1 Samuel 21:7

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord.

1 Samuel 21:7

Not everyone in God’s house is there for the right reasons.

In the preceding verses, we saw the great blessing that came to David from the Lord’s house. As a man after God’s own heart, his troubles brought him unerringly to the place where he could meet with God and receive counsel, nourishment and armament from God’s Word. But this verse reveals that David was not the only one at the house of the Lord: one of the villains of this story was there also, Doeg the Edomite.

I had just taken my first pastorate when a fine-looking couple visited the church for Sunday morning worship. As we talked, I found out that the man and his wife owned a prominent business in our small community and that they were “looking for a church.” Initially, I took encouragement from their interest and found them to be very congenial and generous. They professed faith in Christ, and the elders gladly brought them into membership. But whenever I tried to engage them in spiritual conversation, they seemed to have no interest in the things of God at all. I also noticed that they paid little attention to the preaching and seemed more interested in who else was (or was not) attending on Sunday. After a short while, their attendance became sporadic. Eventually, despite my efforts to encourage them, they stopped coming. It was my first pastoral experience with a Doeg.

Doeg was “detained before the Lord.” Clearly, the Lord had placed him there in the house of God for His own purposes. As we will see, Doeg will bring about the death of Ahimelech, 85 other priests and their families. Only Abiathar escaped the massacre to join David. Both the wording of this verse and his later actions make it clear that Doeg was a true Edomite – an enemy of God and of His people. Yet, he was at the house of God. But he was not there with a heart of delight; he was there reluctantly and considered his time there to be “detention.” Although in the presence of God and His people, Doeg had other things he wanted to be doing and this worship stuff was hindering him. He was watching the clock, waiting for the priests to finish his perfunctory sacrifice, so that he could get on his way.

It may seem self-evident, but it’s important to be aware that not everyone who shows up at the Lord’s house comes with the sincere desire to worship the Lord. There are a whole host of reasons why people attend church. They are there on some kind of errand – often a religious one – but their heart is far from the Lord. These are the professors, the formalists, the works-oriented religionists who are more interested in fulfilling the forms and obligations than in developing a heart for God. They consider their time in the Lord’s house to be essentially lost and they can’t wait to be freed from their forced attendance. They will watch the clock and be frustrated when the service “goes too long.” They will pay more attention to others’ actions than to their own heart (as Doeg was watching David), and will file away these events for later, when the stories can be used to their own advantage (1 Sam. 22:9,10). Normally, they will bolt for the door as soon as possible.

In so doing, the Doeg’s among God’s people evidence the fact that they consider their life to be “outside” rather than inside the church. They look upon their attendance as an interruption to their preferred course of life and not – as with God’s true people – a privilege and joy that grows out of the daily worship of a Godward life.

Such people are a danger to themselves and to others. Jude describes them as, “blemishes on your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, looking after themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.” (Jude 12,13) Doeg’s will use the knowledge they have gained at the Lord’s house for worldly advantage. They will turn against and destroy God’s people in a heartbeat. (1 Sam. 22:18,19)

As I think of this couple who fulfilled these prophetic words from Jude, I am reminded of some advice given to pastors centuries ago by Bishop Joseph Hall: “When we see our auditors before us, little do we know with what hearts they are there, nor what use they will make of their pretended devotion.” (Hall 1:359)

May the Lord give us the grace to examine our own hearts and to make certain that we come before Him for worship and not “detention.” God’s people should never enter His house like an Edomite. And may He give us the discernment to identify the Doeg’s among us so we can pray for them and, if possible, limit the damage they often cause.