David,
according to 1 Samuel 19:10 eluded the spear that Saul hurled at him while he
was playing the harp in his presence. We were simply told that he escaped and
fled that night. However, the escape was not as easy as it seemed. It took the
help of his wife, Michal the daughter of Saul. After escaping from Saul’s
failed attempt, he went home. He probably thought he would be safe at home and
that Saul would not trouble him there, but he was totally wrong. Saul had
someone stalked him and watched his movement, with the plan to kill him in the
morning.
In
Saul’s previous attempt at David’s life, it was Jonathan who disrupted his plan.
This time it was Michal, another one of his children. She warned David saying,
“If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you
will be put to death.” For she was aware of her
father’s intention. So she let David down through the window so that he
could escape from Saul’s wicked scheme. To make time for David to escape,
Michal took a household idol, laid in on the bed and disguised it as if David
was in bed. We are not told whose idol it was, but by using it Michal had shown
how much she valued it. She loved David so much that she even lied for him,
telling the messenger that he was sick. Saul, of course, did not
fall for the ruse. He sent the messenger who delivered the news to bring David
to him so that he might kill him.
When
the messenger discovered the deception, it was already too late, David had
sufficient time to escape. Of course, Saul was unhappy with Michal. He demanded
to know why she deceived him and why she let his
enemy go so that he escaped. It was obvious that Saul was no longer logical or
reasonable. So Michal resorted to another deception. She lied that David used a
veiled threat to make her accede to his demand to let him go.
The issue that confronts us in this account is: is it alright then for us
Christians to resort to lying to save a situation? In the Bible are incidences
where a lie was used to achieve a nobler purpose. One such incidence was the
midwives who lied to Pharaoh when they were ordered to murder all male babies
of the people of Israel. Then in the book of Joshua we saw how Rahab lied to
protect the spies sent by Joshua to survey the promised land. What about the
scene in 1 Samuel 21 where David lied to Ahimelech the priest, to buy some time
for his escape from Saul? Be clear that these incidences are not
there to give us justification for telling lies. The Bible did not design these
incidences for us to moralize our wrong. As Christians, God expects us to tell
the truth. And we must be truthful. When we are caught in such a
situation, we lean on the wisdom of God to help us deal with it. Paul’s word in
1 Corinthians 10:13 assures us that “No
temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to
be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide
the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
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