1 Samuel 22 (Part 2) Bible Study (Saul Kills the Priests at Nob) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Thank you praise team for that powerful worship. And now we worship in the hearing of God's word. Mimi in first Samuel 22, please. As we conclude this, chapter together, almost overwhelming of how much God can say in some obscure passages. And I hope you've learned that over the years that surely all of God's word is God breathed.

It is not wasted, it is not just historical data, it is God's voice that the man of God may be complete and furnished and polished unto righteousness and reflection of the person of Jesus Christ. And we come here in one Samuel 22, we are at verse six. As we heard last week, the first five verses focused on David's point of view as a fugitive, as an outcast. It was completely dedicated to his experience in this, in this scene. But now as we come to verse six, there is a shift that's about to take place.

But before we come to this shift, we've learned just in five verses about how the righteous are a direct blessing from God to his righteous, that as they are surrounded and supported by those who fear God, that is surely a gift from God. And if you have people that you can identify as those who love Christ and are there for you and are praying for you and are counseling, you know that you have something of a gift from God himself. And we also saw David suffering personally in a very overwhelming fashion, but at the same time, we learned that this man honored his duties in the midst of his difficulties. And he exemplified that by taking care of his parents when he was looking over his own shoulder because he could have been killed at any moment. And we also saw David graduate in his faith.

The man was consumed with fear in chapter 21 in a very dishonorable way. But we see here in chapter 22 that his repentance in those Psalms proved to be genuine because he is now showing more trust in God. And I find it so encouraging that God can tell us that David was a man after his own heart, even though David wasn't totally mature in his faith. God can declare that over somebody while they're learning, while they're growing, while they're being stretched. Surely he's merciful.

But what we've learned from David is sufficient in this chapter because now we come to learn from Saul. And we'll still learn from David, but we're going to see mainly what the Holy Spirit has to say about not the prey, but the predator. The unruly king named Saul. And if David graduated in his faith in this chapter, we're going to see Saul intensify in his rage and his jealousy and his envy. See, you and I are either growing in one direction or the other.

We're either growing in Christ or we're growing in the flesh. We're either maturing spiritually or we are maturing in our old man. There is no center, there is no neutrality. And unfortunately, Saul is consumed with sin, and that's going to show as we read here in verse six. Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him.

Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand. And all his servants were standing about him. And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, hear now, people of Benjamin. Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me?

No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie and wait. As at this day. We'll continue to read in a moment, but there's so much already here. We read now as the scene turns over to Saul that Saul is now surrounded with his servants, contrasting David, as we heard last week, who was supported by 400 men in a cave.

And it's in this verse that we read the reason for this conference. Saul calls his servants because he learned the whereabouts of David, and he also learned, surely the piercing news, that 400 of his own have abandoned him and have joined his enemy and indirectly are saying we believe that David is king, not you, Saul. And this is clearly disturbing to the man. And so we read, now vision it, envision it, he's sitting there underneath a tree, But he has something in his hand. What is it?

A spear. That should raise a flag. Because this is not the first time that we've seen this madman in such a position. You and I have studied Saul long enough to realize that whenever this person has a weapon in his hand and he's in a bad mood, something is not going to be pleasant in a moment. This is disturbing.

Because he has thrown that spear at David. Many times he's even thrown a spear at his own son. And here he is in the presence of his other servants, clearly shaken, and he has a spear in his hand. I think that we can read that and realize that Saul was a a particular type of leader. He was a leader that reigned and controlled with fear and intimidation.

He bullied people. He caused them to have an unhealthy sense of reverence towards him so that he can get them to do what he wanted them to do. And that is a leadership that will never be honored by men and will not have longevity as you're going to find out about Saul. But this verse already teaches us something. The first verse, verse six, already teaches us something so wonderful about God as it connects to our concluding thought from last week.

Last week we concluded with the observation that as David is hiding in a stronghold, God sends a prophet named Gad, and this man Gad tells David, get up and go. And not just continue to flee, but I'm telling you to go into the territory of Judah. Now, why is that a concerning command? Does anybody remember? Saul is governing that land.

So God is asking Saul, rather David, to come into a territory where he is more vulnerable to Saul's spies and to Saul himself. It seems like a contradiction. It doesn't seem reasonable. But when you come to verse six, we now see by the Holy Spirit's commentary why it is that God sent God to David and told him to get up and go. Why is it?

Because Saul what? He discovered where he was. Saul learned the location of David and these men, and God, seeing what Saul learned, speaks to his prophet, and this prophet, this messenger comes and tells David, get up and go in a certain direction. And here's the wonderful thing. David obeyed even though he didn't have all the answers because he knew that God had the answer.

