Around 20 years ago, I wanted to give my friend Marcel a birthday surprise he would never forget. He is from Germany and a very nice guy. He is a pastor, and at that time, he was writing his Master’s thesis. A very methodical guy, sharp focus, tight schedule, all on time, no distractions, pure German engineering. We were living and studying inside the private compound of a small international institution that only offers master’s and doctoral degrees.
I spent days thinking about what I should do that would be memorable. Then I found it. I was going to use my hacking skills. No, I did not hack his computer. I used “Social Engineering.”
I designed and printed a colorful and attractive flyer. It said: “Hi, I am Marcel, your friend. Today is my birthday! Please, visit me or call me to greet me. I would like to hear from you! My apartment is ABC and my phone number is 123.” I added a photo of him with a big smile. And on the bottom it said: “Please, tell your friends.”
The night before his birthday, when everybody was sleeping, I went around campus to place the flyer everywhere I could. The institution had plenty of noticeboards everywhere. Depending on the size of the noticeboard, I put two or three flyers. I was ready to saturate the market with this message. Everybody had to know!
I can tell you, it worked like a charm!
From very early in the morning, people started to call Marcel to congratulate him on his birthday. Some of them were his friends and classmates, as well as teachers, and others were complete strangers to him. Some people went to his apartment, bringing food and other gifts. The calls and visits kept coming all day until late at night. But it did not stop there; it lasted for a few days. People kept calling, “I am sorry, Marcel, I missed your birthday, but it is never too late, happy birthday!” Wherever he went, he would be the birthday guy!
In the beginning, Marcel and his wife were surprised and pleased with the greetings, but at some point, things didn’t look normal. So finally they asked people, “How did you know today is my birthday?” and the answer was “Because of the flyer you put out.” “A flyer?!”
Late that day, I called Marcel to give my greetings. As soon as he realized it was me, he exclaimed, “You are terrible! It has to be you! I could not write anything for my thesis today. I could not sit at my desk! The phone keeps ringing, and people keep coming.”
The place in which we lived sets the perfect stage for this. This institution hosts people from more than 40 countries, most of them from South Asia. The majority live with their families in campus apartments. It is a vibrant cultural environment where everybody wants to support and be respectful of everybody’s culture. And it was that cultural-support side that I decided to exploit with social engineering.
Later, I talked to some people about this event, and this is what happened: “Hey, did you see that flyer? It says today is Marcel’s birthday.” – “Yes, I already called him to give my greetings, nice guy.” – “Isn’t it a little strange that he is asking to be greeted?” – “Well, you know, it is another culture, he is from Germany, maybe this is how it works there, we have to be supportive of his culture.” – “You are right, I have never talked to him, but I am calling him right now!”.
And that is Social engineering. Leveraging psychological principles in a person to naturally do the task you want them to do without them noticing. The things that go viral are not necessarily by chance; these are engineered to create a chain social reaction, or are also used to hack your bank account.
What do you do if you have an urgent message? What if this message made the difference between life and death? How would you engineer it to go viral?
And this is the dilemma that God had with the Israelites. They were going astray. God had to use creative ways to deliver His message, to make it viral, to have an impact.
God sent Elijah, who raised a person from the dead, had dramatic confrontations with the king, brought fire from heaven, and killed 400 pagan prophets.
Then it was Elisha, who multiplied oil and made an axe head float. He called the bears to avenge the lack of respect.
Joel comes describing a devastating locust plague that ravaged the land, devouring crops and causing widespread famine. Locusts serve as a powerful symbol of divine judgment and impending disaster, representing both a literal plague and a foreshadowing of a larger, more severe “Day of the Lord”.
How can we forget Jonah and his epic story of being eaten by a big fish? A message of repentance and God’s mercy using a big fish, a plant, and a worm.
Then comes Amos, who fiercely denounces the rich and powerful for exploiting the poor, selling them into slavery, and perverting justice for their own gain. Amos criticizes the Israelites for their empty rituals and religious practices that are disconnected from their daily lives and moral conduct. God uses a basket of ripe fruit and a plumb line to show that the time of repentance is almost gone.
To what extent do you go to deliver an important message?
In the book of 1 Kings, the prophet Micaiah describes a meeting in heaven where strategies are deliberated.
