It was an unexpected season. David was constantly being pursued by Saul because King Saul was plain and simply jealous. So after being on the run for so long, David decided to ask the enemies of Israel, the Philistines, if he could live among them for awhile. The Philistine king agreed and David and his men settled in. When Saul heard about it, he stopped chasing David.
David Among His Enemies
But for David it didn’t mean simply a vacation living on the coat-strings of another. He used the time well and began to go on raiding parties against the enemies of Israel–the Amalekites, the Gehsurites, the Gizrites and others. But whenever the Philistine king, Achish, asked what he had been doing he said he had been raiding “the south country of Judah” (1 Sam 27:10). Achish thought he was attacking the Israelite people and so becoming contemptible to Israel.
“So Achish trust David, thinking, “Since he has made himself detestable to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever” (1 Sam 27:12).
But David was forever loyal to his own people. He just had to continue the work in a different way when life looked different.
The Unexpected Global Disruption
It makes me think of our current times. Life looks really different right now. Last night I heard a great sermon message (here) about just because the virus has put a lot of people on hold, God is still saying “Go.” It just looks different. Nothing has stopped in the commands of God. We need to ask him how to continue to fulfill his will under these circumstances.
Is Lying Ok to Save Life?
Now you might be thinking to yourself, was it right for David to mislead Achish and not tell him the truth? Is there ever a time such as in the military world to not tell the truth? It wasn’t the first time for David. He pretended to be insane once when Saul went looking for him (1 Sam 21).
This is a whole issue in itself. We could discuss how Shiprah and Puah lied to Pharaoh about the Israelite babies (Ex 1). Their doing so saved babies and their act was even honored by God.
It’s important to note that the Old Testament is about real people who live both good/bad lives. Every prophet and patriarch and king had their moral downfalls. The story is about God’s redemption.
The issue of whether to tell the truth or lie under duress has been debated for centuries. I remember the story from Corrie ten Boom’s book The Hiding Place detailing this issue. A family was hiding three brothers in a hole under the table that was covered by a rug.
When the soldiers burst in, they asked if there were boys of military age as the Germans wanted to recruit the Dutch for the war effort. The older sister burst into laughter and said there were three boys and they were hiding under the table. The Germans thinking she was mocking them left.
After they left there was a sharp divide among them as they debated whether the truth or lies should be told. It’s not so easy an issue. Corrie wonders if she did the right thing as she believed the telling of lies, and the doing of lies (false identity papers and stolen ration cards) are both the spirit of lying. But it was in order to save life.
The challenge is that if you totally endorse the telling of lies, you get into a situation of a major world religion that says that God forgives all lies if it protects the religion from unbelievers. Then lying becomes rampant and justifiable for many situations.
It’s not so easy to know what is right. I think when it comes to preserving life, we must act in love. But to the best of our ability as the situation calls for we must be truthful. This is not an easy thing. Especially in the face of evil.
I know of one missionary in a foreign land who has made the decision to always tell the truth. But if it implicates anyone then she remains silent, even if it costs her her life. Three times last I heard she has faced a firing squad.
We need to think on these things though. It’s important to decide on these matters now, because I believe it is only a matter of time before we once again are tested on a national and even global level.
