Are you a Doeg or a David?

“You love to destroy others with your words, you liar!”

This sounds like a line from the Bachelor or another reality tv show, but it’s not. These are the words of King David from Psalm 52.

David is contemplating the actions of Doeg the Edomite found in 1 Samuel 21 and 22.

The condensed version of the story is that David had gone to a priest of the Lord for help when he was running from Saul. The priest provided him with bread and Goliath’s sword. He did not have any understanding of what was going on between David and Saul and believed he was helping a close member of the king’s household.

Doeg witnesses the interaction between David and the priest. He holds onto this salacious piece of gossip until the timing is right. Then, when Saul is in one of his paranoid states, Doeg tells him about the help David received from the priest. He did this in a way that made Saul believe that David and the priest were conspiring together to kill him. This was far from the truth! In his anger Saul ordered that the priest and his whole family be killed. Saul’s men, the men of his own tribe, refused to do it. Instead Doeg, who was not of Jewish heritage, didn’t hesitate to kill not only the priest who helped David, but eighty-four more priests along with their families and their livestock.

Psalm 52 is David’s personal reflection on these events:

“Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior? Don’t you realize God’s justice continues forever? All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cutes like a sharp razor; you’re an expert at telling lies. You love evil more than good and lies more than truth” (V1-3).

David is talking specifically about Doeg, but I can’t help but think about some people in our world today to whom those words could apply.

There are plenty of Doeg-contemporaries who boast about the things that they have done, the causes they have stood for, the rights they have fought for when in truth they are only looking out for their own self interest. Sadly, many such people can be found among our elected officials who are supposed to be a champion for the people they represent instead of promoting themselves and their personal agendas. David reminds us that God’s justice continues forever. God sees the heart of those who act deceitfully and doesn’t just ignore it…despite what is seen through earthly eyes.

“You love to destroy others with your words, you liar! But God will strike you down once and for all. He will pull you from your home and uproot you from the land of the living” (V4,5).

Confidence in God’s righteous justice flows from David even in his frustration.

He knows that God will deal with Doeg in His own timing and that this atrocity will not go unpunished. This is such a good reminder for us today. When we see injustices in the world, we want something to be done about it. These offenses range from wars that cause the death of civilians, mistreatment of a specific people group, human trafficking, organized groups that use violence and fear to control people and mistreat them, political corruption, slaughtering of unborn children and so much more.

We crave justice. We yearn for the truth to be known by all and that those in power will do the right thing. But we can’t always make that happen. These words from David reassure us that God sees everything. He will deal with it in His way and in His timing. Evil will not be forgotten or go unpunished. 

“The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say ‘Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness’ ” (V6,7).

Some commentators feel that the reference of Doeg as a “mighty warrior” is used ironically, and I would have to agree.

It doesn’t take a highly skilled fighter to kill priests who have never held a weapon and were completely defenseless, along with women and children. Doeg was willing to do what others wouldn’t for his own personal gain. David gives us a word of caution against trusting in our wealth to find the answers to our struggle; it leads to increased wickedness. In a society where more often than not we can solve our problems with enough money, it is easy to fall into a pattern of believing we can be the solution to our own needs. This mindset can get us into trouble as we often don’t have quite enough money to meet all of those felt needs.  Such a sense of lack can lead to greater sin as we strive for more in order to not need anything from anyone else. 

“But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love. I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people” (V8,9).

In the face of tragedy, oppression and evil, David didn’t seek his own type of justice but instead chose to trust in who he knew God to be.

I find this to be a convicting and challenging lesson. It is easy to get worked up and frustrated when I hear in the news or on social media about someone that seems to be getting away with a great malfeasance. Energy that could be used more productively elsewhere gets spent thinking about how wrong these people are and justifying my position. I spend a lot more time going off in my own head or spouting words of disapproval to those who share my opinion than I do taking action.

However, stewing over a wrong doesn’t accomplish much. David voiced his grievance with Doeg but quickly turned his face toward God and declared his trust in the Almighty. He was confident that God would take care of this situation and make it right. How often do I respond to injustice by deepening my trust in God?

Without a doubt, there is a time and place to take a stand against evil and fight back.

God called us to advocate for others and fight for those who can’t defend themselves. However, not every fight belongs to us. I truly believe that our first response to the vile behaviors of this world should be to trust God. We can always be confident that He will act justly. In the event that He wants us to take action, He will lay that path out before us. We are to walk in obedience, but it starts with trusting Him first and foremost. Always.