\tA college student wanted to skip her next class; she had a lot of pressing work that needed catching up on, not the least of which was an upcoming exam for which she remained unprepared. She didn\u2019t feel comfortable with the idea of simply not showing up, so she told her professor she had a sick friend she needed to check up on. \t<\/p>\n
\tHowever, she didn\u2019t \u201ccheck up on\u201d her friend until that evening, long after the class was done, having spent the preceding hours catching up on her work.<\/p>\n
\tDid that college student lie? Obviously. Although she did have a sick friend, and did check up on her, the friend\u2019s illness was hardly the reason she\u2019d skipped class.<\/p>\n
\tBut in the Bible, when God tells Moses to inform Pharaoh that \u201cYahweh wants his people to take a three day journey to the desert so they can worship and sacrifice\u201d\u2014even though God is really planning to take the people out of Egypt forever\u2014we wouldn\u2019t say God told Moses to lie, would we?<\/p>\n
\tOr when God instructs Samuel to tell Saul that the reason for his trip to Bethlehem is so he can sacrifice\u2014though his real purpose is to anoint David king\u2014we wouldn\u2019t say God told Samuel to lie, would we?<\/p>\n
\tHowever, what is the substantive difference between Yahweh\u2019s actions in these two instances, and those of that female college student?<\/p>\n
\tIn this, the latter quarter of the twentieth century, we define a lie simply as \u201can untruth\u201d. Webster\u2019s reports that lying is \u201cto make a false or misleading impression\u201d or \u201cto make an untrue statement with intent to deceive\u201d. A lie is \u201can assertion of something known or believed by the speaker to be untrue with intent to deceive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tGod says that he does not lie (Numbers 23:19), yet by the just given definitions, he has. How do we extricate ourselves from this dilemma? It may not be so hard. Perhaps it is simply that the modern definition of a \u201clie\u201d and the biblical definition of a \u201clie\u201d are not identical. The whole difficulty may simply be semantic. <\/p>\n
Lies and the Exodus<\/strong><\/p>\n \tIn Exodus 3:7-8 God\u2019s intentions regarding the Israelites are stat-ed clearly:<\/p>\n \tYahweh said, \u201cI have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out be-cause of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey\u2014the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.\u201d<\/p>\n \tGod clearly told Moses that he planned to rescue the people from the Egyptians; He is going to bring them out to the Promised Land. But, this is not quite the message Moses is supposed to bring to the Pharaoh. Look at Exodus 3:16-18:<\/p>\n Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, \u201cYahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abra-ham, Isaac and Jacob, appeared to me and said: \u2018I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites\u2014a land flowing with milk and honey.\u2019\u201d\t<\/p>\n \tThe elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, \u201cYahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \tQuite clearly God instructed Moses to deceive Pharaoh regarding their intentions of leaving Egypt for good. By modern definitions, God instructed Moses to lie. Moses obeys, and is very consistent in his story from his first meeting with Pharaoh to the very last. Notice the following selected passages: \t<\/p>\n Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, \u201cThis is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: \u2018Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \tPharaoh said, \u201cWho is Yahweh, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh and I will not let Israel go.\u201d<\/p>\n \tThen they said, \u201cThe God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.\u201d (Ex. 5:1ff)<\/p>\n \tThen say to him, \u201cYahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: \u2018Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened.\u2019\u201d (Ex. 7:16)<\/p>\n \tThen Yahweh said to Moses, \u201cGo to Pharaoh and say to him, \u2018This is what Yahweh says: \u201cLet my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.\u201d\u2019\u201d…<\/p>\n \tPharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, \u201cPray to Yahweh to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh.\u201d (Ex. 8:1-2, 8)<\/p>\n \tThen Yahweh said to Moses, \u201cGet up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the water and say to him, \u2018This is what Yahweh says: \u201cLet my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and even the ground where they are.\u201d\u2019\u201d…<\/p>\n \tThen Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, \u201cGo, sacrifice to your God here in the land.\u201d<\/p>\n \tBut Moses said, \u201cThat would not be right. The sac-rifices we offer Yahweh our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God, as he commands us.\u201d<\/p>\n \tPharaoh said, \u201cI will let you go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.\u201d (Ex. 8:20-21, 25-28)<\/p>\n \tThen Yahweh said to Moses, \u201cGo to Pharaoh and say to him, \u2018This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: \u201cLet my people go, so that they may worship me.