Lies and Deceptions
This article talks about:
- Biblical Examples of Deception
- Moral Complexity
- Practical Application
-By Lion Erwteman-
Introduction
We should not lie, and we should not deceive. Yet in the Torah, Nevi’im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings) and Berit Chadashah (New Testament), we encounter challenges regarding these kinds of communication. There are enough of these lies and deceptions that they deserve a closer look, for at least two good reasons. First, they don’t seem to be wrong as often there is no stern warning or punishment. And second, the G-d of Israel is involved in certain interactions with people where questions arise. The purpose of this article is to make an inventory of most of these peculiar interactions and to find any hints as to how to deal with these kinds of situations, the same, similar, or comparable in our own lives.
The Blame Game
In the Garden of Eden lived plants and trees, animals, and people. The group of people was named Adam and haAdam, as mentioned in Genesis 1:26 and 27. They consisted of men and women, according to verse 27. The women were called: Chavah (Eve), see Genesis 3:20, as they were the life bearers. One man, with the generic name Adam (human being), and his wife, Chavah (life bearing), are mentioned as causing a serious incident. The human form in which Adonai walked in this Garden in the location of Eden, allowed Him to meet this couple right after they had done something which had been strictly forbidden by Adonai. They were allowed to eat from any plant and tree present in this Garden, except from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This latter tree had the sole purpose of exhibit, a three-dimensional piece of education on the subject of obedience to Adonai and of good and decent behavior.
Good and Evil
Humankind had to learn to understand the difference and the choice between good and evil. There should not be any mixing of these two qualities. Therefore, any fruit of the mixing of good and evil needed to be forbidden. As the letter of Hebrews to the Messianic Jews teaches: “But solid food is for full-grown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern between good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). A sneaky snake lured Chavah into eating from this wrong “mix” fruit. And Adam thought it to be good to show his wife that he took her invitation in order to avoid any tensions. Adonai looked for them as they hid in the bushes between the trees as some kind of poorly motivated Sukkot. And by means of a mix of lies and deception Adam defended his decision to Adonai, by blaming both Adonai and his wife, “The woman You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12). The result was the ages-long journey that humankind had and will have to make in order to arrive at the same place where this journey started, the Garden of Eden. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of G-d” (Revelation 2:7).
Spiritual Changes
This journey is necessary for those who want to grow spiritually in order to get rid of the earthly inclination of blaming, of killing, of stealing, of unjust wife blaming without taking responsibility and because of that wrecking his relationship with Adonai, see 1 Peter 3:7. “Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them (your spouse) according to knowledge, giving honor unto your wife, as unto the costly fragile vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; in order that your prayers won’t be hindered”. And of mixing good and evil without any spiritual discernment. Did Adonai use this disobedience for the development of His cosmic Plan of Salvation? I believe so. Did this couple make a mistake? Yes. Were they damned and doomed? Not at all. But they were at the head of the exodus of humankind from Paradise, which each individual needs to turn into his and her aliah back to where we came from. But with the necessary spiritual changes, without which no one will be able to enter the heavenly destination.
Looking at Reality with Care
After the Great Tsunami, the Flood, Noach is glad to be able to grow vine plants. And from the first fruits he makes wine, the costly fluid he wasn’t able to drink for a year. For unknown reasons Noach had undressed himself and he slept in his private tent. One of his sons, Cham, had become worried and as a good son he wanted to find out how his father was doing. He found his father in his tent, drunken and naked. After having shaken off the first part of his substance abuse Noach found out that his son Cham had caught him naked and drunk. This was embarrassing for Noah and not yet recovered from the results of the alcohol to his brain he uttered nasty words to his son Cham. No words of appreciation for Cham’s care for his father, which must have been painful. At the same time, Noach wishes for his son Cham to be a good servant, as we all need to learn to be. His brothers Shem and Yefet had not reached out to their father. Only after Cham found him, they knew their father was naked. They were prepared to not look at him, but to cover him. In Genesis 9:26 Noah blesses Cham by praising the G-d of Shem and wishing for Cham to be His servant. This was an interesting challenge to family unity.
Leaving out Truth Creating a False Image
Both Avraham (Abraham) and his son Itzchak (Isaac) encountered the dominance and power of the local Sheikh in the area they lived in. The term Abimelech is the generic name given to all Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible, from the time of Avraham through King David. These kings had their own dating agencies, in which agents were actively searching for women to be added to their harem. The larger the number of women the larger the economic wealth of the king was being shown, to be compared with the number of camels, oxen, donkeys, and army personnel. In order to save their lives both Avraham and Itzchak lied about who their wives were. As Avraham explained, “Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see you, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I beg you, that you are my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of you” (Genesis 12:12-13).