It's as simple as that. You read verse six, and you and I are supposed to understand that we as the people of God do not need all of the answers to his leadership in our lives. If you and I think that we inherit a supernatural peace because we have this unlimited access to every answer, to every step in our lives, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. The peace and the trust that you and I have as God navigates and leads and shepherd us through life is not the fact that we have every answer before it comes. It comes by the truth of his character.

It comes in the knowledge of who he is. And based on the knowledge of who he is, regardless of how he leads us, if you are rightly walking with him, you can trust his direction. So why be flustered with with delays in life? And and why be consumed with anxiety when you are now being directed to a destination that you didn't plan for in your life, when you and I are supposed to just trust him and trust that he has the answers, and if it's in his wisdom to reveal that answer in this lifetime or not, it's not up to us. It's not up to us.

There are many times as we're gonna see that God tells David specifically why he's about to do something, and there are other times like what we just see here where he doesn't. And we just got to trust that when God keeps us in the dark, it is more profitable for us than if he had given us every answer. And David shows that as he departed and went toward Judah, and it's you and I who have the opportunity to read verse six and see, oh, look at the wisdom of God. David didn't understand, and God didn't find the need to explain. And you and I have the word of God that must be applied in so many situations that might be unique, but at the same time, though they may not make sense in a moment, God is calling us to trust his wisdom and not our own ideas.

And when providence leads us in a certain way that might cause turbulence to our comfort or to our plans and our desires, what will we do? We must trust. Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. David does this because David had a revelation I'm sure that you and I must have on a basic level, and it's this, that no matter how God orchestrates our life, he has his glory primarily in mind. And the good of his people.

That every season of life, even if you're afflicted, God is doing many things. He is providing for us, he is protecting us, and surely he is polishing us to reflect the image of his son, which is his ultimate will for your life, no matter what kind of nine to five you have, no matter what kind of spouse you have. If you're in Christ, you're predestined to Christlikeness in this life. And so we read that in verse six. So encouraging, but much more to learn.

In verse seven, we see something else. Saul said to his servants who stood about him, hear now, people of Benjamin, will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? And he goes on. Bible study, questions, examinations. Do you have your Bibles tonight?

I hope so. Look at your Bibles in verse seven, and would you share what stands out to you with the details of Paul, or rather Saul's conversation with these men? What stands out to you? What are some details that should be highlighted? Calls him the son of Jesse.

That's one, that's really good, yes. Again, he refers to him as the son of Jesse. There's something even before that though. Yes. The people of Benjamin are those who are surrounding him.

There's 11 tribes missing. But why is this interesting? Where was Saul from? That same tribe. And so Saul is being very political here.

This is tribalism. This is Saul trying to win the support of those who share his lineage because he thinks they'll be more likely remember, the whole nation adored David. And so he's playing, he's playing tricks here by wooing those from his own race, though it's the same race, his own tribe, better word. Winning those from, those who share his same background, and he's trying to convince him to be on his side, and it's a sad reminder of how many people will pledge allegiance to family, to culture, to nationality, to safety, to opportunity over that which is right. And that's not just things that happen in the world, that happens within Christendom.

That you have people who will elevate these things over that which is true and holy. And Saul is that kind of man. But secondly, we see as our sister said that he is further proving his political manipulation by referring to David in a certain way. We heard this before, but this man calls him the son of Jesse. He would not dare attribute any kind of success to David or anything of his faithful character.

What he's trying to do is highlight the lowliest part of who he is in the presence of these men that he's trying to woo and convince, proving to us that this man's jealousy is still at a feverish pitch. This man is consumed. This man can't even mention his name. Because bitterness and envy and unforgiveness can reach such a height in the soul that even the mere mention of someone's name, whether they've offended us or they are the object of our envy, can surge within us all these evil emotions. The guy is so sensitive, he's so infected with this sin that he can't even say David.

So he calls him the son of Jesse. And it's a reminder of how jealousy can manifest itself. Jealousy, when it reaches a certain point, can be so ferocious and so ugly that it attempts to belittle and humiliate the person that we might have these things towards so that we can at least plant a seed of suspicion in their hearts. And that's what he's trying to do. Now let's examine his speech.

Let's examine what he's trying to say to these people. He realizes that 400 of his men just left. Right? And he doesn't want that to continue to happen. He's now feeling what he has feared, that people will join David and David will become king.

Never mind God said that it would happen. He will even fight against God. And so what he's trying to do here is discredit David to these men. And the summary of the verses that we read is simply this. Who is the son of Jesse?

What can he actually offer you for you to even consider joining him? What what does he have? What look at him hiding in a cave. Is this someone that you really want to to join and to link arms with? It's pathetic.

It's so sad. It's so low. But this is a carnal man that uses carnal means to persuade people. And so he's doing it here. And you heard it last week that the enemy of, of souls uses very similar persuasions when there are people who are standing, are standing at the gap between the decision of joining the kingdom of God or choosing to stay with the kingdom of darkness.

