Dear Lord, we give you thanks for this day, and we ask that you bless the preaching of your word. Father, I pray you'll feed your people. I do pray, God, that the word, according to your promise, will not return void, that you'll use me in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Title of the message is, Did Elisha Lie? Examples of holy silence. not lying all throughout the Bible. There are Bible characters. Some of them do lie. Others are wrongly accused of lying. And in this series of messages on the sin of lying, we wanna take a look at Elisha today and some very, very important teachings and principles that we can glean in regard to our tongue. Now we've covered Rahab in this idea of so-called justified lying. Many use Rahab to justify a holy type of lying. And we saw the Bible never praises Rahab's lying, just like it never praises her harlotry, but it does praise her faith. It does praise the hiding, receiving of the messengers of Israel. Well, let's begin today with an example that is often brought up In regard to Elisha, the text is 2 Kings 6. Then the king of Syria warred against Israel and took counsel with his servants saying, in such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel saying, beware that thou pass not such a place, for tither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing. And he called his servants and said unto them, will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? He thought there were spies among them. And one of his servants said, none, my Lord, O king, but Elisha the prophet is in Israel. And he telleth the king of Israel, the words that thou speakest in thy bed chamber. And he said, go and spy where he is that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him saying, behold, he is in Dothan. That's important. Therefore sent he to their horses and chariots and a great host. And they came by night and come past the city about." So they're looking for Elisha in Dothan. Not discerning the contradiction here, that if Elisha could know the king of Syria's secrets in regard to Israel, why wouldn't he know that he was gathering this host to come for his own life? But maybe the king of Syria thought that he could overwhelm Elisha with raw power. Family Bible note says, wicked men often hope to prevail against those who have God for their protector, but all such hopes are vain. Let's continue. When the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, a host come past the city, both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, alas, my master, how shall we do? I tell you, if you've been drifting along, unwatchful in prayer and the word, settled on your lees instead of on your knees, sitting heavy on the fence like Eli, It's often the case that it's easy to have our faith shaken when surrounded by difficulties and dangers, surrounded by people who have allowed Satan to use them as vessels for discord and destruction. And this is especially true for young or inexperienced servants of the Lord, like this servant here of Elisha, who has not seen yet the power of God manifested repeatedly to protect his prophets and the obedient people of God in mighty ways. So it says in verse 16, and he answered, fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed and says, Lord, I pray the open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man. And he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." What an amazing thing. All of these angelic beings. It reminds me of Psalms three. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me. even David's own son. But he goes on to say, I will not be afraid of 10,000s of people that have set themselves against me roundabout. David was looking by faith here. We have to look at the things that are not seen, but nevertheless true. That is what faith is. trusting God and seeing the things that are true, though we don't see them with the natural eye per se. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter four, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. He tells us in chapter five, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Look at this passage again in Psalms three. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me. Arise, oh Lord, and save me. He says in verse seven. Oh my God, for thou has smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou has broken the teeth of the ungodly. David has not only seen this in his life, literally, where God took care of the enemies and opposition, but he is trusting in faith that it will be so again. I could give years of examples that prove this scripture in my own life. And maybe you've seen the same type of thing. And I have seen that it is far more literal than many realize. You might think this is just poetic and figurative. When David says, save me, oh my God, for thou has smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone and now has broken the teeth of the ungodly. Remember the Bible says in Hosea, he calleth his son out of Egypt, and that's quoted in the New Testament, the Gospels. And it was literally fulfilled beyond anything that anybody would have ever imagined. And we could go on and on. They pierced my hands and feet. They gave lots for his garment. So many other scriptures that appear to be merely figurative in the Old Testament were so hyper-literal when interpreted in the