\u201d\u2019\u201d (Ex. 9:1)<\/p>\n \tThen Yahweh said to Moses, \u201cGet up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, \u2018This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me,…\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \tThen Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. \u201cThis time I have sinned,\u201d he said to them. \u201cYahweh is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to Yahweh, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don\u2019t have to stay any longer.\u201d (Ex. 9:13, 27-28)<\/p>\n \tSo Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, \u201cThis is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: \u2018How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.\u2019\u201d…<\/p>\n \tThen Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh.<\/p>\n \t\u201cGo, worship Yahweh your God,\u201d he said. \u201cBut just who will be going?\u201d\t<\/p>\n \tMoses answered, \u201cWe will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to Yahweh.\u201d<\/p>\n \tPharaoh said, \u201cYahweh be with you\u2014if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. No! Have only the men go; and worship Yahweh, since that\u2019s what you have been asking for.\u201d Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh\u2019s presence. (Ex. 10:3, 8-11)<\/p>\n \tThen Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, \u201cGo, worship Yahweh. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.\u201d<\/p>\n \tBut Moses said, \u201cYou must allow us to have sacri-fice and burnt offerings to present to Yahweh our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping Yahweh our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship Yahweh.\u201d<\/p>\n \tBut Yahweh hardened Pharaoh\u2019s heart, and he was not wiling to let them go. Pharaoh said to Moses, \u201cGet out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.\u201d (Ex. 10:24-28)<\/p>\n \tDuring the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, \u201cUp! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship Yahweh as you have request-ed. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.\u201d (Ex. 12:31-32)<\/p>\n \tWhen the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, \u201cWhat have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!\u201d (Ex. 14:5)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \tGod very clearly told Moses to tell the Pharaoh that the Israelites’ intention was to only take a short, three day trip to worship God. Apparently, this is what Pharaoh believed, and this is what he resisted letting the Israelites do–until the death of the first born. Then he relented and allowed them to take their three day journey of worship. It was not until the people were gone, and it became clear that they were making tracks, that Pharaoh realized he had been tricked. Since Numbers 23:19 states explicitly that \u201cGod is not a man, that he should lie\u201d, the biblical idea of \u201clie\u201d must be defined in such a way as to permit the behavior observed here in Exodus.<\/p>\n Lies and Abraham <\/strong><\/p>\n \tAbraham is recorded telling less than the truth about Sarah his wife, not once, but twice. Just look at Genesis 12 and 20. The most puzzling thing about both incidents is that Abraham is not condemned by God for what he does (and he does it twice), nor does he get into trouble from God for telling Abimelech or Pharaoh that Sarah is his sister, without revealing the more relevant news that she is his wife.<\/p>\n \tNotice, in Genesis 20, Abimelech is threatened with death, his wives and concubines become barren, and he is told by God that Abra-ham \u201c…is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live.\u201d (Gen. 20:7) Yet poor Abimelech is the one that had been deceived! And then, rather than being cursed, Abraham is greatly blessed by Abimelech:<\/p>\n Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, \u201cMy land is before you; live wherever you like.\u201d (Gen. 20:14-15)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \tThen, in verse 17, Abraham prays to God and Abimelech and his wife and concubines are healed.<\/p>\n \tAbraham is fully vindicated for what he had done, and in fact, is marvelously blessed for it. In neither the Old Testament nor the New is there ever any mention of Abraham being a liar. Therefore, it seems to me, that our definition of a lie must not include the behavior displayed by Abraham. <\/p>\n Lies and Rahab<\/strong><\/p>\n \tJoshua 2:1-7 records the following incident:<\/p>\n Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim.<\/p>\n \t\u201cGo, look over the land,\u201d he said, \u201cespecially Jericho.\u201d<\/p>\n \t So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.<\/p>\n \tThe king of Jericho was told, \u201cLook! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.\u201d<\/p>\n \t So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab, \u201cBring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.\u201d<\/p>\n \tBut the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, \u201cYes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come fRomans At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don\u2019t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.\u201d (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \tCommenting on this event, the writer of Hebrews 11:31 records:<\/p>\n By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \tSomehow the definition of a lie must be such as to allow Rahab\u2019s behavior. There are a lot of apparent problems in this passage. Rahab is \u201clying\u201d\u2014stating things contrary to fact\u2014and she is doing this to the representatives of her government. So not only is she \u201clying\u201d, she also seems to be violating the spirit of Romans 13:1-7, where Paul tells the Christians in Rome to \u201csubmit to the authorities\u201d and not only that, but states that \u201cthe authorities are God\u2019s servants\u201d and that \u201cthere is no authority except that which God has established.