Lies and Deception
Opening Prayer
Lord, clear my mind that I might see in Your Word something to help me live rightly for You today.
Read 1 Samuel 21:1-15
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Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Serious consequences can sometimes hinge on seemingly insignificant choices. It behooves us to ask God for wisdom and guidance in all situations, big or small.
Think Further
The story goes that in World War II, a body in British army uniform was found floating in the sea. On his person were top-secret documents detailing plans for an invasion of Greece by Allied forces. These papers found their way to Hitler. The jubilant Nazis had no idea that the man was a dead drifter, dressed up and planted by the British with false information tucked into his person: Greece was a dummy target–the real plan was to invade Sicily. This deception helped turn the tide of the war.
So is deception sometimes a good thing? In today’s passage David practices deception twice. The feigned insanity before Achish was a clever ruse and pretty harmless; furthermore, David himself attributed it not to his own cleverness, but to God’s rescue of him (see heading for Psa. 34). However, the deception of Ahimelech was an altogether different matter, and led to disastrous consequences for innocent people, as we shall see tomorrow. And yet what else could David have done? He was a fugitive and hungry, so inventing a story about a top-secret mission and a group of ritually pure collaborators gave him access to a good supply of food. Even though the Law forbade non-priests to eat the consecrated bread, Ahimelech recognized that there were exceptions. Moreover, Jesus approved, when later he used the story to exonerate his disciples (Matt. 12:1-8).
In our lives today things are rarely black and white, and sometimes we need to make difficult decisions. We cannot foresee the consequences of our decisions any more than David could when he first approached Ahimelech. Is it a cop-out to suggest that there are times when we need to choose the lesser of two evils and leave the consequences to God? It may help to remember that God is willing to use imperfect servants when their hearts are right with him.
Apply
What “sacred bread” has the Lord fed you with in the past week? With what “sword” has he armed you?
Closing prayer
Father, help me to see things from Your perspective when issues don’t seem clear to me.
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