1 Maccabees 7:15. "And he spoke peaceful words to them and swore this oath to them 'We will not seek to injure you or your friends.'" This oath is a lie. The men speaking it will immediately, upon gaining the trust of the Hasidean scribes, seize and kill sixty of them (1Maccabees 7:16). (I have written about this event from Maccabees several times, the post There Is No Truth or Justice in Them explains the back story better.) 

These men were speaking words of treachery, with the intention of killing or conquering anyone who believed them. How can we know when someone we should be able to trust is lying to us? That was the problem the Hasideans faced. The enemy king had sent a corrupt high priest, Alcimus, with his army and his men. The Hasideans thought they could trust a priest - "A priest of the line of Aaron has come with the army, and he will not harm us." (1 Maccabees 7:14). It is difficult to know who to trust sometimes, and many fall into the traps of those who have turned to evil. It is especially difficult when those who have turned to evil are people we have always been taught to trust.

Learning the stories of history and observing the mistakes of those who were led astray is one way we have to better protect ourselves. That is one reason reading the Bible is so important for our spiritual protection! The Bible also gives us Jesus' words telling us to be "wise as serpents" (Matthew 10:16). We are all children of this fallen world, therefore, because we have the effects of original sin in us, we know a little bit of the ways of the serpent. We are to use our natural cunning in order to see through the enemy's wiles as best we can. We absolutely must remember that not everyone is acting in our best interests, in fact, in this corrupt world, many have succumbed to wickedness and are acting only in service of themselves, or money, or power, or, sometimes, a misunderstood and corrupted version of what is "good." 

How could the Hasideans been as wise as serpents here? For one thing, they could have noticed that Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, who were clearly on the side of God, were ignoring these envoys from the enemy - "he sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with peaceable but treacherous words. But they paid no attention to their words, for they saw they had come with a large force." (1 Maccabees 7:10-11). The Hasideans themselves could also have seen that these "peaceable" men had come with a large armed force, that should have alerted them to possible danger as well. Any time the words of worldly forces are contradicted or not fully believed by people we know to be faithful, that is reason to at least look a little more closely at the situation.

In yesterday's post, we read that John warned us that this "whole world is in the power of the evil one." (1John 5:19). So anytime worldly powers are speaking "peaceful" words to us backed by the force of their armies, we should be a bit questioning, even if the worldly powers are fronted by a priest. Look around, observe reality, see if anyone is resisting or ignoring the forces that are demanding your compliance, and ask yourself who you trust more. Ask yourself who is behaving more in a more godly manner. Ask yourself who has more reason to lie to you. Ask yourself who is being rewarded by the world, remembering that the evil one is the one handing out earthly rewards. Follow the money, follow the wordlly power, and remember that those things are not the rewards we seek.

Many might think you skeptical, overly cautious, or even cynical when you try and seriously evaluate that what the world is telling you, and ignore or resist it if you think it is lying to you. So be it. You may save your life, and the lives of those you love, by channeling your inner serpent.