All those who desire to follow Christ Jesus need to be warned about a certain class or mindset among some men and women: Beware of those persons who have chosen to become like Doeg. (1 Sam 22:6-20)Doeg is a man mentioned only briefly in Bible's account of Jewish history. We know little about where he came from, nor are we told what became of him. In his brief appearance(which our Creator had recorded in the Bible [2 Tim 3:16 ; 2 Peter 1:21])Doge's life example provides a clear demonstration of what we should must be determined never to become.
As we read the account of Doeg, (1 Sam 22:6-20) his actions form a mental picture illustrating at least one important Bible principle: The danger of allowing ourselves to become subservient to men. We can never worship men, even if they are men placed by God in some special position (as King Saul had been in this Bible account). You can recognize persons who have chosen to become Doegs by their unwavering allegiance to (worship of) the organization they associate with. Doegs are obedient to their group rather than to their Bible trained conscience. It is this Doeg mentality which causes seemingly upright men and women to overlook, or even to condone and support, the abuse of other people, including their own family or group members by the elders (or other titled leaders - Mat 23:8-10) of their sect. They sometimes support even the abuse of little children (or at best they ignore it). Please consider, then, the Bible's concise illustration of the bad example of Doeg:
Doeg lived about three thousand years ago (and about one thousand years before the birth of Jesus). He lived in the days of King Saul. Saul was the first King of the Jewish nation of Israel. (Doeg lived in the years surrounding 1117 BCE, which year marked the beginning of Saul's reign.) David is another character in this drama and was selected by God to replace Saul as Israel's second King. (1 Sam 16:11) Christ was born a Jew and a descendant of King David. (Mat 1:1) Making preparation for the birth of Jesus as the Messiah of promise (Isaiah 9:6-7) was the primary reason the Jewish nation was used and protected by God. (Deu 9:4-6) Saul started his reign as a good king, but he misused God's gift of moral freedom to choose to become disobedient, and finally bad in his actions. David was a faithful servant of both יהוה God (God's personal name) and of King Saul. David respected Saul as the anointed head of God's organization and his love for God made him zealous in his loyal service to King Saul; so, God blessed David wherever he went. (1 Samuel 18:5) Goliath was a mighty Philistine warrior who taunted
God,
and Saul, and all of Israel's army. Saul began to love young David when David, in his zealous love for the true God, struck down and killed the pagan Goliath. (1 Sam 17:20-51)[Goliath (and the other Philistines) worshiped false Gods (who are all inspired by demons). Their Gods were wicked and required the burning of their firstborn among other vile practices. - Deu 12:31 ; 2 Kings 3:26a_&_27a] It was a little later in his life, then, when David served as one of the commanders of Saul's army. As king Saul descended into badness, he became jealous of David's success. Finally, Saul started trying to kill David. [Because Saul was יהוה 's anointed king, (1 Sam 9:15-16) David would not personally lift his hand to kill Saul. David did not, however, quietly suffer the ungodly abuse by anointed King Saul: David told Saul (shouting publicly, in the ears of everyone in hearing) that יהוה would strike Saul down for his wicked abuse. (1 Sam 24:12 ; 1 Sam 26:8-10)] It is during this period, as Saul allowed himself to develop a hatred for David without reason, that Doeg makes his appearance. (Doeg demonstrates how people can be led to perform wicked acts and to harm or even kill other people, and to try and justify their actions by imagining they are going along with God's organization. When wicked religious leaders reject God's counsel in favor of their own doctrine, no matter what they think or say, they are no longer God's organization and they are not serving יהוה . [Psalm 5:4; Mat 15:9]) When David ran away to escape being killed by King Saul, Doeg was at the temple and witnessed High Priest Ahimelech provide David with food and with the sword of Goliath. Ahimelech apparently knew nothing of David's flight from Saul, but was helping David because he knew David as the faithful servant of their God יהוה , and of their King; King Saul. Later on, when Doeg was in hearing as angry Saul voiced the opinion his servants were conspiring with David against him, Doeg seemed anxious to reveal he had seen High Priest Ahimelech give David the food and weapon at Nob (a city of the priests). Saul then summoned the high priest, as well as the other priests of Nob, and questioned Ahimelech. Then wicked King Saul, in his anger, ordered the runners stationed about him to put the priests of