prophecy. And I have seen people that were lying against the truth, making wicked accusations, trying to stop the work of the Lord. And you see their cheekbone. You see them having their teeth broken. Notice Psalms 58. The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth, says the Holy Ghost through David. Figurative for sure, but often far more literal than you'd ever imagine. Thou has smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou has broken the teeth of the ungodly. Why? Why this literal fulfillment many times? Because God often strikes whatever instrument is being used for sin. And since they are slandering David, making wicked accusations, all of these things, God smites them on their jawbone, their cheekbone, their very mouth, their very teeth, all that's used for talking and lying and slandering. It says in Proverbs 12, a lying tongue is but for a moment, the tongue itself. It says in Psalm 64, so shall they make their own tongues to fall upon themselves. That's how God works things out through poetic justice and catches people in their own words that come against his people. Proverbs 10 says, the froward tongue shall be cut out, the tongue itself. Proverbs 19 says, he that speaketh lies shall perish. I have seen this very often, and oftentimes it's been swift, quick, and very literal. The instruments we use for sin will often be directly smitten by God's poetic justice. However, I've seen that the Lord, depending on the person, can show some momentary mercy, waiting for them to fear God, waiting for them to repent. But oftentimes this temporary mercy of not immediately having their teeth broken out or rotted or their cheekbones smashed or rotted can then be interpreted by the liar or the tail bearer as a sign that God agrees with what they have done with their jawbone, cheekbone, teeth, tongue, and lips. We see this in Psalms chapter 50. Sing thou hadest instruction and casteth my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentest with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother. Now listen. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence, says God. Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself. They thought God agreed with them. But I will reprove thee, says God, and set them in order before their eyes. So God's saying, I'm gonna reprove thee, but it's not gonna be with words this time. And he's gonna show, no, I'm not on the side of these people. that have the evil surmising and the slandering and the false accusations, the lack of due process. And God says, I'll set everything in order very soon. And you'll know I was just being patient with you. Now that's very frightening. That is very, very frightening. It goes on to say, now consider this ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver. Psalms 31 says, let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Now let's pick back up with this important story of Elisha. We left off with his servant in great fear at the surrounding Syrian army. And Elisha prayed and his eyes were open to God's incredible angelic army with horses and chariots of fire. Imagine back then seeing even an army today with modern technology compared to the ancient technology of the Syrian army. Imagine how amazing that would be. What a contrast. But The servant of Elisha saw something far greater than just our modern technology compared to what they had back then. He saw God's angelic army that had powers far beyond anything any nation has today. It says in verse 18, and when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said, smite this people I pray thee with blindness. And he smoked them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Now it's in the next verse that we arrive at what has been a classic confusion. A favorite verse of those like Origen and the Jesuits who believe the Bible teaches officious lying or lying in emergencies and such like. Let's read this next verse. Verse 19, and Elisha said unto them, this is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. But he led them to Samaria. Now let's see what happens before we analyze this. And it came to pass when they were coming to Samaria that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes and they saw and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, my father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them? And he answered, thou shall not smite them. Wouldst thou smite those whom thou has taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them that they may eat and drink and go to their master. And he prepared great provision for them. And when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. You have to love this last phrase. They didn't meddle with Elisha anymore. Now let's look in more detail at the alleged lie of Elisha. Let's go back to verse 19. And Elisha said unto them, this is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. But he led them to Samaria. I had a friend who's now passed away and he would often email me. He had a burden to deliver people from worldly psychology programs. He was a good man, but he was troubled by this verse. He thought it must mean that it's proper to lie and deceive in certain situations. But what have we already seen with Samuel last week and last week's message? It says in chapter 16 of Samuel, Samuel said, how can I go? He says to