Truthfully, have you ever told a “little white lie“? I’m sure you have.
Specifically, if you’re a man with a wife or girlfriend, that fateful question: “Does this dress make me look too big?” comes to mind.
What do you answer?
Well, today’s Bible study lesson from 1 Samuel deals with several issues going on in David’s life.
And, we’ll cover these issues along with the sin of lying.
David Goes to Nob — And Lies
Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?”
David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’
Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”
The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread, if only the young men have kept themselves from women.”
David answered the priest and said to him, “Be assured, women have been denied to us as previously when I left and the bodies of the young men were consecrated, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then will their bodies be consecrated today?”
So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence which was removed from its place before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.
“Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.
David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there no spear or sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.”
Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.”
And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
Then David set out and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath.
But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land?
Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,
‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”
David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.
So he disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard.
Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is behaving like an insane person.
Why do you bring him to me? Do I lack insane people, that you have brought this one to behave like an insane person in my presence?
Shall this one come into my house?” – 1 Samuel 21:1-15
First – The Higher Law of God
Was it wrong for the priest, Ahimelech to give consecrated bread to David?
After all, this bread was meant only for the priests.
But, Ahimelech knew there was a higher law of love. The law of God outweighs the laws of man.
So, taking care of another human being was more important at the time.
This “law” was covered by Jesus in Matthew when He talked about working on the Sabbath.
David’s Lie – Justified?
Some scholars believe David’s lie to protect himself from the king was justified.
After all, a war was going on, wasn’t it?
And, deception is a part of war, isn’t it?
Finally, no real harm was done, was it?
Whoa! We’re not done yet!
If you read ahead to 1 Samuel, chapter 22 you’ll find the consequences of this “small” wartime deception.
In this chapter, you’ll discover the killing of 85 priest — directly linked to this instance in time.
God Sees Sin as Sin
We sometimes do things that displease God. And, as Christians we ask forgiveness — and God forgives.
But, what about the other consequences?
In David’s situation, his lie led to dire results. And, people died because of his sin.
Truth is, there is no “big” or “little” sin in God’s eyes — only sin.
So, before we try to justify any sin, large or small, let’s take a moment of pause and weigh the possible effect it could have on others.
Because of our failure, we could hurt someone we love.
Thankfully, we have Christ to guide us through the Holy Spirit. So, we have the power through Him to avoid many of the pitfalls and temptations of life.
We will sin. There will be consequences for us or others. Be careful.
Love In Christ
– Bob
If you would like more information about the experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to look at John 3:16.