Righteous Deception
By Dr. Derek Carlsen
To many Christians, this title will appear to be an oxymoron, however, if they pay attention to the details in Scripture, they will realize that this is not the case.
Rahab
Most people would not include Rahab in their “divine” stories, because in short, she is a disturbing character. For one, she was a prostitute who ended up in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt.1:5), and secondly, she lied to the king of Jericho’s men about the whereabouts of the men that Joshua had sent to spy out her city (Joshua 2:1-6). Rahab, however, is twice singled out by Newer Testament writers as an example of true faith for the way she protected the spies (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:14ff). Commentators are quick to opine that the Bible is not including her lie in its commendation of her—strangely, they don’t mind her treason against her nation, but the lie is a scandalous moral failure.
James’ Argument
Works are a fundamental component of true faith, which is what James was pointing out. Justification is secured by faith alone, however, true faith is evidenced by works that are aligned with God’s purposes. Those who find fault with Rahab’s lie are contradicting James’ argument. James said Rahab’s faith was evidenced by her works, which was the thrust of the whole passage where he listed others to prove this same point. Commentators try to sift through Rahab’s works in this encounter and exclude some of them from James’ praise.
A Strange Example
Why would James choose Rahab as an example to prove how inseparable good works are from true faith, if her works were a confused mixture of good and bad? Were there no other people in Scripture that James could have used? The Spirit chose this story, with its many different details, to prove true faith. James specifically praised Rahab for preserving the lives of the spies by getting the soldiers off their tracks. Rahab’s actions were a manifestation of faith in the true God whereby she counted her life as nothing for the purpose of advancing His cause. Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friends, which is true faith. James could have said, “Rahab believed God and hung a red cord out of her window when Jericho was attacked,” which also was a sign of her faith (Joshua 2:14,18). However, James chose to highlight the work that included her lie: both her deception and her treason. Moreover, when Joshua instructed his troops before the battle, he told them to spare Rahab’s life, “because she hid the spies” (Joshua 6:17,25), thus proving she was in the household of faith.
Confused Thinking
Commentators want us to believe that hiding the spies was good but lying to their pursuers was wrong. Yet it’s not possible to separate the hiding of the spies from the whole deception that included putting them under the flax, lying to the soldiers, sending the soldiers in the wrong direction, and then letting the spies out of the city, illegally. (Joshua 2:15).
Everything was “Scandalous”
Those who find fault with Rahab’s lie, appear to overlook the fact that everything she did was “scandalous.” Jericho was in a state of high preparation for war (red alert) and yet Rahab received the spies with peace (Hebrews 11:31), then committed her allegiance to the invading enemy and betrayed her whole nation. Yet God highly exalted her for protecting the men who would be instrumental in bringing about the utter destruction of her city and every person in it (except her family, Joshua 6:23).
A Naive Understanding of Reality
Believers agree that Rahab had a moral obligation to hide the spies; however, many insist that she shouldn’t have lied about their whereabouts. If you ask such people what she should have said to the king’s messengers, they say that if she was unable to tell the truth without giving them away, then she should have said nothing. But this is such a naïve and artificial view of life as it really is in God’s world.
Rwanda 1994
If you were hiding Tutsis in your home and some Hutus came and asked if you knew where any of their enemies were, how would you respond? To say nothing would be the same as telling where the Tutsis were, because your silence would cause the Hutus to make a thorough search of your home.
Just Say Nothing
We are always to trust God to work, but inseparable from trusting Him is embracing the revelation He has given to us so that we might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. If God reveals how we ought to act in such situations and we refuse to because we are holier than Him, then we are no different to Ahaz who rebelled against God’s clear command. God told him to ask for a sign and he said he would not ask a sign because that would be tempting God, but this holier than thou response angered the Lord (Isaiah 7:11-12). Likewise, to say that if you can’t tell the truth without exposing the innocent, then just say nothing, is man’s wisdom, not God’s. Scripture clearly shows that there are situations in life when a “no comment” answer undermines your God revealed responsibilities.
Samuel’s Dilemma
Samuel was caught in a dilemma when God told him to anoint David as king while Saul was still alive. God could easily have kept the knowledge of Samuel’s visit from paranoid Saul but didn’t, and through this event, has given us instruction about similar situations. Samuel knew that this would be dangerous because of how opposed Saul was to a successor and said, “If Saul hears about this, he will kill me” (1 Samuel 16:2). God’s solution was for Samuel to take a heifer with him and say to the city elders, that his reason for coming to Bethlehem was to make a sacrifice unto the Lord. The elders were Saul’s eyes and ears, but when they heard Samuel’s purpose for the visit, they welcomed him.
