The Greater Moral Good - Jeremiah 38:27

   
Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. - Jeremiah 38:27

    In a nutshell; King Zedekiah told Jeremiah to lie. That is the simple and unvarnished fact. Then, Jeremiah indeed lied. Now the question arises: is doing or committing an evil act ever excusable in the eyes of God?.
    Two major considerations must be made when contemplating this issue, “to sin or not to sin.” As to the backstory of the King’s command that Jeremiah lie to the princes; he commanded Jeremiah to deceive these men in order to keep them from killing him over the prophecy of the inevitable conquest of their land by the Chaldeans. But didn’t the ninth Commandment demand that a man should always tell the truth? “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” - Exodus 20:16. Perhaps the difficulty comes when we use the word “always.” Is there in fact ever a time when we can transgress the law of God?
    As to the first consideration - it is true; Jeremiah did lie to the princes. His motivation? To keep them from killing him. I can’t speak for you but I know what Scripture has revealed about those who would tell a lie to save themselves or the lives of others. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” - Hebrews 11:310-31. Here, the writer of Hebrews commends the actions of the prostitute, Rahab, for protecting the lives of the Hebrew spies by lying to the King’s inquisitors. In the case of Abraham - “Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’ And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.” - Genesis 20:2. And what was his excuse for telling such a lie?  When it was revealed to the King that Sara was indeed Abraham’s wife -- “. . .  Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.” - Genesis 20:11.
    In both the aforementioned instances Rahab and Abraham lied. There’s no confusion here; what they both did was bold face lie to those questioning them. So how could any expositor defend their actions? How could any commentator advocate for their transgressions? Well, the simple answer is that no one can defend or excuse the lies. However, when tested against the degree of harm, potential, real, or merely imagined; the weight of the lie did not match the dire consequences of telling the truth.
    Dr. R.C. Sproul once suggested that there are some people who simply “don’t deserve the truth!” Imagine for example the commander of an Einsatzgruppen ( an “operational group” or death squad ) of Nazis knocking at your door and asking you if you knew the whereabouts of your Jewish neighbors. You stare the commander in the eye and tell him you don’t know, when in fact you are hiding them in your basement. Ask yourself this question - is it more important to tell the truth and be honest or lie for the sake of saving human lives? Obviously, the commander doesn’t deserve to be told the truth, considering what his plans are for the family should he discover their location. And while telling a lie is a direct transgression against God’s holy law, it must be a last resort, where no other alternative or option is available. It should only be considered when the greater moral good must outweigh the nuances of the law! Thank you, Dr. Sproul!
    Albeit, the example I just gave works well for those who experienced the tragedy of WWII. But what about now? What about today? Alright, let’s consider a possible 21st Century conundrum: your friend shows up at your front door, sobbing and bruised. She tells you she got into an altercation with her husband, got out of the house and ran to you for help and support. While you’re comforting her, there’s a loud pounding on the door. Her abusive husband, obviously infuriated, is waiting impatiently for you to answer. After sending your friend into another room, you answer the door. He demands to know if you have seen or heard from her. You stare him in the eye and tell him, “No.” He leaves in a huff, cursing as he gets into his car. What does your conscience tell you now? “Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.” - Hebrews 13:18.
    I am in no way advocated for dishonesty in any shape or form, but I am suggesting that such strict and unforgiving views as suggested by many Christian legalists today are in fact simply convoluted views of commandments that neither Moses nor Jesus ever intended to be written in stone!
    We must always weigh the repercussions and consequences of omitting truthful responses or deliberately misleading others with our word. But the consideration must never be to keep ourselves from a righteous judgment or simply to allay inconvenience ( “Tell them I’m not home.”). God will always demand that His moral laws are upheld to the highest standard but never at the cost of the greater good or simply to meet someone’s twisted sense of legalism. “Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, ‘Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.’” - Acts 23:1.
    May God always grant us the discernment to make the right choices and decisions.