An adage or maxim expresses a general truth. Such as: Honesty is the best policy. You reap what you sow (Ga.6:7). What goes around comes around. Your sin will find you out (Nu.32:23).
Actions and sins do have consequences. Thankfully, it seems God is willing to hide some sins of a repentant heart.
Under stress or otherwise, we’ve all lied on occasion. Paul admonished Christians in Col.3:9 (from Le.19:11), “Don’t lie to one another”. Ps.119:163 “I hate and abhor lying, but Thy law do I love”
Lying takes various forms. Maybe we wrongly coveted or stole something, and lied as a cover-up? Or we boasted falsely of a gift or ability (Pr.25:14). Maybe we then even tried to lie to God about it! But that’s futile. He.4:13 “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to Him.” God knows the intent of our heart. 2Ki.5:20-27 Elisha’s assistant Gehazí lied to greedily get some things from the Syrian general Naamán…but he got Naaman’s leprosy! God knew Gehazi’s heart.
Lying can take the form of slander, misrepresentation of truth, exaggeration, deception, hypocrisy. One lie may lead to another…and another…and another. Becoming entangled in a growing web of lies.
God commanded Moses and ancient Israel in Ex.20:16. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This primarily refers to lying in court…a lying witness. “In the mouth of two or three witnesses let every fact be established.” (De.19:15, Mt.18:16) Pr.6:16-19 “There are six things the Lord hates, a lying tongue…hands that shed innocent blood, a false witness who utters lies….” Not all lying is “false witness”. They can differ. Pr.14:5 “A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness speaks lies.” Ps.15:1, 4 here God was with that person who legally testified honestly to his own detriment.
Pr.19:5 “A false witness will not go unpunished.” God even decreed that a false witness be punished as the accused would’ve been punished if found guilty, according to De.19:16-20. “If the witness has accused his brother falsely, then you will do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.” The false witness shall suffer the penalty for the crime (instead of the accused). This could even be death for a capital crime! Later, the ruling of King Darius the Mede stretched this penalty. Da.6:3-13, 24 “The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and cast them, their children, and their wives into the lion’s den.”
Lying may or may not be a false testimony in court. If a man lied about property in Moses’ day, the offender was required to make restitution to the victim, plus pay a fine of 20% of the property value (Le.6:1-7). In addition, a trespass offering was required. By this process, the offender’s sin was atoned for and he was forgiven. If the offender didn’t confess and repay a theft before legal steps were taken, then Ex.22:1-ff stipulated he must pay back double the value or more, when convicted.
What if there’s extenuating circumstances? Sarah was married to Abraham. Abraham & Sarah withheld truth of this from Pharaoh (Ge.12:12-13) and king Abimélech (Ge.20:2). Back then, adultery was considered worse than murder…those rulers greatly feared committing adultery! If Abraham hadn’t said Sarah was just his sister, those rulers might have murdered Abraham…and still taken Sarah for a wife! This is a case of ‘lying’ to protect a person from serious harm or death (Abraham).
And as a result of telling a half-truth…Abraham was blessed! Ge.12:16 Pharaoh gave him many livestock plus male and female servants. Similarly in Ge.20:14-16, “Abimelech took sheep and oxen and male and female servants and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him”.
Jsh.2:3-6 Raháb lied to her king in Jericho to protect the Israelite spies’ whereabouts and further God’s purposes. Consequently, Rahab was saved alive (Jsh.6:25) when God destroyed Jericho! Abraham, Sarah and Rahab are all three noted in the ‘faith chapter’, in He.11:8, 11, 31, 39. Also, in Ex.1:15-20 the midwives didn’t participate in Pharaoh’s infanticide of male Israelite newborns, and told a half-truth to Pharaoh. God then blessed the midwives!
So it seems that a person’s ‘lie’ spoken outside of court to evil people or to non-believers actually could be spoken in faith. Again, Moses and Paul instructed ancient Israelites and Christians accordingly to refrain from lying to one another.
Yet there is a scriptural account in Ac.4:32–5:11 where God put a husband & wife both to death after they lied (and it wasn’t false witness in court). The Holy Spirit isn’t harsh or capricious, and doesn’t act on the whim of the moment. Therefore why, or by what legal right, did God put Ananías & Sapphíra to death that very day…for lying to the Holy Spirit/God (Ac.5:3-4) about their property?! And without trespass offerings as an option for them at the temple there in Jerusalem.
Perhaps God’s reaction against Ananias & Sapphira is disturbing or somewhat frightening to Christian readers because…we too have lied! But their sin involved more than lying.
