Like a green olive tree
September 6, 2023 - Wednesday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm 52:10, 11
Psalm 52 begins with the following superscription: “When Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech” (Ps 52:1-2). It refers to the story narrated in 1 Samuel 21-22. David is on the run from King Saul, who wants to murder him. He passes through the city of Nob and lies to Ahimelech the priest that he is on a secret mission for Saul. Then he asks for food and weapons explaining that the mission was so urgent that he had no time to prepare anything. Believing David, the priest provided him with the consecrated bread meant for the priests and the sword of Goliath, the Philistine giant he had defeated earlier. Unfortunately, one of Saul's servants, Doeg the Edomite, witnessed David's interactions with Ahimelech and reported it to Saul.
Psalm 52 does not begin as a prayer directed to God. It begins with a warning addressed to the wicked. The psalmist tells us that the wicked prefers evil over good and lies over speaking the truth (Ps 52:5). The report of Doeg the Edomite led to a tragic outcome. Saul suspected everyone to conspire with David against him including his son, Jonathan. Thus, to provide such a report amounted to a death sentence. Saul would not listen to the arguments of Ahimelech pleading his innocence. Moreover, it was not enough for him to kill Ahimelech alone. Perhaps, to scare away others from helping David, Saul ordered the murder of the entire family of the priest of Nob. The one who did the killing was Doeg the Edomite.
The psalmist continues his warning stating that God is going to destroy the wicked (Ps 52:7). We do not know what happened to Doeg the Edomite but we know that Saul’s life ended tragically. The first king of Israel who at the beginning of his reign was introduced with the words, “there is none like him among all the people” lost God’s favour and died in a battle defeated by his enemies (see 1 Sam 31:1-6). The Bible ascribes his fall from grace to his act of disobedience (1 Sam 15) and subsequent refusal to accept the fact that God chose David over him. But, in the tragic story of Saul, we witness the mystery of sin slowly destroying someone’s character, life, and name.
The conviction that God is going to destroy the wicked is important for the psalmist. In Psalm 73, the puzzling prosperity of the wicked leads many people to abandon faith and imitate them (see Ps 73:2-12). The psalmist quotes the questions that people ask among themselves: “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” (Ps 73:11). On the other hand, seeing the wicked punished vindicates the just people who hold on to God’s way of life. The destruction of the wicked will fill the just with awe. Instead of doubting God, they are going to laugh at the evildoer saying: “Look, here is the man who would not make God his protector. He trusted in his great wealth and was confident about his plans to destroy others” (Ps 52:9). How about the psalmist?
The psalmist belongs to the righteous ones who put their trust in the Lord. The metaphor of a “lush olive tree” indicates prosperity and peace. Like the fate of Saul and David, the fate of the wicked and the psalmist are different. One loses God’s favour and life, and the other lives in God’s presence. The psalmist ascribes this difference to trust in God’s steadfast love which again can be exemplified by Saul’s lack of trust and David’s trust.
Thus, in view of the psalmist those who trust in themselves but do not make God their stronghold are destined to fail. On the other hand, those who put their trust in the Lord can find protection, peace, and life. They can become like “a green olive tree in the house of God” (Ps 52:10).