The “Anointed” Two-Face

Two-face, yes. I am not talking about famous Harvey Dent from Batman, but about real Christians and how this has become a real problem. What’s a two-face? A two-face is someone who shows different sides of his self in different circumstances, but both sides are unified by a single purpose of selfish needs.

Criminal minded two faced oath keepers

As we read through Judges 21, it starts off with the 11 tribes of Israel weeping. So what happened?

Flashback time.

In the earlier chapters, the tribe of Benjamin commits a heinous crime that’s so intense it could probably be an NC-17 movie. This sparks a civil war between 11 tribes of Israel and Benjamin. After decimating the Benjamites and taking an oath not to give their daughters to them in marriage, the Israelites suddenly realize that this could lead to the complete loss of the tribe. It’s like they suddenly had a light bulb moment after all the chaos. Oh well, typical two-faced behavior, right? Classic ancient drama unfolding!

But it’s only getting started.

So these warriors are crocodile tears as their brother tribe has been completely wiped out by (Ahem…) them. And to top it off, after the revenge, they have got all sanctimonious and are so desperate on keeping the vow they made not to give their own daughters in marriage to the Benjamites. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! They’re torn between their inability to give their daughters and their “concern” for the Benjamin tribe’s lineage. It looks like someone’s going to have to foot the bill for this mess.

Guess who did? (Drumrolls please….)

You’re spot on! Someone else. The ensuing chapters tell a tale of appalling two-face behaviour.

Selective Murder to keep the path

To provide some soulmates for the 600 remaining Benjamites, they decide to kick things off by paying a visit to the folks of Jabesh Gilead, who missed the war and made a solemn vow to punish anyone who didn’t show up. Talk about commitment to the oath by these saints, right? Well, nearly. They spared the virgin women and decided to set them up with the Benjamites. Classic move, folks!

Abduction to keep the oath

Then these leaders head to Shiloh, where the majority of the Ephraimites are hanging out and there’s this massive celebration happening, with the young women dancing and everyone having a blast. They come up with this brilliant idea that since they swore an oath, technically they wouldn’t be breaking it if they just created a perfect chance for the Benjamites to snatch up the young women and marry them. Clever, right? It’s like solving a problem with a loophole! The Benjamin tribe gets their ladies, and the leaders get to “keep their vow”, as they didn’t technically “give” their daughters in marriage.

But hey, what about the families of the abducted girls in all of this? What did they get?

They got a strong rebuke because they didn’t “offer” their daughters for marriage. I know what you are thinking. How could the Ephraimite dads offer their daughters when they had already sworn to not give their daughters. Ha! That’s the convoluted part. I don’t know, but apparently in some twisted logic these leaders came up with a way to justify their oath, abduction, murder, and rebuke to the oppressed.

Two-faced modern day believers

You know what that is. Two-faced religion. But you find such two-faced people even today. These are people who on one side are extremely religious and speak the Bible more than mere words. They talk faith, and speak faith, but their actions are behind closed doors are often opposite. They may preach on Sunday and bad-mouth their spouse and children for not letting them minister. They will forge documents to mortgage a property, and then will conduct meetings on that property. They show zeal in serving God and preaching about him, but will have done shady deals all around. They will manipulate their resume and experience, and then insist that God gave them the job. There are also those who spread gossip in the name of “prayer”, and then show up front and centre on Sunday morning. They are like these 11 tribes who were so insistent on keeping the oath, that they were ready to murder, abduct and oppress. In their own twisted mind, they think since they are “anointed”, it justifies what they are doing, because after all, it’s all for the Kingdom.

What to do?

So, Paul talks about these kind of “believers” in 2 Tim 3:2-5.

2 Timothy 3:2–5 (ESV) ²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, ⁴treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Everything they do has some benefit for themselves. They’re all about keeping up appearances with their religious activities, but behind closed doors, it’s all about finding ways to avoid paying taxes. You’ll come across plenty of folks like this, and it’s not likely to change anytime soon.

What does Paul tell us to do? Avoid them, but pray for them. Forgive them, if they have done anything against you, but don’t entertain them around. As Paul says

2 Timothy 3:8–9 (ESV) ⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. ⁹But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

Just like the 11 tribes thought when they justified murder and abduction, the profits and the social reputation that one gains from this will not last long.

Today, as you read this and feel the gentle touch of the Holy Spirit on your heart, you may be beginning to recognize the challenging truth that you may have acted in sinful ways. If this is you, remember the words of Paul in Ephesians 4:28, urging those who were living in sin to “Stop it” and to change. Take a moment to humbly approach God, understanding that nothing in this world is worth jeopardizing the joy you find in Christ. It’s never too late to make a change.

But if you find yourself oppressed by such believers, please do not be alarmed. Show them forgiveness, pray for them, and release your pain to God. As Paul emphasizes in 2 Tim 3:12-13, people may persecute you and spread slander about you, but choose to respond with love and pray for them.

2 Timothy 3:12–13 (ESV)¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

After all, these are end times and we will see plenty of these in the coming days, but do not be troubled, or disheartened.