And people hear all the time. Who is Jesus Christ? What does this Jesus actually have to offer you in this life? What does a life surrendered to this Messiah actually benefit for you in this life? Are are you sure that you want to put your promotion in life at risk because you'll be recognized as a Bible believing Christian in this kind of society?

Are you sure you really want to make that public? What kind of possessions can you really claim as your own? What kind of things can you grow in if you are going to now pledge yourself to a sacrificial life for Jesus Christ? Do you really want to do that? And here's the point, I read this and I thought to myself, if there's anyone who should question the incentives of anybody else, it's the child of God when he is tempted with worldliness.

Can I show you one of my personal favorite verses concerning sin? Yes, Jesus Christ died for sin. That's wonderful. Nothing can triumph over that. But I want to show you a practical verse.

A practical verse that will transform the way you face temptation if you just apply it by faith. It's found in the book of Romans. It's in chapter six, and it's in verse 21. Look how Paul calls the Christians to put sin into question. To put their old life into question.

But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. I love that. I love that. It's okay, Roman Christians, just pause for a moment and think about your former life and ask what benefit, what fruit was I really getting from me pursuing the desires of my flesh, to me submitting to every impulse of my body and my thoughts and my fantasies?

What actually came out of that? And if you really think long and hard, if you actually discipline yourself, because what temptation does is it presents to you the sensation that satisfies. And the Bible is very honest. The Bible doesn't lie to us and say sin doesn't feel good. Or us, where's the power in temptation?

Scripture tells us in Hebrews that sin has pleasure, but it's fleeting pleasure. So examine your life. Now this will be extremely difficult if you've never been truly converted. If you've never tasted the goodness of Jesus Christ. If you've never, if you've never known what it's like to experientially be satisfied in your salvation.

You know why? Cause you have nothing to compare it to. You have nothing to compare your sin, which, which is the ecstasy of those who are outside of Christ. You have nothing to say, this is the contrast. But if you're in Christ, this verse gives you license to say, where was I before this?

What am I how is this even a persuasion? How is this even a suggestion? Okay. So you live out in your flesh. Do you remember the shame?

Do you remember the guilt? Do you remember the regret? Do you remember the hollowness? Do you remember laying at night wondering why you even exist? What's your purpose in life?

Do you remember that kind of torment? Think beyond the mirage of the oasis of sin and realize that you were actually eating sand before you came to the living water in Christ. And so if there's anybody that's gonna question anything, if there's anybody that's gonna say, what is what does what have to offer? It's the believer when Satan and the flesh say, hey. You you really wanna move forward?

You have nothing to offer me. I've been there, done that, got the t shirt, and then Christ clothed me with his righteousness. I'm done. I'm done. And I believe the reason why you have people within the church that are so defeated by sin, at least in part, is because they have not tasted that the Lord is good.

They've not seen that the Lord is good. They got some emotional thing that happened at one point in their lives, which we're gonna hear this Sunday, by the way. And they weren't really born again. And so they just they live in this defeated Christian life. And and and partly, many of the cases is because they haven't come from death to life to even begin with.

But for the converted, for those who have truly been born again, they can say, compared to this, I'm not going back to that. So we come back to one Samuel 22. Now look at verse eight. This is amazing. Like, if you were frustrated with Saul up to now, get ready for another level of frustration.

Look what he says. That all of you have conspired against me. No one discloses it to me. When my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait as is this day. So this is what Saul is doing.

He moves to win his affections from the place of false promises, because as he's criticizing David, he's implying I have these things to offer you. He goes from false promises to self pity. I'm sure we are all convinced about Saul that he is a person who is completely consumed with selfish ambition. Like, ever, ever since near his introduction, this man has proven to be totally motivated by self. And it's in this verse that some of the properties of a selfish attitude show themselves.

If you want to see how a selfish or self centered person can climax in their attitude towards others, here are some ingredients. First, they manipulate the emotions of others to get what they want. And so another way of putting it is that they heap guilt on those who who are not in wrong in order to steer them to satisfy usually sinful means and sinful goals. And that's what he's doing here. He's not righteously rebuking these men.

He has now taken his imagination and placed it on them. And he's saying, you guys are all conspiring against me. You guys are all planning against me. That's what's really going on here. These are baseless claims.

It makes no sense whatsoever. He's saying that you've concealed what Jesse and the son of Jesse and my son are doing. You've concealed the plan that they're trying to kill me. The guy's lying. The guy's lying.

And it should be no surprise he's lied before, but it can also mean that his jealousy became so obsessive that he's now hallucinating. He's now reading into things that, that don't exist. He's now coming up with ideas that are not real. And that's what selfishness can do in a person. They, they begin to now try to put strings on people and make them puppets in order to satisfy their selfish goals.