to death. This is where Doeg distinguishes himself: While every single one of Saul's other servants rightly refused this ungodly command, [refusing their anointed King's order at the risk of their very lives,] Doeg unhesitatingly killed a total of 85 priests. After this wicked act, Doeg devoted the whole city of Nob to destruction, slaughtering its inhabitants, young and old, the wives and children of the priests. (1 Sam 22:6-20)Doeg thus made himself an everlasting example of what can go terribly wrong with being involved in religious organizations, even if that organization is one being (or having been) used by God (as was the Jewish nation of Israel and its Kings at that time). It was not wrong that Doeg wanted to go along with God's organization. (Psalms 68-26) Doeg knew Saul had been anointed as king directly by יהוה , and that made Saul the earthly head of God's organization. On the other hand, Doeg well knew the priests were also servants of God with the assignment of interceeding for the people with God. Doeg should thus have known from God's word and teachings that killing the priests and their families was an unimaginably bad act. If Doeg had simply compared what he was ordered to do by Saul, with what he should have known from the Bible, he would have known to refuse Saul's order; just as all the other servants of Saul knew to refuse it. Doeg was a respecter of persons, (Acts 10:34-35 ; John 12:43) however, rather than a lover of יהוה . He could think of nothing but pleasing Saul. (Imagining his own glory in Saul's company was no doubt what blinded him.) Doeg thus provides a mental picture of how terrible it is to go along with an organization of men for the sake of protecting and supporting that organization, without any consideration for right or wrong. Blind obedience such as Doeg's amounts to the worship of men. Such man worship is condemned by the Bible and its principled teaching for us to be noble minded. (Acts 17:10 & 11)Noble minded persons follow the teachings of God found only in his word at the mouth of his son. (Mat 17:5) That protects Christians (those truly listening to Christ) from being influenced by religious groups to the point of worshipping men. (Rom 6:16)
Doegs are prolific. While they are as diverse in their beliefs as they are in number, they have unknowingly grouped themselves by sharing four dogmas in common: (1.) They each believe they are the lone beacons of truth in the world: That your salvation is tied to and dependant upon them. (Every person must, of course, believe their personal faith is based in Bible truth. That does not, however, grant them the right to judge others based on their own faith. (Luke 9:49-50 ; Mat 7:1-2) If someone asserts up is down in the name of Jesus, that person takes responsibility before God for those assertions (they take responsibility for their faith). Each person is thus being judged by what Jesus taught: We are judged for what statements we make in Jesus's name. (John 12:48 ; Mat 12:34 ; Matthew 15:11) The Bible is very clear about what teachings we should attribute to the Christ (the anointed one). If we you are not sure what we you say comes from the Bible, we you best not say that it did!
The only person we have the right to judge is our-own-self: Actually doing so by what we assert Jesus taught! (James 1:23-24) Someone might say: "Oh no, that's not right, it's showing love for others which judges one righteous." While that is true, they can only know to show love because Jesus first taught them to do so. (Mark 12:28-31) We must start with listening to Christ! Faith that is not built on Bible truth will not help the person who builds it! (Mark 12:24 ; Acts 17:11) Jesus can be said to be God's Word personified. (Rev 19:13) Those who believe in and teach the doctrines of men are thus judging themselves: They judge themselves unfit for life by failing to build and spread faith in the teachings of Christ for the preservation of life. It is their imagined special connection with God (present in all Doegs) which leads them to render judgment against others, as they fancy they alone spread truth. Do not be deceived by them, it is the Bible which spreads truth! Even Jesus Christ himself spoke only what he learned from his Father and he was careful to say so. (John 7:16-17 ; John 15:15-16))
(2.) Doegs want you to fear their judgment over you. They do imagine, after all, they are God's chosen people. They want you to believe their rules and judgment define whether you are approved by God. By this arrogance, they distract their followers from trying to measure themselves with the Bible and the teachings of Christ. They want their sheep to imagine pleasing their group is the same as pleasing יהוה God, or better even. (Joh 5:44)
(3.) Doegs have chosen to ignore a simple and basic Bible teaching: "In every nation the one fearing Him [God] and working righteousness is acceptable to Him." (Acts 10:35 & 43 - LITV) They all fail to grasp, it is not organizations that worship God; it is individuals who worship God.(That is one reason the Law Code was done away with. Trying to enforce "group" righteousness was/is impossible - even using God's perfect Law.) Doegs are still trying to enforce "group" worship by asserting they, as a group, are the only ones serving God. (And 4.) The most common trait Doegs share, and which is the focus of this discussion: They all want you to think Christianity is mystical and/or hard to understand. They want to convince you Bible truth can not be grasped by the layman - by you. They need you to believe you require their help in understanding the Bible. They know if you really listen to Christ, they will be revealed.