Did Abraham, the Hebrew midwives, Rahab, Jael, David, and God Himself sin by deceiving those who were at odds with God’s will?
This is the implication of those who set the saints of of God against God’s Law. Always looking for a way to escape God’s Law they hope to find refuge for their lawlessness in the example of the saints of Scripture. Others maintain their own “purity of conscience” by calling these deceptions sins, which they themselves would never commit, despite the witness of Scripture that these very acts are held up in Scripture as acts of faith and examples to us of righteousness.
Abraham hid his marriage relationship with Sarah from those who would murder him to get her.
The Hebrew midwives deceived Pharaoh and saved the lives of the Hebrew male new-born babies.
Rahab told the officers of the state of Jericho that the spies had gone away while hiding them and assisting in their escape.
Jael lured Sisera inside for refreshment and a nap and then drove a tent peg through his temple while he slept.
David feigned madness in order to save his life from the hand of the Philistines.
God lured Pharaoh into wilderness near the Red Sea as he chased the Israelites so He could destroy him and his army.
R.J. Rushdoony has said that the source of a society’s law is its God. This is also true of individuals. You operate by a certain law. You judge according to this law in the jurisdiction that you have been given. Your mind, money, property, and time are all under your control and what you do with them is directed by the law you operate by. The source of that law is your god.
All law is war against lawlessness. Different systems of law thus represent different gods who are at war with one another. The God of Biblical Law is at war against all other gods and their law systems. He is also a very jealous God. When another god touches His Bride He gets especially incensed. When you invite another god into your bosom He becomes livid (as in “a face white with rage”). Be careful whose law you make your own!
Now, we can have many different kinds of enemies. We may have personal enemies. Others may hate us because we belong to a certain family. I once was ill treated because I represented a company whose previous representatives were hated. Being of a certain race, or wearing certain colors, speaking or not speaking with a particular accent may all make us enemies of complete strangers. There are many real and imagined injustices that people feel need to be paid for and they may see you as having to bear that cost. Some people play power politics and believe that it is to their advantage to foil or hurt you in some way. Sin abounds and death follows after. We are to treat such lawfully (Deut. 22) even when they treat us lawlessly, to seek their good even when they seek our harm. This pleases God and makes for peace.
Then there are those who take it upon themselves to be God’s enemies. They are at war with God, His Law order, and anything else that manifests His sovereignty. They don’t just cheat and break the law, they justify and promote the legalization of lawlessness itself. They self-consciously work to undermine the very foundations of God’s kingdom. They are professional rapists of the Bride of Christ. Against all such God is always at war and so should we.
We do not owe the truth to those who are at war with the truth.
We do not owe forthrightness to those who have instituted lawlessness. Yet some suggest that Abraham should have become an accessory to his own murder by revealing his marriage. They impute sin to Abraham without any foundation in Scripture whatsoever.
We do not owe obedience or honesty to authorities who order evil, seeking to enlist us in Satan’s service. Yet pietists suggest the midwives should have just not said anything. That God would have protected them and those baby boys somehow. Thank God the midwives left us with such a wonderful example of Godly character, and not the weak-kneed, spineless, self-righteous morality of so many of their critics.
We do not owe loyalty to a regime or nation whose cup of iniquity overflows into judgment. Yet some impute guilt to Rahab; they say she sinned by lying but that God overlooked it. But Scripture gives witness that God lifted her up from whoredom to the very genealogy of Christ. To be loyal to God you must be treasonous to His enemies. Choose whom you will serve.
We may pay death to those who are at war with life. As did Jael. What a great saint of God! Worthy to be celebrated in song. She knew God’s law and was easily able to distinguish between hospitality and accommodation of a weary fugitive, and righteous enticement and execution of an enemy of God’s Kingdom. Yet some condemn her, thus showing their pretentiousness and ignorance.
Nobody shows modern day peitism for what it is like David does. He offends modern pietists like no other saint of God, yet no one in Scripture is held in such high regard by God. It leaves His enemies seething inwardly as they look for ways to disparage David’s reputation and standing before Christians. A great way to measure the caliber of a Bible teacher or pastor is to listen to what he has to say about David, and Abraham too.
Therefore, study God’s Law at the feet of someone who can teach it properly, namely RJ Rushdoony. There are some 1600 audio lessons to choose from and scores of books and articles. Then you will learn to discern, obey, and love God through both His Inscripturated Word and His Incarnate Word.