THE VERY RELATABLE LIFE OF KING DAVID
DIFFICULT DOEG
1 SAMUEL 21:1-9, 22:6-23, PSALM 52
#kingdavid
INTRODUCTION
We are currently in a time when we are looking deeper at the life of King David in the Bible. His life is given to us as a gift in that we see the ups and downs of his life in detail. There is much about David’s life that is very relatable for us and helps us apply what we read in the Bible. As I prayed about it and read and thought, chapters 21-22 in 1 Samuel have three sermons in them. Three messages that would be beneficial for us.
One sermon in these chapters is how David escapes to the city of Gath. I am not quite sure why David goes to Gath… because Goliath was from there and you know David is no hero there… but he does and ends up acting crazy to get himself out of a bad situation. Duh. The passage connects to Psalm 34, which David wrote during this time, and Psalm 34 is quoted in 1 Peter 3 in The New Testament and the message would eventually probably settle on 1 Peter 3:8.
READ 1 PETER 3:8 (ESV)
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
There’s another sermon in these chapters is about how David ends up escaping to a place called the cave of Adullam and he begins to gather around him some rebels and those in distress and in the middle of all of that he makes sure he honors his father and mother and keeps them safe from the mess he is in. Honoring our parents is included in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16 and can be a hassle or a chore or a blessing, but is a command of God to be obeyed.
Then, there is another sermon about the priests of God at Nob and how they are killed by King Saul because they helped David who is on the run from Saul. Saul, you might remember, wants to kill David because he is jealous and going a bit crazy. There is some lying, some unfair treatment, snitches who get no stitches, and the events even connect to Psalm 52 which David writes during this time.
It is this last option we are going to investigate today.
TRANSITION
1 Samuel 18-20, the chapters before this, show the increasing jealousy and anger and hate-filled actions of King Saul towards David. David had done good to Saul, but in response, he’d made some friends and made some enemies and unfortunately, King Saul is an enemy and David goes on the run. 1 Samuel 21 picks up when David arrives at Nob.
SITUATION
READ 1 Samuel 21:1-9 (ESV)
Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away. 7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen. 8 Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.” 9 And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”
David arrives at the priest town of Nob on the run from Saul who wants to pin him to the wall with a spear. David arrives at the priests with a whole bunch of lies. David lies about being on a secret mission for Saul and meeting up with some men as though he is a member of Unit 269. He appears to lie about the men who are supposed to be with him. He is evasive and really doesn’t tell the priest much, but does ask for help on his top-secret-in-a-hurry mission.
He asks for food. He also asks for weapons. He ends up getting both. I am not sure why it makes sense that one would go on a mission for the king without supplies and without weapons, but I think everyone knows King Saul is unhinged and so if he says ‘go’ you go. The priests do not mention if they believe David or not, but they do offer him the old consecrated bread and then give him Goliath’s sword. He gets what he needs from the priests to keep running.
As a side note, we know this event is real and historical and happened because Jesus refers to it in Matthew 12.
READ MATTHEW 12:3-4 (ESV)
“He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?”
Verse 7 is important. We do not realize it at the moment as we are reading, but based on how the rest of the story goes, verse 7 is important. We are introduced to a man named Doeg. He happens to be the chief of King Saul’s herdsman who is there for some kind of reason. It could be he was fulfilling some vow or being checked out by the priests for some issue, but he is there and he sees David. Verse 7 doesn’t say much. It says David was in Nob. It says Doeg was in Nob. They probably saw each other.
SUMMARY
So, David is on the run. He runs to a town full of priests for help and gets the help he needs to keep on running. He gets food and a big ‘ol honkin’ sword. He also happens to be spotted by someone who is loyal to Saul. That leads to the complication.
COMPLICATION
READ 1 Samuel 22:6-10 (ESV)
Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.” 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the LORD for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
David goes on about his business and flees. Doeg goes on about his business. David bounces around and is able to stash his mother and father away in safety so they are not in danger. He is not sure what will happen.
King Saul is furious that David has gotten away and he feels like the people around him are all traitors. He is a madman with a spear in hand threatening all his servants and people in his court because he sees traitors everywhere. They are all scared of this unhinged man. I can imagine they are all thinking fast on how to avoid getting speared to death by the king.
In verse 9, snitch-of-the-year Doeg speaks up. He mentions he saw how the priests in Nob feed David and give him weapons. He also, falsely I might add, says in verse 10 that the priest prayed for David and gave him some kind of message from God or maybe even gave him advice from God on how to escape.
