II Kings 8:10- Elisha, God's prophet, instructs Hazel to give Ben-hadad a false prophecy, which he does.
I Kings 22:22- Granted that this takes place by a spirit speaking through a false prophet which Ahab should not have been listening to in order to bring Ahab into judgment for his own wickedness. But it is still God-ordained deception.
John 7:1-10- There seems to be some uncertainty about the word "yet" in verse 8. Whether this should be included or not, Jesus tricked his brothers into thinking he was not going to the feast- but once they were gone he went up " in cognito".
Jeremiah 38:24-27- King Zedekiah instructs Jeremiah to lie to the king's officials about the subject of Jeremiah's conversation with the king as a means of saving Jeremiah's life. We see no condemnation from God towards Jeremiah when he follows this advice. Does the end justify the means?
Exodus 1:15-21- The midwives blatantly lie to Pharoah about their disobedience to his obviously wicked command. Their motives were obviously good (v 17), intending to save the Israelite babies out of fear for God. Not only does God not disapprove of their deception, but He compliments and rewards their methods (v20,21). Is it OK to do a "small" sin to avoid doing a "large" sin?
I Samuel 16:1-5- God instructs Samuel to mislead the elders of the city (and Saul, indirectly) about the true intentions of Samuel's visit. Samuel tells them he is simply there to sacrifice, but in reality he is anointing the next king of Israel.
I Samuel 21:1-3- David lies to Ahimelech the priest about his mission. David tells the priest that he is on a secret mission for Saul, when he is really running from Saul. Again we do not see any condemnation from God or remorse from David. Keeping in mind that David was so sensitive that he was distraught over cutting Saul's robe a short time later, it seems odd that lying to the priest does not bother him a bit.
I Samuel 27:8-12- David lies to the Philistine king Achish, telling him that he was attaching Jewish towns, when he was actually raiding other Philistine settlements. Again, no condemnation from God and no remorse from David.