“I saw the LORD sitting on his throne. All the angels of heaven were standing around him. Some were standing at his right side. The others were standing at his left side. The LORD said, ‘Who will get Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead? I want him to die there.’ One angel suggested one thing. Another suggested something else. Finally, a spirit came forward and stood in front of the LORD. The spirit said, ‘I’ll get Ahab to do it.’ ‘How?’ the LORD asked. The spirit said, ‘I’ll go out and put lies in the mouths of all his prophets’. ‘You will have success in getting Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.'” (1 Kings 22:19-22)
It is interesting to see here that God looks for advice on how to deal with a human issues. I’d like to think of that particular meeting also deliberating how to better give a message to Israel. Let’s imagine it:
“I saw the LORD sitting on his throne. All the angels of heaven were standing around him. Some were standing at his right side. The others were standing at his left side. The LORD said, ‘How will I communicate my message of sin and repentance to Israel? I want them to pay attention.’ One angel suggested one thing. Another suggested something else. Finally, a spirit came forward and stood in front of the LORD. The spirit said, ‘I’ll use social engineering.’ ‘How?’ the LORD asked. The spirit said, ‘I will use gossiping and make it go viral.’ And the LORD approved it.”
God went to talk to Hosea and executed the viral gossiping strategy. He ordered His prophet, the one who is supposed to be the example to others: “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her.” (Hosea 1:2 NIrV). And Hosea does exactly what was commanded.
Can you imagine how this incident spread like fire in Israel’s social media channels? Everybody had to be talking about it. “Have you heard, Hosea, the Lord’s prophet is marrying Gomer, the promiscuous woman.” “What? Has he gone crazy! She has slept with everybody in town! Is he that desperate?”.
A few months later: “You won’t believe this, Hosea had a child with Gomer.” “No! Is he already having children with that woman? We know how this is going to end!”
Some time later: “Have you heard, Gomer has left Hosea and is now living with another man.” “Well, I am not surprised at all. What was Hosea thinking? You know, he is much better without her.”
A few days later: “You will not believe this, Hosea has purchased Gomer for fifteen shekels to have her back in his home!” “No way! You must be kidding me! What is wrong with this man! Somebody has to remove his phophet credentials.”
The #hoseagotcrazy was surely trending in Israel.
And that is precisely what God had planned. Because every time Hosea would be in the spotlight because of his tumultuous relationship with Gomer, God would be ready with a message. A message exactly matching the viral event.
There was the post: “Hosea is marrying the promiscuous woman, Gomer! #goingcrazy”
God’s reply: “Like an adulterous wife, this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord” #lookinthemirror. (Hosea 1:2 NIV)
Another post: “Hosea just wasted his money repurchasing Gomer back. #badinvestment”
God’s reply: ” The Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” #goodinvestment (Hosea 3:1 NIV)
We have to recognize that this is a very clever communication strategy.
Now consider this. Even though we could dive deep into the book of Hosea, just looking at it from a communication strategy, it shows how much love God has for humanity. He goes to these extremes to continue to pursue us with his message of salvation. You don’t need a theology degree to notice that. God will use everything at His disposal to reach us and will make sure we get the message.
Ensuring that we get the message is essential because the same God who works hard to reach humanity has His limits. As a father, God also uses punishment, which is another manifestation of love.
After sending to Israel multiple prophets using different kinds of methods to deliver His message, God changed his tune and gave Habakkuk this message:
“I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe.
You would not believe it even if someone told you about it.
I am going to send the armies of Babylon to attack you.
They are very mean. They move quickly.
They sweep across the whole earth.
” #youarecooked (Habakkuk 1:5-6)
And this was true, Babylon came and completely destroyed Israel and its beloved temple. Israel had to hit rock bottom. After this punishment, self-reflection began, and the healing process started. During this period of healing, God sent His prophets to deliver messages of salvation. God was there like a father embracing and consoling the child who had just been punished.
Our God does everything to save us, everything, and that includes the ultimate sacrifice of dying on the cross for us. He only expects us to accept his sacrifice and follow him. Songwriter and performer Cory Asbury calls this the “Reckless Love of God”, because it is. He sings:
“There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me”
“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the 99
I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.”
Copyright Italo Osorio 2025
Photo by camilo jimenez on Unsplash
