In the bible, there are many stories of deception. One of the most famous stories is that of Adam and Eve. They were deceived by the serpent into eating fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This caused them to be banned from the Garden of Eden. There are also stories of deception in the book of Genesis, (word of God) such as when Jacob deceives his father into giving him Esau’s birthright. These stories teach us about the dangers of deception and how it can lead to disaster.
- Satan
- Abram
- Jacob
- Rachael & Leah
- Potiphar’s Wife
- Midianites
- Samson
- David
- Job’s Friends
- Ananias & Saphira
- Anti-Christ
Stories of Deception in the Bible
The Bible is full of stories of deception. Many of these stories teach us about the dangers of deception, and how it can lead to sin and destruction. In this blog post, we will take a look at 11 different stories from the Bible where deception played a role.
1. The serpent deceives Eve– One of the most well-known stories in the Bible is that of Adam and Eve. In this story, the serpent deceives Eve into eating fruit from the tree of knowledge, which leads to the fall of man.
In the story of The serpent deceives Eve, we see a clear example of the tempter’s devices. Eve is presented with a beautiful fruit, which she is told will make her wise. The serpent then uses flattery, telling Eve that she will be like God if she eats the fruit. Of course, we know that the serpent is lying, (bible describes lying as a false witness) and that eating the fruit will not make Eve like God. However, Eve falls for the deception, and eats the fruit. As a result, she and Adam are both expelled from the Garden of Eden. This story teaches us that we must be on our guard against Satan’s lies. We must be careful what we believe, and be sure to test everything against God’s Word. Otherwise, we may find ourselves believing things that are not true, and suffering the consequences.
2. Abram deceives Pharaoh– In Genesis 12, Abram goes down to Egypt to escape a famine in the land. When he gets there, he fears that Pharaoh will kill him and take his wife Sarai, so he tells Sarai to say that she is his sister. As a result, Pharaoh takes Sarai into his harem, but God warns him not to touch her and he gives her back to Abram.
The story of Abram deceiving Pharaoh is found in Genesis 12. Abram and his wife Sarai were living in Canaan at the time, but they decided to go to Egypt because there was a famine in the land. When they arrived, Abram told Sarai to say that she was his sister so that Pharaoh would not kill him in order to take her as his wife. This deception worked, and Pharaoh gave Sarai to Abram as a wife. However, God struck Pharaoh and his household with plagues because of Sarai, and so Pharaoh asked them to leave. This story teaches us that even though Abram had good intentions, he still disobeyed God by lying. A Lying Tongue is always wrong, even if it seems like it will help us in the short term. We should always obey God no matter what the consequences may be.
3. Jacob deceives Isaac– In Genesis 27, Jacob deceives his father Isaac into thinking that he is Esau in order to receive his blessing.
Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah. He was the twin brother of Esau. When they were born, Jacob emerged first from the womb, and so he was given the name “Jacob,” which means “supplanter.
As the boys grew older, it became clear that they were very different in nature. Esau was a very hairy man and a skillful hunter. Jacob, on the other hand, was a smooth man and preferred to stay at home.
One day, when Jacob was cooking a good-smelling stew, Esau came in from the field and asked Jacob for some of the food. Jacob agreed to give it to him, but only if Esau would give him his birthright – the right to inherit their father’s property. Esau agreed, and so Jacob became the heir.
Later on, when Isaac was old and blind, he called for Esau and told him to go out into the field and kill an animal so that he could have a feast before he died. Rebekah overheard this conversation, and she secretly devised a plan to make sure that Jacob would get the blessing instead of Esau. Rebecka Following her own desires.
She had Jacob dress up in one of Esau’s skins, so that he would feel hairy like his brother. Then she sent him into his father’s presence with some food. When Isaac smelled it, he thought it was Esau and blessed him. In this way, Jacob tricked his father into giving him the blessing intended for Esau. The Legal Rights were subverted to Jacob.
4. Rachel and Leah deceive their father– In Genesis 29, in these Bible Verses, Rachel and Leah deceive their father Laban by giving him Leah instead of Rachel on his wedding night.
Genesis 29 tells the story of how Rachel and Leah, two of Jacob’s wives, deceived their father in order to ensure that their own children would inherit his blessing. It was a ruse that had far-reaching consequences, not only for Jacob and his family, but also for the entire nation of Israel. The story begins with Jacob’s arrival in Haran, where he meets and falls in love with Rachel. He works for her father, Laban, for seven years in order to earn the right to marry her.
