God cannot lie.

"The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent." 1 Samuel 15:29

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." Titus 1:2

"It was impossible for God to lie." Hebrews 6:18

God lies by proxy; He sends lying spirits to deceive.

"Now, therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee." 1 Kings 22:23

"Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets.” 2 Chronicles 18:22

"Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people." Jeremiah 4:10

"O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived." Jeremiah 20:7

"And if a prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet." Ezekiel 14:9

"For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." 2 Thessalonians 2:11

__________________________________________________

Explanation:

God does not lie. He is not the author of sin. Nevertheless, all beings, good and evil, are under His control-- whether they like it or not. This applies to the lying spirits, which are demons.

God, in His great mercy, does not allow many bad things to happen to us. Yet, when His anger is kindled, He withholds, or takes away, His restraining grace. In the case of the prophets in the above verses, He could be said to “put” the lying spirits in mouths, when technically He only “allowed” it to happen.

“Deceive” does not necessarily mean a “lie”. It also denotes “to trick”. The latter definition is what is most accurate in the verses. It is okay for God to trick His Creation. He does not always have to reveal His mind to His people, especially when He is angry with them.

Basically, when a person or group of people harden their hearts for a great length of time, God will withdraw Himself from them in stages. Tricking them is one way in which God shows His displeasure with such a people or person. However, for Him to do this, the provocation must be very grievous.

"And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days... Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD." Genesis 49: 1, 16-18