What's Up Doeg Series

*Disclaimer- I apologize if I don’t have the correct citations, please contact me if I may have inadvertently quoted someone inappropriately. I give anyone anywhere full use of this sermon in any format for any application with or without citation of me. Its all God’s word. If it blesses you and you want to use it- please do. Would love an email or a facebook connect to let me know, but not required. If you’re a tired pastor having long week- preach this thing word for word with no citation. I don’t care. I just want to help other pastors.

• 1 sam 22:6-23 Lots going on in this story- I want to focus on one part of this story- Doeg the edomite Killing the 85 priests. It’s a bloody massacre of a story.

• Why is it in here? What does it have to do with who we are as Christians in 2019 in Auburn Washington. Why does it matter and what does it mean?

• Lets establish some things here

• Doeg is an edomite, possibly a high official . part of an ethnic tribe that hates Israel.

• Why was Doeg with Saul? Possibly to convert to Israel, maybe because God wanted him there. Chp 21 makes it clear that he was in charge of Sauls animals. He was a man of influence

• The scripture 22:7-10 makes it clear. Doeg an enemy of Israel, possible convert, high ranking official, zealously executes 85 of God’s priests and an entire city of innocents.

• Two parts of the plot- Doeg was in chp 21 when David was on the run and in chp 22 when Saul orders the massacre. Doeg agrees- destroys on command. Doeg bridges David sin and Saul Sin

• But is he the real culprit of this story? David is just trying to save himself- priests go down

• Saul? He ordered it. Jonathan? If he had given bread to David he wouldn’t have to have eaten the consecrated bread. Is it David? He lied to the priests in 21 and Doeg was there and told Saul. The easy answer is that its Doeg- He killed the priests- he’s the bad guy

• (Insert sermon about not Killing God’s priests here)

• For people who want easy formulas to live by (God is good- tragic events are bad) this story creates a dilemma

• First- not just simply priests. They are descendants of wicked Eil and Phineas. They hold the ephod. They talk directly to God. Doegs massacre is not a random act of evil. It is the fulfillment of 1 Samuel 2:31 Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. READ 1 Sam 2:27-36

• This massacre of the priests is the fulfillment of the prophecy from the man of God.

• This massacre is the means by which God uses to raise up a righteous line of priests

• Secondly- Doegs actions are influential to begin the demise of Saul. Saul orders it. Doeg does it. Saul failed as a shepherd, and has now failed in his leadership. Saul goes sideways after this

• Doeg makes it happen. He destroys everything. Saul was supposed to destroy the Amelikites and he failed at it- so God pronounced judgement against him earlier- and now he’s doneski

• Thirdly- Doegs massacre signals the end of Saul. Saul rejected Samuel as priest and placed Ahijah, a descendant of Eli. The priests don’t even support Saul- They protect David- Saul turns from God, His word and has Doeg kill the very priests who could bring him back to God.

• This massace is a major turn in the story. Saul is completely spiritually and morally bankrupt. Yahweh has removed his protection from Saul and we will see more of his demise in future chps

• Its very complex- The Priests are still of God, even tho they are under a curse. They can speak to Saul even tho they are under a curse. Doeg Kills the means of Saul redemption while being the judgement upon the priests.

• The Edomite- Understand this- the Edomites are from the line of Esau (Gen 36:1) not the chose line of Jacob

• There is an eternal cosmic conflict between Jacob and Esau and this is part of the conflict of it

What do we do with this story? Is God the author of Evil? The Devil? Man? Who is the author

1. There is real evil in the world

• There are enemies of God that are at war with God’s people until the final summation of all things

• Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—