Proverbs 6:16-19; 1 Kings 21:4-16; John 3:35-36; Revelation 3:14.
This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 26, 2021.
This morning we will look at the 6th thing on the list of things that God hates, and we find it in verse 19 of Proverbs 6. God hates a false witness who speaks lies.
The word for “speaks” is literally breathing out, or exhaling, lies, which is a metaphor for speech. It should remind us of the fact that breath, wind, and spirit are linked conceptually in the Bible. Thus, it pictures a man who is breathing out lies. His spirit is not a good spirit and is in league with the work of evil spirits, irrespective of the idea of possession.
Another grammatical thing that we should look at is the phrase “false witness.” The word false can refer to the testimony itself, but it also speaks to the intent and character of the person who is witnessing. This is a witness who is not committed to the truth and God. They are a deceiver. If a false witness says anything that is true, it is twisted and part of a deception, even if just to throw you off the scent of their deception.
In order to highlight this abominable issue, we are going to look at an event that is recorded in 1 Kings 21.
Ahab is king of the northern tribes of Israel. About sixty years earlier 931 B.C., Israel had split into two kingdoms with the southern portion taking the name Judea, and the northern portion taking the name Israel. The Bible tells us in 1 Kings 16:31 that Ahab was more wicked than any other northern king before him.
What did he do to deserve such a description? He continued the worship of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel to keep his citizens from going to Jerusalem and its temple. He also married Jezebel who was the daughter of a Sidonian King, a Baal worshipper. This leads to Ahab building a temple to Baal in his capital city Samaria, and promoting Baal worship. In fact, he begins to persecute the true prophets of Yahweh by imprisoning them and putting some to death.
Our problem in this chapter has to do with a vineyard next to Ahab’s summer palace in Jezreel. He offers its owner, Naboth, either money or another field in trade, but Naboth refuses. We will talk more about why later.
Now, Ahab is a wicked man, but through his wife, we see that there are different levels of wickedness. Ahab is more apt to pout and throw fits when people don’t go along with his plans. Whereas, Jezebel has no boundaries and no qualms with using lies and murder to get what she wants. When Jezebel finds out what Ahab is pouting over, she upbraids him and promises to get the vineyard for him.
A couple of week ago we talked about people who devise wicked plans in their hearts. Well, this is exactly what Jezebel does. Of course, Ahab knows what kind of woman he has married, and later God holds him accountable for her actions. Jezebel is a leader who sees her position (and Ahab’s) as a means for her own benefit, and not for the people’s. The people are just sheep, food, and assets to leaders like this. Everyone is expendable for the sake of the great ego of such a leader. Jezebel’s plan involves two scoundrels, worthless individuals, who will lie and say that they heard Naboth blaspheme God and the king. This is a capital crime in Israel, and notice how she uses a cloak of morality to keep the populace going along with the ruse.
Wicked plans often need others in power to go along with it. These others didn’t hatch the plan, but they knowingly carry it out. Some do this out of fear because they don’t want to lose their life, power, and authority. Others may simply do it out of their own lusts. Perhaps they see themselves getting ahead or getting in the favor of the king, which could come in handy down the road. Jezebel uses the kings seal to send a message to the elders of Jezreel. This message tells them to have a fast and seat Naboth in a very public place where to scoundrels can accuse him of blaspheming God. They are then to take Naboth out and execute him. Regardless of what they were thinking, the elders of Naboth’s town sell him out in order to please the king. They know it is all a lie, and yet they go along with it.
Such wickedness is bad enough between nations, but for a leader to do such a thing to their own citizen is unconscionable. God deliver us from such leaders, but it is not only kings that can abuse their power. Every level of power over others down to our job and families can be abused in wickedness. The wrath of God is coming for such things, and woe to the person who is found by him doing it.
Wicked plans always crush innocent people in order to satisfy the lusts of the wicked. However, Naboth is not just innocent of the lies against him. The story pictures him as a godly man. In general, it would be his right not to sell to Ahab, but in Israel land was a birthright that was passed down from your ancestors, and ultimately it was a portion given by God. To sell it would be seen as the same as Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of beans. Naboth knows that the land has been given to his family by God, and he will not sell it for any price. A gift from God meant more to him than mountains of money.
Ahab and Jezebel have nothing on Naboth because he has lived a godly life. They then concoct bald face lies to pin on him. Did anybody from Jezreel protest that day? Who were these scoundrels accusing their friend Naboth of something they knew could never be? In fact, although it is not mentioned in this story, 2 King 9:26 makes it clear that Naboth’s sons were killed with him, so there would be no heirs. All of this because Ahab thought it would be nice to have a vineyard that was close to his palace.