(Our effort is to expose that deceitful teaching and help you realize the Bible is simple to understand, (Mat 18:2-3) requiring only a little effort by you. God inspired the Bible recorded for you! Jesus came in part to explain the Bible. You need only him. Doegs make it seem hard, in part, because they don't understand what it says. (Mark 12:24) Religionists can't ever understand the Bible because they aren't seeking truth. They look to use the Bible to fit into a group or more often to manipulate other people. If they understood and followed the Bible, they would be Christians instead of Religionists.)Doegs want to become your Lord. They assert you need them as a secondary mediator between you and Christ, or even between you and God; by claiming you must be blessed by them to gain life. Although the individuals among these diverse organizations may not realize or understand, they have all, individually, made themselves into Doegs. (Mat 7:21-23) Rendering judgment over others defines them to be workers of lawlessness. (Matthew 7:1-5 ; Rom 2:1 ; 1 Corinthians 4:5) Christians must, of course, judge which actions are wicked, so as to avoid practicing them. (Luke 12:57) Judging certain actions as wicked (which only means listening to God tell us what is bad) is very different from judging the person wicked. We all make mistakes. The first century Christians had power of holy spirit as proof they had authority from God to establish Christianity out of Judaism. Faithful Christians (of these last days) do not judge other persons wicked or righteous, any more than they raise the dead and heal the sick. Modern day Christians tremble with respect, as they warn everyone who will listen that we are all judging ourselves by how we react to the teachings of the Christ. (Php 2:12 ; John 12:48)
The way we can be certain we are among the group (those who are true Christians) acting in harmony with יהוה and His Christ [anointed one], is by considering our every action in the light of what the Bible says. If the Bible doesn't comment directly on some decision we need to make, it likely does in principle. That is one of the ways the Bible is alive and exerts power. (Hebrews 4:12 - Webster's translation reads: "For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." - Please compare Luke 2:35, Romans 2:15-16, and John 12:47-48.)Laws and rules, even יהוה 's perfect laws, can never help us know what to do in every situation that might arise. Bible principles, however, can! As the principles we learn come alive (become real) in us, they help us discern our own motives. They influence not only our actions, but what we love and what we hate. (Pro 8:13) Knowledge of the Bible helps us to accurately analyze ourselves spiritually (in our effort to become friends of יהוה God) just as when a man looks at himself in a mirror to examine himself physically. [(Jas 1:23-24) ..."For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, this one is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, and off he goes and immediately forgets what sort of man he is"...] Using the Bible to teach us principles is how God draws us to him with love. (Hosea 11:4)
The most common marker shared in common by all Doegs, then, is their abject obeisance to the organization they are associated with they have chosen to worship. Jesus warned against such faith in men at Luke 4:25-28. (Mat 23:27-28 ; Ps 146:3) As individuals place their love for the lords of their organization (who are just other imperfect men) above their love for יהוה , they define themselves Doegs. (John 12:43) They abandon trying to please God in favor of seeking the approval of the men they have chosen to serve. (Rom 6:16 ; John 5:44) The men who present themselves as leaders over all such groups imagine they have some "special" insight or connection with God which others do not have. They are almost always true believers (zealots). Adolph Hitler, for example, was a Doeg. He tried to convince others (and likely believed) he was establishing the thousand year reign of the kingdom of Christ. He hated the Jews, or pretended to, because they killed Christ; and, because he believed the Jews thought themselves a superior race. We do not justify Hitler in any way! What Hitler did was terrible and wicked nearly beyond human comprehension. The point being made is this: Hitler was a Doeg. He cared only for his popularity among the people who elevated him. As with most deluded power brokers, Hitler likely achieved power because he actually believed in what he was doing. His utter failure, though: He simply didn't bother to learn what Jesus really taught. (Mark 12:24) He learned and misapplied a few scriptures, selecting only the ones which served his desires. What Hitler believed was not actually rooted in the Bible, and so his effort did not last. He likely made himself responsible before God for what he did in Christ's name. Hitler provides us an example of what Doegs are capable of. Another example is the thousands of men, women and children who were tortured to death by the church's inquisition during the dark ages.
