False Witness

A False Witness

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (NIV) 

          God has hated lies from the very beginning when it started with Lucifer deceiving 1/3 of the angels in Heaven. He then became known as Satan having used deception to deceive Eve in the garden. Satan continues to deceive the whole world today and will do so till the very end. The Bible tells us that God hates deception -- especially when it is done by bearing a false witness against others. Lying stirs up God’s anger, but the devil will one day have his great reward and he, along with his followers, will have their day in the Lake of Fire.

Queen Jezebel, in the Bible, was married to the wicked King Ahab – the couple was a duo of evil. One day, King Ahab set his eyes on a field that he wanted to have, but the owner, Naboth, did not wish to sell his family’s inheritance. 1 Kings 21:3-4 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat. (NIV) Family inheritance, during those days, was of great importance to those who received it. Therefore, even though King Ahab offered to purchase the field from Naboth, the sentimental value that he placed upon the land was worth more than any amount of money King Ahab could offer. Naboth’s refusal, however, did not go over well with the king. King Ahab displayed the mentality of a child having a temper tantrum.

This attitude of King Ahab exhibited his greed and pride. He was the king and could have had any other field that his heart desired. Yet, he wanted what he was not rightfully entitled to. Once Queen Jezebel, his wicked wife, heard of his disappointment, she devised a plan to get the field by having men to falsely accuse him of committing blasphemy against God. 1 Kings 21:8-10 ⁽⁸⁾So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. ⁽⁹⁾In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. ⁽¹⁰⁾But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.” (NIV) Queen Jezebel knew that it would be easy to get rid of Naboth if accusations of this manner were done in front of the people. Blaspheme was considered the worst crime against God and to do so against the king was treasonous even to the most unrighteous person.

The accusations ignited the anger of the people once they were made for all to hear. The invitees dragged Naboth outside the city gates and stoned him. Queen Jezebel’s orchestrated wicked plan worked and caused an innocent man to die. But this as well as her other wicked deeds did not go unpunished. Iin the end, God allowed her to have a very untimely death because He is a God of Truth and not deception. 2 Kings 9:30-35 ⁽³⁰⁾Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she put on eye makeup, arranged her hair and looked out of a window. ⁽³¹⁾As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri, you murderer of your master?” ⁽³²⁾He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. ⁽³³⁾”Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot. ⁽³⁴⁾Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of that cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” ⁽³⁵⁾But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands. (NIV) It never pays to tell lies in the sight of a Holy God.