And sometimes that selfish goal can simply be for praise, for recognition, for affection. But a second trait of a person who is dominated by selfishness, not selflessness, selfishness, is that they have this wonderful ability, they have the art of coming off as the victim in everything, even when the mess that they're in was caused by them, none of you is sorry for me. Are you serious? Have you lost it? After all the trouble that you've caused in the kingdom up this point, after all the trouble you've caused in the family, after all the trouble that you caused for your son, for your most faithful servant, you are still able to make this about you.

And this individual here is exemplifying to us that a selfish person can barely admit that they are ever wrong. No way. Because in their mind, this is what they think, if I admit that I'm wrong, then I forfeit my right to demand. If I, if I confess that I've done something that might have been off, then I discredit myself from having the authority to make baseless and shameful requests. This is pride.

And in their pride, like Saul, as long as they are in the right or believe that they are in the right or convince others that they are in the right, they maintain the prerogative to make claims on others or to behave in a certain way. That's why I'm very careful, though people have gone through traumatic pasts. I'm very careful, and you should be as well because there are people who can use their past trauma as an excuse to be a certain way. If you're a Christian filled with the Holy Spirit, if you're a Christian who's been born again, yeah, you might have had some past experience, but Christ in you dominates the flesh. And so there are people that know how to say it right.

And to point at everything and everybody else, that's what modern, you've heard me say it before, and I'm telling you for a reason over and over again. Modern counseling, especially out there in the world that doesn't use the scriptures to counsel, the issue with modern counseling and modern psychology is that they will blame everything but the person who is receiving help. It's everybody else's fault except the person who's wounded. And whatever patterns or habits that have been adopted that might be self destructive or destructive, it has to be the way you grew up. It has to be your parents.

It has to be this. Can it contribute? Sure. But if we're Christians, Christ has the power to overcome all wounds and to lead you and to heal you. It might not be instantaneous, though it could be, but we cannot stop at, well, that's just the way they are because that's what they experienced in the past.

Where's the gospel? Where's the power, the healing power of Jesus Christ? What I'm afraid of is that if we introduce too much counseling within the church, we can strip the supernatural from the gospel. And we make everything about this and that, and nurture versus nature, no, no, no. Do not forget that we have a supernatural God who can do wonderful things in people's lives.

Is he practical? Yes. Is there wisdom? Sure. Is there things that we have to give instruction for?

Yes. Do we have to talk through things from the past? Absolutely. But the solution comes down to the spirit. You might disagree with me, but just go to the book and see for yourself.

So this is what this man is doing. He's it's so childish. And after his childish spiel, the silence of the crowd is all for a sudden broken because somebody speaks up. And that man is found in verse nine. Look in your Bibles with me.

Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nog, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitab, and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. Uh-oh. Is this the first time that we've seen Doeg in our Bibles? No. Where have we seen him before?

Chapter 21, verse seven. Now look what it says in chapter 21, verse seven. This is when David went to the tabernacle, he went to the priest. And it says here, now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.

Now I'm gonna ask you, what are some things that should be noted from this verse? What are some details about Doeg? Detained before the Lord. Now we don't know why he was detained before the Lord. There are some different speculations.

It's not told. And and really, the reason given is not important. If there was a reason, it would be there. But it could be that he was, he was ceremonially unclean and he was going through a purification process. Some say that he was being converted to the Jewish faith, so he was going through a process in that as well.

We don't know, but he was detained. All we do know is that he was in proximity of God's house, being ministered to by God's priest, which is more important than the reason. Good. Observation. Any other observation?

Edomite. Not an Israelite. Edomite. Who are the Edomites? Esau.

Brother of who? Jacob. Jacob is who? Israel. Very good.

So Esau, who is also known as Edom, the Edomites are descendants of Esau. Question. Were they friendly towards the Israelites? Were they were they favorable towards them? Were they gracious towards them?

Or was there hostility? Animosity? Yes. Absolutely. So generally speaking, anybody from Edom had a certain kind of feeling and mindset toward the chosen people of God.

So the fact that we're told that dog was an eat, a mite should raise a flag. It should raise a flag. What else concerning Doeg? Very good. He was the chief of Saul's herdsmen.

That is not a lowly position. That's a a manager position. That's a position of authority. That is something that Saul allowed him to operate in. Which shows us not just a concern concerning Doeg, but a concern towards Saul's deficient character.

What do I mean by that? How is Saul able to have within his inner circle someone who comes from a people who do not honor God and do not honor the people of God? How's that possible? And if you're not convinced that Doeg has that disposition, you're going to see it very, very soon. You want to know the simple answer?

Because Saul himself was someone who did not honor God, and did not honor those whom God has chosen. And so Saul easily could have fellowship with somebody who was from Edom, because Saul shared the same values, the same attitudes, and the absence of the things that would make somebody righteous are in Saul, and therefore he can easily commune with somebody like Doeg. You know what I find so disturbing? Isn't it strange that Saul was able to attack David, who was a true worshiper of God, but at the same time he was able to maintain a relationship with Doak, who was an enemy of God? Really, I have to tell you this, and I've said it in many different instances before, but I'll say it again.

