Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give everyone of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? Is that why all of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who discloses to me when my son makes a treaty with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me, or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is today?” Then Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, answered and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. He inquired of Yahweh for him, gave him food, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob; and they all came to the king. Saul said, “Hear now, you son of Ahitub.” He answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 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, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is today?” Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, “Who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, captain of your body guard, and honored in your house? Have I today begun to inquire of God for him? Be it far from me! Don’t let the king impute anything to his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for your servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.” The king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” The king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of Yahweh, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled and didn’t disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king wouldn’t put out their hand to fall on the priests of Yahweh. The king said to Doeg, “Turn and attack the priests!” Doeg the Edomite turned, and he attacked the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five people who wore a linen ephod. He struck Nob, the city of the priests, with the edge of the sword—both men and women, children and nursing babies, and cattle, donkeys, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.”
(1 Samuel 22:7-19)

“Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man?
    God’s loving kindness endures continually.
Your tongue plots destruction,
    like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
You love evil more than good,
    lying rather than speaking the truth. Selah.
You love all devouring words,
    you deceitful tongue.”
(Psalm 52:1-4)

Saul was lashing out everywhere trying to find David. But those around him – from his son to his soldiers – were refusing to be ungodly. Jonathan refused to give up his best friend because David was innocent. The soldiers refused to kill priests because they were in service to God and were also innocent. Yes, David had gone through and escaped, but David was high in Saul’s court and there had been no reason not to completely believe everything he said. But Doeg the Edomite didn’t care about God. He didn’t care about David. He didn’t care about the priests. He only cared for whatever reward he could get out of Saul. Not only that, but he went over and above what even Saul was requiring. Saul didn’t tell him to slaughter a city, but Doeg did. It’s telling that Saul made no move to stop him. Nor did anyone else there that day. Evil was let loose and it made a BIG MESS before stopping.

David, on the other hand, while he grieved the actions of Saul and Doeg as well as feeling responsible, refused to let go of God. He couldn’t believe how broken Doeg was. How he had exchanged good for evil. How he leaned into all the things that God stood against. Judgment was one thing, but this was wholesale slaughter for no reason and without divine permission. This was totally against the will of God. Even though men this evil and dedicated to destruction and bloodshed were hunting him, David never lost hope. Like an olive tree – which never looses its leaves – David knew that he would NOT be lost, NOT be overcome, and NOT come to ruin because he trusted in the Lord. He had trust and believed in both the protection of the Lord and the strength of the Lord to save. David never stopped or let up on his firm belief in the triumph of the Lord – a triumph he knew he would be allowed to participate in.

Summary

Doeg went over and above any kind of judgment that the Lord had against these priests (1 Samuel 2:27-36). It was the same with Pharaoh and the Israelites. God said the Israelites would be put to work, but He never said they would be abused (Genesis 15:13). When the evil people of this world harden their hearts, they always go beyond whatever is appropriate and give reign to their worst and basest desires. We need to know that even when people like this come against us, God is ultimately in control. He judged the nation of Egypt and its Pharaoh for what they did. David knew that God would judge Doeg – although his physical fate is not mentioned in the Word. God judged Balaam for showing Israel’s enemies how to make the people stumble and abandon their worship of God (Joshua 13:22). David didn’t put a time limit on his trust. He simply trusted that he would be able to remain rooted in the Lord and the Lord would continue to support him through all difficulties and all problems. We need to cultivate the same attitude. God is more than enough for ANYTHING or ANYONE who comes against us – no matter WHAT it looks like in the moment.