I can imagine what is going on in Saul’s mind. In his mind, David got away and the servants all let him go and they are all on David’s side. In his mind, his son Jonathan stirred up David against him, but he’s his son so, what is a king to do to punish him? Then he hears about these priests who probably bless David and gave him food and weapons and sent him on his way happy as he could be. In his mind, there are some people who could be punished and could receive his wrath.
We don’t have to imagine what went on in David’s mind when he heard what happened. We have his thoughts. Psalm 52 was written as a reflection when he heard Doeg the Edomite sold him out to King Saul.
READ Psalm 52:1-9 (ESV)
“Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day. 2 Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. 3 You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah 4 You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. 5 But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah 6 The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, 7 “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!” 8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. 9 I will thank You forever, because You have done it. I will wait for Your Name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly.”
What does David think of Doeg?
Psalm 52:1 = He boasts of evil
Psalm 52:2 = His tongue plots destruction and he works deceit (repeated in verse 4)
Psalm 52:3 = He loves evil and loves lying
Psalm 52:7 = He does not trust in God but trusts in riches
In contrast, David sees himself as a live fresh fruitful tree in the house of God. David sees himself as always trusting in God and someone who lives in the presence of God and seeks His will. He obeys God. He follows God. In his view, Doeg is the opposite of that.
I hope you can see that David does not have a high opinion of Doeg the Edomite, the chief herdsman of King Saul. They would not be pen pals or friends or even play dreidel dreidel dreidel at Hanukkah. First of all, at this time dreidel dreidel dreidel hasn’t been invented so that’s impossible. Second, David would probably not even want to be in the same room as this fellow shepherd. He would count him as annoying, an enemy, a difficult person, a rival, and a snitch.
DIFFICULT PEOPLE
Doeg is a difficult person for David. Not only that, let’s not forget that David is also dealing with King Saul who is a massively difficult person in his life.
ILLUSTRATION… mindtools.com/blog/the-10-most-difficult-people-and-the-5-best-ways-to-deal-with-them/ [adapted]
Difficult people are everywhere. If you don’t think that is true, there is a good chance that you are the difficult person in someone else’s life! People are complicated and different and some people are just difficult. In our lives, there is probably a large cast of characters who, in their own ways, rub us completely the wrong way. Whether they mean to do it or not, they are the people who aggravate, antagonize, fluster, and frustrate us.
Some folks have said that there are 10 types of difficult people:
#1 The Know-it-All. This is someone who feels sure that they know more than you, and everyone else on the team. They also have a low tolerance for correction. They do not like to collaborate and often let others take the blame for mistakes. That is a difficult person.
#2 The Interrupter. This person doesn’t let you get a word in, either because they’re not listening, or they are listening intently so that they can seize their second to jump in. They stop conversations and can even halt your train of thought in its tracks. That is a difficult person.
#3 The Ignorer. Folks like this choose carefully who they communicate with and they make others feel irrelevant or invisible. This seems like a kind of bullying and anyone can have someone like this in their lives and its hard.
#4 The Bore. Not only does this person make you feel like you don’t offer anything interesting, but they actively ignore other people’s signals that they are busy or not interested because they themselves could never be boring… just other people.
#5 The Prima Donna. Everything’s about them: their ideas, their needs, their successes. In other words, they are people that perform very well, but get on your last nerve and seek to be the center of attention.
#6 The Work Martyr. This is the person who never stops working (or telling you about it). Nothing you do ever comes close to the amount of time and energy they’ve put in at work or on projects. They grab every role and responsibility and expect you to be grateful they work so hard.
#7 The Whiner. The Whiner has the woe-is-me syndrome. The world is always so unfair and they constantly complain about pretty much anything or anyone in their lives.
#8 The Negativity Spreader. This is someone who’s not content with just having negative feelings. They want to pass them on to everyone else. They steer every conversation toward the reasons why something won’t work and why you might as well give up now.
#9 The Rainmaker. This is the rule breaker who does not always adhere to team norms, but because they’re the superstar everyone has to deal with the way they do their work.
#10 The Boundary Crosser. This person invades your space, physically and emotionally. Whether they’re reaching over your desk, borrowing your belongings without asking, or telling you more about their personal life than you’re comfortable knowing, they breach your boundaries in annoying and unsettling ways.