However, on the night of his wedding, Laban tricks Jacob by substituting Leah for Rachel. Although Jacob is tricked, he still agrees to work another seven years so that he can marry Rachel as well. The deception doesn’t end there. When Rachel is unable to have children, she convinces Leah to give her one of her sons in exchange for one of Leah’s daughters. As a result, Rachel’s firstborn son, Joseph, inherits Jacob’s blessing. The story of how Rachel and Leah deceived their father is a cautionary tale about the dangers of deception. While it may seem like a harmless way to get what you want, the consequences can be far-reaching and damaging. On the wedding night, Jacob drinks too much, and Leah is brought to him to lie with instead of Rachael. The wine had him under a strong delusion. He was fooled.
5. Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Joseph- In Genesis 39, Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph, but he refuses her advances. She then falsely accuses him of attempted rape, and he is sent to prison as a result. In the Old Testament, Satan is called the father of Lies, deceiving religious people of the ancient world and in the New Testament False Prophets, false teachers, false apostles, even disguised as an angel of light.
Potiphar’s wife took a fancy to Joseph and repeatedly invited him to lie with her, which he refused to do, telling her that it would be great wickedness against God. She continued to press him day after day until Joseph was so fed up that he finally ran out of the house, leaving his garment in her hands. When Potiphar came home that evening and found his wife angry and his garment torn, she falsely accused Joseph of trying to rape her. As a result, Potiphar had Joseph thrown into prison, where he remained for many years. Even though Potiphar’s wife had lied about him, Joseph still chose to honor God above all else. His faithfulness was rewarded when he was eventually released from prison and rose to a position of power in Egypt.
6. The Midianites deceive Gideon– In Judges 7, Gideon is about to go into battle against the Midianites when God tells him that he has too many men with him. Gideon then whittles his army down to just 300 men, who defeat the much larger Midianite army with trumpets and torches.
The Midianites were a nomadic people who often invaded the land of Israel. In Judges chapter seven, they came up against Gideon and his army of 32,000 men. However, God told Gideon that he had too many men with him and that he would only be able to defeat the Midianites if he whittled his army down to just 300 men. Gideon did as God instructed and, with only 300 men, he defeated the much larger Midianite army.
7. Samson deceives Delilah– In Judges 16:4-22, (Biblical Book)Samson is captured by the Philistines and brought to Delilah’s house. She repeatedly asks him how he can be defeated, and he finally tells her that if his hair is cut off, he will lose his strength. She then cuts off his hair while he is sleeping and turns him over to the Philistines, who put out his eyes and make him grind grain in their prison until the day he died. At times he displayed a love of god and did good work but his old self caused himself major issues.
Samson was a man of great strength. He was able to kill a lion with his bare hands and he once killed 1,000 Philistines with just the jawbone of a donkey. But despite his great strength, Samson was ultimately undone by his own weakness – women. In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at how Samson deceived Delilah and what ultimately led to his downfall.
As told in the book of Judges, Samson had fallen in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah. The Philistines were enemies of the Israelites and Samson knew that it would be wrong to marry her. Nevertheless, he continued to see her and one night she asked him to tell her the secret of his great strength.
Of course, Samson knew that if he told her the truth – that his strength came from God – she would never believe him. So instead, he decided to deceive her. He told her that if he were bound with new ropes that had never been used before, his strength would leave him. So she did as he said and bound him with new ropes – but of course, they had no effect on him whatsoever.
Delilah was not fooled though and she pressed him again to tell her the truth. This time, he told her that if his hair were cut off, then his strength would leave him. So she cut off his hair while he was sleeping – but again, it had no effect on him.
At this point, Delilah was starting to get frustrated and she demanded that Samson tell her the truth or she would have him taken away by the Philistines. This time, Samson gave in and told her the truth – that his strength came from God and as long as his hair remained uncut, he would remain strong. As soon as she heard this, she had Samson’s hair cut off while he was asleep and then turned him over to the Philistines who blinded him and put him to work grinding grain in a prison cellar.
The story of Samson is a cautionary tale about the dangers of deception. He allowed himself to be deceived by Delilah and in doing so, he brought about his own downfall. We should all learn from Samson’s mistakes and be careful not to allow ourselves to be deceived by others.
