Don't Be A Doeg! (Psalm 52 and A Contentious Society)

Recently I posted this reflection on Psalm 52 on my Honest2God blog.  However, the situation described in 1 Samuel 22 and David's reaction in Psalm 52 speaks by analogy and metaphor rather cogently to the contentiousness of our current cultural/political context. So I am reposting that article here. 

Doeg, slaying the priests at Nob
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This psalm is one of the few written in which we know the specific context that provoked its writing. This psalm is David’s poetic response, where he processed the betrayal and horrific actions of Saul’s head herdsman, Doeg the Edomite. Not only did Doeg rat out David’s location to the increasingly paranoid Saul but he murdered eighty-five innocent priests serving at the Tabernacle. The sad narrative of betrayal, misplaced retribution and a significant slaughter is found in 1 Samuel 22:6-23. It is a narrative all too common down through history. Times when those in power, fearing the loss of that power, act unjustly towards those they perceive as enemies. Some balk at carrying such orders as Saul gave that day (22:17) but there are always wicked people with no such qualms. Not only were eighty-five priests killed at Doeg’s hand but all but one in Nob, their priestly city were slain. “Both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.” (22:19).

Against this backdrop, David writes the words of this short psalm. The opening verses poetically describe Doeg the worker of destruction, particularly focusing on what he had said. The description indicates that Doeg said more than the brief report of 1 Sam. 22:9-10.

“I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

These words sound like a simple report of the facts. However, David’s description suggests that much more was involved—either in its content or its intent.

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. (Psalm 52:1-4)

Doeg loved evil and lying more than good. Upon such a genuinely wicked man, David pronounced God’s coming judgment.

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. Selah (v.5)

I am impressed with the parade of parallel imprecatory verbs associated with what God would do to Doeg and those like him.

• 

  Photo by Zhang Kenny on Unsplash

  Break you down: This word communicates a repeated beat down, pulling down and breaking off as of branches from a tree, stones from a wall (2 Kings 25:10), or beams from a house. Another interesting use of this term is regarding the contamination of a house by dread disease/toxic mold (Lev. 14:45). Could we connect Doeg’s inner contagion and the rules for cleansing a house? It sounds like David might have done just that.
• Snatch you up: the picture of being seized quickly for destruction and then dropped like a fiery coal. One moment it was business as usual and the next everything changed for the worse. Judgment is often postponed, but when it comes it snatches suddenly and irrevocably.
• Tear you away: used of being plucked out of one’s house, tent, or land. While God prefers to plant and sow, he also will pluck up and tear down the wicked and treacherous (àProv. 2:22; 15:25; Deut. 28:63)
• Uproot you from: God will pull you out roots and all. No trace will be left in “the land of the living” (àIsa 40:23-24). Where else is such imagery for the traceless demise of the wicked found? Psalm 1:4 may have been in David’s mind since a couple of verses later he refers to himself as a green olive tree (v.8) which correlates with the tree metaphor used for the righteous man in Psalm 1:3.

The folly of wickedness and shortsightedness in trusting our wealth and power instead of making God our refuge becomes evident. It is a pattern from which we should learn to go the other way. Esau despised his birthright for a bowl of soup (Gen. 25). Nabal trusted his wealth and despised David’s request (1 Sam. 25). Many kings sought worldly wealth and power instead of the peace and eternal life found in the One True God. Jesus told the story about the rich fool who built bigger barns without consulting the Lord’s counsel for his selfish indulgence instead of graciously sharing his abundance with others (Luke 12:13-21). In the early church, there was the episode with Ananias and Saphira who made a show of giving but still held back wealth for themselves (Acts 5:1-10). This is only a small sample from an extensive list.

These things were written for our instruction… but will we learn the lesson? Will we be servants of Christ, who though shrewd as serpents are innocent as doves (Mt. 10:16) loving one another and working for the common good? Or will we be like Doeg, excusing our evil desires and shockingly brutal actions as faithful service to an unjust political or economic power? Saying, “I was just following orders,” is no longer an adequate defense. Perhaps it never was.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Later, David’s son Solomon understood how important it was to remove the infection of wicked men from those who govern the people and not allow evil to lobby for injustice. He included it in his collection of proverbs.

