God’s judgement & the False Spirit

Someone asked me a question about the false spirit:

20 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝑨𝒉𝒂𝒃 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝑹𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅? 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓.
21 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉?
22 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒅𝒆: 𝒈𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒐.
23 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒆. (𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒂)

Anonymous: Now, if lying [in and of itself] is a sin, then God was complicit in this "spirit" sinning. However, if it is the motive (false witness against your neighbor, etc.) that makes it a sin this puts a whole new perspective on the act. For instance, if I knowingly lie to someone as a motivational tool to get them to improve themselves, is it a sin?

ME:  What did Jesus do when confronted by Pontus Pilate? What did Jesus do when taken by soldiers to stand trial? He submitted.

The reason this question comes up “to lie or not to lie” is because we have little or no faith that God can or will deliver us from evil. We should be like our Hebrew brothers facing death in the king's furnace. 

Dan 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

Dan 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

At this juncture, I would like to offer my perspective on whether God can be held accountable for contradicting His own words, or if He is merely a part of a larger deception. To fully comprehend this matter, we must examine our own perceptions and the identity of the individual being judged. It is crucial to recognize that the situation in question was, in fact, a judgment.

Deu 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Several scriptures are used in various contexts, often beyond their most literal interpretations.

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isa 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

These scriptures are intended to elucidate the manner in which God imparts judgment, which diverges significantly from the nature of the objects being judged.

The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" was given to humanity to restrain evil and protect the innocent. It was a mirror to show humanity its own sinfulness. God was never binding Himself with these rules. He was revealing His character and His standard for human conduct.

Therefore, when God brings about death (through the Flood, through the conquest of Canaan, or through the natural outworking of the curse), He is not "breaking" His law. He is acting as the Righteous Judge who is upholding the very justice that the law represents. The law was the measure for man; the curse is the consequence decreed by God.

In the divine perspective, sending a deceptive spirit to the malevolent prophets of Ahab as retribution for his transgressions was a crucial part of God’s legal judgment against Ahab. As the supreme Judge, God has the authority to implement severe and seemingly contradictory methods to enforce His judgment, free from the limitations of the law. This is because the responsibility of upholding the law and its obligations and collections rests on someone. 

Judgment is a concern of God’s will; what is right in God’s eyes but may not ours.

Written by: Charles E. Cohenour Jr., a servant of God.