Truth or Lies?
Did Samuel tell the truth? Certainly not, yet John Murray, in his book Principles of Conduct argues that there was no untruth in Samuel’s words, for although he concealed some information from Saul, this was not lying—he told the truth (pg.140). How is it possible to call Samuel’s words truthful? One would need to re-define truth to do that.
Saul’s One Concern
The one fundamental thing that Saul was concerned about, was the anointing of a rival king. Saul knew how God’s system worked and that Samuel would be at the forefront of ushering in a new king. So, Samuel’s answer to the elders, which was indirectly answering Saul himself, communicated that Saul had nothing to worry about because he was not coming to do that which Saul was most worried about. The impression Samuel gave was that there was only one reason for his visit: a sacrifice to the Lord. To argue as John Murray does, that Samuel’s words were strictly in accord with the facts, is to undermine the very idea of truth and end up in the Pharisee’s camp where if someone didn’t phrase their statement correctly, then even if you knew what they meant, you could avoid the agreement (Matthew 23:16-22)—not binding to merely swear by the temple; one had to have also sworn by the gold in the temple.
Crooked, Used Car Dealer
The crooked used car dealer knows your intent when you ask if the car’s engine is good, but he’s done a temporary fix on it and says, “It purrs like a kitten,” knowing full well that it won’t purr like that for very long. So, Mr. Murray, did the dealer lie? Because on a superficial level, he has not told an untruth, the engine is purring like a kitten, but to say that he has told the buyer the truth is utter nonsense; the dealer is lying, and he knows it.
God’s Clear Instructions
The prophet Samuel lied to the elders of Bethlehem, but he did this in accordance with God’s clear instructions to do so. Likewise, we see the prophet Elisha doing something similar when the Syrians were warring against Israel. Elisha kept informing the Israelites about the Syrian’s secret plans, until the Syrian king sent an army to capture the prophet (2 Kings 6:8-14). The Syrian army found Elisha, but when they tried to arrest him, he asked God to blind their eyes, which He did (2 Kings 6:18). Elisha then told these blinded men that they were at the wrong city and that he would lead them to the man they were looking for. He then proceeded to lead them to Samaria (2 Kings 6:19). The Syrians had found the right man and city, but Elisha’s words led them to believe otherwise.
A False Premise
John Murray again, in his attempt to defend his false premise that a lie is never justified, must explain what was going on in this passage, but in trying to escape the charge that Elisha used deception or lied, he ends up in a mess. Even though the prophet knew exactly who the Syrians were looking for, Murray argues that by using clever linguistic maneuvers, what the prophet said was technically true, even though his intention was to deceive the Syrians. Murray’s position leaves us in confusion, because by denying that there is a legitimate use of deception and insisting that we must only ever tell the truth no matter what, he ends up destroying the Biblical definition of truth when he’s confronted with these kinds of examples in Scripture. It certainly is not telling the truth when you intentionally get someone to arrive at wrong conclusions by the “clever” words you string together with your “linguistic maneuvers.” Murray then makes farcical statements like, “it is difficult to find untruth in what Elisha said” (ibid. pg.142).
Call it what it is
Truth is truth and deception is deception, and we must not blur the two. What we need to do is self-consciously bow to God’s revelation about doctrine and ethics and when we do this, we see that there are times when it is right to deceive God’s enemies. It is not glorifying to the Lord when we try to defend God’s name with our own misguided ethical standard and thereby change the plain meaning of Scripture by saying or implying that deception is telling the truth. God’s not ashamed to use deception and nor should we.
Joshua and Ai
Dr. Murray continues to flounder due to his false premise when discussing the way Joshua defeated Ai (Joshua 8:3-29). God was clearly involved in Joshua’s plan and in the timing of its execution (Joshua 8:2,18). Joshua intended to and succeeded in deceiving the men of Ai into believing that Israel was once again being defeated. The reason Joshua and his men fled from the soldiers from Ai was to draw them away from the city so that Joshua’s other soldiers, lying in ambush, could take the city without a fight. Murray argues that there was no deception or untruth in Joshua’s actions, and it was Ai’s own fault for interpreting Israel’s actions contrary to fact. Murray said that since Joshua intended to retreat and then retreated, he acted in truth—he was true to his intentions.
