Here I will respond to another of the erroneous conclusions raised by misuse of a verse .  The individual wrote to me that "God deceives," and as one example cites Jer. 20:7, "O Lord, you have deceived me and I was deceived..."

      Here are the flaws in concluding this from this verse (the writer did cite other verses, and over time I will address them, but some basic principles of biblical reading can be made evident with this verse).   First, the individual chopped the selection.  One must read the full passage to get the appropriate sense of Jeremiah's burden and his voicing of anguish to God.

      Jeremiah is complaining to God, bringing his "case" if you will, to God.  This is a frequently used device in biblical literature, the most commonly known probably being Job, who pleads his case to his friends and then to God.  The verse represents part of a particular genre which reflects feelings not literal interpretation.  Jeremiah FEELS deceived, and so he voices his feelings to God.  This is a perfectly acceptable thing to God.

      Consequently we are proposed a false reading, as the individual reads the verse literally, thus taking Jeremiah's statement to mean "God deceives."  Once again it is not allowed to ascribe to the scriptural writers the use of hyperbole or other literary techniques; those are just for human use.

      As for a final point, part of the message of this text is to free us to speak openly with God without fear or trembling, as the Philippians writer tells us.  Jeremiah is an example for us of approaching the throne of grace without that fear or trembling.  

      The bible is written on many levels.  There are guidelines on how to approach a text for the fullness of meaning and to keep a reader in acceptable bounds for biblical interpretation.  It is a grievous mistake to read the Bible only literally, to take verses from their context or to read without the umbrella of genre as a guide for textual meaning and purpose.