(Some assert it was hundreds of thousands they murdered by torture. The "holy roman church" of the dark ages didn't keep very good records of who they killed - for obvious reasons!) They judged their brothers in Adam as witches, or apostates, and then murdered them because of those judgments. The only reason religious Doegs are not doing the same things today, is most governments of our modern day protect citizens against them. Make no mistake, however, all Doegs will do harm to others without reservation or remorse. After all, they truly imagine they are the servants of God! (John 16:2)
Another thing shared by all Doegs is their hatred of righteous individuals. (Pro 29:27 ; 1 Pet 4:4) Doegs demand faith in the teachings of their organization, while righteous persons place faith only in what the Bible teaches. Christians then encourage faith in the teachings of Christ, but they don't demand it. Doegs hate those who refuse to "go along" with them because they put organizational teachings above the Bible. They believe their doctrine is proof they are the "special" servants of God. While we absolutely must recognize this common failing among men, there is usually no reason to fight with anyone about our faith. (Pro 20:3 ; Pro 17:14) We must learn, believe, and express faith in what the Bible teaches. Then, along with each and every person's own Bible knowledge, comes their own responsibility to decide whether they will place faith in the Bible, or in the teachings of men. Make no mistake: You can not do both! It is the exact same choice falling to each and every person alive (or that ever did live for that matter - some of them, who lived before Christ, obviously, getting the opportunity to make that choice by means of a future resurrection). (Rom 9:33 ; Mat 21:42-44) We must never allow ourselves to be misguided to a worship of men, or even of angels. (Rev 19:10)
Another tool of Doegs is to seek to influence and control over people through emotionalism: They strive to whip people into a frenzy, and then to convince them that frenzied state is Christianity. Such tactics always have the same purpose: To establish the need in "their sheep" to look to them as their leaders. In this case, they want to lead in evoking the emotional high. Christ's teachings, however, are clear and concise. Those who love and follow him are all moving toward having the same mind and same line of thought. (Php 2:1-4) Becoming a Christian is thus a logical and coherent transformation. (1 Cor 14:40) As Christians learn and then become convinced of the truth, (John 17:3) it impels them to love, and then to obey, Jesus's Father. (1 John 5:3-4 ; Heb 5:8) Their love for God (and others) motivates them all throughout their lives. Christians are certainly emotional in their love for Christ, but Christianity is not dependent upon emotionalism. It depends on making oneself noble minded by learning (and living by - John 8:31-32) what Jesus taught. (Acts 17:11) (Again: that is not to imply Christians are not emotionally involved with our Father and our Lord. We certainly are!)
May we always seek to be pleasing to our Creator. May we strive to be "noble minded" by always proving for ourselves that what we build into our faith comes directly from the Bible. May we never become Doegs, bowing before men as we seek their organizational approval; no matter how grandiose such men imagine themselves, or claim their organization to be.Most organizations get turned aside from Jesus's simple instructions for us to learn and share Bible truth. Rather, they direct their efforts toward creating a celebrated name for themselves; (Gen 11:4) by promoting their own writings as spiritual food. Remember, Jesus grew up a Jew, and learned Bible truth at the feet of the Jewish scholars who taught him. (Luke 2:46-47) The Jewish nation (and it's religious leaders) had been given responsibility by God as caretakers of the Law (caretakers of the Bible as it existed in their day). Jesus did not, however, allow the fact the Jews were God's chosen people to be an excuse for the hypocrisy and badness of those Jewish leaders. (Mat 6:1-2 ; Mat 15:7-9 ; Mat 23:27-28) No matter what his religious leaders told him, or said about him, Jesus remained faithful to God's word. (John 17:17 ; John 8:28-29) So should must we!
Becoming a Doeg (or being influenced by Doegs) proves a very real danger to us all. We all want to be loved and respected by others; and to believe we are part of God's "true organization." That is a natural desire which can be used against us; and so presents a constant danger we must be aware of and understand. (John 12:43) Whether we find ourselves members of a small country church who imagine they are the only faithful in the land, or members of a huge organization with tentacles that reach out into all the earth, the attitude of apostate groups is always the same: They each one have come to imagine a persons being faithful to God, and a persons having the approval of their organization, is one and the same thing. It is an insidious and unrelenting danger! You must be cautious never to be overreached by such arrogance. Your protection is simple: Remain vigilant that everything you learn comes from the Bible with emphasis on what Christ said. You should expect others to manifest that same attitude. Anyone who imagines, or tries to convince you, they are producing spiritual food in addition to the Bible is trying to make you a Doeg. They may be sincerely ignorant, or they may be wicked clean through; but for certain they are wrong. Those who produced the true spiritual food (doing so by being inspired to write the Bible) could also raise the dead and heal the sick as proof they had "true spiritual food" to deliver. Even a group that was used by God in the past, may have no value if they have abandoned the Bible in favor of their own doctrine (their own imagined spiritual food). It seems unlikely, for example, those who joined the Jewish religious leaders in putting Jesus to death were forgiven because they could accurately assert they were going along with members of God's "true (Jewish) organization." Those who killed Jesus may have been descendants of faithful Abraham (Jews by bloodline descent), but that was of no benefit once they made their choice to decide for themselves what was right and wrong. (Mat 3:9) Those men and women were witness to the same proofs, by means of the miracles performed by Jesus, as we have recorded in the Bible today. Spiritual food comes from the Bible, and only the Bible! Do not allow yourself to be misled by the organizational doctrine produced by any person or group. It seems unlikely Doeg was forgiven for his actions because the order to kill all the priests of יהוה came from the King anointed by יהוה himself. (1 Sam 9:15-17) Can anyone really imagine those who helped Doeg (or even quietly tolerated his actions) as he killed the women and children of Nob were innocent? Does anyone imagine יהוה was unhappy with his faithful servants who refused the wicked order by anointed King Saul: Refused his order to kill the priests of God?