God, if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, take a 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. Now, this is not saying just lie and say that you're going to a sacrifice. No, there's a real sacrifice. But what God did say was, don't tell him about the anointing. Don't mention anything about coming to anoint the next king. Tell him that you're going to the sacrifice, which is true. Now, This text is different than others, such as when we saw King Saul withholding information from his uncle. That's in chapter 10. Saul said unto his uncle, he told us plainly that the asses were found, but of the matter of the kingdom whereof Samuel spake, he told him not. Now, I think this withholding of information was proper by Saul. He didn't lie, he told the truth, but he didn't give all the information since he was dealing with an authority higher than his uncle. But in the case of Samuel in chapter 16, we see that it is God that directed Samuel to withhold information. And God, of course, is king of kings. He's higher than Saul. There is a holy time to keep silence, says Solomon. There is a time and place where it's right and holy to withhold information. This is not an example of lying. So in getting back to Elisha, did he lie? Elisha said unto them, this is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. But he led them to Samaria. Now in their blindness, we don't know where they were scattered to at that moment. We know that they had surrounded the city that night and had come down to him somewhat. It's possible that Elisha went out to meet them. He told them that the city of Dothan was not where they would find Elisha. He could have let them continue to descend into it, but he was no longer there. He held information of where he was. And he told them he would bring them to the man they seek. And he did not lie. He did exactly as he promised. This is an example of withholding information which is holy and right in proper circumstances. As Benson in his commentary says, this is not the way. Elisha does not speak this in answer to an inquiry made by the Syrians respecting the way to Dothan. If he had, his words would have contained a falsehood. He does not say, this is not the way to Dothan. This is not the city of Dothan. Jameson Fawcett and Brown says, this is not the way, neither is this the city. This statement is so far true that as he had now left the place of his residence, they would not have got him by that road. Matthew Poole says, this is not the way, neither is this the city, to wit, where you will find the man for whom you seek, which was very true because he was now come out of the city. And if they had gone on in that way into the city, they had found that Elisha was gone thence. He says, I will bring you to the man whom you seek. And Poole says, and so he did, though not in such a manner as they expected and desired. See, entering Dothan was no longer the way to capture Elisha. Matthew Henry says, he did not lie to them when he told them this is not the way, nor is this the city where Elisha is. For he had now come out of the city, and if they would see him, they must go to another city to which he would direct them. Thomas Ridgely in 1855 in A Body of Divinity. He's a Presbyterian. He says, he told them nothing but what proved true. He does not say I am not the man you seek, which would have been a lie, nor does he say the man is not here, but he tells them I will lead you to the place where you shall find him or have him discovered and presented before you. Again, he does not say this is not the way to Dothan, neither is this the city so called, for then they would have been able to have convicted him of a lie. for they knew that they were at Dothan before they were struck with blindness. So I continue, as we've seen in previous weeks, to put forth the following answers in this series of the sin on lying to those who claim that there is a justified lying because they see Bible characters lying in the Bible. We've seen that One of the first things that we need to point out is oftentimes what they say is a lie is assumed in the Bible character. There's no lie there. Number two, withholding information from those who do not have a right before God to know is not lying. Number three, sometimes Bible characters do commit sins, even in the midst of doing other things that are good sometimes. And we're not meant to use their sins as examples of righteousness. As God praised Sarah for calling her husband Lord, as we saw. While at the very same time she was doing that, she was weak in faith and even lied about laughing in her weakness. God didn't praise her lying. He didn't praise her weakness of faith. He praised the fact that very specifically that she called her husband Lord. God's able to do the same thing with Rahab or any other Bible character that's seen. in their trials and sufferings, lying. Along this line, we might take a moment to explore again the Hebrew midwives. There is not even proof that the Hebrew midwives lied. Now, they did disobey the king and save some babies. This is what God blessed them for. It says in Exodus 1, he said, when you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women and see them upon the stools, if it be a son, then you shall kill him. But if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God and did not as the King of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men, children alive. There is nothing said here about a lie. They merely disobeyed the king of Egypt. They didn't kill the men children, the male children. They disobeyed the king of Egypt in order to obey the king of kings, the higher authority. We ought to obey God rather than men. And even with men, there's a chain of command and order of authority. But let's see where the alleged lie comes in. It goes on to say in verse 18, And the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said unto them, why have you done this thing and have saved the men children alive? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are lively and are delivered air, the midwives come in unto them. See the babies were already saved. They are saving their own lives here and the lives of other midwives likely as they speak unto Pharaoh. Instead of telling the king that they had disobeyed him in certain situations, they tell the king that the Hebrew mothers have already given birth before they arrive. And it's likely that there were Hebrew women, maybe many of them, that were indeed quick in labor exactly as they appointed. So what they did was withheld information that they knew that this did not happen in every situation. And no matter how you slice this, even if you want to say that that is a lie, there's no praise ever mentioned for the report they gave the king to save themselves. What God praises is the disobedience to the king and his unrighteous ungodly law to murder the male Hebrew children. What are we learning from the Bible? We're learning that there is a time for silence, that there's a time to withhold information. I'll go further. That it's actually a sin in many circumstances to not withhold information. Matthew Henry says, he is a fool who tells everything he knows and can keep no counsel. Ironside says a fool readily pours forth all he knows, regardless of the effect it may have for good or evil. Mere frankness, apart from care as to what is uttered, is not at all to be commended. It is what makes the pest of society, the gossip and the tailbearer. Our Lord himself, who knew all things, does not at once manifest his full acquaintance with the solemn events in which he had been the central figure. But he asked the disciples on their way to Emmaus, what things? He wished to test their hearts and all was for their blessing. So we see our Savior didn't lie. He often withheld information for holy purposes and holy ends, but he never lied. He is our example and God cannot lie. It is impossible for him to lie. Take a listen to some verses. Proverbs 15, a man hath joy by the answer of his mouth and a word spoken in due season. How good is it? It doesn't say every word spoken. In fact, some things are not bad in themselves. It's the season that you say it in. We need due season. Things must not only be spoken, they must be spoken at the right time. It is not enough to just say, well, it's true. It might be true, but it's not information that should be spoken at that moment, in that circumstance, or to that person. Proverbs 12 says, lying lips are abomination to the Lord. But the very next verse says, a prudent man concealeth knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness. So we see the liar contrasted to the prudent man, the righteous man that conceals knowledge at proper times. This isn't saying be slack in your soul winning. This isn't saying don't tell anybody the gospel or don't tell them truth or don't reprove them when you need to. It's teaching us that there's a time to conceal knowledge. And you're a fool if you don't do it. Proverbs 14 says, wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding. But that which is in the midst of fools is made known. It's saying that the wise man, the one of understanding, keeps information inside when it's the right time to do so. But not a fool. A fool's gonna tell you everything he knows. A fool's gonna run and just proclaim and blab. Unless it's time for him to do right, then he's silent in the gate. Proverbs 11 says, a tale bearer revealeth secrets, but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. How about that? Proverbs 20, he that goeth about as a tale bearer, revealeth secrets, therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips. The Bible is saying, choose your friends very carefully. There'll be people that will flatter you to try to get on your good side. to learn secrets about you and secrets about others so they can go blab it around. Some are addicted to this, especially today. Proverbs 25, debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself and discover not a secret to another. You might have strife with somebody. You might have disagreements. That doesn't mean you go tell everybody else about it. You might be wrong. Once your neighbor begins to discuss it with you, you might find a new perspective. You might find that you are wrong about your assumptions. How wicked it is to go tell others those things that should be private and privately dealt with. There's a time for silence, brother and sister. John Gill, says it is criminal to reveal secrets or publish what should be kept private or should not be known. Our Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 18, moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother, period. End of the story. It might not even be a fault once you talk it out, but nevertheless, How many private offenses have been overlooked in your life by those who obey the Bible? Who said, instead of going to court, why not be defrauded, says Paul. Talking about a class of things that we can overlook and should overlook in one another in grace, long suffering, and a desire to have mercy from God as we show mercy to others. How could your own faults or people Thinker faults, how could they, how would you feel if those things are made public and spread abroad? If everything that a person was angry about or offended about, they began to tell everybody, even without exaggeration or insinuating motives. There's so many circumstances and occasions in the Bible to be silent. 