In Old Testament Israel there were 15–20 transgressions which (theoretically) got the death penalty. Lying normally wasn’t punishable by death. But sacrilegious irreverence to God brought death.
Le.10:1-2 for example. “Nadáb and Abihú [two sons of Aaron the priest] offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them.” Also 2Sm.6:6-7, “Uzzáh reached out and touched the ark of God. And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence, and he died.” In Ex.25:14 and Nu.7:9, God had given instructions about transporting the ark of God. Nu.4:15 “That they not touch the holy objects and die.” The Lord’s holiness and holy things weren’t to be treated as insignificant or commonplace! Nadab & Abihu and Uzzah weren’t given opportunity to repent either.
Then there’s the matter of Achán at Jericho. The lie of Ananias & Sapphira was a form of Achanism. God commanded in De.7:25-26 that no one harbor value of/from an accursed thing which was devoted to destruction. It was anáthema or under a ban, without hope of being redeemed. Le.27:28-29 “Anything devoted to destruction [chérem Strongs h2764, Hebrew] is most holy to the Lord.”
The late Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Dr. J.H. Hertz, identified three types of such devotions or bans…private, justice, war. The ban on Jericho was the war type. That city was anathema, devoted to God for destruction.
Ex.23:19 firstfruits of the Land belonged exclusively to God. Jsh.5:10-13 Jericho was the first city the Israelites encountered in the Land. De.13:12-18 were instructions regarding a city that became devoted to God, banned for utter destruction. De.13:17 “And nothing from that which is devoted [under the ban] shall cling to your hand.” Then Jsh.6:17-21 “The city shall be devoted [accursed]. Only Rahab and those in her house shall live. Keep yourselves from the things under the ban, lest you covet them.” v.24 they burned Jericho with fire. Except its precious metals they put into God’s treasury. It was devoted.
Jsh.7:1 LXX NETS “The sons of Israel committed a major offense and appropriated for themselves [Strongs g3557, Greek] part of what was devoted. And Achan took from what was devoted.” v.10-26 Achan of the tribe of Judah kept valuables from a devoted city that was to be destroyed. (Whereas later in Jsh.8:1-2 the booty from the city of Ái was shared. Ai wasn’t the firstfruits of Canáan and not devoted to God.) Jsh.7:25 so Achan was put to death for sacrilege (as Nadab & Abihu, and Uzzah).
The Greek term nosphízomai (g3557) was uncommon, used only in Jsh.7:1 LXX, Ac.5:2-3 (Ananias), Ti.2:10, 2Mc.4:32. It meant to misappropriate or set apart for one’s own use. Dr. Spiros Zódiates said the term was “applied by Greek writers to public treasures”. e.g. Athénaeus: Pilfering gold to the god Apollo. 2Mc.4:32 (ca 175 BC) “Meneláus pilfered [g3557] some of the gold vessels from the Temple.”
So Achan and his family were put to death, as ordered by the Lord (Jsh.7:15).
The sin of Ananias & Sapphira was analogous to Achan’s sin. Barnes Notes Jsh.7:1 “The accursed thing, that which had been devoted. Achan in diverting any of these devoted things to his own purposes, committed the sin of sacrilege, that of Ananias & Sapphira.” How might Achan’s transgression typify that of Ananias & Sapphira?
Mal.4:4-6 Malachi prophesied that Elijah would come…and if their hearts didn’t turn to the Lord, then a ban of destruction (h2764) for the Land.
Lk.1:13, 17 John the Baptizer came as the prophesied Elijah, to return the peoples’ hearts to God. Jesus said of John the Baptist in Mt.11:13-14, “This is Elijah, who was to come”. (see the topic “Rebirth to Physical Life”.) But most hearts in Jerusalem & Judea didn’t return or repent to their God!
Consequently, the devoted city came under the ban, as prophesied in Malachi!
Jesus lamented in Mt.23:37-38, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets. Your house is being left desolate.” Jesus continued in Mt.24:1-2, saying the temple buildings would be destroyed. Furthermore, in Lk.19:41-44 Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said it would be razed to the ground, because they didn’t recognize His visitation! As a matter of historical record (e.g. Josephus), that ban of destruction upon Jerusalem occurred in 70 AD! And the site was indeed leveled to a plain (by 135 AD), as Jesus said!