There is an old saying that a lie rides to it's greatest damage on the back of truth. Even if some man or group teaches 99% truth from the Bible, you must still be on guard that every single truth you build into your faith comes from the Bible. Those who teach lies may be maliciously deceitful, or they may be well meaning but sincerely in error. Their sincerity is likely no excuse for them! It certainly won't be for you! (Mat 7:21-23) If you believe a lie, the responsibility will become yours. The reason you are responsible is because יהוה gave us the Bible as a safeguard against being misled. (Mark 12:24) Prove yourselves noble minded! Know what the Bible says; and thus be certain you have not rested your faith on the teachings of imperfect men.
Jesus said something that helps identify those who are Doegs, and helps warn us how Doegs become twisted in their thinking. At Luke 13:25-27 Jesus gave us the following illustration: . . .You start to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Sir, open to us.' But in answer he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from.' 26 Then you will start saying, 'We ate and drank in front of you, and you taught in our broad ways.' 27 But he will speak and say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Get away from me, all you workers of unrighteousness!. . . These are persons trying, and apparently truly hoping, to get a favorable judgment from Christ: As they assert they ate and drank before him, and that they knew him intimately. They state they heard him teach in their streets. For these persons to address Christ personally in this way, they must believe within themselves they are upright. This scripture is an indication Doegs view Christianity as a sort of country club: If the leaders of their group are patting them on the back, they imagine, they surely must be upright. Their membership is for the purpose of association, or to gain a position to lord themselves over others. They then start to imagine it is being in the group that defines them to be righteous. Those who lift themselves up as judges and law givers for such groups no doubt find purpose for their life within the group. These lords among men seem to be missing the whole point: That Jesus came to provide the sacrifice for our sins. (Mat 20:28) That Jesus came to teach us what we need to know to keep living. (John 18:37b) It is faith in Jesus that gives life, not having some groups approval or having our names on their membership rolls. Jesus came to abolish group worship as it existed in Judaism, and establish a personal form of worship for every single person putting faith in him as God's son. Those who worship God today worship in spirit and truth. They worship God in their spirit (their innermost being - the spirit that manifests who they truly are) based on their own knowledge of the truth Jesus taught. (John 4:19-21 & 23-26 ; John 17:13-23) It is our faith built on our personal knowledge of the truth Jesus brought that can help us.
Jesus taught us to love God and our neighbor. He also came to demonstrate how to be obedient to his Father: Being motivated to obedience by love. (Heb 5:8 ; 1 John 5:1-5; Hosea 11:4) Apparently, from the illustration given by Christ about not being workers of lawlessness, even knowing Jesus in person is of no benefit if we do not apply his teachings in our life. (John 8:31-32; John 6:28-29) Those individuals in his illustration asserted they knew Christ and had heard his teachings. They did not, however, practice what he taught them. If they had practiced Jesus teachings, they would not have been referred to as "lawless ones" or as "workers of lawlessness." By Jesus's reference to those individuals as workers of unrighteousness, we can know they were not sincere students of his teachings. (John 8:31-32) Remember: It is only the unadulterated teachings of Jesus from the Bible that can protect us (you) from being workers of lawlessness. There is certainly nothing wrong with association between those who love our lord. If the association becomes the reason for the gathering however, it can lead one to become a Doeg, or lead to our supporting those who are Doegs. Draw close to those who are sincere students of God's word the Bible, without starting to pat yourself on the back and thinking you are the only ones in the earth doing so. (Luke 18:9-14 ; Luke 9:49-50) One danger we all face in trying to join with others who love God's word is that most of the earth's religious organizations claim to be Bible students. Many probably believe they are. (Mat 7:21-23) If you examine for yourself, however, you will find all religious groups (as opposed to Christians) follow their own teachings by one method or another. They will openly assert they are Bible followers, of course, but they have turned to written materials other than the Bible for their "spiritual food."
