7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; 8 that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10And he enquired of the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. 11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. 12And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. 13And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king’s son-in-law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honorable in thine house? 15 Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? Be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. 16And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house. 17And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the Lord; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the Lord. 18And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.
Psalm 52
To the chief Musician, Maschil, A psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. 1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually. 2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. 3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. 4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. 5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. 6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: 7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. 8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. 9 I will praise Thee for ever, because Thou hast done it: and I will wait on Thy name; for it is good before Thy saints.
Meditation
What a sad scene presents itself in this chapter. Saul, the anointed of the Lord, in league with Doeg the Edomite! Saul’s outward profession does not hide his complete lack of faith. Bribery — “will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds” (1 Sam. 22:7) — is exactly the principle upon which Satan acts. He assumes that man responds to God because there is the promise of reward; that is how Satan deceived Eve. Faith operates on the very opposite principle; it believes without having seen. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 12:1). “Be of good cheer: for I believe God” (Acts 27:25). Without faith man is self-centered — “there is none of you that is sorry for me” (1 Sam. 22:8). The state Saul found himself in was a consequence of his own behavior, yet, refusing to accept responsibility for his circumstances, he accuses his own son: “my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse ... my son hath stirred up my servant against me” (1 Sam. 22:8). Sadly, Jonathan, who was a man of faith, was never willing to break the natural bonds that bound him to his father and to suffer the reproach of being with David.
If Saul is the professing man, Doeg is the profane man. There was no pretense with him; he boasted in mischief (Psa. 52:1). His tongue was a sharp razor, honed to speak deceit (vs. 2). He loved evil more than good and lying rather than righteousness (vs. 3). We live in a day when all pretense has been discarded, a day when restraint has been thrown off. “Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint” (Prov. 29:18 JND). The answer to the solemn question, “What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17) — is given in our psalm, “God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living” (vs. 5). The world stands in judgment of the very God whose existence they deny and blasphemously ask, “How can a loving God be so cruel?” Yet, “this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness” (vs. 8). Having spent their lives without reference to God, they curse the thought of being eternally separated from Him!
In contrast, the Lord was a root out of dry ground (Isa. 53:2) and all who place their trust in Him will flourish like a green olive tree (vs. 8). Whereas the wicked will be rooted up, those who receive the grace of God are planted in the house of God. This is our place where we might grow in separation from this world and produce fruit for Him through the Holy Spirit. “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits” (Song of Sol. 4:12-16).
Faith rests upon the God of mercy and waits upon His name, “for it is good before Thy saints” (vs. 9). Despite the boasts of vain man, “The goodness of God endureth continually” (vs. 1).