Thursday, October 1, 2015

I Samuel 22: You Dirty Doeg!

One of the villains in the Old Testament is Doeg the Edomite who ratted out David to Saul and then killed the priests of the Lord at Saul's bidding.

Doeg was present in I Samuel 21 when David came to the priest Ahimelech and saw the exchange between the two men.  David had sensed at the time that Doeg would cause trouble for him, but he let it go (vs. 22).

Saul's paranoia is continuing.  Feeling full of self-pity for having an opponent like David, the king angrily accuses his relatives (the Benjaminites) of conspiring with David rather than helping Saul.  He pathetically says, "None of you is sorry for me" (vs. 8).

At this point, Doeg speaks up and tells what he knows.  Without considering that Ahimelech may be innocent of the charge of treason, Saul summons him and his family to appear before him (vs. 11).  Although Ahimelech mounts a spirited defense explaining that he never thought to view David as an enemy of Saul, the king has him and his family executed anyway.  Only his son, Abiathar, escapes the slaughter.

Abiathar finds David and tells him what has happened.  According to its heading, David was moved to write Psalm 52 after this experience.

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