1 Sam
22:9-23 (ESV) 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."
11 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."
NOTE: Saul has
passed into full obsession. He cannot even see straight. While David may have
known what he was doing, Ahimelech did not. He was nervous but he believed
David. He was completely innocent and his explanation is very good. It should
at least have given Saul pause, it certainly seems to have given Saul's guards
pause as they refuse to lift the sword against the priests. But Doeg, a
foreigner, the chief herdsman, and an opportunist uses the opportunity to exalt
himself in position with the king. He does what no one else would do. He does
what is wrong in order to gain position and influence with the king. Two errors
are highlighted. One is an obsession with something that completely obscures
wise thinking, and two, a willingness to break moral guidelines in order to
achieve an objective. Doeg and Saul are made for each other.
Lord, protect me
from obsession and improper choices in my pursuit of goals. May I always live
my life in a manner that will honor you by my actions.
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