The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-1, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.

Question

My daughter asked me a question and it is out of Joshua 2:3-7, 18-21, and it's talking about Rahab. Her main question is: that God forbids us to lie, and she said, "Mom, Rahab lied to the king and she hid God's people, but God said that it is a sin to lie. How do you reconcile the fact that she lied and God honored her lie?"

Answer

No, she sinned and God honored her faith. God did not honor her lie; she didn't have to do that, God would have saved His people anyhow, but she had very little information. All she knew about God was what she heard as they moved from Egypt into Canaan, and she heard the exploits of this great God, and she believed in the true God. In fact, if you follow the story and you follow it all the way into the Book of Matthew, where she's listed among the heroes of faith--Rahab believed God, Rahab believed God. She didn't know all that there was to know about God, but she believed God. Maybe she didn't understand all there was to the morality that God had identified as what is right, maybe in her culture lying was acceptable, but what she did know she believed and adhered to. She knew this was the true God and she wanted to stand with the true God against her entire society.

God honored her faith, God didn't honor her lie, and if she would have told the truth God would have equally, in fact, more gloriously and wonderfully spared His spies. In fact, I have often thought to myself, if she hadn't lied and David hadn't played the fool, and if other people in the Bible had just done just what is upright and truthful, think of what things God would have that He was not able to do because they lied and covered up something. So God didn't honor her lie.