When Is Deception Okay with GOD?

 

I used to think that deception was never appropriate, but now, I’m starting to wonder if there is ever a time where the “sin of omission” is called for.  As usual, I decided to look into the Scriptures to see if deception was ever used by one of GOD’s servants, and I found one where GOD blessed it.  When war is declared upon one of GOD’s servants, no matter how imperfect they are, if that servant is a man or woman after GOD’s own heart then that person who declared war on them also declared war on GOD.  Today's story comes from 2^nd Samuel chapter 15-18.  King David was enjoying the perks of being king and ignoring his subjects who were being treated unfairly.  His next born son, Absalon, who had already killed first born and next in line for the throne, Amnon, and he saw this as an opportunity to usurp the king and declare himself king. So, for four years, at the king’s gate, he intercepted King David’s subjects who came with a complaint seeking justice, and Absalom saw that the victim was vindicated.  In doing this, he won the favor of many people.  David’s servants likely saw what was happening and warned the King, but the King, being the passive father that he was, ignored the warnings.  It wasn’t until it was too late that King David realized that he screwed up, again. 

Here now we have King David, on the run, again with about 600 loyal men and women fleeing the city as Absalom had gone to Hebron to declare himself king.  I have learned so much about the Bible from my favorite Torah teacher (TORAH Class playlists) who explains the cultures and thought patterns of these ancient peoples, and one of the points he brought out was that back then, people went to different territories because they wanted the blessing of the  god of that territory. At that particular time in Israelite history, Hebron was the capital city of the God of the Israelites. Whenever you see a pattern or shadow in the Hebrew Scriptures, you can usually find it in the world or the Christian church today.   Many Christians go to “The LORD’s House” where they think GOD is most influential and the blessings of GOD are obviously there, to them.  Of course, man’s corrupted thought is, the bigger the church, the more GOD is blessing it.  In other words, those Mega churches must be doing something right, so we’ll go there, right?  WRONG.  Mega churches are created by men using man-made techniques and marketing tools, not the Word of GOD or by the Power of the Holy Spirit.  YHVH GOD is just as powerful alone in our hiding places as people think He is on any given Sunday at the local church no matter how big the campus. Sin is so easily hidden in a mega church, but when we are alone in our room with GOD, our sin will find us out, and it’s between GOD and us and the Holy Spirit whether we confess and turn from it. 

2 Samuel 15-18 New Living Translation

So, where do you find the sin of omission or deception used by King David and his loyal servants?  I can spoon feed you the Bible, or you can seek GOD’s truth on your own.  I will leave you the link to the story, which is four chapters long, and you can decide for yourself whether what deception King David did was blessed by GOD or not. I don’t like to just pick out one or two Scriptures and twist them to agree with me. What I’d rather do is include the whole story and let you make your own interpretations with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  It is my personal opinion, that in times of war, deception is sometimes needed. 

If we need another example, we can look to the Scriptures again, but this time with a corrupt king, Ahab.  That evil king was hell bent on doing things his way even when YHVH GOD sent a good and honest prophet, Micaiah his way to warn him. So what did YHVH do?  He sent a deceiving spirit to end King Ahab's evil ways, because he refuse to repent like he did earlier and had gained three more years. When King Ahab repented  It is too bad that King Ahab did not appreciate the mercy of GOD the next time he was warned. That story I have included for you: 

 1 Kings: 19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ 22 The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 23 Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

So, when is deception okay? Only if it has a righteous outcome.  We humans deceive ourselves and others all the time not for a righteous outcome, but for our own benefit, which is hardly ever righteous.  Scripture is clear, that if a person digs a pit, eventually, he will fall into it.  It was when I was describing this verse to a friend who also has a relative digging herself into a pit that I saw in the metaphor of that person digging throwing dirt on the innocent. Both of us have suffered harm from relatives throwing dirt on us while digging their pits, and I know that GOD put that picture in my head.  I have tried to keep the stone from rolling over on that man’s head long enough, and it’s time to just let the ground above cave in on him.  I finally have reached the point of acceptance that you cannot save a person who doesn’t want to be saved.  You can’t help a man who doesn’t want to help himself out of the pit he dug.  If he chooses not to climb out of that pit, it’s a choice he made.  Eventually, the hole caves in and the stones fall on the one digging, and GOD will be the Savior who cleans the dirt of His loyal subjects. Sometimes, there is nothing we can do to help others, we just have to let GOD's will take its course, even if it takes decades.