2 Samuel 1, David mourns about the death of Saul and Jonathan. And he says, tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ascalon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. David knows he's not going to totally be able to hide this news of Saul and Jonathan's death from the wicked Philistines. but it's an expression of grief and it shows that he would, to whatever degree he could, not give God's enemies a reason to rejoice. As Micah says in chapter 1, declare ye it not at gath, weep you not at all. In other words, don't even let them see you weep, lest they rejoice and become even more hardened in their sin. It's not some Christian virtue to blab to tell the enemies of God and the righteous all your business, to report everything to every backslider about not only your business, but the business of your church, the business of everybody in your church, the business of your pastor. I come from a long line of Fausts, and we have a book about our line and observations made about them. And one of the things it says is that they're very private. They don't share their business often. And that doesn't mean that we don't like prayer when we're saved and don't want people to know things that they can pray about. It's just means that it's our personality. Even my grandmother on the other side, my mother's side was just always out in the backyard burning all of her papers and everything. She was just so private. I don't think she had great things to hide. She was just private. And maybe a whole generation at one time was like that in America. We're a generation of blabbers today. I tell you, everybody tells everything. It's why the founders of Facebook cussed and said, can you believe how idiotic, and I'm paraphrasing, they used a lot of different language, how stupid basically this generation is. And I don't mean you can't edify on social media. You can't explain some things that are going on in your life, but we've just got this insanity today to tell everything to everybody, no matter who's out there, no matter who's lurking, no matter who's watching. There's some carnal Christians. They've made a common excuse, as if Piers Morgan is their example, instead of the Lord Jesus and his prophets. And they say, I'm not the one who started the news. I'm just reporting it. I'm just spreading it. That's wicked. You're still a tailbearer, whether you started it or not. I'm not saying it's true, I'm just spreading it. You have a right to know. The Bible says in Leviticus 19, thou shalt not go up and down as a tail bearer among thy people. Psalms 15, he that backbite us not with his tongue, nor evil, doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. Being a tail hearer and tail bearer, you might not have started it, you took it up. It's saying, who shall dwell with God? Those that don't backbite. Those that don't take up a reproach against their neighbor. In 1 Timothy, it says, Withel, they learned to be idle, talking about these young women, wondering about from house to house. That was before Facebook and social media and cell phone. And not only idle, but taddlers also in busy bodies, speaking things which they ought not. You have one woman bringing down another woman. And sometimes there's men, subtle Jonadabs, friends of Amnon, who know how to feed these women their insinuations and exaggerations and outright lies and slanders and get them stirred up because they know these women will take off and be tailbears. A Samson knew that he could light the fox's tails on fire, and they'd take off and spread it all over the place and burn down the whole field. There's some friends of Jonadab, these subtle insinuators, and they know how to go to certain women and light these fires. You're not fooling anybody. You're not fooling God. And shame on aged women who turn younger women into bitter rebels by their tongues. The Bible says in Titus 2, that aged women likewise, that they be in behaviors becometh holiness. And the first example it gives is not false accusers. Not giving them much wine, meaning gluttons. I don't even believe that's talking about alcohol. They shouldn't be sitting around being a glutton. They should take care of themselves. Teachers of good things. that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. They ought to spread order and holiness and godliness and holy submission and purity and not sit around gossiping, being a tailbearer. The Bible says in Proverbs 10, he that hideth hatred with lying lips and he that uttereth a slander is a fool. And Proverbs 29 says a fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards over and over again. The lessons of the book of Proverbs and all throughout the Bible is there's a right time to be silent and a right time to speak and it's wisdom and maturity and growth to discern these times through the Holy ghost. And we see the fool many times is quiet at the wrong time, but even more so we see often the fool is not quiet when he should be. He's a tailbearer, a slanderer, or just running his big mouth. Augustine says, for although everyone who lies wishes to hide what is true, yet not everyone who wishes to hide what is true tells a lie. That's a very good saying. Matthew Henry again says, though we must be harmless as doves so as to never tell a willful lie, yet we must be wise as serpents so as not needlessly to expose ourselves to danger by telling all we know. Do you know these people even accuse our Lord Jesus of lying? They give an example in John chapter seven, but listen to what the King James Bible says. Go ye up unto this feast, says our Lord. I go not up yet unto this feast, for my time is not yet full come. And when he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. There you go, it wasn't yet. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up into the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. So we see two things here. He didn't go up yet, and he was not gonna go up publicly with them. Now what does the wicked NIV do? It has the Lord say this, you go to the festival, I am not going up to this festival. No wonder people think the Lord Jesus lied. How wicked, how wicked. The Holy Ghost says, I go not up yet unto this feast. If your Bible doesn't say that, get you a Bible, go find one. Find a Bible that's been preserved. The Lord said his words will be preserved. Every jot and tittle. In John chapter six, Jesus already knew which disciple would betray him, but he didn't reveal it at that time. He says in John 16, I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. He withheld information. Nothing that they needed at that time, or put it this way, nothing that would be unholy and sinful for the Lord to withhold, he was perfect and sinless. In the 20th century, early part, you've heard of Corrie ten Boom. She had a sister, the oldest one of the family, the oldest one born, which was Betsy, Betsy ten Boom. They were Dutch sisters that saved people by hiding them from the Nazi soldiers. Now, Betsy Ten Boom decided when she was growing up that she would never tell a lie, no matter what. In fact, even Corey, her sister, when she was almost 50 years old, she became aware of telling her first lie. It was about a radio that they were using for good. And she felt that it was necessary at the time to lie to the authorities. But after she lied about having it, she afterwards wrote Corrie Ten Boom. When asked about the radio, quote, I had known from childhood that the earth opened and the heavens rain fire upon liars. But I met his gaze and I answered no. But only as I walked out of the building did I begin to tremble. Not because for the first time in my life I had told a conscious lie, but because it had been so dreadfully easy. Oh, isn't that true? How easy it can be when you first do it. And it becomes far easier. The justifications for it become easier and easier. This shows what type of family this was. She went almost 50 years before being conscious of a lie. And her sister says, I will not tell a lie no matter what. Now, the Germans sent some soldiers to gather young men up to work in their factories. And the nephews of Betsy and Corey burst into the home to say, the German soldiers are coming to take them away, to take the boys away, and they're down the road. So they were hid in the hiding place under the table. The soldiers barged in searching the house. And they asked Betsy, who was sitting at the table, where her brothers were at. Well, she spoke of one relative that was truly out of town and told them where he was, but they pressed her. Finally, she blurted out that the brothers were under the table. Her family was shocked. And I'm sure those hiding under the table, under the floor, were shocked as well. But then Betsy burst out laughing. The soldiers, thinking they were being mocked, searched the rest of the house and then left and never really searched under the table. Now, Betsy had examples where her truth-telling, even in drastic moments, were used by God's divine intervention to save life with miraculous power. And that's what she believed. However, we must say from the scriptures, she didn't have the responsibility to tell the authorities this information at that moment. And she should have kept silent. The Lord does say that he promises to give his disciples words to say in these types of situations. But Betsy had faith and God had mercy and blessed this situation. It's one thing though, to have holy convictions and integrity, not to lie. It's another thing to be righteous over much and think that holy honesty requires us to always tell all that we know. I've seen some people who claim that they have OCD and they would run to people or authorities and blab everything they knew, no matter who it harms. Unaware there is a bill of rights, a fifth amendment. And a dangerous world that we live in now in perilous times. The command's not to be absurdly foolish with a loose tongue to show how honest