Saving Lives
As wife they would have been possessions, in which case they could be dispossessed. As brothers of their partners, it was a totally different ball game. Sisters need the protection of their brothers. Sisters are supposed to be virgins, and that position needs to be protected and guaranteed. So, they chose to let the agents know that they accompanied their sisters. Avraham was too late to say that, but because of plagues to the royal court Sarah had been rescued in time and Avraham‘s life was saved. But Itzchak was on time in succeeding saving his life before Rivkah had been added to that harem.
Not the Full Truth
Did they lie? No, but they left out important information. Both Avraham and Itzchak were married to their wives Sarah and Rivkah. But both women are close family at the same time. As Avraham explains, “And yet indeed she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife” (Genesis 20:12). In a similar way was Rivkah the sister of Itzchak. His father Avraham had a brother named Nachor. Nachor was married to Milkah and they had a son called Betuel. Rivkah was the daughter of this Betuel. Did Avraham and Itzchak speak the full truth to the kings they were threatened by? No, and not any heavenly repercussion has been recorded. It was perfectly alright to give partial truth in order to save their lives.
Lying in Order to Honor G-d’s Prophecy
Like more people in the Bible, Itzchak and his wife Rivkah aren’t able to get children. They are worried about that. The spiritually inclined Itzchak turned to Adonai, “Isaac begged Adonai for his wife, because she was barren. Adonai acted upon his intreating. Rivkah his wife conceived” (Genesis 25:21). They got twin brothers, Esav (Esau) and Ya’akov (Jacob) who caused pain to their mother by loving a lot while still in her womb. This caused the spiritually inclined Rivkah to pray to Adonai. This is what she heard Him answer, “Adonai said unto her: Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples will be separated already from their birth. The one people will be stronger than the other one. The elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). We do not know whether Rivkah shared this prophecy with her husband.
Following Prophecy
If she did, he must have forgotten it at old age when he felt the urge to bless the firstborn son according to tradition. Itzchak was sixty years old when he had his sons. He must have been at least one hundred years old when he had lost his eyesight. Rivkah heard about the firstborn blessing ceremony which was about to take place. Time for action! Rivkah held on to the prophecy she received while still pregnant with the boys. That meant that Ya’akov should receive the firstborn blessing. But Itzchak was clearly set to bless his biologically firstborn son. So, Rivkah dressed Ya’akov in the clothes of Esav and covered his hands and his neck with young goat skins. All this in order to deceive her old and blind husband. And Ya’akov lied to his father when Itzchak asked him whether Ya’akov was his very son. I am, answered Ya’akov.
Accepted
Was this action of Rivkah and Ya’akov wrong? Remember how Esav sold his position of firstborn son with all privileges to Ya’akov. Remember also that the prophecy Adonai had given to Rivkah was about to be nixed had Esav been blessed as firstborn. The choice needed to be made between the wrong blessing as the choice of a man and the words of Adonai which clearly pointed at blessing Ya’akov with the firstborn blessing. And remember how Adonai uses the name of Ya’akov as confirmation of the choice made by Rivkah and Ya’akov in these words: “I will bring you to the land, of which I have sworn to give it to Avraham, to Itzchak and to Ya’akov. I will give it to you as heritage. I am Adonai” (Exodus 6:8). In a dramatic prayer Moshe (Moses) says to Adonai: “Remember Your servants, Avraham, Itzchak and Ya’akov” (Deuteronomy 9:27).
G-d of Avraham, Itzchak, and Ya’akov
In Psalm 105, David sings regarding G-d’s actions, when David brings the holy Ark from its temporary quarters in the home of Oved Edom to the holly city of Jerusalem, where it was installed with great ceremony and honor: “He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Avraham and His vow unto Itzchak. Then He established it for Ya’akov as a statute, for Israel as an everlasting covenant” (Psalm 105:8-10). Yeshua confirms this, when He talks about resurrection of the dead: “But talking about the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken unto you by G-d: ‘I am the G-d of Avraham and the G-d of Itzchak and the G-d of Ya’akov?’ G-d is not the G-d of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31-32). Rivkah and Ya’akov made the right decision.
