The universal truth is that God does not lie. James tells us that he does not tempt us to sin as there is no evil intent of heart to deceive. But does that include all human beings, including the evil? Deuteronomy 13:1-4 reads, “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Once again, James would write in the first century that the Christian should “count it all joy when falling into divers temptations because the trying of faith produces steadfastness (James 1:2). One clear axiom of truth that can never be questioned is that Jehovah God demands the exclusive right of worship from His people. A similar passage in the New Testament is Galatians 1:6-9, which reads, “ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Clearly, the faithful, honest devotee of God is not being deceived into making a mistake they will later regret. The test, however clear, is a test of courage and faith to do the right thing when the opportunity to choose the wrong is presented. This test is not a lie; that is, an intent to deceive another that alters their perceptions, beliefs, or choices.
God sometimes adopts deceptive measures but only as a means of punishing the evildoer. 1 Kings 22:18–23 reads, “And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” And Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.” This is similar to the New Testament text that tells us God will send a strong delusion that those who love not the truth might believe a lie and be damned (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10-13).
God has instructed prophets to lie. Exodus 3:18 reads, “And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’” 1 Samuel 16:2 reads, “The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ And Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’” Literature that describes the gods of the ancient Near East demonstrates emotions and tactics that compare to humans. But, God is not motivated by power struggles and deceptive tactics to accomplish His purposes. He is characterized as “holy,” (Lev. 20:26; 21:8; etc.), by the angels (Isa. 6:3), and by humans (1 Sam. 2:2; 6:20). He is described as a “God of truth” (Ps. 31:6), whose word is “right” and whose deed is faithful (Ps. 33:4). He puts into the mouth of Balaam the description: “God is not man to be capricious, or mortal to change His mind” (Num. 23:19). A similar affirmation is heard from Samuel: “The Glory of Israel does not deceive or change His mind” (1 Sam. 15:29). How can this be correct when we have an example of God telling Samuel to lie to Saul or telling Moses to deceive Pharoah? First, Saul and Pharoah were of the sort that we have described who were not honest. Second, regarding the previous point, if God gave an advanced warning that under certain situations, he would mislead people, then God, who knows the hearts, would be at liberty to act accordingly without violating his nature. 2 Samuel 22:27 explains his dealings this way: “With the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous (ESV, cf. Ps. 18:27). This explains why He would mislead Ahab’s prophets after God had spoken by the prophet Micaiah. Ahab had a choice to accept Micaiah or his prophets. Ahab is like people, today, who choose according to their own desires and tell them what they want to hear. He complained about Micaiah never prophesying anything good for him, but only misfortune. His 400 false prophets tell him to “march against Ramoth Gilead and the Lord will deliver into your hands.” After Micaiah’s prediction of Israel’s defeat and Ahab’s death, Ahab disguises himself in case there is any truth in Micaiah’s prediction. But, Ahab cannot hide from Jehovah. Therefore, God warns, in advance, that He will deceive those who allow themselves to be deceived. If Ahab desired to follow Jehovah, there would be no deception or misleading.