again, Doeg to Saul’s rescue! He ran the sword through 85 priests of God on that day. Eighty-five innocent anointed men perished at the hands of Saul, the sword being administered by Doug, that day! It’s hard to even think about the impaling of 85 men—the blood, the stench, the entrails, the cries of their families and then, the unthinkable…Nob’s women, children and animals were smitten and killed with the sword . There’s no telling how many people lost their lives that day at the hand of Saul, because of his envy of David.
Who killed the innocent people that day?
- David was involved. He chose to lie to Ahimelech about being in the service of Saul. (1 Samuel 21:2). David was also aware that Doeg was going to “tattle” to Saul (22:22). He knew he was going to tell the wrathful king. Yet, David continued on the self-protective path. David had a part in these deaths. David’s murder motive was self protection. (He was also ignoring the fact that God was/is sovereign and He would not allow the taking of the life of His anointed, himself—the future king of Israel.) We can also be sure that David, when the lie was told, did not envision the severe consequences. Mark it down: Sin is always worse than the sinner expects it to be. Oh, the devastation we could prevent, if we could think of this fact BEFORE the sin is committed.
- Saul killed these men, women and children. By command, he was directly responsible. His motive was wrath and envy against David.
- Doeg killed these innocents. His motive was a desperate need for the approval of Saul. He was a small man. (A son of Esau—another man who could become very wrathful.)
The lesson for us is so clear. We can easily become complicit in destructive behaviors, even spiritual deaths. Every time we bend the truth, we elicit possible, even probable harm in the lives of other people…and we do it without any possible way of knowing how far our lie may go in its final consequence.
Further, we don’t have to always be the one who is the direct tempter in order to be complicit in sin. When I fail to teach my children and they, in turn, influence others to do wrong or even to abandon the Lord, I am complicit. When I support my children in sin, I am complicit in their continuance in that sin—all the way to hell. I am complicit in their bringing others, possibly my grandchildren, with them to that ultimate tragedy. When I give my dollars to venues of sin I am complicit in the behaviors that result. When I am a leader in the church and I look the other way, rather than addressing, I am complicit.
When I become too attached to any human being (thus unequally yoked—2 Corinthians 6:14-18) I become tempted to do things I might otherwise find unconscionable. I do not want any part of Doeg behavior on my conscience as I stand before the Lord on the final day. May I bypass all impressive people in my attempts to be pleasing and make my strong desire for approval to be ever heavenward. Then, in a providential turn, the people who are worth pleasing will be pleased with my life and choices.
God is so good to us in the examples of the Old Testament that are for our learning (1 Corinthians 10:11).