In Mt.19:21-22, Jesus told the rich young ruler in Judea, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor”. The man owned much property. That land would later have little value to them in the siege of Jerusalem. Ac.2:44-46 Jewish Christians in Jerusalem “Began selling their property and possessions, sharing them with all”. They believed Jesus’ prophecy…destruction was coming! Peter then said in Ac.3:6, “I don’t possess silver and gold”. Regarding the believers in Ac.4:32-37, “All who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sale to the apostles”. This sell-off occurred in the area of Jerusalem/Judea…doomed to destruction, according to Jesus.
Lk.21:20-22 “Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Traditionally the Jerusalem saints made the flight to Pella in 66 AD, taking with them the spoils of doomed Jerusalem. This is reminiscent of Ex.12:36, when Moses and their ancestors left with the spoils of the destroyed Egypt.
After the Jewish leaders blasphemed and murdered the Son of God, Jerusalem was devoted to destruction (cf. De.13:13-18).
Again, Ananias & Sapphira wrongly coveted and lied about property. This normally wasn’t punishable by death, according to God’s law. Yet the Lord had said to Joshua & Israel in Jsh.7:12, “I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the accursed from among you”.
Ananias & Sapphira likewise must die, as Achan must die (Jsh.7:25). The sold property of Ananias & Sapphira in Jerusalem was devoted to God.
God’s character is just! His law is just! God doesn’t violate His own word and put someone to death for a non-capital offense!
Were Ananias & Sapphira (secretly) Judaizers who disbelieved the words of Jesus and Malachi, that the Land would be destroyed if the people didn’t repent? Or perhaps Ananias & Sapphira thought they could re-purchase Jerusalem property later in a windfall-type deal? Whatever, they greedily retained value which was devoted to God for the royal priesthood (Ac.5:2, 1Pe.2:9). Similarly, Achan retained value which should have gone into God’s treasury (Jsh.6:19). The Lord didn’t just impulsively smite them in a fit of anger because they told one lie about the proceeds of a piece of property they’d owned!
I’m not defending lying. Jn.8:44 Jesus said the devil is the father of lies in general. The serpent lied to Eve in Ge.3:4. “You shall not surely die.” De.18:20 lying prophets and those who prophesied in the name of other gods were to be put to death. Pr.19:9, Re.21:8 habitual liars (including the devil, Re.20:10) go into the lake of fire! This is the ultimate consequence of lying (unrepented)!
In contrast is He.6:18. “It is impossible for God to lie.” Also Paul said in Ti.1:2, “God cannot lie”. Lying isn’t in God’s character. And in Ep.4:25, Paul said of us in the church (quoting the Old Greek/LXX Zec.8:16), “Speak truth each of you with his neighbor”.
However, extraordinary circumstances of not telling the whole truth or telling a half-truth to heathens or evil men or enemies…may protect someone from needless harm or can advance God’s will!
The Lord commanded ancient Israel to exterminate the seven totally corrupt enemy “nations” of the Land of Canaan in De.7:1-ff. Yet Jesus said to love your neighbor and your enemies (Mt.5:43-44). And to treat Samaritans as their neighbor (Lk.10:29-37).
Nevertheless, for example, to divulge (under duress) the identity of a Christian brother/neighbor to radical Muslims who will kill him isn’t showing love to either the neighbor or those Muslims! Better to tell a half-truth or lie to help keep our neighbor/brother alive…as did Abraham, Rahab, the midwives of Ex.1. (Military ethics for Christians who may kill national enemies is beyond the scope of this topic. see “War & Killing and the Bible Christian”.)
To bring this closer to home…we need God’s continual mercy (e.g. in areas where we may be weak). Though we’ve wrongly lied occasionally, don’t let lying become habitual. We’re to repent and confess. 1Jn.1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins.”
The account of Achan and Ananias & Sapphira shows that the Lord surely isn’t to be trifled with! We should have a right fear of God, fearing to disobey Him. It’s not a dread…but more a reverence, an awe! Ps.25:11-14 “Pardon my iniquity. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in good. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.” And Ps.33:18 “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.”
Finally, a curse was to be upon the man who rebuilt Jericho (Jsh.6:26, 1Ki.16:34). But unlike Jericho…Zec.14:10-11 “Jerusalem will rise. And people will live in it, and there will be no more curse [h2764], for Jerusalem will dwell in security.” Jerusalem will be no longer devoted to destruction!
And unlike Achan and Ananias & Sapphira who wrongly coveted, stole devoted forbidden things, and lied…Ps.84:11 “No good thing will God withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Thank You, Lord!
Bible Topic Exposition 