Take away the dross from the silver,
    and the smith has material for a vessel;
take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
    and his throne will be established in righteousness. (Prov. 25:4-5)

Notice that not only are there parallels between dross/the wicked, and between the smith/the king, but a righteous throne is like a silver vessel, a serving tool to share with others.

Here, in the situation addressed by Psalm 52  David saw himself like the one described in Psalm 1:1-3 who does not learn the ways of the wicked or participate with sinners and scoffers in their ways and works. Again, his son Solomon would later say something similar in Prov. 24:1-2

Be not envious of evil men,
    nor desire to be with them,
for their hearts devise violence,
    and their lips talk of trouble.

Olives in Jerusalem. Photo: Greg K. Dueker

Instead of emulating wicked men, David’s delight was in the Lord and thus could use the well-watered tree metaphor.

But I am like a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever. (v.8) 

Remember, the psalms give us the vocabulary to express our feelings honestly to the Lord. This one is no different. Here David processes his anger, outrage, and dismay, at what Doeg had done. Yet, instead of taking vengeance into his own hands, he trusted God to handle the situation. He wrote with the confidence of one who has already seen it happen, though it had not. David’s early years are challenging to our culture of self-advancement and demanding our rights. David, though anointed to be king, never took the timing of the fulfillment of that anointing into his own hands.

I will thank you forever,
    because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
    in the presence of the godly. (v.9)

Filled with gratitude and goodness, not hate, let us wait for the Lord Jesus Christ along with the community of faith! And while we are waiting, maybe we should cooperate with the Holy Spirit as he cleans our hearts, our words, and our ways… today. 

Curfew?

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As our nation is convulsing with the labor pains of protest over justice too often denied to African Americans, many peaceful protests have taken place. At the same time other more opportunistic elements, more committed to breaking things and cursing others than seeking the blessed kingdom have burned and looted indiscriminately. Saturday night (5/30) in America, over 40 major cities had curfews in place in an effort to stem the tide of rioting and the property damage that results from looting and burning. It is ironic considering the origins of the word.

What is curfew? As a young person, I understood that curfew was when I needed to be home or face the consequences of being grounded or some other loss of privileges. My Mom used to say, “Nothing good happens after 12:30am!” Now, looking back forty years later, I see the wisdom in her words! In common understanding, a curfew is a time when by law or by emergency order specific groups or the general populace need to be off the streets and home, usually during the nighttime hours. While curfew has that meaning for sure, many are unaware that it was originally a fire-prevention term. 

The word meaning of “curfew” developed from the French term for “cover your fire” as Merriam-Webster.com explains.

During the Middle Ages, houses in European towns were often made of wood and were close together, and fires could quickly spread from house to house. To prevent this, people were required to put out or cover their hearth fires by a certain time in the evening. A bell was rung as a signal when the time had come. In early French, this signal was called coverfeu, a compound of covrir, meaning “to cover,” and feu, “fire.” Even when hearth fires were no longer regulated, many towns had other rules that called for the ringing of an evening bell, and this signal was still called coverfeu. A common coverfeu regulation required people to be off the streets by a given time. That was the meaning of the word when it was borrowed into Middle English as curfew.

So, in times like this, the word curfew is more appropriate than all, but a few Jeopardy champions might realize! The government has declared curfews to try to control the fires set by those claiming to be protesters. However, in many places, activist leaders are saying it is right to be angry and to protest but let us not burn down our own houses. Some authorities advocate using a violent response toward the rioters to stop the violence and destruction. To which I, surprisingly, have mixed feelings. Let me explain.

