Hebraic
Musing – Are deceptions, lies or
half-truths ever justified?
Was
Moses right to deceive Pharaoh when asking to take the Israelites on a three
day desert trip? Does the end justify the means? God instructed Moses in Ex. 3:18-19 Then
you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord,
the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into
the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.' God had also revealed Pharaoh’s heart in Ex.
3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt
will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. Why was this deception sanctioned by God
Himself?
God
told Moses to deceive or trick Pharaoh because Pharaoh was evil and an enemy.
Here
are a few examples of men of God using lies and deception, sometimes instructed
by God:
·
Abraham and Isaac both lied to rulers about
their wives being sisters. How was that okay?
·
In Joshua chapter 2, Rahab lied to the King of Jericho
about the presence of the two spies. Justified?
·
In 1 Samuel 16, Samuel was told by God how to
deceive Jesse when he was actually coming to anoint the next king.
·
Starting in 1 Kings 22:20 …the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of
yours… in order to deceive wicked Ahab.
·
When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, Elisha
(a renowned prophet of God) deceived the army by saying "This is not the road and this is not the
city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria. 2 Kings 6:19
How
can these lies, deceptions and half-truths be justified? Is the other party who is asking the question
entitled to the truth? What will they do
with the truth?
There
is a big difference between telling a lie and concealing information that
others have forfeited the right to know. How does someone forfeit the right to
know the truth? Could it be they have a
hostile attitude? Maybe they have a
hostile attitude toward God and/or His moral standards. Is a POW under obligation to spill the whole
truth?
So
as Torah respecting believers, we do not have an obligation to always tell
everything we know or believe just because we are asked. Has the ‘asker’ forfeited his right to know
the truth because he has abused, or is flaunting, the truth he already possesses.
If
someone is already flaunting his ‘superior’ knowledge, shouldn’t we question
the basis for his belief before dumping ‘truth’s on him? (Do truths become
‘Pearls before swine’?)
Point to Ponder
Are you obliged to tell the
whole truth to an enemy who is willing to inflict harm?
Will it do any good to dump
the truth of the whole salvation message…
to an avowed atheist?
to an avowed atheist?
Lord, grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
The courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Yosef a.k.a. Joe Brusherd October 22, 2013
Author of
two books “Hebraic Insights” and “Biblical
Marriage”
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