THE DANGER IN DECEIT

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand."

So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath. David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"

So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.

When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, "Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.' " And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory.

Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever."

1 Samuel 27

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Does a person truly after God’s own heart lie?

That’s the question we need to ponder as we study from 1st Samuel, Chapter 27.

You’ll remember that David warded off Saul for the second time in Chapter 26, bringing Saul to admit his sinfulness and vow to not attempt to harm David again before they went their separate ways.

Well, as Chapter 27 opens, we see that David is not so sure that Saul would keep his word. After all, he had promised things to David before only to go back on those promises. What would keep Saul from doing it again?

So David decides to “escape to the land of the Philistines” which would lead to Saul giving up his search for David in Israel”. And so “David and the six hundred men…left and went over to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath”. And as David predicted, Saul no longer searched for him after discovering he was in Gath.

Now you’ll recall that David had fled to Gath before and, afraid that king Achish might expose him to Saul, David pretended to be crazy which allowed him to get out of Gath and continue his escape.

Well, this time “David and his men settled in Gath with Achish” with their families and David went to Achish with a request saying, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?" And with that, “Achish gave (David) Ziklag” where he lived for “a year and four months”…and a land that “has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since”.

So up to this point in Chapter 27, all seems well. David was free from Saul’s pursuit and had his own town to live in with his people.

But then something began to happen to David. He began to allow deceit to take root in his heart.

For as David and his men settled into Zihlag, they weren’t just satisfied with having their town to live in. No…scripture tells us that they “went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites”, people who had “lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt”…”from ancient times”. Since these areas were under Philistine rule, David would attack an area and then not allow “a man or woman alive” because he couldn’t afford anyone telling the king what he was doing…attacking the king’s towns for plunder as he “took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes”.

And as David returned to Achish, we read where the king asked David, “Where did you go raiding today?" to which David would reply, “Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." In other words, David led Achish to believe that he was attacking his fellow Israelites when he was really attacking the Philistines. And David’s lies were convincing because “Achish trusted David” and believed what David said so much that he truly felt David had made himself an enemy of his own people, something that would make David the king’s servant forever.

Now, on the surface, this lie might seem innocent enough. David had attacked and destroyed the Philistines…a people who God had already condemned…a people who were the enemies of Israel. But note here that God didn’t tell David that this is what He wanted him to do…nor did David, the man after God’s own heart, ask the Lord whether it was His will for him to attack and destroy the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. Instead, David took it upon himself to wipe out three groups of Philistines, leaving no witnesses and then lying to the king about his actions…and as we will see later, this was just the beginning of deceitfulness with David.

For in life, lying is rarely just a one time affair. Instead, once a person is successful in lying once, they allow the seed of deceitfulness to be sown into their character where it begins to take root and sprout into further incidents of deception. And if a person isn’t careful, lying can be as common for them as telling the truth, particularly if lying can either help them get what they want or cover up a wrong they committed.

The world would say that a little lie here and there isn’t that wrong. After all, everyone does it.

Well, thank goodness God doesn’t feel that way. For we only need look into His word to see that lying is not acceptable to Him in any form. Consider these passages:

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19

The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful. Proverbs 12:22

When a person chooses to lie, they allow sin to enter their heart and devise the wicked scheme that ends up being the deceitfulness that comes from their lips. And this is an action that is detestable to the Lord.

In other words, we disgust God when we deceive others. And is there any less favorable place to be than in the presence of an Almighty, Infinitely Powerful God who is disgusted? Just the very thought of this should deter us from ever speaking a word of falsehood.

For bad things are destined to happen to the one who decides to lie. How do we know? Again, we go to God’s word.

A man of perverse heart does not prosper; he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble. Proverbs 17:20

God does not bless sinfulness. Instead, He rewards righteousness and faithfulness (1 Samuel 26:23) A perverse heart…a heart that decides to disobey God and lead the tongue to deceive others…will lead the liar to fall into trouble. For a person who willingly decides to turn away from God’s word and way will not find prosperity…only His disfavor. And we should always keep this in mind…we can easily deceive people but we will never deceive God.

So what can we do in the midst of a world filled with so much deception…a world that would ever tempt us to adopt deception in our own lives?

God’s word gives us the answer. We need only turn to Him.

I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. Psalm 120:1-2

For God is always there for us…always there to help us from being deceived…and always there to keep our own hearts and tongues from being deceitful. We need only call on Him and He will answer. We know this because His word is truth. We know this because God doesn’t lie.

So as we consider this passage and David’s actions, let our plea be like that of David’s son, Solomon as he wrote the following words:

Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Proverbs 30:7-8

Indeed, let us give thanks for the word of God given to us this day…a word that has opened our eyes to the dangers of deceit…and a word that has served as our daily bread…feeding us and nourishing our spirits and souls…as it does every time we turn to it.

And that’s the truth. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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