C’mon, ‘fess up ‘cuz we’ve all done it. Telling that little white lie or withholding just a piece of the story to make ourselves look better. Personally, I also tend toward mild exaggeration, but I suspect all of us at some point in our lives (except One) have had what my brother-in-law calls a “flexible sense of integrity”. Of course, the universality of it doesn’t excuse us, nor does the humor. It may help our cause, however, to recognize where all this untruthfulness boils up from…
Enter good King Hezekiah, good being a nuanced word, because he also had his moments. Nonetheless, he led God’s people with considerable integrity and loyalty, but now the people were in (yet another) real pickle. Jerusalem was being surrounded by the mighty king of Assyria, who had his eyes on putting God’s town on his own map. Interestingly, this enemy was not entirely ignorant of the Jewish condition. We overhear the conversation here:
“ But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the LORD our God!’ But isn’t He the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down His shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem? I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them! With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers? What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the LORD’s direction? The LORD Himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it! ‘ “
Check out some of Satan’s tactics when he speaks to us:
- Misinterpretation of circumstance (Hezekiah was actually obeying God to tear down the forbidden alters.)
- Trying to “strike a bargain” or compromise.
- Bribes, worldly, or even disguised as spiritual (as in, “think of the good we could do!”)
- Ridicule (to pull on our pride)
- Half-truth (yes, God was using this to discipline His own people, but not to this extent).
And here’s the Jewish people’s response:
“But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, ‘Do not answer him.’”
Hezekiah’s reaction is classic—tearing his clothes in grief, he immediately takes all of this to God, Who beautiful sorts it all out, as He is wont to do.
Next time I’m tempted to expand or contract the truth, may I remember where that comes from, since my Lord says that “Satan is a liar, and the father of lies.” And of equal importance is to always strain what I hear through a scriptural sieve.
‘Cuz everything else is just gonna burn.
Isaiah 36: 7-10, 21 Tyndale House Publishers Inc (2008-06-01). The One Year Bible NLT (One Year Bible: Nlt Book 2) (Kindle Locations 30958-30978). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.’”
You mean I can’t tell my fish stories? It just doesn’t have the same ring to say, “The battle waged fierce. Like two battle hardened warriors the little guppy and I…” Sigh!
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Hahaha!! Alright, as long as it OBVIOUS…. (can I tell you about my walleye??)
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Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
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Merci!!
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You’re very welcome!
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An excellent post, Dawn! Yes, we have a human tendency to “dabble” in half-truths and exaggerations, just as the evil one does often. It can be a very bad habit to get caught up in so we must check it.
This also comes into play as we study scripture. Unless we investigate in context, we may arrive at the wrong conclusion on a topic. We need to see all that the bible has to say on a matter to help us understand things correctly.
Steve
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Context context context! And not only literary, but culturally as well. Example: Jesus was a first century Jew in Palestine. This gives more insight into some of His reactions. Thanks for your thought, always.
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Context is the path marker to the destination you want to arrive at. We probably would never find where we are going if it weren’t for “context!”
🙂
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Good reminder of Satan’s lies. I think its always good to know what lies we are prone to want to believe; knowing our weakness should be of some help when Satan flatters us
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GREAT insight! So true.
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