That warning Jesus gave us at Luke 13 is paralleled in Matthew's record at 7:21-23. Protect yourself: Start or join a real Bible study!We all want to be liked by others, and to have the approval of someone who will assure us we are faithful to our Creator. That desire to be approved is in large measure what gives wicked men so much power over others. The Bible is what can set you free, if you learn (and apply) what it teaches. (John 8:31-32) Others can help you to become aware of basic Christian teaching: Having hope through faith in Christ Jesus. That is the purpose of this website, to instill a desire in you to learn the truth of the Bible. (Heb 11:6) You can't have faith in what Jesus teaches, however, if you don't know what that is. There can be great joy in an interchange of encouragement among those who love the truth. (Rom 1:11-12) As to your effort to become a mature Christian (1 Cor 3:1-4 ; Eph 4:13-15 ; 1 Cor 14:20) follower of Jesus, however: That will to some degree be a solitary (with regard to other humans) and personal journey. (Mat 10:36-37) [You must grow to maturity in your personal relationship with יהוה through own faith in his Christ (the anointed one). We can be helpful to each other by telling them about Jesus, but no one can carry you, nor can you carry another. (Young children might, of course, receive protection for a time based on the faith of their parents.)] For an absolute certainty, no man has authority to approve, absolve, or judge you, except you yourself; by means of your own Bible trained conscience. (Rom 2:15-16 , John 12:48) Think of Abraham, David, Rahab, Lot, and other faithful men and women. Think foremost of the one who was perfectly faithful, Christ Jesus himself. (John 15:20) Most of them had no group of other men to approve and cheer them on. (Mat 16:23) What drove them all was their love for יהוה and their desire to please him. Their lack of concern for the approval of other men likely made some persons uncomfortable (their faith in God was a concern to those who were Doegs and thus worried only about the approval of the men of their sect). In many cases, those faithful to the truth (Bible knowledge) were despised by other men, simply because their unwavering faith in God made them stand out as different. (John 8:40) It is far better, though, to have Christ Jesus as friend (John 15:15) than to have the blessings of every man and woman alive. Remember always: This is not complicated nor is it something to be feared. As long as we remain determined to be noble minded(by learning and clinging to what the Bible teaches), and we refuse to allow men to direct us away from the Bible toward faith in their writings and teachings, God will protect us. Looking to the Bible as the only source of truth from God (spiritual food) will free us from the danger of becoming a Doeg. (John 8:31-32)
King David had wicked Doeg in mind when he wrote Psalm 52:
(Psalm 52: with superscription)
To the director. Maskil. Of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and proceeded to tell Saul and say to him that David had come to the house of Ahimelech.
52:1 Why do you make your boast over what is bad, O you mighty one? The loving-kindness of God is all day long. 2 Adversities your tongue schemes up, sharpened like a razor, Working deceitfully. 3 You have loved what is bad more than what is good, Falsehood more than speaking righteousness. Selah. 4 You have loved all devouring words, O you deceitful tongue. 5 God himself will also pull you down forever; He will knock you down and tear you away from [your] tent, And he will certainly root you out of the land of the living ones. Selah. 6 And the righteous ones will see [it] and will be afraid, And over him they will laugh. 7 Here is the able-bodied man that does not put God as his fortress, But that trusts in the abundance of his riches, That takes shelter in adversities by him. 8 But I shall be like a luxuriant olive tree in God's house; I do trust in the loving-kindness of God to time indefinite, even forever. 9 I will laud you to time indefinite, for you have taken action; And I shall hope in your name, because it is good, in front of your loyal ones.
