Good morning,
There
are all kinds of ways to make a name for yourself. In David’s day
there was a man who took care of king Saul’s sheep who had the
reputation for being a trouble maker. His name was Doeg the Edomite.
Even though God had used David to kill the giant Goliath and bring a
great victory for Saul’s army, Saul became jealous of David and was
trying to kill him. David fled from Saul unarmed and went to ask help
from a priest who had no idea what was going on. The priest had stored
Goliath’s sword so he gave David the sword and some food and David went
on his way. Doeg was there for spiritual issues and saw David come and
go. Later when king Saul was complaining bitterly that no one was giving
him the support he needed, Doeg tried to win Saul’s trust by telling
him he has seen David with the priest. Saul flew into a rage and
ordered that the priest and everyone else in that town be killed. Doeg
volunteered for the job and killed all 85 of the priests and their
families and wiped out the town completely. What a great example of
betrayal, brutality and destruction.
When David heard what had
happened, he sat down and wrote Psalm 52. In the first part of the
Psalm he laid into Doeg with statements like, “You love evil more than good and lies more than truth. You love to destroy others with your words, you liar!” (Psalm 52:3,4) But
by the end of the Psalm, David turned his attention away from the
darkness of this enemy and looked back to the Light that defined his God
and his purpose in life. David pictured himself like an olive tree,
(olive trees are my favorite trees too), growing strong and healthy and
fruitful in the house of his God. David’s focus in life was in God’s
unfailing love. Instead of giving in to hate and anger and
unforgiveness, David committed himself to praising God for who he was
and what he had done for him in his life. David also made it clear that
Doeg’s betrayal and brutality and the destruction he had caused these
innocent people would not turn him away from his trust in his God. He
was more determined then ever to let those around him know that the God
of the Bible was the one to be trusted even though he couldn’t explain
why God let things happen this way. Now it’s our turn to live with
modern day Doegs. May the Lord help us to deal with the flood of
betrayal, brutality and destruction like David did. May we rely on
God’s Holy Spirit to keep our focus on our Shepherd and not the dark
side of man’s rebellion.
Psalm 52:8 But I am like an
olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s
unfailing love.
9 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.
Roy Wisner
