Encouraged to deceive

[Deacon]

There's and interesting introduction to David told in 1 Samuel 16.
Did God tell Samuel to lie? (vss. 1-4a)

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. ...

Rob

 

[KenH]

Did God tell Samuel to lie?

NO!

It was God's totally sovereign will to bring Samuel and David together and He did so by the means of a sacrifice being offered.

 

[Ascetic X]

There's and interesting introduction to David told in 1 Samuel 16.
Did God tell Samuel to lie? (vss. 1-4a)

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. ...

No. There was no lie. Samuel just omitted part of the total truth. He did bring a heifer and made a sacrifice.

 

[kyredneck]

20 And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him.
22 And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so.
23 Now therefore, behold, Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and Jehovah hath spoken evil concerning thee. 1 Ki 22

 

[Ascetic X]

20 And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him.
22 And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so.
23 Now therefore, behold, Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and Jehovah hath spoken evil concerning thee. 1 Ki 22

In the Bible, the ancient authors frequently attribute things directly to God, although their causation is actually less direct.

We may call this mode of speech “direct attribution.”

A consequence of this mode of speech is that the authors of Scripture sometimes speak as if God actively caused things that he merely allowed as part of his providence.

This was their way of emphasizing God’s absolute Lordship, even though the figure of speech is not to be understood to mean that God literally caused something. God is depicted as causing something to simplify the indirect path of God allowing it to happen.

The literal truth is that he allowed it to happen, but this is expressed in figurative language that speaks as if he caused it.

This is the key to understanding the passages involving deception.

The literal truth is the one expressed in Numbers 23:19—“God is not man, that he should lie.”

But since God allows deception to take place on some occasions, the direct attribution mode of speech can be used in Scripture to speak as if God caused the deception.

Thus in Jeremiah’s day the people had become convinced that they would have peace when this was not the case. God allowedthis to happen, but—per direct attribution—Jeremiah speaks as ifGod deceived them.

In 2 Kings, Ahab was deceived by false prophecies which God allowed to occur, and in Micaiah’s vision this is depicted—per direct attribution—as if God himself sent a lying spirit.

Ezekiel discusses the well-known phenomenon of false prophets, which God has allowed to appear, and—per direct attribution—speaks as if God himself deceived these prophets.

And Paul comments on those who “refused to love the truth” (2 Thess. 2:10), who God allowed to “not believe the truth but [have] pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:11). God then allows them to embrace “a strong delusion,” but—per direct attribution—Paul speaks as if God sent this delusion.

 

[Deacon]

There’s a lot of back-and-forth contrasts in this portion of Scripture.

Samuel, the last judge - Saul, the first king
Saul (timid leader - king) / David (leader - shepherd)

Anointed Saul (15:17) /Anointed David (16:13)
Saul - rejected king (15:23) / David - chosen, anointed king (16:13)

Spirit on David (16:13) / Spirit departed Saul (16:14)
David, the LORD’s choice (16:13)/ David, Saul’s choice (16:21-23)

Agaz’ killed by a sword (15:33) / Goliath killed and head removed by sword (17:51)
Saul armor and sword (16:38-39) / David rejects Saul’s sword (16:39), “no sword in the hand of David (17:50b)
Goliath’s fights with sword and javelin / David fights in the name of the LORD (17:45)

Deterioration of Saul (16:14–23) / Rise of David, 17
Saul confesses sin (15:24) / David confesses sin (2 Sam 12:13)

Including:
The LORD regrets (15:10) / no regret (15:29) / the Lord regrets (15:35)

Saul deceives (15:20-21, 24) / The LORD will not lie (15:29) / the LORD deceives by misdirection (16:1-3)

Rob

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

There's and interesting introduction to David told in 1 Samuel 16.
Did God tell Samuel to lie? (vss. 1-4a)

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. ...

Rob

Excellent question, one I have asked myself. My conclusion is this:

When Samuel feared Saul’s men, God did not tell him to lie. God told him to speak a true purpose that concealed the larger mission, the truth hidden within the truth. Samuel did offer the sacrifice. Samuel did take the heifer. Samuel did perform the act God told him to mention. What he did not reveal was the part that was not their business. Concealing truth from hostile men is not deception. It is obedience and wisdom.