As we read the account of Doeg, (1 Sam 22:6-20) his actions form a mental picture illustrating at least one important Bible principle: The danger of allowing ourselves to become subservient to men. We can never worship men, even if they are men placed by God in some special position (as King Saul had been in this Bible account). You can recognize persons who have chosen to become Doegs by their unwavering allegiance to (worship of) the organization they associate with. Doegs are obedient to their group rather than to their Bible trained conscience. It is this Doeg mentality which causes seemingly upright men and women to overlook, or even to condone and support, the abuse of other people, including their own family or group members by the elders (or other titled leaders - Mat 23:8-10) of their sect. They sometimes support even the abuse of little children (or at best they ignore it). Please consider, then, the Bible's concise illustration of the bad example of Doeg:
Doeg lived about three thousand years ago (and about one thousand years before the birth of Jesus). He lived in the days of King Saul. Saul was the first King of the Jewish nation of Israel. (Doeg lived in the years surrounding 1117 BCE, which year marked the beginning of Saul's reign.) David is another character in this drama and was selected by God to replace Saul as Israel's second King. (1 Sam 16:11) Christ was born a Jew and a descendant of King David. (Mat 1:1) Making preparation for the birth of Jesus as the Messiah of promise (Isaiah 9:6-7) was the primary reason the Jewish nation was used and protected by God. (Deu 9:4-6) Saul started his reign as a good king, but he misused God's gift of moral freedom to choose to become disobedient, and finally bad in his actions. David was a faithful servant of both יהוה God (God's personal name) and of King Saul. David respected Saul as the anointed head of God's organization and his love for God made him zealous in his loyal service to King Saul; so, God blessed David wherever he went. (1 Samuel 18:5) Goliath was a mighty Philistine warrior who taunted
God,
and Saul, and all of Israel's army. Saul began to love young David when David, in his zealous love for the true God, struck down and killed the pagan Goliath. (1 Sam 17:20-51) [Goliath (and the other Philistines) worshiped false Gods (who are all inspired by demons). Their Gods were wicked and required the burning of their firstborn among other vile practices. - Deu 12:31 ; 2 Kings 3:26a_&_27a] It was a little later in his life, then, when David served as one of the commanders of Saul's army. As king Saul descended into badness, he became jealous of David's success. Finally, Saul started trying to kill David. [Because Saul was יהוה 's anointed king, (1 Sam 9:15-16) David would not personally lift his hand to kill Saul. David did not, however, quietly suffer the ungodly abuse by anointed King Saul: David told Saul (shouting publicly, in the ears of everyone in hearing) that יהוה would strike Saul down for his wicked abuse. (1 Sam 24:12 ; 1 Sam 26:8-10)] It is during this period, as Saul allowed himself to develop a hatred for David without reason, that Doeg makes his appearance. (Doeg demonstrates how people can be led to perform wicked acts and to harm or even kill other people, and to try and justify their actions by imagining they are going along with God's organization. When wicked religious leaders reject God's counsel in favor of their own doctrine, no matter what they think or say, they are no longer God's organization and they are not serving יהוה . [Psalm 5:4; Mat 15:9]) When David ran away to escape being killed by King Saul, Doeg was at the temple and witnessed High Priest Ahimelech provide David with food and with the sword of Goliath. Ahimelech apparently knew nothing of David's flight from Saul, but was helping David because he knew David as the faithful servant of their God יהוה , and of their King; King Saul. Later on, when Doeg was in hearing as angry Saul voiced the opinion his servants were conspiring with David against him, Doeg seemed anxious to reveal he had seen High Priest Ahimelech give David the food and weapon at Nob (a city of the priests). Saul then summoned the high priest, as well as the other priests of Nob, and questioned Ahimelech. Then wicked King Saul, in his anger, ordered the runners stationed about him to put the priests of
to death. This is where Doeg distinguishes himself: While every single one of Saul's other servants rightly refused this ungodly command, [refusing their anointed King's order at the risk of their very lives,] Doeg unhesitatingly killed a total of 85 priests. After this wicked act, Doeg devoted the whole city of Nob to destruction, slaughtering its inhabitants, young and old, the wives and children of the priests. (1 Sam 22:6-20)
