I thought that's what you were already doing.
I understand you're saying lying isn't always evil, but I've tried to get you and
@JudgeRightly to clarify when it isn't. I apologize if the questions went to one or the other of you instead of both, but I think you are both trying to read through the whole thread, which I appreciate.
It seems to boil down to "when there's a greater harm that needs to be prevented, lying is not a sin, but otherwise lying is a sin." Whether you like it or not, that means the liars in that case were righteously choosing the lesser of 2 evils. And I get your point that they are choosing to do righteously--the midwives to save the male babies rather than kill them, Rahab to promote the health and safety of the whole Israelite race, and with it the Messiah. And I could understand if you were saying they were under extreme pressure, in risk of their lives and the failure of their purpose to promote the righteous causes over the reigning authorities' evil causes. And under such extreme pressure, I would certainly understand that they felt the only option was to lie to the reigning authority rather than disobey God. I think I might do exactly the same thing.
But unless there's a case where lying is ok without that extra pressure to do something more evil, I can't see lying as a good thing--most especially because.
1. God doesn't do it (at least His word says He does, though you disagree)
2. Liars are excluded from God's kingdom (it doesn't say "
evil liars", or "liars who don't just tell righteous lies", just liars)
3. Satan is the father of lies or lying (not "the father of all
evil lies", but just lies or the act of lying)
John 8:44 KJV
Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and
the father of it.
Let's look more closely at the midwives.
Exodus 1:15-21 KJV - And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see [them] upon the stools; if it [be] a son, then ye 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. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye 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 ere the midwives come in unto them.
Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. And it came to pass,
because the midwives feared God, that
he made them houses.
The bold text above is the reason, and the underlined text is the reward. Neither bolded portion says specifically "because they lied" they were rewarded. The second bolded portion says "because the midwives feared God", and that phrase is a reprise of an earlier statement, where the text says, "But the midwives feared God and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive." This gives exactly what the did in their fear of God...they saved the babies alive. They hadn't lied yet, because they hadn't been called before Pharaoh yet.
So the text means "Because the midwives did not kill the men children," God rewarded them. God didn't condone lying in this case, but He did condone saving Hebrew lives.
What about Rahab? was she rewarded for lying? Not really. Here's the key verse:
Joshua 2:14 KJV - And the men answered her,
Our life for yours,
if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that
we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
Same formatting here: bold text gives the reason, underline text gives the reward. The reason is not "because you lied for us", but "if you utter not this our business." The lying had already occurred before the agreement was made. This is not to say they weren't grateful for saving them from the searchers, but you can't say she was rewarded specifically for lying, but for something she did AFTER the lying.