“Deception” warns how easily God’s people can drift from truth when they embrace compromise, and why anchoring our lives in His Word matters now more than ever.

“You are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, offer sacrifices to Baal, and follow other gods … then come and stand before Me in this house?”—Jeremiah 7:8–10 NASB

A thousand years after it was built, the temple of Melqart was still praised by the Roman author Horace. This magnificent structure honored the chief god of Tyre, a Phoenician city located on the Mediterranean Sea. We often read about Baal, the dominant god for many in that area.

Worship of gods like these became a snare for God’s people. Gradually, more of God’s people wandered from the truth, rejected what they’d been taught, worshipped Baal, and even made human sacrifices.

Before Israel entered the Promised Land, God warned them, “Be careful,” and told them not even to “mention the name of other gods” (Exodus 23:13). They were to reject these gods, “break their memorial stones in pieces” (Exodus 23:24), and remember that they were “a holy people to the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 7:6). But by the time of Jeremiah, God’s people had drifted away and become deceived.

Today, many people are being deceived in the same way—seduced by the people around them, compromising, accepting popular beliefs, and living worldly lifestyles.

The surest way to be free from deception is to base our lives on God’s Word, have an intimate relationship with Him, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Don’t wander from these fundamentals. Make Jesus your Lord, and fix your life on God’s Word.

Reflection Question: What truth from God’s Word are you tempted to compromise?