He Intended to Deceive
Joshua’s intention in retreating was to deceive the men of Ai into thinking that the Israelites were once again being routed, but this was far from the truth. Murray, in trying to avoid the obvious fact that deception is legitimate in certain circumstances, leads one to think that you can use actions or body language to deceive someone, but you can’t use words. The body language of Joshua’s army was that they were full of fear and were running for their lives. However, this deceptive body language is no different to Rahab’s words when she lied to the king’s messengers about the spies’ whereabouts. Murray’s attempt to uphold the necessity of always telling the truth, ends up undermining the definition of truth.
Camouflage in Warfare
If you are going to be consistent with the ‘purist’ idea that you should never, under any circumstances, communicate an untruth, then you would have to condemn camouflage in warfare (Murray does not). When you camouflage yourself, you want your enemy to think that you are a mere scrub or something else. Along these lines, it’s highly likely that Joshua’s spies who were sent to Jericho would have dressed in a way to blend in with the people who lived there, thus should we condemn them along with Rahab, or were they not guilty of deception because they didn’t say anything? If your body language is allowed to mislead people, i.e., fleeing in battle, dressing like a local, or looking like vegetation, but your words are not allowed to deceive, i.e., Rahab’s words to the king’s messengers, then can I shake my head from side to side as if to indicate no, when I mean yes? Is it fine to make yourself look like a tree, but wrong to say that you are a tree, because then you would have succumbed to letting an untruth pass from your lips? When David pretended to be a madman to escape from Achish, king of Gath (1 Samuel 21:12-15), was that wrong? Psalm 34, however, gives praise to God for this deliverance.
The Hebrew Midwives
The Hebrew midwives were told by Pharaoh to kill all the Hebrew boys as they were born (Exodus 1). These ladies refused to do this because they feared God and when Pharaoh challenged them, they lied to him about what was happening. What did God think of this? We read, “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives…And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that he provided households for them.” (Exodus 1:20-21).
Suppressing the Main Point
Once again commentators divide up the midwives’ actions so that God’s blessing upon them is separated from their lie to Pharaoh. However, this ignores the clear testimony of Scripture that shows how inseparable the lie was from God’s purpose, which was to greatly multiply His people. Scripture says, “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.” (Exodus 1:20). Scripture doesn’t allow us to adopt the simplistic policy of just telling the truth and trusting God to work things out in such circumstances. The midwives were effective servants in the kingdom because they didn’t have deformed ethics with respect to deceiving God’s enemies.
Jael and Sisera
When Sisera’s army was routed before Israel, he ran to a place where he believed he could hide and be safe (a friend’s dwelling, Judges 4:17). As Jael met him, she said, “‘Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear.’ And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket.” (Judges 4:18). She gave him some milk to drink and settled him down before driving a tent peg through his head.
Deborah the Prophetess
Those who tarnish Jael’s words and actions must also tarnish the prophetess Deborah, who under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, praised Jael’s actions and called her the most blessed among women (Judges 5:24-27). There are other examples in Judges where God’s deliverers used deception to destroy His enemies, however, this one with Jael, inescapably shows God’s positive evaluation of this kind of behavior.
Solomon’s Wisdom
When two ladies came to Solomon with one child, both claiming that the child was theirs, Solomon said to sever the child and give each of them a half (1 Kings 3:24-25). His actions and words convinced both ladies, along with others who were present, that the baby was about to be cut in two. We know the outcome of the story, and everyone marveled at Solomon’s wisdom, but Scripture tells us that this was of God (1 Kings 3:28). Are we to separate Solomon’s deception from God’s role in this case as we are told to do with Rahab’s actions, i.e., divide the whole into small components and then select the ones we deem to be acceptable? No. God is not embarrassed to be associated with this kind of deception.
God Uses Deception
Deception is clearly one of the means God uses to fulfill His purposes in this world, for example, making false prophets speak nonsense, thus making His enemies believe lies leading to their destruction. We see this when God sent a false spirit to deceive the wicked king, Ahab (1 Kings 22:19-23). The Lord also says, “And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.” (Ezekiel 14:9). God also sends strong delusion so that His enemies should believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11).
Telling Robbers Everything
Those who reject God’s revealed will and wisdom with respect to the legitimate use of deception, leave them in a mess. For example, must you tell a robber whether he has found all the money you have hidden on your person or in your home? Are you allowed to leave a light on in your house when you are away, to give the impression someone is home, or is that lying to the would-be burglar? These are important questions that need Biblical answers if we’re going to avoid being hypocrites or legalistic Pharisees and thus detrimental to kingdom advancement.
