The Wisdom Journey

Betrayal and the Urge to Bite Back (Psalms 52–55)

• Stephen Davey

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Betrayal can make the world go dim in an instant—especially when it comes from someone who should have protected you. We follow David through Psalms 52–55 as he faces treachery from a ruthless opportunist, from his own tribe, and from a trusted friend. Along the way, we unpack a hard but hopeful truth: evil may boast, but God’s steadfast love endures all day. That conviction reshapes the urge to get even and redirects the heart toward a wiser, freer response.

We start with Doeg the Edomite and the slaughter that followed his report to Saul, then surface David’s surprising move in Psalm 52: he refuses to seize the role of avenger and instead contrasts the swagger of wickedness with the staying power of God. In Psalm 53, David exposes the inner script of the betrayer—the fool who says God does not see. That denial is shattered by a God who witnesses every motive and will not ignore injustice. When betrayal hits closer in Psalm 54, and the Ziphites hand over David twice, the path narrows to three rugged steps you can take today: remember that betrayal is first against God, trust that he upholds your life and will judge rightly, and worship as an act of defiance against revenge.

The deepest cut arrives in Psalm 55: “my equal… my companion… my familiar friend.” Here David names the wound without sugarcoating it and then gives the lifeline that holds when emotions surge: cast your burden on the Lord. That burden includes the rage, the replayed conversations, and the plans to bite back. Throw it all onto the shoulders that bore a cross. As you do, you break the loop that keeps you stuck and step into a steadier strength—the God who sustains.

If betrayal has found you—at work, at home, or in your inner circle—this conversation offers clarity, language, and a practical way forward. Tap play, reflect with us through these psalms, and trade the instinct for payback for a deeper trust in God’s justice and care. If this episode helps you breathe a little easier, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show.

The first of Stephen's two volumes set through the Book of Revelation is now available. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQ3XCJMY

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SPEAKER_01:

Have you ever been betrayed? If so, you know the pain it causes when someone you trusted causes you harm. King David knew what that felt like. As one who felt the sting of betrayal on numerous occasions, David's Psalms speak powerfully to this issue. They offer us wise counsel that's focused not on the betrayer, but on the God who will take our burden on himself. This is the wisdom journey. And Stephen called today's lesson betrayal and the urge to bite back.

SPEAKER_00:

The themes of these next few psalms in our wisdom journey relate to the painful experience of being betrayed. David knew exactly what that felt like. Now the heading of Psalm 52 gives us some information. It says, When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, David has come to the house of Ahimelech. Now you find that account, by the way, back in 1 Samuel chapters 21 and 22. David's been on the run from King Saul. God has rejected Saul in favor of David. Saul is now determined to kill David and eliminate his rival to the throne. And so David here is now running for his life. And he arrives at the town of Nob, where the tabernacle is set up. And Nob is the place where the high priest Ahimelech, who is a descendant of Eli, you may remember, resides. Elimelech ends up helping David and his men by giving him some old bread from the showbread table there in the tabernacle. And he also gives David a prized relic. It's been carefully wrapped and stored inside the tabernacle. It's a reminder of God's protection. It happens to be the sword that once belonged to the giant Goliath. Now, with these provisions, along with this rather magnificent sword, David takes off running again. Now the trouble is that everything that just happened was seen by King Saul's chief herdsman, this wicked man named Doeg. Now, Doeg sees enough to know that this is an opportunity for him to be rewarded. He's going to give some information to King Saul about David. That's exactly what he goes back and does. Doeg's betrayal of David ends up in horrible bloodshed. King Saul orders the execution of the priest Ahimelech, kills all 84 priests who served with him there. So this tragic betrayal is deeply troubling to David. In fact, David takes the time now to put his feelings, his frustrations, ultimately his prayer to God in the form of this Psalm, Psalm 52. It opens here with a comparison between the betrayer and God. David writes in verse 1, Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day. Of course, the evil here is betrayal. Betrayal, beloved, is really nothing more than a power grab. And David is wanting a power surge from God. Now nowhere in this psalm are you going to find David taking matters into his own hands. He's frankly going to let Doug fall by God's hand of judgment. Verse 7 says here of Doug. He sought refuge in his own destruction. One author says this verse reads like an epitaph on the grave of a wicked man. But one thing's for sure here, Doug's character and actions revealed in Psalm 52 are really doing nothing more than demonstrating the truth of the next Psalm. Psalm 53 now opens at verse 1 by reading. Now, in this context, the fool is someone who basically says, God isn't real. God doesn't see, God doesn't hear, God doesn't know what I've just done. Let me tell you, God sees, God hears, and God knows. In fact, only a fool, David says, would think that he can get away with sinning without God knowing it. And in this case, it's betrayal. Now Psalm 54 continues this theme of betrayal, but it's more painful to David now because of who it involves. The heading of this Psalm tells us here, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, is not David hiding among us? Now you need to understand the Ziphites were members of David's own tribe, the tribe of Judah. The Ziphites were David's extended relatives, his own extended family. I mean, all those cousins and aunts and uncles, these are the people you see at that annual family reunion out there at the lake in the summer. You all get t-shirts ordered, you know, you get your family name printed on them, you get a photograph of everybody young and old out there at that picnic. These are the people who betrayed David. It's David's family members who give Saul David's exact location. Now, by God's intervention, David is able to get away. Guess what? It happens again. Those same relatives, 1 Samuel 26 tells us once again, give Saul David's exact location. Now, frankly, that would be the last time I'd ever want to see my relatives again, no matter how good the chicken was out there at the lake during that reunion. That would be it. Well, now Psalm 54 follows here. It's a short song. Uh, I gotta tell you, it's long on wisdom. And it and it offers three principles that you can you can process, you can use as you process your own personal response to betrayal and the pain you feel. The first word that comes out of this little psalm is the word remember. David writes here in verse three they do not set God before themselves. You see, that's a reminder that people who betray you have betrayed God first. They're traitors to God first and foremost. Beloved, if you've been betrayed, take the time to remember that God himself was betrayed by Satan, who then influenced God's special creation, Adam and Eve, to turn around and betray God as well. And what about what about God the Son, the Lord Jesus? Wasn't he betrayed by Judas, betrayed by his own people, his own extended family, the nation of Israel? In other words, the Lord knows how it feels to be betrayed. Remember that. The second word that comes out of this psalm that strikes me is the word trust. Listen to David's prayer here in verse four. Behold, God is my helper, the Lord is the upholder of my life, he will return the evil to my enemies. Let's put it, let's put it into our own words. I I can trust my life to the plan of God and I can entrust those who betray me to the justice of God. I don't know when his justice is going to be accomplished. In fact, my life might not get any easier any any time soon. But while others are saying there's no God to see or hear or care, I'm going to trust in the fact that I know God is alive and well. The third word that comes out of the psalm is to me the word worship. You see, worship has to take the place of revenge. Revenge means that we get stuck in life. Worship moves us forward in life. And that's David's focus here in verse 6, when he says, I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. Psalm 55 continues this theme of betrayal. Only this time David is agonizing over the betrayal not of an enemy or some extended family member he only sees once a year at the lake, but of a very close friend. He lets us know that here in verse 13 as he writes, It is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together. Now, Bible scholars uh have suggested the context here is uh the betrayal of Ahithophel, to which David is referring. Ahithophel was David's former counselor. Ahithophel uh betrays David. He joins David's son Absalom as Absalom attempts to take his father's place and kill his father. Ahithophel even counsels Absalom on how to catch up to David and kill him and literally be done with him. All that's back in 2 Samuel chapters 15 through 17. Well, what do you do when betrayal hits that close to home? This would certainly excuse uh uh a desire for revenge, right? It would only be natural to strike back. You may have heard the funny story I did of the man who had been bitten by a rabid dog, and he went to get tested, and his his doctor finally came in with the the grim results that he indeed had rabies. Well, that man didn't say a word, he just got out a piece of paper and began to write feverishly, and the doctor thought the man was writing out his last will and testament, and he said, Listen, don't worry, there's a cure for rabies, you're not gonna die. And the man said, Well, I know that, but first uh I'm just making a list of people I want to go bite. Well, isn't that the way the world works? You bite back, you get even. Isn't the way, isn't that the way our hearts think? I want to get people back. Well, God says to do what David instructs us to do here as David moves under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He says here in verse 22, cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. Cast your burden on the Lord. By the way, the word burden includes your emotions that are so hurt, your thoughts that are ever ready to plan revenge, your memory that wants to play over and over again that offense. So you feel it all over again. David says, No, no, throw all of that onto the broad shoulders of your faithful Lord. And remember, when you feel the pain of betrayal, well, your Lord understands exactly how you feel. Well, beloved, until we set sail again on our wisdom journey, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks for listening to The Wisdom Journey with Stephen Davey. To learn more about us and access all of our Bible teaching resources, visit wisdomonline.org. Our phone number is 866-482-4253. And you can email us at info at wisdomonline.org. Stephen developed this daily program to help you know what the Bible says, understand what it means, and apply it to your life. So please join us next time to continue the wisdom journey.