Psalm Devotional
The Ways of Doeg and David
The title of this psalm ties it to a specific event in the life of David that is recorded in 1 Samuel 22. In his flight from Saul, David was given refuge and supplies by Ahimelech, a priest of the city of Nob. A herdsman named Doeg reported this to Saul, who subsequently ordered the massacre of all the priests in the city. None of Saul’s servants would carry out this heinous order except the informant himself. Doeg not only killed 85 priests, but also the men, women, children, infants, and animals that inhabited the town. “Doeg the Edomite” can also be translated “Doeg the Red,” which some have taken as a descriptive nickname for this brutal man—”Doeg the Bloody.”
David marvels at Doeg, and those like him, who not only love evil but boast about it. It is fascinating that David’s indictment of this vicious killer focuses on his speech—specifically, the tongue that “devises destruction” (v. 2), the love of lies (v. 3), and “devouring words” (v. 4). The slaughter of hundreds of innocent people was on Doeg’s account, but David identifies the source of this crime in Doeg’s hateful, devious speech. Doeg put his hateful words into action, but the point is that a world of evil is contained in malicious words (Jas. 3:5-10). For this reason, we believers are called to sanctify our speech, remembering that our words are a mirror into our souls (Matt. 12:35-37).
