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NASB | 1 Samuel 16:2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Samuel 16:2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer from the herd with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' |
Bible Question:
You have not signed off with a name, so I cannot address you. You have not answered my question and neither did Tim. I still do not have any clear Biblical guidelines on this issue. Sorry that I triplicated my mail by mistake. I have said that it is not God's character to lie or deceive, and I know this is also confirmed in the Bible. But I havve given explicit examples of situations that call for us to lie. Rehab for one. And what about the burglars and the dinner party? Will you be so honest as to harm someone's life by telling where they are hiding, or are you going to make it known that no one is in the house so as to invite burglars into your home or are you going to offend your dinner host by telling the truth? Can I recap what you have said in another way. Let us say that a Christian missionary would like to go to Saudi Arabia to share the gospel for at least 3 years. He knows fully well that if he was to disclose the real reason for his visit to Saudi Arabia, he will never get his visa stamped, right?. This is because Christianity is forbidden to be preached in this holy land of Islam. As such, he has to resort to deception or lie by conjuring that he is there to enrol as a student of language. He consequently enrols with an institution and gets his student visa and in his spare time, he shares the gospel with non-Christians. After a year of doing this, he was caught by the religious police and charged with the crime of preaching Christianity and obtaining a visa by deception. This Christian missionary knows and admits this to be the truth. Tell me what should this person have done before he applied for his visa? Tell the truth and he will never get his visa. Tell a lie and he may get his visa, but at great risk. Samuel faced the same dilemma. Tell the truth and surely Saul will kill him. Conjure something up and he may accomplish his mission to anoint the next King of Israel. I hope I have made myself clear. Please share your further thoughts on this matter. In Christ's Love, Greg |
Bible Answer: Hi, Greg... This is an interesting topic. Frankly I've pondered the same thing myself. The example of Samuel is a good one. Rahab hiding of the truth is another. Even Christ seemed (operative word there!) to misdirect on occasion. I believe part of the answer rests in an area that Calvin used to emphasize: "God uses secondary causes." You might look around on the net for some of what the Reformers had to say regarding secondary causes. Another aspect of this question can be found in an area of philosophy called ethics. I'd encourage you to look up the phrase "teleological suspension of the ethical." In particular look at what Soren Kierkegaard has to say on this subject. (Of course, I do not view Kierkegaard as infallable nor do I fully agree with him, but what he has to say on this topic seems sound enough.) Now, all that written, I'd say that truthfulness is a virtue that should not be compromised. The narratives of scripture are there to help us understand the redemptive work of God. The behaviors of the frail humanity that are in these histories are not necessarily to be emulated except where we are commanded to do so. Furthermore, we are specifically commanded to speak the truth. Therefore, if your conscience bothers you on a point of misdirection, deal with it and speak as honestly as you are capable of doing. I hope this will help a little bit. In Him, Doc |