A Man Willing to Kill the Innocent
Doeg the Edomite appears in only one passage in Scripture. His story intertwines with Ahimelek’s.
When King Saul orders the execution of Ahimelek for assisting in David’s escape, none of the king’s men are willing to kill the priest.
They are wise to respect the function of the priesthood, and they likely realize he is innocent of what the king is accusing him of. We applaud them for doing the right thing.
Yet there is one man, a foreigner, who has no such respect for the priesthood or for what is right. He is Doeg, from Edom.
When King Saul turns to Doeg and tells him to kill Ahimelek and all the other priests, he doesn’t hesitate. That day, Doeg kills eighty-five priests.
But he doesn’t stop his killing spree after obeying the king’s command. He takes it upon himself to travel to the city of Nob. There he kills everyone and everything in the town.
This includes all the men, women, and children, along with its cattle, donkeys, and sheep. He leaves nothing alive.
Doeg is an evil man who has no respect for the priesthood and no qualm about taking a life.
When told to do something wrong, do we resist like the king’s men or comply like Doeg?
How well do we do at respecting our spiritual leaders and thinking the best of them?
[Read about Doeg in 1 Samuel 22:9–23. Discover more in Proverbs 6:16–19.]
Learn about 100 more biblical characters in More Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.
More Old Testament Sinners and Saints is part of the Bible Character Sketches series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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