Where the truth is suppressed, there will be a betrayal of some kind. The betrayal of our firm belief victimizes our confidence. The bruise of a victim of betrayal cannot be healed easily, because his confidence and trust have been wounded. When confidence is betrayed in the marital relationship, the vowels embedded in the words, “Till death do us part” are broken; children are torn apart emotionally, with their destiny and happiness interrupted. More likely, that will happen to them also. Betrayal is not only manifested in words, but also in action. When Judas betrayed our Lord YAHSHUA, he came to him with words and a kiss. What is there in a kiss for Judas to apply it to betray YAHSHUA? In the Jewish custom of those days, a kiss on the cheek was common in a greeting, it was also an act of respect and honor toward the person. But this hypocritical act of Judas carried the betrayal underneath his breath, but YAHSHUA was not caught by surprise. When YAHSHUA identified who was going to betray Him, He said, It is the one to whom I am going to give this morsel of food after I have dipped it. So, when He had dipped the morsel of bread, He gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son. Then after [he had taken] the bit of food, Satan entered into and took possession of Judas. YAHSHUA said to him, what you are going to do, do more swiftly than you seem to intend and make quick work of it (John 13:26-27).
With a betrayal kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas betrayed YAHSHUA to the Jewish authorities, who handled Him to the Romans. So, the prophecy of Psalm 41: 9 was fulfilled in the person of Judas: Even my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. In Psalm 55:12-13, King David expresses his sorrows in the event of the betrayal by one of his friends. He wrote, For it is not an enemy who reproached and taunts me, then I might bear it; nor is it one who has hated me, then I might hide from him; but it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend. The wound of betrayal caused by a friend, goes deeper than any other betrayals caused by anybody else, according to my estimation. There is something special about friendship that is found nowhere, but in the hearts of two friends. When we read about David’s and Jonathan’s friendship, we understand the depth of a true friendship. No, theirs were not a homosexual relationship, as many defines it. But theirs were as Solomon defined it: a friend loves at all times and a brother is born in time of adversity (Prov. 17:27). Jonathan, the son of King Saul, was unselfishly willing to give up the throne to David, for the sake of friendship, knowingly he to be the next king. With the death of Jonathan, David fulfilled his promise to his friend and took care of his family. Pure friendship, where there is no jealousy or envy of each other, but respect and honor for one another, is a beautiful gift from God.
In the absence of truth, lie is the ruling master. We are living in the days Paul defined in his letter to Timothy. These are days when lies have taken the authority to deceive the masses; and many have followed it without questioning. The entire world has been betrayed and lied to the point of many losing their life. This is the hour in the space of time when we must ask, What is truth? David wrote a prophetic prayer in Psalms, which defines the day after the rapture, or even today: Help, Lord! For principled and godly people are here no more; faithfulness and the faithful vanish from among the sons of men. To his neighbor each one speaks words without use or worth or truth; with flattering lips and double heart they speak (Ps. 12:1-2). The Prophet Micah had this to say about it too: The godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; each hunts his brother with a net; trust not in a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Keep the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom (Micah 7:2,5).
In this hour and season when chaos is the normal, when lying is the normal, may you and I be found true to our Lord YAHSHUA and to one another, no matter the cost. The betrayal of one’s confidence leads us to the loss of friends and a disturbed heart and mind. Peace resides in the heart of those who are truthful even to the point of death. So, let the light of truth shine with our words and our actions.
Light from the Word 