It is important to define disguise. To disguise is to change the usual appearance, sound, taste, etc., of someone or something; so that people will not recognize that person or thing. Disguise is tantamount to deception.

We shall all do well to remember the King of Israel Jeroboam and his involvement with disguise. Remember 1st Kings 14:1-13. Abijah, the son of Jeroboam was sick and there was the desire to have the child healed. The father, the king of Israel, sent the child’s mother to Ahijah the prophet. This prophet gave Jeroboam the message that God had chosen him to be king over Israel. At this time, the king had forgotten about the God that chose him, the prophet that proclaimed him king and had turned to evil. Today you can also see men and women who God called and showed mercy doing the same thing as Jeroboam. Jeroboam could not go directly to the prophet because of his ways, as explained in verse 9, But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back.

Jeroboam asked his wife to go in a disguise to prophet Ahijah and inquire about the sick child. He knew that:

1. The child was sick and time was running out for his outcome.
2. God was the only answer to his sick child.
3. The prophet hears from God and will get an answer from God.
4. He had departed from God and was unwilling to repent. Instead, he chose to use a disguise.
5. He wanted to take advantage of the prophet’s failing sight.
6. He planned the disguise and sent his wife to the prophet. In a similar way, today, some people send others to consult mediums on their behalf.
7. He sent her with a good will offering perhaps or a bribe (verse 3); bribes affect judgment.

The God of Ahijah the prophet saw the evil of Jeroboam well in advance, and prepared the prophet. God knows all things and cannot be taken by surprise. Although the prophet’s eyes have dimmed because of age, God was still giving him answers to all situations, which even surprised those with clear visions. God spoke to the prophet informing him of the disguise. The Lord told him who was coming, what the problem was, the answer to the problem and a prophecy for the perpetrator of the disguise, King Jeroboam. Do not engage in disguise.

Jeroboam’s wife approached the prophet’s house in her disguise and as she was entering, the prophet spoke. He said, Come in thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest (pretend) thou thyself to be another” (I Kings 14: 6)? He destroyed her disguise; this is a warning for people who want to play smart against God, you will fail. Come out real with God, do not use a disguise, it will not work. Repent and turn to God before you get an unconditional proclamation from God that may be a judgment and not a blessing. The prophet said to her, Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die (v: 12). Disguise is deceit. Neither God nor his prophet can be mocked. Repent and turn to God. Remember that disguise is a lie. All lies have consequences.

In 1st Samuel 28:5-25, you can see another case of disguise. Disguise is never a good approach. It is falsehood that never ends well. This case involves King Saul.

The Philistines were at war with Israel and there was much fear that even troubled the king. The situation seemed hopeless. It is stated in verse 6 that Saul inquired of the Lord, and got no answer, neither by dreams, Urim, nor by prophets. So, the king asked his servants to seek out a woman with a familiar spirit, that is, a witch, that he may go to her and inquire of her. This is a man anointed to be God’s king over Israel; a man who had Samuel, the prophet, by his side until he chose to walk contrary to the word of God and the instructions of the prophet. The same thing is happening today. People begin by seeking answers from God; later, the turn to mediums, sorcerers, witches and the likes. This is evil, it is contrary to God. When people seek to hear from a dummy god – an agent of Satan – to solve their problems, the outcome is hell.

Saul disguised himself, and went to enquire from the witch of Endor. Imagine a whole king of Israel disguising himself as an ordinary man, to get help from the witch. The King had gone from getting instructions from a prophet to seeking answers from a witch. A close reading of verses 9-12 reveals the following:

1. When Saul was committed to the Lord, he was zealous. He cut off all those with familiar spirit and the wizards out of the land. Now, he is consulting with a witch.
2. Saul swore unto the witch in the name of the Lord saying in verse 10, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. This is an anointed king swearing to a witch, something was wrong. Today, many men of God secretly in disguise consult with the witch of Endor.
3. Verse 16 reads, The Lord has departed from thee and is become thy enemy.
4. The witch prepared a meal for him and persuaded him to eat and he did eat with his men. Now it is no more eating in the house of God but in the house of a witch. When in a disguise many evils can happen to a person. Beware of disguise or deceit in the things of God, disaster often follows.

Now that we have seen how people, who once knew the Lord and the prophets turned to disguise, when they were desperate. Let us examine the Christians today. There are different kinds of problems that include family, personal, employment, financial, health, prosperity, social, political, religious, power and so on. People take the different actions to resolve those problems as follows:

1. Some seek for solutions through personal prayer with the word of God, the bible as the answer.
2. Others trust fellow Christians as helpers in prayer through Jesus Christ.
3. Some trust those who claim to be prophets of God, some of whom do not hold the bible sacred
4. Yet there are those who have known God but have backslidden to the point of consulting with mediums, witches, native charmer, seers, through divination, metaphysics and a lot more, trying to solve their problems; often using a disguise, like kings Saul and Jeroboam.

When people who are supposed to know and follow the way of the Lord, start to go the way of disguise like Saul and Jeroboam, they make God their enemy. This makes you a loser and the end is often tragic. Ask yourself these few questions and be sincere about it:

1. When you start imagining to be involved in a disguise, what is your relationship with God?
2. When was the last time your talked to God? Did you read the bible today? What do you remember?
3. What is the testimony of the Lord in your life? Do you have a testimony for today?
4. Where will you spend eternity?
5. The problem you have, did you create it?
6. Can God trust you to trust him with your situation?
7. Do you want to be grouped along with Saul and Jeroboam as disguisers?

Finally, remember God knows and sees all things and peoples and motives. When you decide to disguise and consult with a witch, wizard, medicine man or woman seer, other strange gods and their servants, you become an enemy of the word of God, Jesus Christ. Be careful to follow the Lord with your whole heart and never use or be involved in a disguise or seek help from strange gods. Whenever you consult any other god or join yourself against the word of God, you are casting God behind your back like Jeroboam.

The two examples of disguise involved people trying to reach out to God on their own terms instead of on God’s terms. Prophets were involved in both examples. The Lord uttered judgments against both acts of disguise. The word of the Lord came to pass as spoken. Why fall into the trap of the devil which includes disguise, deceit, and craftiness in your dealings with God and men? Remember the consequences of such, and the end of those that practiced disguise. Jesus Christ is the only answer, the only way, the only truth and the only source and author of eternal life. Invite him into your life now before it is too late. Don’t eat in the house of God and turn around and eat in the house of Satan, at the table of the witch of Endor. The choice is yours today. Jesus Christ is the Lord.