Does the God of the Bible Deceive People?

The doctrine of inspiration teaches that the Bible is truly the Word of God, given through human authors who wrote using the normal language and thought patterns of their time. For this reason, when Scripture says that God did something harmful or brought calamity on someone, it is often using biblical language to describe what God allowed or permitted to happen, not what He directly caused in a morally evil sense. The Bible regularly speaks this way to emphasize God’s sovereignty: nothing happens outside His authority, even when human beings or other agents are responsible for the evil itself. In these cases, God is described as “doing” what He judicially allows after people persistently reject truth and correction. This kind of language does not portray God as deceitful or unjust, but as the righteous judge who sometimes removes protection and allows people to experience the consequences of their own choices. The inspired text communicates this truth clearly while still affirming that God Himself remains good, truthful, and morally pure.

With this framework in mind, we will now examine the passages in question by quoting them directly and placing them in their proper context. In each case, the language describes not God committing evil, but God allowing evil to occur or permitting a deceiving spirit to continue its work as an act of judgment. This is consistent with the New Testament witness, particularly Romans 1 and 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, which explain that because people refuse to accept the love of the truth, God hands them over to strong delusion. The implication is clear: deception is not imposed on innocent people, but follows a prior rejection of the truth itself.

Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:20; 14:4

When Scripture speaks of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart, it is using biblical language to describe what God would later allow to take place, not an immediate or forced act upon an innocent man. In the earlier passages, God repeatedly states in the future tense that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exod. 4:21; 7:3), indicating something that has not yet occurred within the narrative. As the events unfold, however, the text first emphasizes Pharaoh’s own responsibility. Before God is ever said to harden Pharaoh’s heart, Scripture describes Pharaoh’s heart as already hardened and resistant (Exod. 7:13-14; 7:22). This becomes explicit in Exodus 8, where Pharaoh is said to harden his own heart once relief comes (Exod. 8:15; 8:32). Only after this repeated self-hardening does the text move forward to chapter 9, where it finally states that the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exod. 9:12). The progression shows that God’s hardening language reflects His allowing Pharaoh to remain in the stubborn condition Pharaoh had already chosen, rather than God causing the rebellion from the outset.

Jeremiah 4:10

“Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’ Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.” – Jeremiah 4:10 (NKJV)

Let’s look at the qualifications mentioned before hand in Jeremiah showing it was the people first that were deceived already and were following a lie.

• “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit.” – Jeremiah 2:8 (NKJV)
• “Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the LORD your God.” – Jeremiah 2:19 (NKJV)
  
• “Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in lying,” declares Yahweh.” – Jeremiah 3:10 (LSB) [Command + F “deception”]

We even see after Jeremiah 4:10 Israel’s constant betrayal of God, as they repeatedly prefer falsehood over truth and willingly embrace deception rather than repentance (Jer. 5:1-3; 5:30-31; 6:13-14; 7:8-10).

Jeremiah 20:7

O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me.

The context makes clear that Jeremiah’s words in verse 7 are part of a personal lament, spoken in the aftermath of real suffering. In Jeremiah 20:1-2, the priest Pashhur has Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks for proclaiming the word of the LORD, subjecting him to public humiliation and persecution. It is in response to this experience that Jeremiah cries out in anguish in verse 7, expressing how overpowered he feels by his prophetic calling. Yet this lament is immediately qualified by what follows. In Jeremiah 20:9, Jeremiah explains that despite his pain and resolve to stop speaking, God’s word burns within him like fire shut up in his bones, leaving him unable to remain silent. The passage shows that Jeremiah’s statement in verse 7 is not an accusation of divine deceit, but an honest expression of emotional struggle under persecution, while verse 9 confirms his continued willingness and submission to the call of God.

1 Kings 22:20-23

20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ 22 The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 23 Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

The scene of a spirit being sent out to become a “lying spirit” does not introduce deception where none previously existed. Rather, it presents through spiritual imagery what God allowed to continue among prophets who were already lying. Earlier in the chapter, Ahab’s prophets unanimously promise success, telling the king exactly what he wants to hear (1 Kgs. 22:6), even though their message contradicts the true word of the LORD delivered by Micaiah (1 Kgs. 22:8-14). Ahab’s rejection and hatred of Micaiah because he “never prophesies good” concerning him reveals that Ahab has already rejected truth in favor of deception. Because Ahab despised the true prophet and chose lies instead, God allows the false prophets to persist in the deception they had already embraced. The vision of a lying spirit therefore communicates, from a spiritual perspective, God’s judgment on Ahab: He allows the lies Ahab prefers to lead him to his downfall. God is not shown creating falsehood, but withdrawing restraint and permitting existing deception to accomplish the end Ahab’s own choices set in motion.

