David, God’s chosen leader, acted deceitfully

1 Sam 21.2 David lied about his activities to Ahimelech. When actually fleeing from King Saul, he told Ahimelech he was on a secret mission from King Saul.

1 Samuel 21:1–2 (ESV) Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place.

1 Sam 22.9-18: David’s lying led tragically to the death of the priests quartered at Nob with Ahimelech (85 slain), and many or all women and children living there; all murdered at King Saul’s command.

1 Sam 21.10-15 At Gath, among the Philistines, David pretended to be insane.

1 Samuel 21:10–15 (ESV) And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” 12And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

1 Sam 27.2-12. David, fugitive from King Saul, was commanded by God to reside in Judah (1 Sam 22.5).

• Fearing Saul and not trusting God, David fled with his men and their families to Israel’s enemy, the Philistines.
• There David acted deceitfully telling Philistine King Achish he had been raiding Israelite targets when in fact he had been raiding and plundering the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites.
• In his raiding of those peoples David cruelly killed everyone including women and children. Though Israel under Joshua had been commanded by God to exact such annihilation of Canaanite peoples, there is no indication God had directed David to take this action here.