I have no patience for the systemic and individual racial oppression of black lives... people made in the image of God! Over the years, and especially in recent days, as I have had the opportunity to listen to the stories of injustice my black friends have personally experienced it makes me angry, and ashamed. I have been changed by listening to these black voices and wrestling through difficult issues with them over the years. Even so, I cannot begin to understand the level of trauma that racism produces in those who experience ethnic insecurity, who because of their skin color are always under suspicion and at risk of discrimination and profiling. How exhausting it must be to always have to translate themselves into the dominant culture. So, I am not one to sit in judgment of the various expressions of that trauma. Those who have suffered such historic indignities should not be told to cover their fire, to calm down, and to wait a little longer, or even to use the language of niceness (though I prefer it). My preferences have no voice in their testimony. For the common good, their fire must not be covered by the wet blanket of majority culture systemic sensibilities.

Having said that, I also have no support for those who have no right to co-opt the righteous grieving and outcry of a wounded people to opportunistically act hatefully in the wanton destruction of the property and livelihoods of others for the sheer emotional rush of rebellion. Such actions only further victimize the oppressed and the immigrants. In my area, this is mostly done by the skinny white Antifa crowd. These people are like hyenas looking for an opportunity to curse others with sloganized expletives, to smash windows and to dash dreams, to light fires, loot, and laugh at their own bravado as they hide their faces and run from the police. Their unholy fire needs to be covered for the common good. Yet even here, a relational approach may be more effective than an authoritarian response. When protests are self-governed, then the police do not have to step in and it leaves space for mourning, dialogue, and even celebration of our shared humanity.

Nearly 2000 years ago, some poor Galilean fishermen challenged the status quo by proclaiming to a lame beggar at the gate to the temple, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6). More money would not have changed that man's lameness, but the healing power of Jesus did! This act of powerful and generous mercy brought great openness for the crowd to hear about Jesus and at least 5,000 believed. The authorities were “greatly annoyed” by this disturbance and arrested Peter and John for preaching the good news of the risen Christ. The next morning, after a night in jail, as they were hauled before the authorities, it was their boldness as they spoke filled with the Holy Spirit that convinced the council that they had been with Jesus (Acts. 4:13). If I am ever falsely imprisoned, may it be for doing good and may my words be boldly Spirit-filled and kingdom-focused, speaking the “big-T” truth to the “little-p” power! When the authorities warned them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus anymore, Peter and John respectfully refused to “cover their fire”, and answered, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20). That last line echoes in my mind, “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” The apostles could not unsee what they had seen…a resurrected Jesus and they could not stop talking about him even when the authorities issued a spiritual “curfew”.

What about us? What have we seen and heard? I don’t mean in someone else’s social media rant, but what have we witnessed? Have we taken the time and made space to listen to the testimonies of others, to sit under what they have seen and heard? Or do we forbid questions and dialogue that might bring understanding and acceptance? One of my longtime favorite quotes is from Michel de Montaigne, “He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak.” Sadly, this is a common tactic that has been used by both extremes of the political spectrum and many polarized elements in the culture wars. Over the long haul, commanded curfews have never worked. However, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23). The fire of the Spirit is not shackled, no matter what the authorities do.

Thankfully, on Sunday (5/31) we saw police and protestors beginning to kneel together and march together in solidarity, and today (Monday) we saw more people peacefully coming together in unity to be seen and heard together. What will tomorrow bring?

Risen

This year, as we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is the heart of Christianity, I thought it would be a good time to post this poem. It was written last fall and attempts to capture the missional nature of his life, death, and resurrection.

Photo by Scott Rodgerson
on Unsplash

                                   Risen
God came to earth,

As a human,

Living in the dust, pain, heat, stench

Of a fallen world.

He understands us, our inhuman condition, well.

Spurning the spotlight

Yet bringing glimpses of heaven, miraculous moments

Where long marred image of God in us

Shone through clearly in Christ

          Healing, delivering, teaching, feeding, confronting,

Heart of the Father revealed.

Such revealing light was too much for those with much to hide

Dark-worshipers conspired to have the innocent die.

As Jesus the Second Adam bled into the reddening soil

Asking forgiveness from the Father for us

Commending his Spirit back it was done.

Garden Tomb, Jerusalem

Wrapped, laid in the dark on the stone

Until the third day.

God breathed life back into a dying race.

