1 Samuel 10:14–16 (ESV)

Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

Why did Saul withhold information here? Was he being humble, or deceptive?

Either way, Saul was being wise. We aren’t told why his uncle asked the question. Both Saul and his uncle are from a wealthy family.

There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. — 1 Samuel 9:1 (ESV)

Everything in scripture is there for a reason, and everything not in there is not there for a reason. The uncle’s question is pointless, and scripture portrays it as being pointless. Given all that, his question sounds suspicious. Saul’s knowledge about what’s coming next is less than complete anyway.

Why say something that might be inaccurate or misunderstood?

So, Saul sounds wise in keeping confidential information confidential. Remember, Samuel wouldn’t let Saul’s servant hear the things he said to Saul. Confidentiality was already established by Samuel.

Given that, the uncle asking Saul specifically about what Samuel said may have been a red flag for Saul.

There’s a line sometimes used about briefings in a military context— “Above all else, don’t blurt out the truth.” That’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it wouldn’t be funny if it wasn’t apt. Truth in our society is a joke. This state of affairs offends many Christians.

Today’s passage shows an example where secrecy, even deception, appears right. People who deal with classified information (which tends to be military) are explicitly trained to watch out for people who are interested in things that are none of their business. Red flags are a reflex, and it takes training to build this reflex. But it’s important; a spy’s job is to tease information out of an unsuspecting mark.

Unfortunately, this no longer just applies just to spies and military secrets. Scams and “phishing attacks” are everywhere. Christians are called to be honest—much more so than is normal in our society—but that doesn’t mean that we should ignore red flags.

So how can you tell when to be suspicious? What’s the secret to recognizing when something is fishy?

Curiously, in a non-military environment, there’s an obvious flag—numbers. Everything valuable to a scammer involves numbers: bank numbers, social security numbers, credit card numbers.

You don’t need numbers in normal conversation. Beware of giving out numbers.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.