Psalm 52
Hello from Athens, Greece! Headed back to the USA (Maryland) tomorrow!
As we begin our third group of Psalms we take a moment to thank John for his leadership in Proverbs – and we look forward to more of the same in July and September! But for now you have me back leading.
So, how much do you know about Doeg the Edomite, the man mentioned in the heading to this Psalm? You may recall some time ago that we read about David and his soldiers eating the sacred bread that only the priests were supposed to eat. (See I Samuel 21:1-6; Matthew 12:3-8.) It turns out that Doeg the Edomite had been nearby and saw that transaction and reported it to Saul as Saul was searching for David (I Samuel 22:9-10). But that one treachery against David was not enough. Later in the chapter we read about Saul’s response to David being given the sacred bread –he sought to have the priests killed. However, none of Saul’s soldiers were willing to kill the priests, so Doeg the Edomite willingly volunteered (I Samuel 22:16-18). A sad man! This is the man David mentions in the heading to this Psalm. So what does David say about Doeg the Edomite in the Psalm, itself? Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?…You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. (vv. 1a, 3) We don’t know anything more about Doeg the Edomite, but David did have this prophecy as to his ending: But God will break you down forever; He will snatch and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. (v. 5) A word of caution to all of us to seek the Lord as we choose to follow or serve one “leader” over another.
I’m a day behind, it’s not unusual, but Psalm 53:5 fits for today. “But they were overwhelmed with dread when there was nothing to dread…” I have some things to do today that I am dreading and pulling up what ifs, what if this happens. David goes on to say that God had already slain the enemy even though they had not called upon God. Thank you God for the reminder to call upon you, to give this over to you.