"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." {PP 309.2}

False speaking in any matter, every attempt or purpose to deceive our neighbor, is here included. An intention to deceive is what constitutes falsehood. By a glance of the eye, a motion of the hand, an expression of the countenance, a falsehood may be told as effectually as by words. All intentional overstatement, every hint or insinuation calculated to convey an erroneous or exaggerated impression, even the statement of facts in such a manner as to mislead, is falsehood. This precept forbids every effort to injure our neighbor's reputation by misrepresentation or evil surmising, by slander or tale bearing. Even the intentional suppression of truth, by which injury may result to others, is a violation of the ninth commandment. {PP 309.3}

Why do you ask?

MountainMan found some good statements there. I wonder what Mrs. White would say about God's advice to the prophet Samuel. Remember that story?

Since God does not lie (and I believe this very firmly), we have a rather difficult time understanding a situation like this.

I don't think we should always be required to reveal the truth. There are times and situations when it is not in our best interest, nor in God's best interest, to do so. This is why Jesus Himself said to His disciples "be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

A very good book along these lines is the one by "Brother Andrew," called "The Ethics of Smuggling" (if I've remembered it right). When you are smuggling Bibles illegally into a country where a long imprisonment or death sentence may be the reward for thus serving God, should you be required to "tell all?" It is rather obvious, here, that man's laws are in flagrant contradiction to God's laws. It is also clear that to obey God in this situation, one must intentionally deceive...or at least hide the facts and details of what he or she is doing.

I have helped to do similar things for a fellow soldier in Christ needing to enter a religiously-oppressed country (which I need not name). There are such things as "computer forensics" in these modern times, so I helped to "disaster proof" the laptop of this friend before he entered, just in case the border agents should choose to inspect it. Was this "sin" because it was deliberately "deceptive?"

We must remember that we are in a war. God's marching orders are given despite what men's commands may be. When God determines something is for the best, then we must accept that.

Here are several passages that are worth studying on this topic for the advanced Bible scholar. Each of these has its own setting and purpose. They are not all the same. Nonetheless, they are worth contemplating in light of a bigger picture.


Prophecy to a Syrian King
"And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath showed me that he shall surely die." (2 Kings 8:10, KJV)

Prophet in Disguise:
"So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people." (1 Kings 20:38-42, KJV)

True Prophet, False Prophecy
"And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?" (1 Kings 22:13-18, KJV)

God to Samuel
And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice." (1 Samuel 16:1-5, KJV)

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Yes, GC, the Bible includes stories that seem to depict God instructing people to tell half truths or lies. The one that has troubled me over the years is:

Exodus
3:18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

8:25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
8:26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
8:27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
8:28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

10:7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
10:8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: [but] who [are] they that shall go?
10:9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we [must hold] a feast unto the LORD.
10:10 And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look [to it]; for evil [is] before you.
10:11 Not so: go now ye [that are] men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

Did God really intend for the Jews to only worship Him for three days in the wilderness? Or, did He intend to take them to the Promised Land for ever?

Are we, therefore, saying that it is OK to lie, but not OK to bear false witness, which in essence would also mean that there is a difference between the two?

By the way, I created this topic as I read something about this somewhere that prompted me to create this interesting topic.

But think about it. Moses never told Pharaoh that they were coming back, did he? And Pharaoh knew that, it would appear, which is why he wanted the women and children to stick around, or the cattle to stay behind.

I've wondered about the story about Micaiah. Was he being sarcastic? Was that how Ahab knew he wasn't telling him the truth?

In my opinion lie and false witness are synonyms. And, according to the passage of PP quoted by Mike, false witness is defined as

1) false speaking
2) omission of truth by which injury may result to others

Rosangela,

That's what I had always thought, however, there are some who seem to think otherwise, which is why I created this topic.