Doeg thus made himself an everlasting example of what can go terribly wrong with being involved in religious organizations, even if that organization is one being (or having been) used by God (as was the Jewish nation of Israel and its Kings at that time). It was not wrong that Doeg wanted to go along with God's organization. (Psalms 68-26) Doeg knew Saul had been anointed as king directly by יהוה , and that made Saul the earthly head of God's organization. On the other hand, Doeg well knew the priests were also servants of God with the assignment of interceeding for the people with God. Doeg should thus have known from God's word and teachings that killing the priests and their families was an unimaginably bad act. If Doeg had simply compared what he was ordered to do by Saul, with what he should have known from the Bible, he would have known to refuse Saul's order; just as all the other servants of Saul knew to refuse it. Doeg was a respecter of persons, (Acts 10:34-35 ; John 12:43) however, rather than a lover of יהוה . He could think of nothing but pleasing Saul. (Imagining his own glory in Saul's company was no doubt what blinded him.) Doeg thus provides a mental picture of how terrible it is to go along with an organization of men for the sake of protecting and supporting that organization, without any consideration for right or wrong. Blind obedience such as Doeg's amounts to the worship of men. Such man worship is condemned by the Bible and its principled teaching for us to be noble minded. (Acts 17:10 & 11) Noble minded persons follow the teachings of God found only in his word at the mouth of his son. (Mat 17:5) That protects Christians (those truly listening to Christ) from being influenced by religious groups to the point of worshipping men. (Rom 6:16)
Doegs are prolific. While they are as diverse in their beliefs as they are in number, they have unknowingly grouped themselves by sharing four dogmas in common:
(Some assert it was hundreds of thousands they murdered by torture. The "holy roman church" of the dark ages didn't keep very good records of who they killed - for obvious reasons!) They judged their brothers in Adam as witches, or apostates, and then murdered them because of those judgments. The only reason religious Doegs are not doing the same things today, is most governments of our modern day protect citizens against them. Make no mistake, however, all Doegs will do harm to others without reservation or remorse. After all, they truly imagine they are the servants of God! (John 16:2)
Another thing shared by all Doegs is their hatred of righteous individuals. (Pro 29:27 ; 1 Pet 4:4) Doegs demand faith in the teachings of their organization, while righteous persons place faith only in what the Bible teaches. Christians then encourage faith in the teachings of Christ, but they don't demand it. Doegs hate those who refuse to "go along" with them because they put organizational teachings above the Bible. They believe their doctrine is proof they are the "special" servants of God. While we absolutely must recognize this common failing among men, there is usually no reason to fight with anyone about our faith. (Pro 20:3 ; Pro 17:14) We must learn, believe, and express faith in what the Bible teaches. Then, along with each and every person's own Bible knowledge, comes their own responsibility to decide whether they will place faith in the Bible, or in the teachings of men. Make no mistake: You can not do both! It is the exact same choice falling to each and every person alive (or that ever did live for that matter - some of them, who lived before Christ, obviously, getting the opportunity to make that choice by means of a future resurrection). (Rom 9:33 ; Mat 21:42-44) We must never allow ourselves to be misguided to a worship of men, or even of angels. (Rev 19:10)
Another tool of Doegs is to seek to influence and control over people through emotionalism: They strive to whip people into a frenzy, and then to convince them that frenzied state is Christianity. Such tactics always have the same purpose: To establish the need in "their sheep" to look to them as their leaders. In this case, they want to lead in evoking the emotional high. Christ's teachings, however, are clear and concise. Those who love and follow him are all moving toward having the same mind and same line of thought. (Php 2:1-4) Becoming a Christian is thus a logical and coherent transformation. (1 Cor 14:40) As Christians learn and then become convinced of the truth, (John 17:3) it impels them to love, and then to obey, Jesus's Father. (1 John 5:3-4 ; Heb 5:8) Their love for God (and others) motivates them all throughout their lives. Christians are certainly emotional in their love for Christ, but Christianity is not dependent upon emotionalism. It depends on making oneself noble minded by learning (and living by - John 8:31-32) what Jesus taught. (Acts 17:11) (Again: that is not to imply Christians are not emotionally involved with our Father and our Lord. We certainly are!)
May we always seek to be pleasing to our Creator. May we strive to be "noble minded" by always proving for ourselves that what we build into our faith comes directly from the Bible. May we never become Doegs, bowing before men as we seek their organizational approval; no matter how grandiose such men imagine themselves, or claim their organization to be. Most organizations get turned aside from Jesus's simple instructions for us to learn and share Bible truth. Rather, they direct their efforts toward creating a celebrated name for themselves; (Gen 11:4) by promoting their own writings as spiritual food. Remember, Jesus grew up a Jew, and learned Bible truth at the feet of the Jewish scholars who taught him. (Luke 2:46-47) The Jewish nation (and it's religious leaders) had been given responsibility by God as caretakers of the Law (caretakers of the Bible as it existed in their day). Jesus did not, however, allow the fact the Jews were God's chosen people to be an excuse for the hypocrisy and badness of those Jewish leaders. (Mat 6:1-2 ; Mat 15:7-9 ; Mat 23:27-28) No matter what his religious leaders told him, or said about him, Jesus remained faithful to God's word. (John 17:17 ; John 8:28-29) So