1 Smauel 22

And the king said to Doeg, You turn and fall on the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and fell on the priests. And on that day he killed eighty-five persons who wore a linen ephod. (1 Samuel 22:18).

This is a very sad verse. Here we see the priest of the Lord killed because of the rage of Saul. I do believe some clarification is needed as to why the Lord would allow His priests to die. So often people wonder, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Let us investigate as to why this might have happened:

People have a free will. Saul was free to make his sinful decision. He would slay a house of men, those wearing the linen ephod. This was such an abominable thing that even his servants would not slay the priests of the Lord. Saul had a chance to rethink his decision. Maybe the stand by his servants was the Lord giving Him a second chance to think about what he was doing. However, Saul willed to sin so Saul found a way to sin. Be careful! Sometimes we all walk down a path of sin. God will give us grace and allow circumstances to give us a second opportunity to rethink the decision. If you are bent in your mind on sinning, God will respect your free will.

David lied. Remember when David had been in the temple searching for help. He lied to the priests. He said he was about Saul’s business on an urgent matter. How were the priests supposed to know he was running from Saul? Perhaps this is a duel lesson for us to reconsider, “Is it ever okay to lie?” Maybe it is a lesson to teach us that our sins affect other people. This, of course, is very true. These priests may have been dying because David, in his fear, lied to the priests putting them in this precarious situation. Therefore rethink your actions. Maybe the sin you are about to commit will hurt someone else later on? It is highly possible.

Ultimately, the true reason for the death of these priests is because God told us it would happen. These men were of the family of Eli. Read 1 Samuel 2:31, “Behold, the days come when I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so that no old man shall be in your house.” Eli’s family were to be cut off because of the sin they had committed in the temple. They were to be cut off before they even grew old. This was all fulfilled in this chapter. That one man who had escaped, Abiathar, was no doubt very young here, as to fulfill the prophecy. He escaped to David in this chapter, but in fulfillment to the prophecy, would later be kicked out of the priesthood by Solomon, David’s son. This is found in 1 Kings 2:26-27. The priests were slain because of the sin they had committed and their father had committed before the Lord. Yes, a madman of a king played a part. Yes, the lie of a prince played a part. However, they had no one to blame but themselves for the wicked and perverse behavior they displayed in the Lord’s house.