I am not sure if you have any of those 10 difficult people in your life. I happen to know that in my life and in the life of my wife and kids… I am the difficult person. Raise my hand it's me. I always say ‘no’ first even when the answer should obviously and wisely be ‘yes,’ I have so many unwritten rules about life and relationships and situations that there is no way for other people to keep them all straight. I am overly self-critical which bleeds out onto others. I often don’t like it when plans change and can be a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. I am selfish. Sometimes it takes Jesus a while to change my mind and heart. I know I am a difficult person which makes Kelly and I’s now 24 years of marriage as of last week, quite a miracle. Difficult people are everywhere around us. Difficult people may be us.
TRANSITION
The complicated situation continues in the rest of the passage of 1 Samuel 22.
COMPLICATION CONTINUED
READ 1 Samuel 22:11-23 (ESV)
“Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.
20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”
Bad things went down due to David’s visit, the priests of Nob offering grace and hospitality, and Doeg feeding into King Saul’s madness.
Verses 14-15 are very telling as Saul accuses the Priest Ahimelech of treason and stirring up rebellion against him. Ahimelech literally has no idea what is going on. He comes to David’s defense knowing David’s character and how he has served the king. That doesn’t help. He mentions that, yes, he’s prayed with David before. He also mentions that he has no idea what is going on! He doesn’t know why Saul is angry. He doesn’t know anything about the issue between Saul and David. Yes, I gave him food and a sword. And? And… you are dead.
There are some significant things going on here.
First, a prophecy by God about Ahimelech’s family is fulfilled. Ahimelech the High Priest is related to Eli the High Priest whom we meet at the beginning of 1 Samuel. Ahimelech, great-grandson of Eli is killed fulfilling part of the curse on the House of Eli that none of his male descendants would live to old age.
READ 1 SAMUEL 2:31-32 (ESV)
“Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.”
Related to this passage, but later in 1 Kings 2, Abiathar, whom we meet in this passage as a survivor of the massacre, the great-great-grandson of Eli is deposed from office by King Solomon pretty much fulfilling the other part of the curse on the House of Eli that the priesthood would pass from his family (1 Kings 2:26-27). Significantly God is tidying up his priesthood.
Second, a great evil takes place. King Saul sees to it that 85 priests die. Not only that, take note of verse 19 that all the women, children, and even the animals are all wiped out. An entire family is wiped out in one afternoon. All but one. We know this is a vile thing because the people standing around King Saul balk at the order. These people are not enemies but are priests of the Lord. No wrong has been done by the priests, but Saul does great evil.
Doeg obeys the evil orders of King Saul and 85 men lost their lives along with all their wives and children and even their flocks and herds. All gone. Saul is a difficult person. Doeg is a difficult person.
TRUTH AT THE BOTTOM LINE
It is important for us to notice how David acts and reacts at the end of the passage. Verses 20-23 share with us how we are to act and react when faced with difficult people and difficult situations. David could have taken his 400 rabble-rousers and forced his way into Saul’s court and caused a civil war. He could have attacked in some other way or encouraged Abiathar towards revenge. He could have written scathing posts on Facebook and made everyone think poorly of King Saul. He didn’t do any of those things.
TRUTH AT THE BOTTOM LINE: It matters how you act.
Verses 20-23 share with us that David showed heartfelt honesty and gave grace.
David showed heartfelt honesty when he admitted to Abiathar that it was his visit to Nob that created the problem, in a manner of speaking, in the first place. He was honest. He did not let the truth slip away. David was honest and truthful in the midst of difficult people.
David gave grace in that he opened his household to this orphan. He provided safety in the midst of all of this difficulty and took in Abiathar. I don’t think he had to, but he wanted to. He wanted to show grace. He is reflecting on what he wrote in Psalm 52 about being ‘a green olive tree’ in God’s house and being a person who relies on God and invites in the presence of God.
TRUTH AT THE BOTTOM LINE: It matters how YOU act.
Difficult people will be a part of your life. It matters how you act. May I suggest, based on David, that heartfelt honesty and giving grace be your guide. I can’t help but think of the verse in 1 Peter that I read at the very beginning. It applies as well. TRUTH AT THE BOTTOM LINE: It matters how YOU act.
READ 1 Peter 3:8 (ESV)
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.\
Honesty. Grace. Sympathy. Love. Tenderness. Humility. [expand as the Spirit leads]
INVITATION