Jesus, having carried all our iniquity to its end

Rose again and shared his resurrection breath

The wind of heaven, his very self, that we might be

A new creation sent forth with purpose.

Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash

Kingdom leaven might permeate every tongue, tribe, territory

That, like the heavenly bread come down, it all might be risen.

No longer bent by curse, or by cross,

We are sabbath straightened

To see the grandeur of his completed mission.

              © Greg K. Dueker

Oppressor

A few years ago, I wrote a poem that talks about what the devil, the enemy of our soul, works to produce in us (see John 10:10)... I called it "Oppressor." Recently, I started rereading, and discussing, C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters with my adult daughter and was reminded of this poem. Jesus Christ came that we might have life, a type of life that is poisonous to the oppressor!

As we think about the events of what Christians call Holy Week, Jesus' words about his body and his blood demonstrated in his acts of service and represented in the last supper (Holy Communion) prompt me to share this poem here.

                                Oppressor
       An oppressor comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

 Always taking, breaking,

      Always twisting, taunting,

            Always feeding off of the multi-layered hurts inflicted:

                Physical—pain, bruising, scars, disability;

                Emotional—acids of discouragement, anger, fear, grief, hate;

                Social—isolation, prejudice, betrayal; and

                Spiritual—despair, disbelief. 

And when he has consumed all that he can, he leaves us numb,

Drones, to mindlessly, heartlessly

Work for him until we die.

Zombies, walking dead already,

In our pain and hunger, we deliver him his next meal.

Until Life came giving and died, 

To be our next meal.

Forever turning the oppressor's stomach.

© Greg K. Dueker

The Upside of Being Downcast--Encouragement from an Ancient Poet (Psalm 42-43)

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Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:5)

During this season of social distancing and even strict quarantine, there is considerable concern regarding the psychological impact of isolation in addition to the more widespread anxieties of the Covid-19 crisis. Many have lost their jobs; others can no longer visit family for fear of spreading exposure to the more vulnerable among us. 

Outside the local Costco. Photo Credit: Greg Dueker

I work at a Christian University and Seminary and we are currently teaching remotely and doing our best to reach out and check in with our students regularly. But I miss seeing them in class, out on the campus lawn, or in the cafeteria. Even the library is quieter than normal (if you can imagine that). All this combined with the hoarder-induced shortages of TP, sanitizer, vegetables, and most carbs (rice, beans, pasta, bread), can produce turmoil in our souls. But will we look down or up for the hope our soul so desperately needs?

In Psalm 42-43 (which are generally thought to make up one psalm), the writer uses a common refrain where he addresses his own soul and directs it to trust in God. This psalm might have been written during David’s exile during the rebellion of Absalom, or later during the Babylonian exile, or as Peter Craigie suggests, “it is equally possible that the background is to be found in sickness, which limited the poet’s  possibility of going to Jerusalem and participating in the worship in the temple.”[1] 

Currently, this hits pretty close to home for most churches in the US.

Photo by Jordan Hopkins on Unsplash

We live in just such a time filled with challenging circumstances and difficult directives as the various levels of our government pursue policies put in place to slow the insidious spread of Covid-19. Yet even as the virus captures our attention, nature’s other outbursts are not abated be it tornados, floods, or earthquakes.

Some people are overwhelmed by the darkness they see. Others recognize that darkness is the necessary precursor to the coming of light. If we never experience the dark how then will we long for the light? Psalm 43:3-4 contains the prayer of the one who was downcast in the darkness. Do these ancient words of prayer resonate with our heart’s cry today?

Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.   (Psalm 43:3-4)

These psalms were written by, or for, the sons of Korah who served as doorkeepers and worship leaders in the Temple of the Lord. Their cry to the Lord was that he would bring them back to the place where they were called to serve. They realized that, for whatever reason, they were no longer in that spot. I would argue that their season of difficulty, whether sourced in an attack of an enemy or their own sin was being shaped into a gift in the hands of the Lord who loves steadfastly! My pastor used to say, “Don’t despise that which drives you to your knees.” Whatever causes us to lean into the Lord’s love, and extend that love to others, is ultimately a cause for gratitude.

