Walking with the Wise #37: GOD Hates Lying Under Oath

“There are six things that the LORD hates, 

seven that are an abomination to Him:

haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies…”
—Proverbs 6:16-19

Lying is everywhere in our world today: advertisements, politicians, parents, children, employees, employers and the list goes on and on. The first lie ever told was by the devil to Eve, when he told her that if she were to eat of the fruit that she wouldn’t die (Genesis 3:4), even though God had said she would (Genesis 2:17). Jesus says that the devil is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44), and we must make sure not to be a participant in his rebellion by endeavoring to always tell the truth.

And with a world filled with so many lies, the truth becomes much more valuable. Our world doesn’t care about the truth, unless it is for its own benefit. Time and time again, the world has shown that one can “bend” the truth in order to achieve the desired result, which is just a different way of saying that the end justifies the means.

But our God is a God of truth, because He Himself is truth. He cares about that which is true in all levels of life and our responsibility is to testify to the truth of who He is and to give truthful accounts about other things when it is our opportunity to do so. Today’s passage reveals that God hates a “false witness who breathes out lies.” Eugene H. Peterson has translated it as, “a mouth that lies under oath.” It’s not just lying in view, but lying under oath.

In the Bible, testifying was an important part of Jewish society. Whenever a case was brought to court, it was necessary to substantiate it on the basis of two or three witnesses, especially cases involving capital punishment (cf. Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). The reason for having more than one witness showed God’s value of human life. He wanted to make sure that one person wasn’t simply pursuing some personal vendetta against another. Two witnesses would help substantiate the charges and expose guilt or protect innocence. If the two-person witness scenario could be corrupted, the entire justice system would be in jeopardy and God’s name would be impugned. It was essential then that witnesses proved to be reliable.

For us today who are beneficiaries of Jesus’ atoning death, and who do not live in a theocracy, it is essential we tell the truth in order to show that Jesus is the truth (John 14:6) by which we are set free (John 8:32). We testify by our words and deeds that we are children of light who do not walk in darkness. As John said, “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth”—1 John 1:6.

Our goal is to put on Christ and to testify to the world that He is the Savior of the world who died in order to set men free. By His substitutionary death, the power of sin was destroyed, death defeated, and man can now live in freedom—forgiven of sin and imputed with His righteousness, finally able to testify to His love, mercy, and oh so cleansing grace.

May our lives shine brightly, and may truth be upon our lips in all things so that God might be seen as He is—the loving Savior of the world. Amen.