Situational Ethics
Christians must reject situational ethics because God never puts us in a context where He expects us to choose one aspect of God’s law and violate another aspect of His law. The idea that we can find ourselves in a situation where we are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils is not Biblical. This is to be rejected because it contradicts the character of God. God tempts no man with sin: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone” (James 1:13). If we ever find ourselves in situations where there is no righteous choice, then God has tempted us to sin. Every violation of God’s law or lack of conformity to it, is sin. To say that righteousness is choosing the lesser of two evils is to destroy the concept of righteousness.
Tragic Moral Choices
God will never force us to choose between the lesser of two evils. Did Jesus face such tragic moral choices and choose the lesser of two evils? If so, then He sinned. But Scripture tells us that “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). If there is no clear right in every situation, then there can be no sin in that situation. It is never beneficial to break the law of God. Paul says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Always a Righteous Option
Moral choices, at times, will be extremely difficult, but we must remember that there will always be a righteous option. If we cannot see a righteous option, it is because we have either misunderstood the situation, or God’s revelation. We cannot get away from the fact that there are priorities within God’s law and in difficult situations we must allow the Bible to show us how to determine which action has priority. We don’t only have to know both the positive and negative aspects of each commandment, but we also need to trust the Bible to be its own exegete and show how we are to interpret each commandment.
The 6th Commandment
It would be illegitimate to use the 6th Commandment to overthrow capital punishment, because Scripture reveals exceptions to the command, “thou shalt not kill.” This Commandment is not violated when a murderer is executed, because the Bible sets the parameters for this commandment also revealing that just warfare and legitimate self-defense do not violate it. God’s word alone determines what the righteous option is in difficult situations.
The 9th Commandment
What we have been looking at in this article are the clear Biblical exceptions to the 9th Commandment and it is wise to let Scripture show the boundaries less we sin by thinking we are wiser and holier than God. Careful work needs to be done by us to understand the exceptions, if any, to God’s commandments.
Legitimate Use of Deception
Scripture shows that God has ordained deception to preserve innocent life, attain justice, and advance His purposes in a corrupt world. If we are going to live by every word from His mouth, and not put Him to the test (by demanding that He intervene to protect innocent life because we refuse to use righteous deception), then we need to bow to what He has revealed about the use of deception. It is by being utterly dependent upon God’s word that we will be able to live for His glory in a world that is hostile to His purposes, and we are not to give God-hating, God-rejecting pagans information whereby they can war against His revealed will. When pagans are set against God’s purposes, seeking to overthrow them, believers have a responsibility to fight against them and, when necessary, deceive them.
Choosing Silence
To choose silence, when the Bible tells us to lie, is to be complicit in the killing of innocent life. To demand that God must act according to our determination, when He has clearly shown how we ought to act in such situations, is rebellion (cf., Matthew 4:5-7). The Bible reveals exceptions to the 9thCommandment, thus our actions, in any given situation, must be guided by the whole counsel of God. We do not have the authority to make any exception to His law. God is not arbitrary and thus He has good reasons why on the one hand we can lie to protect innocent life but on the other hand we are not allowed to deny Him to save life; whether our own or someone else’s.
Peter’s Denial
Peter sinned when he denied the Lord to save his own life (Matthew 26:69-75). Daniel and his three friends glorified God by rather dying than denying God. There are many similar examples, both in Scripture and in church history, where people willingly died rather than deny the Lord. If we are weak in faith and deny the Lord, then we have sinned and must repent. God hates sin and calls upon us to confess it, not hide it. There is no justification for lying to cover our sins, hoping to escape their consequences.
Abusing this Teaching
This teaching can be abused, however, if we only teach on topics that cannot be abused and misused, then there won’t be much to teach in the Christian faith. Many abuse the teaching of salvation by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8), but should we stop teaching about this for fear that it might be abused? No, we are to teach the whole counsel of God so that God’s people might be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Conclusion
God calls us to glory in the truth; to be people of the truth, and labor so that others trust our words. God says that people will trust us when we demonstrate that His word is the standard that guides our every step. God has called us into His kingdom and has revealed how He expects us to live, thus, to ignore anything He has shown to be legitimate and necessary, is not only foolishness, but rebellion. We are not yet living in paradise, but in a world impacted by the ravages of sin and the whole of God’s revelation is given so that we might be equipped for effective service in this environment. Understanding the righteous use of deception is a vital component for being faithful servants. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and His righteousness is revealed, it’s not arrived at by our own feelings, traditions, or sense of right and wrong.
Scripture shows that there is such a thing as righteous deception.