Who you fellowship with with, who you have relationships with reveals where you stand with God to a certain degree. There's just no ifs and ands about. If you fellowship with a certain type of people, that reveals something about you. The psalmist said in the first psalm that he does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and he does not stand among the scoffers. He does not sit with sinners.

I don't walk with them. I don't stand with them. I don't sit with them. That's the first thing you read from the book of Psalms. So that whole book which is about worship, it starts out with, I want to tell you who I don't fellowship with.

Ain't that fascinating? And notice as we come back here that Doeg echoes Saul in the way that he refers to David. What does he say in verse nine? I saw who? The son of Jesse.

Hey, David. Or rather Saul. How you feel about David, I feel about David. I saw the son of Jesse. And what he tells him is, I was there that day where I saw him come to the tabernacle, and the priest helped him.

The priest helped David. Now here's a question, and you can answer it if you have if you feel like you have the answer. Why is Doeg doing this? Why is why is he stepping up? And why is he calling Saul to the attention of the betrayal of David and the priest, Ahimelech?

Any idea? To make it worse. To make it worse? But and that's true, but why? Why is he trying to make it worse?

What does that have to do with him? Okay. So promotion in mind. That's one reason. You Saul just finished saying, can he give you vineyards and can he make you commanders?

And Doug's going, Saul, let me tell you where David is and what David did. Actually, let me tell you who is conspiring with David. Because clearly he is persuaded by some kind of indirect promise from Saul, and this is, this is Doeg proving that this man cared so much about his comfort and his safety and his prosperity that he was willing to throw anybody under the bus in order to arrive there. He was willing to step on anything, even the truth itself, in order for him to advance in this life. And it's a sad sight indeed.

That's one reason. Any other reason? Very good point. Could it be that what he had learned all his life as an Edomite of how that inheritance was taken from Jake from Esau, from Jake by Jacob, and all these things, all these deep rooted thoughts and hatred are now, here's my chance to bring division within Israel. Absolutely.

That can be one reason as well, which is scary, but it's possible. Any other reasons? Why is Doeg doing this? Why is he stepping up? And why is he pointing Saul's attention towards Ahimelech and alive a conspiracy?

Let me let me help you remember. What is Saul doing at this point? He's sitting, and what does he have in his hand? Okay. So at any moment, I'm sure Doeg felt it in his bones and so did the other men.

At any moment, that spear can go flying. At any moment, as he's just finished accusing these men of conspiring against him, things can become very, very dangerous. So this is not just about promotion, this is about preservation. This is about a man saying, I want to avoid my life being lost and I want to now turn any conspiracy away from us to the ministers of God. And so he's diverting Saul's anger and his, his blind jealousy, and his insanity in a completely different direction.

Hey, Saul, look over there. And not only is he going to preserve himself, but he's also potentially going to be promoted out of this. All in all, it's really a sad sight of a person who is motivated by self and how they're willing to do harm to to others, even those who minister and serve God as the priest did. This is sad. This is sad concerning the character of Doak, but you know what's amazing?

David wasn't surprised when he heard about it. David was not surprised one bit when he heard about it. How do you know? Go down to verse 22. Abiathar, one of the priests escapes and tells David.

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. What a statement. So when David came in chapter 21 to the priest, and in his peripheral, he sees Doeg there detained, I don't know how he looked, he's somewhere there detained. He goes, oh, no, this guy's gonna cause trouble. He knew it.

Here's my question, how did he know it? Anybody have an idea of how he knew it? Oh, very good point. David, before he was a fugitive, was top ranked in the palace. Even in the early stages, he was the worshipper that was counseling Saul, He was the armor bearer of Saul.

So he was not only familiar with the courts, he was familiar with the employees, with the people. And so surely he came into contact with Doak at some point, but David was discerning enough to know something about Doeg then that would lead to this. Before there was any personal attack against David, David studied Doeg enough to know, oh, I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised. Isn't it sad that someone's evil can be predicted because of a present lack of the fear of God?

Isn't it a sad thing that somebody can be so so void of spirituality that that in their language, in their, in the way they do things, that they're predictable in the evil that they can do? That was Doeg. He was a godless man, an unholy man, and David, when he heard about it long enough, after even a period of time, studying him long enough rather, said I'm not surprised that Doeg did this. And so notice what Doeg tells Saul in verse 10. He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath, the Philistine.

What's problematic about this report in verse 10? What's problematic here? What's that? Goliath? Sure.

But even before that, there's three charges here. What's concerning about these charges? It has to do with one of them. Yes. Very good.