8. Nathan exposes David’s deception- In 2 Samuel 12:1-15, Nathan tells David a parable about a rich man who stole a lamb from a poor man in order to feed a guest in his house. David becomes enraged at the rich man’s actions, but Nathan then reveals that David is the man in question for stealing Bathsheba from Uriah and having him killed so that she would become David’s wife.
The story of Nathan exposing David’s deception is found in 2 Samuel 12. In this story, we see how Nathan confronted David about his sin and brought him to repentance. We can learn a lot from Nathan’s example on how to deal with others who have sinned.
Nathan was a prophet of God who was sent to confront David about his sin. When Nathan came to David, he told him a story about a rich man who had many sheep and a poor man who had only one lamb. The rich man took the lamb from the poor man and used it for himself without any remorse. When David heard the story, he was very angry and said that the man who had done such a thing deserved to die.
Nathan then told David that he was the man in the story. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed so that she would be free to marry him. When David realized his sin, he was repentant and asked for God’s forgiveness. Nathan then prophesied that because of David’s sin, there would be much strife in his family. He was following his own heart instead and shed innocent blood.Because he had love of the truth he escaped the wrath of God.
9 Job’s friends deceive him– In Job 4-42, Job’s friends try to convince him that he must have sinned in order for God to allow all of the bad things that have happened to him to happen. They are eventually refuted by Elihu, who tells them that they have not spoken rightly about God as Job has done throughout his trials.
10 Ananias and Sapphira deceive Peter– In Acts 5:1-11, Ananias and Sapphira sell some property and bring part of the money to Peter as an offering for the church; however, they keep some back for themselves without telling Peter about it. When Peter questions them about it, they both lie and say they gave all of it. As a result, they both drop dead.
The Story of Ananias and Sapphira: Why Deception Never Pays
Blog Introduction: In the New Testament book of Acts, we read about a couple named Ananias and Sapphira who attempted to deceive the apostle Peter. They had sold some property and wanted to give the proceeds to the church, but instead of giving all of the money, they kept some back for themselves and lied about it. As a result of their deception, they both dropped dead.
So, what can we learn from this story? Why did God judge them so harshly? And what does this story teach us about the importance of honesty? Let’s take a closer look.
The Story in Acts 5
In Acts 5:1-11, we read the following account:
“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the proceeds and brought only a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ‘Ananias,’ Peter asked, ‘how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.’ When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died.” (Acts 5:1-5a) Christians are seeking eternal life and will avoid the second death, by being doers of the word.
We then read that Sapphira came in a little while later, not knowing what had happened to her husband. When Peter asked her how much they had received for the land, she again lied. “After she returned home,” we’re told, “she fell down and died.” (Acts 5:7-10)
Why Did God Judge Them So Harshly?
Some people might look at this story and think that God was being too harsh. After all, all they did was lie about how much money they gave to the church—isn’t that something that lots of people do?
But there are a few things we need to keep in mind. First, as Christians, we are called to be honest in all areas of our lives (Ephesians 4:25). This includes telling the truth about how much money we give, whether it’s to our church or any other organization. Second, when we lie, we are sinning against God—not just other people (Proverbs 12:22). And third, when we make promises to God—such as giving Him our tithes and offerings—we need to be sure to keep those promises (Malachi 3:10).
What Does This Story Teach Us About Honesty?
This story teaches us that honesty is important—not just in our dealings with other people, but also in our relationship with God. When we make promises to Him or commit our lives to Him, we need to be sure to keep those commitments. Otherwise, we are sinning against Him.
So let us learn from the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Let us be honest in all areas of our lives—including our financial giving—so that we will not bring dishonor to God’s name.
11 The Antichrist will deceive many- In Revelation 13:11 -18, we are given a description of the Antichrist, who will come before Jesus’ second coming. He will perform signs and miracles and deceived many people into worshipping him. Those who do not worship him will be put to death.
Conclusion: Deception is a serious matter, and it often leads to sin or destruction. As Christians, we should beware of deception, both in others and in ourselves. May we always strive for honesty in our words and actions!
Final Thoughts – Stories of Deception in the Bible
As we can see that as Christians we should never partake in stories of deception. But instead, we should always be honest not only to others but more importantly to God. As a Child of God we are examples for the whole world of God’s Promise in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God Bless Greg