Photo by Ahna Ziegler on Unsplash

In the history of Israel and the history of the Christian church, there have been great feasts celebrated regularly, but the problem in modern times is that we too often cast off the fasts that precede them. Wisdom, and experience, teach that we appreciate and celebrate the light better after we have experienced the darkness. We need the longing season of Advent before the celebration of Christmas. We need the confessional season of Lent before the victorious joy of Easter. Even in the progression of the natural seasons, after a long hot summer, we need the cold and dark of winter before we will enjoy a sunny and warm spring day to its fullest! Isaiah 42:16 declares the Lord’s promised plan for his people on the other side of the darkness…

And I will lead the blind

  in a way that they do not know,

  in paths that they have not known    

      I will guide them.

      I will turn the darkness before them into light,

                     the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,    

                          and I do not forsake them. 

(See also: Isaiah 42:6-7; 9:1-2; Matt. 4:14-16)

But those who will not trust in the Lord will see their idols destroyed (Isaiah 42:17).

As we read through Psalm 42-43, we find that it is chock-full of lessons applicable to our lives as we walk through the current circumstances we face. Despite being ordered to responsibly practice “social distancing” we can still digitally join our hearts together around the Lord and his word. I hope that we will take time each day to reflect on God’s written word, the Bible, and share his love displayed there with others.

To do just that, allow me to share nine truths that can be found especially in times of hardship and our downcast seasons of darkness…

1. Hardship often reveals our deepest thirst and gives us an opportunity to admit it (42:1-2). Have we seen enough of the world to know that it doesn’t, and can’t satisfy our deepest longings?
2. Hardship may open us up to criticism from others, those who love “piling on” when someone else is suffering, adding insult to injury (v. 3,10). I am reminded of Jesus’ words to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). Times like this will give us opportunities to grow in this regard.
3. Hardship reminds us how much we miss celebrating the goodness of God with our spiritual family (v. 4). Thankfully, we have the technology to reach across the distance and join in spiritual worship and acts of service.
4. Hardship often increases our sense of isolation (v. 4) but the more we think of others, and check in on them (phone, text, email, social media) the less isolated we will be, even when confined to our home.
5. Hardship gives us the opportunity to do some soul searching and some soul instructing. (42:5, 11; 43:5)
6. Dark times move us out past our powerless pride to put our hope in the Lord (v.5-6). In 2 Cor. 1:8-10, the Apostle Paul described this experience clearly.
7. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 
8. Amid dark and tumultuous times, we may become more sensitive to the presence of God and his steadfast love (v.7-8). The more distractions are removed, the more quiet we encounter, the more we dwell in his Word, and the less we can lean on our own strength the more we see him at work. Pro tip: Don’t watch more news than you can cover in prayer!
9. In dark and tumultuous times, we can ask God honest questions about where he is in all that we face. We feel he is far away, but what encouragement can we offer our own souls? (v.11) “Put your hope in God!” He is our covenant-keeping Savior!
10. In times of hardship, we can confess our weakness and choose to trust God to deliver us from the oppressor (43:1-3).

Sabbath in Modern Tiberius

One other comment before I close. Even good things need to have fallow seasons of pruning and rest in preparation for new seasons of fruitfulness. It makes me wonder since this current crisis is in effect imposing a sabbath rest on the land. While the imposition of a required sabbatical season is not the cause of this shutdown, perhaps that is how the Lord may use this terrible pandemic for good. if we will hope in him.

We are a nation that refuses to stop whatever it is that we are doing. Yet, being forced to stop, to pause, to trust it will work out, will we continue to be downcast, angry, fearful, and divided, or will our souls be counseled by this psalm to hope in God? Will we trust that we will once again join our voices together to praise Jesus for the salvation he brings to share? I hope so!

How we live and engage those we live with, will reveal both our heart and our source of hope… for better or worse!

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Cor. 1:8-10)

[This post is also published on my Honest2God Psalms blog. If you are interested in more posts based on the Psalms, feel free to follow the link.]

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[1] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 19, (Waco, TX: Word Inc., 1983) 325.