He tells Saul that the priest sought God on his behalf. We learned that that wasn't the case. We saw in chapter 21 that when David comes to the priest, he does everything but inquire of God. In fact, when he had the chance to, he instead put his trust in Goliath's sword and runs off, and we saw the fruit of a man who did not stop and ask God for guidance and direction. So Doeg lies.

Doeg is not observing something that actually occurred. And if there's any doubt within us that Doeg might be telling the truth and he's adding more light to the story, all you have to do is go to a portion of scripture where David dedicates an entire Psalm to Doeg. Did you know that there's an entire Psalm dedicated to Doeg? Would you like to know where it is? Go to Psalm 52.

And it's in this scripture that you will see that Doeg in fact was lying. Was lying. Psalm 52. Look at verse one. To the choirmaster, Maskell of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, David has come to the house of Ahimelech.

So this psalm, can you imagine a worship song? Written in light of somebody's betrayal and their deception? And look at the first four verses. Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

Your tongue plots destruction. Like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

So there's no truth in what he's saying to Saul. But is there? Is there truth in what he said to Saul? Yeah. Two thirds of the charges were legitimate.

But you see, the psalm doesn't say that Doeg was a liar. Remember what I said earlier? Do you want to protect yourself from much harm in this life? I would highly recommend paying attention right now. It doesn't say that Doeg was a liar.

What does it say? He was a what? A deceiver. That's different. Deceivers are much more crafty.

They're much more much more tricky. And Doeg was a master of deception. And what was a deception? That one third of his charge was a lie, whereas two thirds of it was actually right. I want you to realize how deception works, because we we live this life with someone who is a great deceiver.

And if he can find someone or some people to deceive, that is one of his main tools to bringing pain in your life and pain in the body of Christ. I want you and I to grow in our discernment. And here's how you and I can grow in our discernment and to be shielded to protect your heart and to protect you from doing damage to other people's lives of understanding how deceivers operate. Here it is. Doeg didn't completely lie, but his lie was blended with truth.

Because when a targeted audience is presented with something that can be agreed upon as valid, that disarms them. That disarms them, and then once they have let their guard down, then a lie can slip in and also be digested. Though I care reflects the character of Satan. Because Satan doesn't just go around in this world lying to people about the word of God. Satan goes around lying to people with the word of God.

There's a difference. There are some that he's convincing to not even entertain believing that this is truth, and there are others who believe that this is to be true, and so he will use the truth with a pill of the lie, and he'll let you swallow whatever is true while also indulging in poison. And those who do the devil's work, those who are deceivers, they will come to present a lie, but they know they know that what will be more effective is that if they can believe if they can win your trust, if they can win your agreement upon something so that when you come and receive the lie, there'll be less suspicion about it. We need the Holy Spirit of God. I'm astounded by the lack of discernment with people.

It's it's it's dumbfounding, actually. When you have the scriptures, you have prayer, you have godly men and women in your life, and you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, we should be a people who are shielded from deception the most. Yet, unfortunately, that is not the case because many have fallen the trap that Doak presents here. Some truth enough to convince you of a lie that has slipped in there. And that lie is powerful enough to bring so much destruction as we're gonna see in a moment.

So look at here in verse 12. Rather, verse 11. Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitab, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob. And all of them came to the king. And Saul said, hear now, son of Ahitab.

And he answered, here I am, my lord. Like your heart breaks. This guy has no idea what he's walking into. He's pure in heart. Remember, David did not disclose why he was really running away, so he just thinks he's being called in for some maybe he's gonna be summoned to something.

Here I am, my lord. And Saul said to him, why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, and 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 and wait, as at this day. So you would hope that when Saul called the priest to come, that he was gonna exercise in some kind of wisdom and do some examination and some investigation before relaying any kind of charge. But he just goes right for the jugular. Why have you?

Not is this true, but why have you? And really, we don't have time to get into the priest's answer to this, but all you need to know is that no matter how he answered, which is quite fascinating because he defends David, and then he defends himself. But none of that mattered because Saul was out for blood, and that thirst was going to be quenched no matter what. And so he makes the charge after the priest declares his innocence in verse 16. And the king said, you shall surely die, Ahimelech.

You and all your father's house.' And the king said to the guard who stood about him, 'turn and kill the priest of the Lord because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me. This is like obsessive language. Like, he keeps repeating himself. Kill him. Imagine, here's the high priest with 84 others, and he looks at his servants, the servants that have been quiet this whole time, and he goes, kill them now.

Get rid of them. What's gonna happen? And it says here, but the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priest of the Lord. I love that. Like, how embarrassing for this king.

Here is a man who's supposed to have authority and win the respect of those who claim to serve him, and he can't even get him to do this one thing. But it's because these servants have something that he doesn't have, and that's the fear of God. These servants, though they are servants, though in society they are lesser than the king, they are higher because they have something that the king lacks, and that's wisdom. Would you rather be a king who lacks sense, or would you rather be a servant who possesses knowledge? There's an amazing verse that touched my life, that inspired my life among many verses.