we are. What our Lord said is, behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves, but beware of men. We're not to be gullible. We're not to go around and just blab everything because to show how honest we are. By all means, we're not to withhold something from someone who has a right to know it before God. But holiness consists many times of being obedient to God and withholding information from those who do not have a right before God at that time and that circumstance to hear the information. Sure, that can be abused. That's why it takes discretion and godliness and holiness and wisdom. The Bible says, in Amos 5, therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time. It is an evil time. Now I'm not looking down on Betsy Ten Boom. Praise God for her backbone, even in such a situation to think that she didn't tell a lie, but she thought she had to tell information that she didn't have to say, she didn't have to tell. In fact, when I read her life story, I'm ashamed by her degree of faith in the midst of her sufferings. In 1944, she and her sister were finally arrested for hiding Jews in their home, and they were taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany. Betsy died in that Nazi camp, beaten by soldiers, but the whole time praising God in patience and faith. She encouraged her sister, Corrie, in the midst of these sufferings. She encouraged them and others and Corey. And she said that we have the opportunity to show that although our trial and sufferings are very deep, God's grace and love is deeper still. And we're able to witness for Christ in the midst of these sufferings. Betsy actually said, we must tell people what we learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that his love is deeper still. They will listen to us, Corey, because we have been here. Betsy was a great spiritual motivation to her younger sister. She was born with pernicious anemia. She did not believe she could ever have children. She decided that she would never marry. She remained at her home with her father for most of her life. She taught Sunday school. She organized groups for teenage girls that were edifying. She was a parent to children of foreign missionaries. What an inspiration she was to her sister. She prayed for the guards. She gave thanks for everything. There's a story one time that she told Corey to give thanks for everything and let's write down everything we can be thankful for right now in this concentration camp. She said, hey, we're in the same barracks together. Let's give God thanks for that. Corey agreed. They had a Bible. Let's give God thanks for that. They'd been able to smuggle a Bible into the concentration camp. They gave thanks that the overcrowding allowed them to have opportunity to share devotionals with more women. And then finally, Betsy said, let's give thanks for the bugs, for the fleas. And Corey didn't agree. She says, Betsy, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea. But they later found out. Betsy said, give thanks in all circumstances. It doesn't say in pleasant circumstances, fleas are part of this place where God has put us. She believed that this time Betsy was wrong. But as time went on, they were able to have nightly worship services in the back of the barracks. And they were never stopped. There was no supervision at all of the barracks hardly. And that allowed these Bible meetings devotional times to continue. One day, Corey came back from work to find Betsy looking very happy. Corey asked her why. Betsy says, you know, we never understood why we had so much freedom in the big room. Well, I found out. This afternoon, there'd been confusion in her knitting group about sock sizes and they'd asked the supervisor to come in and settle it. but the supervisor wouldn't come. She wouldn't step through the door and neither would the guards. You know why? Because of the fleas. Betsy couldn't keep the triumph from her voice. She said the places crawling with fleas and that enabled them to have these opportunities. Oh, to be in such situations, God help us. Lead us not into temptation. Paul in prison in a dungeon could tell the Philippians that all things were working for the furtherance of the gospel. They're falling out rather to the furtherance of the gospel. That there are now people in Caesar's household that understand the gospel because of where Paul was. We know all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to his purpose. One time, one of these concentration guards was very cruel to Betsy due to her weak state, lagging behind. Her sister was very upset as she saw a whip mark that was bleeding. But her sister said, don't look at it, Corey. Look at Jesus. Dear Father, we do pray that we would be more thankful in our lives. We pray, Lord, we'll be wiser with our tongues, our speech, our judgment of others, that you'd help us to give due process, to give proper mercy, as well as reprove when it's proper to do so in love. Help us, God, to walk in your truth and not be a liar, a false witness, the tail bearer, the tail hearer. We thank you. that you didn't lie about the gospel. And may we open our mouths, may we witness, may we share the truth, even though it's uncomfortable sometimes, Lord. Help us know when's the right time, but let us not deceive ourselves about that and be silent. In Jesus' name, amen.