\u201d How could Rahab legitimately fail to turn in the spies? She not only lied, but she rebelled against her government, and became a traitor. This is good?<\/p>\n Lying and Samuel<\/strong><\/p>\n \tSimilar problems confront us when we look at Samuel\u2019s life. Notice the narrative in 1 Samuel 16:1-3:<\/p>\n Yahweh said to Samuel, \u201cHow long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.\u201d<\/p>\n \tBut Samuel said, \u201cHow can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n \tYahweh said, \u201cTake a heifer with you and say, \u201cI have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.\u201d Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \tWhat happens in 1 Samuel is very similar to the pattern described in Exodus. Again, such activity must be allowed under the biblical definition of \u201clie\u201d.<\/p>\n Other Lies<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\tIn Jeremiah 20:7 the prophet complains to God that he has deceived him. Likewise, in Ezekiel 14:9 God explains that when a prophet is deceived into making false prophesies, it is God himself who has deceived him in order to bring about that prophet\u2019s destruction. In the New Testament, Paul writes that God will send a powerful delusion against the wicked so that they will believe lies and be condemned as a consequence (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)<\/p>\n \tAnd then there is this odd incident described in 1 Kings 22:19-23:<\/p>\n Micaiah continued, \u201cTherefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And Yahweh said, \u2018Who will lure Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?\u2019<\/p>\n \t\u201cOne suggested this, and another that. Finally a spirit came forward, stood before Yahweh and said, \u2018I will lure him.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\u201c\u2019By what means?\u2019 Yahweh asked.<\/p>\n \t\u201c\u2019I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n \t\u201c\u2019You will succeed in luring him,\u2019 said Yahweh. \u2018Go and do it.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\u201cSo now Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. Yahweh has decreed disaster for you.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \tSo God apparently used a demon to confuse the false prophets, encouraging the demon to lie for him. Of course, the text doesn\u2019t tell us this spirit is a demon, it simply tells us that it is a spirit in the throne room of God who volunteered to help God.<\/p>\n \tSo maybe it wasn\u2019t a demon…<\/p>\n \tBut it lied!<\/p>\n \tAnd God sanctioned it!<\/p>\n Conclusion and Definition of Lying<\/strong><\/p>\n \tWhat are some possible biblical definitions of the word \u201clie\u201d? Since the sense of the word must be formed within its context, perhaps we could say that a lie is \u201cfailing to be truthful for selfish ends or for the purpose of causing suffering to another.\u201d It seems that deception is acceptable in certain situations. The common thread running through all the examples of deception that I gave above, is that life and death issues were at stake; if there had been no deception, someone would have died. Biblically, what is called a \u201clie\u201d usually occurs in the context of \u201cbearing false witness\u201d in legal proceedings. Obviously, the modern definition of lie is considerably broader and more comprehensive than the biblical meaning.<\/p>\n \tIn any case, I believe that it is best to conclude that ethics are contextually realized. This is not to say ethics are arbitrary, but rather that they can be fully understood only within societal relationships. Like a word, which is virtually meaningless outside a sentence, so ethics are virtually meaningless without life.<\/p>\n \tEthics do not exist in a vacuum. And something else to consider: many games depend on “lying” in order to work, ranging from quarterbacks in football games deceiving the other side into thinking they’re going to pass when they’re going to run, or vice versa. Most card games require some deception, as do games such as chess or checkers. And then consider warfare: making the Nazis think that the D-Day invasion was going to land on different beaches than they did was certainly a lie told to them–but we never think of it that way–nor should we. We don’t consider our spies who infiltrate nasty organizations such as al-Queda to be lying, now do we, when they don’t reveal that they are spies, and actively lie to cover up what they’re actually doing. Likewise, undercover cops infiltrating gangs or taking down drug dealers are not considered to be lying when they do their job, even though they are deceiving the bad guys.<\/p>\n Lying is not just deception or failing to tell the truth. It is, in essence, false testimony that either protects the guilty or condemns the innocent. It is lying if it hurts someone who shouldn’t be hurt. Remember the commandment: love people. It’s a lie if it violates that principle.<\/p>\n The theme of the Bible is twofold: to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:36-40). Thus, the issue of interpersonal relations is one of the two most important issues in the Bible. Under this theme of \u201cloving others\u201d would … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
Send to Kindle<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"