Scripture shows this pattern repeatedly. Rahab hid the spies because their mission was God’s business, not Jericho’s. Elisha misdirected the Syrian army because their intent was evil, and God’s purpose was not for them to know. Jesus withheld His identity at times because the timing of His revelation was governed by the Father, not by the demands of men. Paul escaped Damascus by night because the plot against his life did not obligate him to announce his movements. David feigned madness before Achish because revealing his true condition would have placed him in needless danger.

None of these acts were lies in the moral sense. They were righteous concealment, truth used wisely, danger avoided, and God’s purpose protected. Scripture never teaches that every person is entitled to every truth at every moment. Some truth is holy, some truth is dangerous to reveal, and some truth belongs only to those who serve God’s purpose.

Samuel did not lie. Samuel obeyed. Samuel concealed what God told him to conceal. God’s business is not always for everyone to know.

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

20 And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him.
22 And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so.
23 Now therefore, behold, Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and Jehovah hath spoken evil concerning thee. 1 Ki 22

I do not know exactly what you are trying to say here, but the scene in 1 Kings 22 is not an example of God instructing His servants to lie. The words “go forth, and do so” occur in a vision of judgment on Ahab, a king who had already rejected every true prophet sent to him. Ahab surrounded himself with men who told him what he wanted to hear. He preferred lies over truth. The “lying spirit” is part of God giving Ahab over to the deception he had already chosen.

The next line makes that clear: “the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets.” These were Ahab’s prophets, not God’s. They were already false prophets, already committed to flattery and deception. God did not force righteous men to lie. He simply confirmed Ahab’s own prophets in the lie Ahab wanted. This is judicial, not instructional. Micaiah himself told the truth plainly, exactly as God revealed it.

So the passage does not show God teaching His people to deceive. It shows God judging a man who rejected truth until the only thing left for him was the lie he preferred.

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

In the Bible, the ancient authors frequently attribute things directly to God, although their causation is actually less direct.

We may call this mode of speech “direct attribution.”

A consequence of this mode of speech is that the authors of Scripture sometimes speak as if God actively caused things that he merely allowed as part of his providence.

This was their way of emphasizing God’s absolute Lordship, even though the figure of speech is not to be understood to mean that God literally caused something. God is depicted as causing something to simplify the indirect path of God allowing it to happen.

The literal truth is that he allowed it to happen, but this is expressed in figurative language that speaks as if he caused it.

This is the key to understanding the passages involving deception.

The literal truth is the one expressed in Numbers 23:19—“God is not man, that he should lie.”

But since God allows deception to take place on some occasions, the direct attribution mode of speech can be used in Scripture to speak as if God caused the deception.

Thus in Jeremiah’s day the people had become convinced that they would have peace when this was not the case. God allowedthis to happen, but—per direct attribution—Jeremiah speaks as ifGod deceived them.

In 2 Kings, Ahab was deceived by false prophecies which God allowed to occur, and in Micaiah’s vision this is depicted—per direct attribution—as if God himself sent a lying spirit.

Ezekiel discusses the well-known phenomenon of false prophets, which God has allowed to appear, and—per direct attribution—speaks as if God himself deceived these prophets.

And Paul comments on those who “refused to love the truth” (2 Thess. 2:10), who God allowed to “not believe the truth but [have] pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:11). God then allows them to embrace “a strong delusion,” but—per direct attribution—Paul speaks as if God sent this delusion.

I do not know exactly what you are trying to say here my Brother, but the passage in 1 Kings 22 does not require a special theory of “direct attribution” to understand it. The text itself tells us what is happening. Ahab had already rejected every true prophet sent to him. He surrounded himself with men who told him what he wanted to hear. He preferred lies over truth. The “lying spirit” is part of God’s judgment on a king who had already hardened himself against every word God spoke.

When the vision says, “go forth, and do so,” it is not God instructing His servants to lie. It is God giving Ahab over to the deception he already embraced. And when Micaiah says, “the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets,” he is referring to Ahab’s prophets, false prophets who were already committed to flattery and deception. God did not force righteous men to lie. He confirmed Ahab’s own prophets in the lie Ahab wanted.

Micaiah himself told the truth plainly. The judgment falls on Ahab, not on God’s integrity. The passage shows God giving a rebellious man over to the deception he prefers, not God teaching His people to deceive.