I wanna read it to you. In fact, I would highlight it in my bible if you do that with your bible. It's in the book of Ecclesiastes, that wonderful book of wisdom. And it's in chapter four verse 13. It's an observation that Solomon makes, and he says this, better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king who will no more be admonished.

Another translation would say, who will no longer take advice. You want to know if somebody lacks wisdom? You want to know if you lack wisdom. Here's one evidence of it. You don't ask people for advice.

That's what the bible says. A person who refuses to be admonished, to be corrected, to receive some kind of consultation, that person, according to this verse, lacks wisdom or has moved away from the way of wisdom. You notice what I see in this verse? That it's possible to be a child and to possess wisdom. Wisdom is not limited to the aged.

Wisdom is not only acquired by experience. You can be a young person and be wiser than a seasoned person. And it says in fact, you're better to be poor, you're better to be young, you're better to be a servant with wisdom than a king who doesn't know how to take advice. So I look at these men and I admire them even though they don't have a throne to their name. They have something better.

And you and I will do really, really, really well in life for the glory of God if we put more energy in seeking wisdom than in seeking status, wealth, or power? Because the bible tells you so. And when it comes to situations like this, that's when we see the benefit of wisdom. They would not dare to do it. They were willing to die themselves, I'm sure.

So what does Saul do? Well, there is one who has already proven that he is like him, so in verse 18, the king said to Doeg, turn. You turn and strike the priest. And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priest, and he killed on that day 85 persons who wore the linen ephod. 85 priests, man.

And you know what Psalm 52 tells us? It doesn't tell us that the sharpness of his sword brought about destruction. It says the sharp razor of his tongue. Do you know people can use their tongue in the same way someone would use a sword? Oh, you only think that swords can kill 85 people.

No. I can tell you about people who've used their tongues to create massacres. You don't need a bomb. James says that this tongue can cause wildfires. You don't need a gun.

All you have to do is whisper one thing to the wrong person who has the right authority, and things can get ugly really quick. No man can tame the tongue, the bible says, except the god man. And so the only way that this thing, this unruly thing, this thing that can lead to chaos and to havoc, is if the Holy Spirit guards your mouth and mine. But he doesn't just do that. This when I read this, I read this tonight in verse 19, I was like, I was gonna fall out of my seat.

Look at verse 19. And Nob, the city of the priest, he put to the sword both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey, and sheep, he put to the sword. So it wasn't enough that he killed the priest. And and remember, if there's anybody who was at fault here, who was not really at fault, but if there's anybody who was being accused, it was just the high priest. It was Ahimaic.

Why kill the other priests? They weren't involved. And not only that, Doeg gets the green light to go to Nob, the city of the priests, and to slaughter the children? And the ox and the farms and the houses and to create a mini genocide for those who represent the kingdom of God at that time in that covenant? That's disturbing in itself, but read deeper.

Can you tell me why this is even more disturbing than on the surface level? Anybody see it? The only way you're gonna see it is if you remember a Bible study a few chapters ago. I'm gonna read it again. Yeah.

Go ahead. Do you have the answer? He refused to do this to do the same thing for who was supposed to drive out all the Yes. Did you guys hear the answer? When it came to God instructing Saul to destroy all the Amalekites, he disobeyed.

To go into that region and to destroy all the Amalekites and their ox and their sheep because of their generational sin. Saul did not come through. But when it came to killing all the priests, he exterminated them. That's disturbing. That's actually frightening.

So when God says to do something, you hesitate. But when your flesh says to do something, you do it without hesitation. And the point is this, that if he hasn't proven it already, Saul has shown us here that satisfying self is worthy of more diligence than pleasing God. The greater sacrifices were made for selfish pursuits than for God's purposes. And many are like that today.

They might they might not be killing cities, but they're pursuing their ambition. They're building their kingdom, and they're putting their sweat, and they're putting their tears. And when you compare that to how they are participating with God's program for the ages, this is so heartbreaking to see. I wonder how God felt about this as he looked from heaven and saw a king who was willing to destroy his servants without cause, but when it came to the unrighteous who were supposed to be punished and him being the agent, he did not obey. Surely, the judge of the earth will do right.

I'm surprised God didn't strike him down here. I mean, Lord, we just started with this exile, and he's already killing priests and their families, and you haven't intervened yet? Behold the mercy of God. Behold the mercy of God. Whenever I come to texts like this and I learn something new about the mercy of God, I get more and more offended when people come up to me and say, why is the God of the Old Testament so angry and Jesus is so nice?

