Bible Characters – Part 23

Series – March 2025 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Bible Characters
Gleanings From The Old Testament,Part 23

David And Doeg
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. 
—Psalm 52:8 NKJV

Doeg The Edomite
David wrote this psalm telling about what happened to him when he was on the run from Saul, who wanted to kill him. While a fugitive, David bid farewell to his best friend Jonathan, who sadly enough did not follow him in his humiliation and therefore in the end did not share in his royal glory. Instead, Jonathan died a shameful death with Saul.

David went to the city of Nob, to Ahimelech the priest as we read in 1 Samuel 21, and had a short break there. He and his men ate holy bread – the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord. There, David also obtained a weapon that was being kept in the sanctuary, namely the sword of Goliath the Philistine. But on that very day an accomplice of Saul was there: Doeg the Edomite. David immediately suspected that he would betray him to Saul (see 22:22). This came true, and the story ended in a dramatic way when Doeg killed a great number of priests and the city of Nob was completely destroyed.

In Psalm 52, however, David expressed his faith in God. On the one hand he was convinced that God would know how to find Doeg and judge him, and on the other David could rest assured in spite of all his sufferings that God looked on him with favor. Although he was constantly fleeing, he rejoiced in God’s presence and knew that he had a sure place in God’s house. No enemy could take that privilege from him. He was like a green olive tree in the house of God.

A Tree Planted In The Sanctuary
Elsewhere in the Bible the image of grass in a field is used to indicate man’s mortality and the brevity of his life. A tree, however, is marked by strength and permanence; it also offers protection and bears fruit. King Nebuchadnezzar was compared with a very high and strong tree in Daniel 4. The righteous one is like a tree planted by the rivers of water (Ps. 1:1-3). He who trusts in the LORD is like a tree planted by the water, and its leaves are always green (Jer. 17:7-8).

Another passage in the Psalms that resembles the one we are considering is Psalm 92:13-15. There the righteous one is compared to a palm tree and a cedar in Lebanon. But where can we find this tree? It is planted in the house of the Lord, and it stays fresh and flourishing because of its connection with the Spring of life!

In the passage we have been considering, Psalm 52:8, David used the image of “a green olive tree in the house of God.” This picture is also used after the exile to describe Joshua and Zerubbabel (consider Zech. 4). They were the two olive trees, “the two anointed ones [literally: sons of oil], who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth” (v.14). They supplied the lampstand with the necessary oil and kept the light of testimony in God’s house burning by the energy of His Spirit.

Oil is a well-known symbol of the work of the Holy Spirit. In Israel, kings and priests were anointed with oil; the believer is anointed with the Holy Spirit (consider 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 1 Jn. 2:20). The picture of the olive tree shows that the anointing is not merely an outward matter. The believer himself has become, as it were, a spring of oil, for the Spirit dwells in him and uses him as a vessel for the blessing of others. In the same way David looked at himself as a green olive tree, indicating that the Christian should show real signs of new life and fresh fruit of the Spirit because he is planted by the streams of living water.

Moreover, this green tree is planted in the sanctuary, which is remarkable. In the temple of Ezekiel there is a river originating from the sanctuary (Ezek. 47:1-12). God is the Spring of living water for His people, and those who are planted in His presence will certainly bear fruit. As believers we have a sure and lasting place in the sanctuary. We abide in God’s immediate presence, rooted and built up in Christ (Eph. 2:11-22; Col. 2:7).

There are three aspects to be noted in Psalm 52:8. They are: the place, the nature and the condition of the tree, which is in God’s house as an olive tree that is fresh and green. Remarkably, David recognized himself in this picture, for his life was in constant danger because Saul was always after him, “as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains” (1 Sam. 26:20). Amid all the dangers, he hid behind the God who knew his wanderings and counted all his tears. The enemy was powerful, but what could he do against God?

The Flesh Lusts Against The Spirit
The opposition between Doeg and David reminds us of the New Testament contrast between the flesh and the Spirit. Whatever the flesh comes up with, it is enmity against God. And, as we know from Romans 8:1-13, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (v.8), “for the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another” (Gal. 5:17).

Doeg was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau (Gen. 36:43), who was called a profane person (Heb. 12:16). Just like Esau, Doeg hated the man who was to inherit God’s blessing, the man after God’s heart who was endowed with the Spirit. Doeg was a natural man, and being driven by envy and hatred, he followed in the footsteps of his forefather Esau, who wanted to kill Jacob (Gen. 27:41). It is the same contrast as the one between Ishmael and Isaac: “he who was born according to the flesh … persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit” (Gal. 4:29).

“To be carnally minded is death” (Rom. 8:6). This is sadly illustrated by Doeg sowing death and destruction among the priests of Nob. The works of the flesh, the influences of legality, ritualism and Judaism are fatal to all priestly activity in the house of God, to all forms of worship in spirit and truth. After all, the desires of the flesh can never be in agreement with those of the Spirit.

This does not imply, however, that the flesh always gains the victory in this conflict. It seemed that way when the priests were murdered and only one of them escaped and sought refuge with David. One more worshiper remained: David himself! His proper place was in the sanctuary, and he was sure that nobody could take that place from him. He remained like a green olive tree in the house of God. GT

By Hugo Bouter (adapted)

Look for Part 24 of this Series next month.