Honoring a Tradition while Lying and Deceiving
Itzchak’s wife Rivkah came to know that her oldest son Esav had plans to kill his brother Ya’akov, read Genesis 27:41. She told Ya’akov to flee and go to his uncle, her brother Lavan (Laban). He lived in the city of Charan in Mesopotamia. Ya’akov had to travel north to the city of Aleppo and then eastwards to the city of Charan. Just to orientate ourselves, if one would travel south-eastwards, one would first reach the city of Ninve and further southwards the land of Babylon and the city of Ur. Ya’akov left Be’ersheva and traveled to Charan, also called Paddan-Aram. A long journey. While talking there to shepherds at the location of a well, he happens to meet Rachel who used that same well for her herd of small livestock. The shepherds had already told him that Rachel was Lavan’s daughter. So, he rolls away the stone from the well’s mouth, and he watered the flock of his cousin. Afterwards, he wept as he was moved that Adonai had led him to Rachel and via her to his family. He had reached his destination.
Tradition, Tradition!
Ya’akov fell in love with his cousin and asked Lavan to allow him to work seven years in order to marry Rachel. Lavan promised: “It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to another man. Abide with me” (Genesis 29:19). That was a lie and a deception. They had a wonderful wedding. Ya’akov and his bride went into their private dwelling. It was dark that night and the next morning Ya’akov woke up and asked whom he thought was Rachel how she had slept. He looked into the tender eyes of Rachel’s sister Leah—Leah instead of Rachel. Ya’akov was dressed and out of their tent earlier than planned. He went to his father-in-law and asked: “What have you done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” (Genesis 29:25). Lavan answered him without any sense of guilt that this is tradition. The older marries first. The week of wedding celebrations was honored, after which Ya’akov got his first choice, Rachel. That was it, no earthly or heavenly correction or punishment. And the result has been the twelve sons, of whom Yehuda, son of Leah, became the forefather of Messiah.
Using a Lie in order to Teach a Lesson
Another remarkable son whom Ya’akov had was Joseph, son of Rachel. His brothers hated him when he was young. And they planned to kill him, “When they saw him in the distance, before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him” (Genesis 37:18). Poor Joseph is sold to traveling merchants. Once in Egypt, he is sent to prison although innocent.
Years later, when Joseph has become the first officer under Pharaoh, he is visited by his brothers because the harvests had failed. Joseph falsely accuses them several times as being spies, by imprisoning one of the brothers and by putting Joseph’s own silver cup in Benjamin’s grain bag. Joseph was correcting them and teaching them a lesson, by a method of falsely acting and lying. The brothers learn and show real remorse, both to Joseph and to their father Ya’akov. This method did not get any critical remark in the Bible. And the twelve patriarchs of Israel were cleansed and got a new and fresh start, so that we can be proud of them.
Yael Lying to Protect the Israeli Army
Yael, a non-Jewish woman, happens to be in the escape route of the army general of the Canaanite army of king Yavin at the time. Yael calls to Sisra: “Yael walked out of her tent in order to meet Sisra. She said to him, ‘Change your direction, my lord, change your direction and enter my tent. Don’t be afraid.’ When he had changed his route and had entered her tent, she covered him with a mantle” (Judges 4:18). It seemed to the general that he could trust this woman and that she would provide shelter to him. After pouring him a glass of milk Sisra slept. Yael came into action: “Then Yael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand. Softly she went to him. Then she stuck the tent peg into his temples and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So, he died” (verse 21). Premeditated murder without a sense of guilt, as we can conclude from the report she gives to the commander of the Israeli army Barak, see verse 22: “Come! I will show you the man whom you are looking for. When he came into her tent, Sisra lay dead. The peg was through his temples.” In time of war, it is completely allowed to protect human lives and to lie and deceive the enemy in order to neutralize him.
Rachav Lying to Protect the Israeli Army
When Joshua the new leader of the people of Israel reached the city of Jericho, he sent out two spies in order to view the land. The two Israeli soldiers entered the gate of the city and found the tavern run by Rachav (Rahab). The sheikh of Jericho received intelligence concerning the Israeli spies and he sent troops to catch them. Rachav tells them this story: “Men came to me, but I didn’t know from where they came. Around the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, the men went out. I don’t know where the men went. Pursue after them quickly, for you will be able to overtake them” (Joshua 2:4-5). It was smart to include the sentence in which Rachav said that she did not know where the men came from. That was to sow the image of not protecting people she had no clue of knowing.
