Will It Work?
Who can tell the damage a lie might inflict! [Take a few moments and read 1 Samuel 21]
David thought he was being prudent…it all made great sense. He couldn’t go to the priest Ahimelech and tell the truth (that is, that he was on the run from Saul); otherwise, he might not get the help he needed. If Ahimelech knew that David had become an enemy of Saul, for this priest to help would be seen by the embittered king as tantamount to aiding the enemy!
So, David lied—said he was on a special secret mission at the king’s bidding and left in such haste that he didn’t have time to take provisions for the trip, not even their weapons! I suppose that should’ve been a red flag to Ahimelech. I mean, what soldier—especially a military commander!—would head off on a mission empty handed & empty stomached? I can almost see Ahimelech’s puzzled look.
Nevertheless, he accepts the story and provides food for David and his men and even gives David the sword that had belonged to Goliath.
Got away with one, right?
Not so fast. Doeg was hanging around and saw the whole thing.
That’s the problem with lying. You never know when a Doeg will mess things up!
And mess things up he did!
Under pressure from the king and his little pity party, Doeg reported what he saw—tattled on Ahimelech, if you will. The lowest point of Saul’s sorry life follows. This behavior, in my opinion at least, is worse than his going to the witch at Endor to summons Samuel from the grave. Saul summoned Ahimelech and his entire extended priestly family living in Nob, accused them of treason for aiding David, and summarily executed them.
The sad thing about all of this comes out in David’s admission when he heard of the brutal slayings. Listen to what he said, “I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul.”
But he lied anyway!
Why?
Same reason we do: “What I want is more important to me than any harm my lying might cause another.” And besides, we convince ourselves, although something bad could happen, surely nothing actually will, right?
Another interesting tidbit smacks us, the readers of this story, in 21:7. Doeg was “detained before the Lord” in Nob—so he would see the whole thing, so he would report the actions of Ahimelech to Saul. Now you could play all kinds of theological games with that and come a hair’s breadth from blaming God for Ahimelech’s death, but you’d miss the point.
The responsibility for the priests’ deaths rested squarely on Saul; but make no mistake about it, David had a share in that responsibility. The Lord sovereignly worked—as He always does—to ensure that David’s lying would come back to haunt him.
In lying to Ahimelech, David failed to remember two critical truths we would do well to digest:
David thought he was being prudent…it all made great sense. He couldn’t go to the priest Ahimelech and tell the truth (that is, that he was on the run from Saul); otherwise, he might not get the help he needed. If Ahimelech knew that David had become an enemy of Saul, for this priest to help would be seen by the embittered king as tantamount to aiding the enemy!
So, David lied—said he was on a special secret mission at the king’s bidding and left in such haste that he didn’t have time to take provisions for the trip, not even their weapons! I suppose that should’ve been a red flag to Ahimelech. I mean, what soldier—especially a military commander!—would head off on a mission empty handed & empty stomached? I can almost see Ahimelech’s puzzled look.
Nevertheless, he accepts the story and provides food for David and his men and even gives David the sword that had belonged to Goliath.
Got away with one, right?
Not so fast. Doeg was hanging around and saw the whole thing.
That’s the problem with lying. You never know when a Doeg will mess things up!
And mess things up he did!
Under pressure from the king and his little pity party, Doeg reported what he saw—tattled on Ahimelech, if you will. The lowest point of Saul’s sorry life follows. This behavior, in my opinion at least, is worse than his going to the witch at Endor to summons Samuel from the grave. Saul summoned Ahimelech and his entire extended priestly family living in Nob, accused them of treason for aiding David, and summarily executed them.
The sad thing about all of this comes out in David’s admission when he heard of the brutal slayings. Listen to what he said, “I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul.”
But he lied anyway!
Why?
Same reason we do: “What I want is more important to me than any harm my lying might cause another.” And besides, we convince ourselves, although something bad could happen, surely nothing actually will, right?
Another interesting tidbit smacks us, the readers of this story, in 21:7. Doeg was “detained before the Lord” in Nob—so he would see the whole thing, so he would report the actions of Ahimelech to Saul. Now you could play all kinds of theological games with that and come a hair’s breadth from blaming God for Ahimelech’s death, but you’d miss the point.
The responsibility for the priests’ deaths rested squarely on Saul; but make no mistake about it, David had a share in that responsibility. The Lord sovereignly worked—as He always does—to ensure that David’s lying would come back to haunt him.
In lying to Ahimelech, David failed to remember two critical truths we would do well to digest:
- The fulfillment of my desires is not the supreme good, and
- The Lord my God sees all things and rules over all things!
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