Joshua 2:3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: 5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
This passage of scripture describes for us a situation which often unfolds in the life of the Christian, in which trying circumstances may tempt us to tell lies for a good cause. In this instance it was Rahab, who had not been converted as yet, but who had a limited knowledge of the God of the Hebrews, and made the decision to hide the spies who had come to observe the land, by the command of Joshua. Her actions in hiding them was commendable, and it showed that the fear of The Lord had begun to dawn in her consciousness, so when she was questioned by the king's servants about the two spies, she naturally did what she felt was the right thing, which was to protect them from being discovered.
He motive was absolutely right, but her method was not, for it involved lying, a principle that is entirely foreign to the kingdom of God. The question then is, what was she supposed to do in such a situation? Should she remain silent when questioned, thereby manifesting that she had some idea of their whereabouts? Or should she speak the truth, and trust God with the results? This particular case study is of grave importance to us in our day, especially because the law of God is being touted as valid in teaching and in practice for all Christians. Thus the question for us living in the 21st century is, should we ever be found lying for a good cause, and if so will that action ever be justified in the sight of God?
Although God takes us as we are, He never leaves us as we are, but rather goes about washing and cleansing us from the stains of sin, which came about as a result of His law being broken. Thus the principles of His sacred law must be followed in every circumstance, no matter how trying or dangerous it may be. This is where a living faith comes in, for there are times in our experiences when we too, like Rahab may be tempted to think that the only way out of our predicament is to tell one of those proverbial "White lies", for a good cause. As Christians, we should always decide beforehand to speak the truth in any given situation, for the example set before us is not Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or Rahab, but rather Christ Himself, of whom it is said no guile was ever found in His mouth.
Being truthful in every circumstance will develop the habit in us so that by the grace of God, and constant practice in real life, truthfulness will become second nature, and we will speak it without even having to think about it, for it will flow spontaneously from lips that have been touched by a live coal from off the altar. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which demonstrates God's will in such matters, and He promises us His grace so that no form of guile or lying will be found in us. Let's read:
Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!