Woman of Great Faith
It was also smart to let the troops know that they would be able to find them as that gave the impression of impartiality or even Making the troops think that Rachav saw the spies as enemies. And by sending them out of the gate, she made sure they would not find the Israeli spies. As to what Rachav’s motivation was to help the Israeli army, the story gives clues. We see her say to the spies: “I know that Adonai has given you the land. Your terror is fallen upon us. All the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how Adonai dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when you came out of Egypt. And we heard what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sichon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed” (Joshua 2:9-10). Rachav has come to know the mighty deeds of Adonai, Adonai of Israel, as well as the people whom Adonai assisted so intensely.
Rachav’s Statement of Faith
Through all misery in her own city state of Jericho as well as the power game by her sheikh with the Israeli people, Rachav must have seen that real consolation comes from above, from the G-d of Israel in heaven. She must have seen Him actively involved on earth as well. And so, she comes with her remarkable and profound statement of faith of G-d in heaven and G-d on earth. By His actions He made Himself known to her, like He had done this to Yael and to Jethro, three Gentiles who had the openness of mind to change their religion with all the risks of losing acceptance of other people. Rachav had experienced what Moses described when Adonai executed judgment on the city conglomerate of Sodom and Amorah (Gomorrah). He recorded it like this: “Then Adonai (YHVH) rained upon Sodom and upon Amorah brimstone and fire from Adonai (YHVH) out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). The raining was done by G-d on earth who had eaten at Avraham’s table. The provision of the ammo came from G-d in heaven. This is what Rachav said: “As soon as we had heard these things, our hearts melted. There did not remain any more courage in any man, because of you [the Israeli army]. For Adonai your G-d, He is G-d in the heavens above and on earth below” (Joshua 2:11). She and her family were saved by the Israeli army, in spite of her method to get rid of the soldiers of Jericho’s sheikh.
Hiding a Hundred Prophets
Obadiah, manager of the House of king Achav, continued to be faithful to Israel in spite of the persecutions of Jezebel. He hid 100 prophets in two caves and fed them with water and bread. Not only did he hide these vulnerable prophets, he also hid that piece of information from his employer, the royal house of Israel, “The word of Adonai came to Elijah in the third year, Go! Show yourself to Achav. I will send rain upon the earth. Elijah went to show himself to Achav. There was a fierce famine in Shomron (Samaria). Achav called Obadiah, who was the governor of his house; Obadiah feared Adonai greatly. For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Adonai, that Obadiah took hundred prophets and hid them, fifty per cave. And fed them with bread and water” (1 Kings 18:1-4). Keeping his employers uninformed and yet showing respect is like what courageous Gentiles have done, when they hid Jews in the last world war, lying by answering no when asked whether they hid Jews and when they bought more food than the visible amount of people in the home needed.
Testing without Warning or Explanation
Adonai has the right to make life miserable for people without any warning. He also has the right to talk with Satan about this and give him the right to execute the process. Lying and deceiving? At least no warning. And if the person has been praying to Adonai, why did Adonai not make known that these prayers were insufficient or plain wrong? One example is to be found in the Book of Chronicles, “Adonai sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, Adonai looked and He repented of the evil. He said to the destroying angel, It is enough, stop your hand. The angel of Adonai had reached the threshing field owned by Ornan the Jebusite” (I Chronicles 21:15).
The Rich Man Yov
A clearer example we find in the book of Yov (Job). Yov is a rich man, see the first five verses in chapter 1. In verse 6 the camera shifts position and is focusing on a board room meeting. In it we find Adonai and Beney HaElohim, the Sons of G-d, and among them is ha satan, the satan. After asking about satan’s travel experiences Adonai gives him the go ahead to destroy everything and about everybody around Yov. It must have been a horrible surprise for Yov. Why does Adonai allow satan to do this? Is satan so bad and who is he anyway? Is there any good in all this? The Hebrew term ha satan means adversary. That does not sound nice. But in legal situations, we wouldn’t even begin to think that a public prosecutor would act satanically. Yet his role is to present a case before a judge in order to restore justice.
Satan
If we had an evil plan which we would try to execute, it would be nice if somebody came to thwart our action. We would be thankful afterwards. There is in fact such a situation in the Bible. The king of Moav (Moab) invited Balaam to come to him and curse the Israeli army. Balaam intends to do that. He gets up in the morning, saddles his donkey and rides with the princes of Moav to their king. Adonai does not like it and He gets angry: “The anger of Adonai was kindled because he [Balaam] went. The angel of Adonai stood in the way as an adversary against him. He was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him” (Numbers 22:22). In this verse the angel of Adonai is called satan. And the satanic task is to blocks Balaam’s way in order to protect Israel. The Hebrew word satan is a word with a neutral meaning. How should we look at this boardroom meeting? It might be that this was the creation of an “eye of a needle” for Yov’s situation as a rich and financially independent man, compared in the Bible with a camel, see Mark 10:25. Yov needed to learn the hard way to become depending on Adonai and Him alone.
