Year 5, Day 197: Psalm 52

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition

• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

This psalm is prefaced with the notation that it was written by David at the time when Doeg the Edomite had reported his whereabouts back to Saul.  The first half of the psalm is a reaction to this fact.  David is wondering where Doeg’s motivation comes.

David wonders why it is that Doeg is so bent on plotting evil.  Why is Doeg so intent on working to ruin David’s life?  Why does Doeg desire to devour the life that God has given to him?

I believe the answer to this question is rooted in the idea of ambition.  Saul wants to find out where David is so that he can come and confront him.  Doeg knows that if he finds David and reports back to Saul, then he will rise in Saul’s standing.  Since Saul is the king of Israel at the time of this psalm, that means that Doeg will rise in importance within the kingdom.  That’s really what Doeg is after.  David simply is the avenue that Doeg is using to accomplish his own ambition.

This answers most of David’s question, by the way.  Why is Doeg so intent on evil?  He does evil because he wants to increase his status.  Why does Doeg want to devour David?  Doeg sees David as a means to an end.  Because his ambition is rooted in worldly values and worldly perception, Doeg is willing to use David’s life as a stepping stone for his own increase.  Doeg doesn’t care about God’s agenda and God’s ambition for Israel.  Doeg is simply thinking about himself and his own means to an end.

But David reminds us of an important truth as this psalm closes.  God cannot be fooled.  God will get the last say and the last word.  God will destroy the evil ones in this world.  Their ambition will not last.  In the end, we will know who was ambition in God’s ways and who was ambitious in their own desires.

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