Isaiah 6:9-10

And He said, ‘Go, and tell this people: “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.” Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.’

God’s command for Isaiah to speak in a way that results in people “not understanding” does not mean God is deceiving innocent listeners or causing unbelief. Rather, it describes what God allows to take place among a people who have already refused to listen. The broader context of Isaiah makes this clear: before this commission, Israel is repeatedly described as sinful, rebellious, and spiritually dull (Isa. 1:2-4; 1:10-15; 3:8-9; 5:12-13; 5:20-24). They have long rejected correction and despised the word of the LORD. Isaiah’s preaching does not create blindness; it exposes and confirms the blindness that already exists. As the people continue to reject the message, God allows them to remain in the hardened condition they have chosen, so that hearing truth without repentance only deepens their resistance. The language of hardening, therefore, is not about God preventing faith, but about God allowing persistent rebellion to run its course once truth has been repeatedly rejected.

Isaiah 63:17

O Lord, why have You made us stray from Your ways, And hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants’ sake, The tribes of Your inheritance.

The question “Why have You hardened our hearts from Your fear?” is a communal lament, not an accusation that God arbitrarily causes spiritual blindness. The speaker looks back on Israel’s history and recognizes that their hardness followed long-term rebellion, not sudden divine coercion. Earlier in the same section, Israel is said to have rebelled and grieved God’s Holy Spirit, resulting in God turning from protector to judge (Isa. 63:10). The hardening language, therefore, reflects what God allowed to happen after persistent disobedience. He withdrew restraint and let the people remain in the condition they had chosen. Like Isaiah 6:9-10, this verse does not describe God preventing faith, but God allowing the consequences of repeated resistance to take hold once His guidance was continually rejected.

Ezekiel 14:9

“And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

When God says that He has “deceived” a prophet, the statement must be understood against the immediate and prior context of false prophecy and judgment. Just before this passage, Ezekiel 13:1-10 condemns the prophets of Israel for speaking from their own hearts, following their own spirit, and misleading the people with false assurances of peace. These prophets are already lying before Ezekiel 14 is introduced. Likewise, the people who seek them are said to have set up idols in their hearts, showing a deliberate rejection of truth (Ezek. 14:3-5). In this setting, God does not cause a true prophet to lie; rather, He allows false prophets to continue in the deception they have already chosen. The language of God “deceiving” the prophet reflects divine allowance and judgment, emphasizing that God may withdraw restraint and let deception run its course when both prophet and people persistently reject His word.

Ezekiel 20:25

Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live

When God says that He gave Israel “statutes that were not good,” the verse is not teaching that God endorsed immoral or harmful laws. The surrounding context makes clear that Israel had already rejected God’s good statutes and repeatedly rebelled against Him despite patient warnings (Ezek. 20:11-13, 18-21). As a result, God speaks of giving them over to statutes “not good” in the sense that He allowed them to follow the consequences of their rebellion namely, the corrupt practices and laws they desired, including pagan customs and self-chosen ways. The language reflects judgment by abandonment, not divine approval. God is described as “giving” what He allows Israel to pursue after they reject His life-giving commands, emphasizing that their suffering comes from turning away from God’s law, not from God prescribing evil. Plus the text says ‘he gave them up’ to it.

Job 12:16

With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His.

The statement that “the deceived and the deceiver are His” occurs within Job’s response to his friends, as he emphasizes God’s power and sovereignty over all creation. Job is not claiming that God authors deception. Throughout the book, deception and wrongdoing are attributed to human and adversarial agents most clearly when Satan is presented as the one who brings affliction while God merely allows it (Job 1:12; 2:6), and when Job explicitly refuses to accuse God of wrongdoing despite his suffering (Job 1:22; 2:10). At the same time, God is repeatedly affirmed as just and upright, never acting wickedly or perverting justice (Job 8:3; 34:10-12; 37:23). Read in this broader context, Job 12:16 asserts God’s sovereign rule over all beings, including deceivers, without implying that God is the moral source of deception or evil.

2 Thessalonians 2:11

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie

When Paul says that God sends “strong delusion,” the verse must be read in direct connection with what precedes it. In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Paul explicitly states the reason for the delusion: “because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” The order is decisive rejection of truth comes first, delusion follows. God does not deceive innocent people; rather, He allows those who have already refused the truth to remain in the lie they have chosen. The delusion is not imposed against their will but corresponds to their prior love for unrighteousness. As elsewhere in Scripture, God is described as “sending” what He allows after truth is persistently rejected, emphasizing judgment by allowance rather than divine authorship of deception.