G-d Demanding Something Wrong from David
In a particular situation Adonai demands from king David to count the people of Israel, “Again the anger of Adonai was kindled against Israel. He moved David against them saying, Go, number Israel and Judah” (II Samuel 24:1). Right after this census took place David realizes that he made a big mistake doing this: “David’s heart felt remorse after he had numbered the people. And David said to Adonai, I have sinned greatly by what I have done. Now I beg You, Adonai, take away the iniquity of Your servant. For I have acted very foolishly” (verse 10). How could Adonai give this wrong demand? It gets even more mysterious, when we read this same situation as recorded in the Book of Chronicles: “Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel” (I Chronicles 21:1). The seer Gad went to his king David to give him three damaging options to choose from, the same in these two biblical versions. What should David have done after hearing this demand? He should have refused and gone against Adonai, who in the Book of Chronicles acted as adversary. And David should have thought why Adonai gave him this demand which went against His own Torah. Then he would have understood that Adonai was showing him what the negative situation was with the people of Israel at the time. A similar situation is written in the New Testament.
G-d Forcing Peter to Violate Torah
Peter once climbed upon the roof of his house in Yaffo, Israel, to do Minche, the middle one of the three daily prayers, Shacharit, Minche and Ma’ariv. It was around twelve o’clock noon. While praying he got hungry and yelled downwards to prepare food for him. This took a while and Peter went into a trance, into ecstasy says the original Greek text. From the text it is clear that entered into a higher spiritual level of consciousness. In that timeless situation he saw: “the heavens opened and a certain vessel descending unto him, in the shape of a large sheet knit at the four corners, let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-legged animals of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. A voice came to him, Get up, Peter. Kill and eat” (Acts 10:11-13). A horrible thing to demand from a Jew who lives according to Torah and lives according to kashrut, the dietary laws.
Rabbinic Authority
Of course, Peter refused, as king David should have done in his situation. The voice tried this three time and then gave up. The sheet was pulled up and Peter descended from his higher spiritual level. Some people explain this text as the more evident beginning of the doing away of Torah. But we learn something quite different when we listen to Peter’s explanation. First, we need to know that at that time rabbis had decreed that it was forbidden for a Jew to have a relationship with or even go to a Gentile because that would make the Jew ritually unclean. And that was possible because according to the rabbis non-Jews were ritually unclean. Had a Jew taken a mikveh, a ritual bath, and afterwards had met a Gentile, he or she would immediately become tamé, unclean.
G-ds Way of Educating
Back to Peter. Roman soldiers came to pick him up because their base commander Cornelius wanted to hear more about Yeshua. Peter goes with them and enters the base. And then he explains to them why he visited them in spite of the rabbinic prohibition to do so. He formulates it like this: “You know how it is an unlawful thing for a Jewish man to keep company or go to someone of another nation. But G-d has shown to me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). In other words, by demanding Peter to eat unkosher Peter did not just eat and break those precious laws. On the contrary, Peter learned that what Adonai calls unkosher, namely unclean animals, is unkosher. And Adonai had never said such a thing concerning Gentiles. So also, here the divine command was not wrong at all. It required from Peter to think twice, which those who misinterpret this interesting Bible text should do also.
Conclusion
Lying and deception are being used as a weapon against the enemies of Israel. Without being any problem. Lying to German soldiers and Dutch state police during the Second World War was necessary and biblically allowed as well. In normal life it is necessary to be totally truthful, but there are also exceptions. If the truth would be harmful, for instance because of age or a fragile relationship, it would be good to be wise. In a congregation, it is only required for all the members to know the truth in a conflict, when the first means have been exhausted, as described in Matthew 18 from verse 15. And when you think that Adonai is talking to you, make sure you find out which circumstances you are in. Because perhaps He wants you to do the exact opposite of what He tells you to.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lion Erwteman, together with his wife Elze, is the cofounder, leader, and teacher of Beth Yeshua, a Messianic Jewish congregation located in Amsterdam. Nearing 30 years, they have been ministering to the congregation through teachings, worship, music, and dance, and Lion’s organization is a long-standing partner of Netivyah in Jerusalem which is led by his son-in-law Yuda Bachana. Originally a biologist and viola player, Lion also completed studies related to Tanakh, Talmud, and New Testament. Lion and Elze are blessed with three children and five grandchildren.
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