Doeg the Edomite (Psalm 52)

2022-10-12

If there was any conscienceless man in Israel, Doeg the Edomite would be one. Consider that he ratted out David to Saul after hearing Ahimelech the priest and the king’s son-in-law’s exchange (1 Samuel 21:7; 22:9-19). However, what was worse was that he followed the bloody orders of the king when the other men could not betray their consciences. The Edomite herdsmen chief killed the Lord’s priests of 85 men, as well as the entire city of Nob: every man, woman, and child.

What possesses a person to be so evil? This villain is described in Psalm 52, developing a profile for such a psychopath.

  1. The wicked man is a boaster. Pride is chief in his personality. (Psalm 52:1)
  2. The wicked man is a mighty man. He is no coward. Because of his pride, he will boldly proclaim and demonstrate his might. Doeg did this in killing an entire village. (Psalm 52:1)
  3. The wicked man uses words as weapons. He will harm and deceive by the things that he says. Doeg was quick to betray Ahimelech to Saul. (Psalm 52:2)
  4. The wicked man enjoys evil. He loves evil over good. Doeg killed the men the Lord appointed to serve Him. (Psalm 52:3)
  5. The wicked man loves to lie. Like the devil (John 8:44: “...for he is a liar, and the father of it”), he lies because he hates the truth and because he enjoys harming others. Doeg made it look like Ahimelech was privy to David’s escape (Psalm 52:3-4)
  6. The wicked man will be destroyed by God. The Lord extends grace for a long time, but there comes a time when He pursues them and destroys them if they do not submit to His grace. We do not hear the story of Doeg’s demise. At the least, he will stand before God and await His judgment. (Psalm 52:5)
  7. The wicked man’s fate serves as an example to the righteous. The righteous will fear the Lord and His wrath against wickedness. They will also agree with His righteous judgment. (Psalm 52:6)
  8. The wicked man trusts only in his own resources. His wealth and his skills are his confidence. He gives no thought to the Lord, whom he shall meet face to face one day. Surely Doeg did not when he killed the Lord’s priests and many innocent people. (Psalm 52:7)
  9. The righteous man trusts in the Lord’s mercy. The righteous man is not experientially righteous. The difference here is that the righteous trusts in the Lord’s mercy that He offers to all humankind. The wicked man rejects that mercy, but rather goes his own way apart from the Lord. Ultimately, we know that this mercy is found in the person of Jesus Christ. (Psalm 52:8)
  10. The righteous man will eternally be in the presence of God. The metaphor is the olive tree planted in the house of God. (Psalm 52:8)
  11. The righteous man praises God forever. Having eternal life, he praises God forever “because thou hast done it,” namely, has planted him in His presence forever. (Psalm 52:9)
  12. The righteous man trusts in the Lord. He does this because of who God is and what He has done for him. He publicly makes the knowledge of God known. (Psalm 52:9)

It seems like King Saul knew that Doeg would carry out his evil wishes when others would fail. “And 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” (1 Samuel 22:18). Men like Doeg must be marked out. People died because this reprobate overheard a conversation.

And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. (1 Samuel 22:22)