Eza 4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, (ESV)
The truth is that as a people of God we have an enemy. "Satan" means adversary or enemy. As our enemy he will lie to us and about us. That is what we find the enemies of Judah and Benjamin doing in this chapter. First they lie to the people of God by saying, "We worship your God as you do." Then they lie about the people of God by saying that they are rebuilding the city. It is not the city they are rebuilding, only the temple. But truth is no virtue in the eyes of the enemy. Jesus described him as a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
The very first time we encounter Satan in the Bible he is telling a lie. In Genesis 3 he comes in the form of a serpent, hiding his true identity. In that disguise he tells the woman that God has been untruthful. "You will not surely die," he insists. He is a liar and the father of lies.
Most spiritual warfare is waged through lies. Fear results from believing lies. Spiritual bondage is accomplished through lies. Interpersonal relationship issues are caused by telling or believing lies. Personal discouragement results from believing lies and half truths. Recognizing the lie takes us a long way toward embracing the truth.
As a people of God we have an enemy who will use every method at his disposal to convince us of lies or to convince others of lies about us. He will use emotion, miscommunication, misinformation, half truths and more. That is why truth is such a valuable commodity. We need to intentionally speak the truth in love, and listen for the truth with grace and discernment.
Father, forgive me. It seems that almost daily I believe some lie or half truth. Give me the discernment to tell truth from lie, and the grace to always speak the truth in love. May I recognize the true enemy and not give in to his deception. May my life be characterized by transparent truth spoken in humility and love.
By His grace,
Rick Weinert
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