Ahab didn’t enact the plan, but he knew it was going on, and was all too happy to rise up and take possession of the land after the heinous deed. This was an abomination to God on Jezebel’s part, Ahab’s part, on the part of the leaders of Jezreel, and on the part of everyone who remained silent in the face of obvious wickedness.
God then sends Elijah who just happens to catch Ahab as he is in Naboth’s field. What is God’s message? In short, Ahab will die in the same place that the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth and his sons, outside the city like an outcast.
Of course, the Pharisees tried this ploy on our Lord Jesus. In their midnight phony trial, several witnesses were put forward as false witnesses against Jesus, but their testimony didn’t match and would stand the light of day. However, the Lord knew what would give them the charge they sought. When he declares that they will see him sitting at the right hand of the God, and coming on the clouds of heaven (a direct reference to Daniel 7:14), they believe that he has blasphemed, and that is what he was tried for, blaspheming God and the king (Caesar).
Yes, in this world, wicked men seem to get away with wicked plans. However, do not go along with them, no matter how afraid you are, or how much you will get ahead in this life by it. This is an abomination to God and a righteous man will do his best to expose them.
So, what does God love? I want to look at John 3:35-36 and then Revelation 3:14
If we are to carry out the imagery in Proverbs, we see that Jesus is animated by a pure spirit, wind, breath. It is a holy spirit that is truth itself, and gives witness to the truth without fault. This is the one who is loved of God.
Yes, it seems obvious that the Father loves the Son, but He loves us too because we have put our faith in the Son. Jesus is the perfect image of God. For all of the lies that Satan has spread against God, Jesus hanging on the cross shuts the mouth of all accusations for all eternity. How can you question God’s love and motives after that? Jesus became our template, but he also is our leader. We will never get to being like him without his direction and help. He is also the one who empowers us by his Holy Spirit.
The main purpose of this life is for us to learn to become more like God the Father through Jesus. Of course, there are many who are trying to be gods in this world, and it will only get worse until the One True God ends it. You cannot separate God’s power from His character. You can’t try to obtain that power and reject His character. It will never work. There are two paths presented to us in this world. The first is from the spirit of this world and it encourages humanity to follow its lusts, and pool its gifts in order to make ourselves gods. God’s path requires us to turn away from our lusts and to embrace Jesus. Of course, we won’t become God, but we will be like Him; we will be the Sons of God. No matter how god-like humans become, we will one day have to give an account to the One who truly is God. No one who is unprepared can survive that moment.
Christians must not become tempted by that path, no matter how successful it may look. Keep your eyes upon Christ and become more like him, not this world. If we believe in the Son, we will see eternal life, and the wrath of God will not remain upon us, but His love will rest upon us.
In Revelation 3:14, I want to focus on two of the Titles that Jesus uses for himself. The first one is The Amen. It may seem to be a strange title, but it really isn’t. “Amen” basically means that something is true and trustworthy. Jesus used this to emphasize his statements to his disciples. It is translated as “verily” in the KJV, and “most assuredly” in the NKJV. Twice, Jesus doubles up the word, “Verily, verily I say unto you.” This is a way of doubly intensifying the meaning.
Jesus is a metaphorical Amen to the Father’s will. He not only assents that the Father’s plan is true and trustworthy, but he gives his strength to carrying it out. He is not just declaring true and trustworthy things. He himself is the Truth and Trustworthiness! When we stand in Christ, we stand alongside the greatest one of all creation declaring a cosmic “Amen!” to the Father. When we follow Christ and obey his commands, we are shouting “Amen!” to the Father in heaven with our lives. Father, we praise you for you are True and Trustworthy regardless of what we see and experience down here!
He is also called The Faithful and True Witness. I mentioned this earlier, but think of all the slander that the enemy whispered about God the Father throughout history. Jesus came down to set the record straight. His death on the cross makes it clear that the Father does not want people to die in their sins and go into the Lake of Fire. Jesus did not just give a faithful and true witness about God. He was Faithful and True in all that He said and did, faithful and true to his Father in heaven.
Yes, you and I have a lot of work to do to become like Jesus, and there are many in this world who are witnessing of Jesus, using his moral credentials, but they are not being faithful and true to God’s Word. With the help of Jesus, this work will be finished in us, if we will just believe him and his word. Let us be faithful and give a true witness of Jesus, and in so doing, become more like our Father in heaven!