That, when somebody says, I say this with all due respect, when somebody says that proves that they have not read their Bibles. It's as simple as that. And that's maybe you're not there yet. Maybe you haven't journeyed through it. But what offends me is some when somebody comes arrogantly, like, as though they have studied the Old Testament and can make such an accusation.

I'm thinking here, Lord, why have the heavens not opened? It's because He's merciful. And we read here in verse 20 that one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitab, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priest of the Lord. 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.

Stay with me, do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life with me, you shall be in safe keeping. What an interesting statement that David makes. He says, this is my fault. This is my fault. Now you can read that one of two ways.

You can read it in this way where this is self imposed guilt of something that is outside of David's control. Because David showed up that day and asked for help, he makes the connection. If I had not gone that gone that day and if I had not said anything and asked for help, then this probably wouldn't have happened. And you have many believers who live in guilt even today, who hold things against themselves, though it doesn't make sense. And there are more people prone to that than others, that that have this introspection about themselves in which they they easily gravitate towards shame and regret, though there's no evidence for it.

And that's a tactic of the enemy. He can really, really cause people to be paralyzed because of thoughts like this. But is there another possibility of why David said this? Any idea? Yeah.

Yeah. And so this can be pure humility. This can be pure humility in saying, you know, yeah, there there's something about my participation in this. And he admits he admits some wrong done. This is this is what's really hard about narratives in the Old Testament because it's not like there's a commentary with every verse.

You see what I'm saying? It's not like, and what David said here was because of this, and it was wrong, he shouldn't have thought like that. It that's not as clear in the Old so we have to be very careful being dogmatic when it comes to narratives. And That's why some people are scared to teach from the old testament altogether because it's hard to this thing, why is he saying this unless you have another verse or verses to back it up. I'll give you one more conclusion before we close.

Some would say that the reason why David is as confessing this is because he lied to the priest. Do you remember that? Remember when he came before Ahimelech, and Ahimelech says, what are you doing here alone? The king just called me to do something, but I it's it's a hasty thing. So can you help me out here?

And he lies again. And I wonder if David's conscience is pricked, thinking to himself, if I had just told the truth, maybe I could have helped the priest be on guard to be careful of Saul's rage and his blind anger and rage. If that is true, then you and I have been presented another illustration among so many illustrations of how our personal sins that we think we can conceal we can conceal them can reach people in ways and affect people's lives that we could never have imagined. Here, then what would have hurt more? For David to say the truth or for him to lie?

In the moment, he probably thought my lie worked. He probably thought my lie was harmless. My lie helped me just evade a situation that that could have caused me to be in trouble. And when he looks back, he realizes, if that is the interpretation, my life killed this guy. I had a duty to warn him.

And you know this, that in the New Testament, there is place for us to warn people about other people when they are of great danger and threats. I hope today that on this Friday night, you've acquired greater wisdom from the word of God. Wisdom for you not just to have a better life, a life free from pain, but a life that would glorify Jesus Christ by avoiding pitfalls that the undiscerning fall into, or avoiding decisions that we think in our own wisdom can work when in fact the word of God says, do not trust in the arm of the flesh. You and I have come to an important part of the Bible because things are really gonna take another turn in chapter 23. Let's pray.

Yeah. Lord, we thank you that today we had school. Today we felt as though we were students sitting at the feet of you being an ultimate teacher, and this word being the book of books. This word being the blueprint for salvation and for a life that can help us live in a way in which we most glorify our God and know much more joy and safety and prosperity. Lord, we just ask that you would help us be wise.

Lord, if there's any application that we've heard is that there are different scenarios that beg us, as the book of Proverbs does, to acquire wisdom. Lord, make us a wise people. Help us trust in your word. And Lord, perhaps even tonight, there are many who are hearing the whispers of the enemy that is trying to convince them that there's something better out there. Maybe even Lord tonight, there is even one soul that cannot seem to give their whole heart to Christ because they've heard the same persuasions that Saul brought to his men.

Who is the son of Jesse? What's the big deal of Jesus? Will you really give up your one life to serve a God that you cannot see? But oh God, we pray that you would blast through every lie, and that you would clear the fog, and that even this bible study tonight would present a facet of your beauty, and that the heart that has not given themselves to Christ would surrender at this moment. Lord, may your Holy Spirit do what only he can do, and convict the world of unrighteousness.

Lord, tonight we feel rich, we feel privileged that our eyes have been opened. Lord, we thank you that this Friday night, we have gone that much deeper in the knowledge of who you are. And for this, we are grateful. And so Heavenly Father, we rejoice, Lord. We rejoice.

And we ask, oh God, that as we have studied the ugliness of being selfish, of being self centered, oh Lord, we die to ourselves, and we ask that Christ would live in us. And that we would live for His interests and the good of other people, Lord. Kill self tonight in a deeper way. Lord, we worship you because we have access to the truth, and we can fellowship with you in a deeper way because of these truths. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's stand and worship the Lord of glory together.