Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne

You Can't Outsmart God

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2004-09-19

Synopsis: John Weaver preaches from 1 Kings 21–22 that fallen man foolishly believes he can outwit God by replacing His law, substituting His word with false prophets, and overruling His providential judgment. Using Ahab's schemes to seize Naboth's vineyard and his death at Ramoth Gilead, Weaver warns that God's counsel always stands and no one can escape His justice.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to First Kings 21. We're going to be looking at actually two passages, First Kings 21 and First Kings 22. The message I have entitled that you can't outsmart God. And in light of what was preached last week, I think it is an excellent follow up. Look in First Kings 21, verse one. And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it. Or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said unto Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken him.

[John Weaver] For he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it, and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with a seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and the nobles that were in the city dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letter saying proclaim a fast and set Naboth on high among the people and set two men sons of Belial before him to bear witness against him saying thou didst blaspheme God of the king and then carry him out and stone him that he may die.

[John Weaver] And the men of the city even the elders and the nobles who were in the inhabitants of the city did as Jezebel had sent unto them and it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him. And the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died. Then they said to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned and is dead. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said they have arise and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money. For Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth and Jezreelite to take possession of him.

[John Weaver] And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whether he is gone down to possess him. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath the Lord hath thou killed, and also taken possession. And thou shalt speak on him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs lick the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood even thine."

[John Weaver] Now, you will remember that last week I brought a message entitled, Objective vs. Subjective. That is, whether or not you had an objective standard or a subjective standard. And I showed from 1 Samuel chapter 15. the trouble that you got into when you left God's objective standard and then followed your own subjective standard. Here today is an excellent illustration of that truth as well. The message is entitled, You Can't Outsmart God. The truth of the matter is fallen man believes he is smart. In fact, he believes that he is so smart that he can outthink and outwit and outsmart God himself.

[John Weaver] Now, it's not a game. Fallen man somehow actually believes in some way that he is genuinely in control.

[John Weaver] Now, it is true that there is a worldly wisdom. It is true that there are brilliant unsaved men. But may I point out the fact that this worldly wisdom is a wisdom that is contrary to God and His wisdom. Whole 1st Kings chapter 21, we're coming back there, but look in your Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 1. 1st Corinthians chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 18. Just to show you how the wisdom of this world is contrary to the wisdom of God. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, note what the Scripture says.

[John Weaver] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. Now to those who are perishing, that is to those who are lost, the preaching of the cross and the entirety of the Word of God is nothing more than mere foolishness. He says, but enough who are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, Note what God is saying, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?

[John Weaver] Where is the disputer of this world? Had not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom of God, look carefully, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them to believe. Now, there is a worldly wisdom, but that worldly wisdom counts God's counsel, God's Word as absolute foolishness, and by worldly wisdom, they deny God, and of course, they deny the truth of God. Look in 1 Corinthians 2, beginning there with verse 5. Here the Apostle Paul says that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect or mature, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor the princes of this world that come to know. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

[John Weaver] Now here's an excellent passage that just shows you how the wisdom of the world is pitted against the wisdom of God or the wisdom of man. So what did the wisdom of man do? They crucified the Lord of glory. In the wisdom of man, in the wisdom of the world, the things of God are counted as absolutely foolish. So please understand that man's wisdom says that God's Word is nothing but foolishness. What is man doing? He is assuming that his wisdom is true and accurate, when in reality that man's wisdom is imperfect, foolish, and contrary to God. Now let me just try to show you briefly the concept of fallen man by nature. Here is fallen man's worldview.

[John Weaver] Here is his way of thinking. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 73 and verse 11. I want you to note what the unsaved are acknowledging and confessing. Psalm 73 and verse 11. And of course, if you read the entire psalm, you will see that ASAP is indeed talking about the wicked. In fact, he says in verse seven, their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than their heart could wish. They're corrupt.

[John Weaver] They speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. So he's talking about the wicked. But look in verse 11. And here's what the wicked say. And they say, how does God know? And is their knowledge with the most high? Now note that question, how does God know and is there knowledge with the most high?

[John Weaver] Now, if you will turn right on over to Psalm 10, let's continue with this worldview or this thinking of the ungodly. Notice Psalm 10 and verse 11. Once again, the psalmist is talking about the wicked. Look at the question that is being asked. Psalm 10, verse 11. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it. Now skip down to verse 13. Wherefore doth the wicked condemn God? He hath said in his heart, thou wilt not require it. Now look at that question in verse 13. Wherefore doth the wicked condemn or condemn God? Why do they condemn God, His wisdom, and His Word? Well, I want you to know in these three passages that I've just read from Psalm 73 and the two verses from Psalm 10, the wicked basically believe three things. First, that God does not know, that he is not omniscient. That's what he said in Psalm 73. How does God know?

[John Weaver] And is there knowledge with the most high? So they are basically, first and foremost, denying the omniscience of God. They're saying that God does not really, truly, and accurately know.

[John Weaver] Secondly, according to Psalm 10, somehow they believe that they are smart enough to hide their sins from God. Look at verse 11. He has said in his heart, God had forgotten. He hid his face. He will never see it. So they believe they're smart enough to hide their sins from God. And if God does happen to take notice of their sins, they believe that somehow ultimately he'll forget about. He'll overlook them. And then thirdly, if you look in verse 13, wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? What is the real source of the wicked's condemnation of God? He had said in his heart, thou will not require.

[John Weaver] So here's their third line of defense. Now watch. The first line is, God doesn't know. The second line is, if God does take notice, He'll probably forget it. And when that's blown away, their third and final line is, God will not require it. That is, God would never hold me accountable. He would never hold me answerable. Somehow, I'm going to get away with everything that I've ever done. Now, that's the worldview of the wicked.

[John Weaver] This is the mentality and the thinking of man by nature. No wonder man somehow thinks that he can outsmart God. Now, there is one ruler who thought he was smart enough to outsmart God, and that's Ahab back in 1 Kings chapter 21. Now, I want to show you some things in the lives of Ahab, some things in the life of Ahab that will be reflective of the lives of people that you know today and leaders that you know today. I want you to note first of all that Ahab tried to outsmart God by replacing God's law with his own law. Ahab tried to outsmart God by replacing God's law with his own law.

[John Weaver] Now let me explain this. Look in verse 1. of chapter 21, and it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard or close by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house. And I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it, or it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said unto Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. Now, I want you to know that Ahab was indeed very generous. Ahab said, Look, if you will just give me your garden because it's close, it's convenient for me. And please remember, Ahab was the king. I will give you a better vineyard than the one you've given me. What? And if you don't want a better vineyard, I'm more than willing to give you the price of it in money.

[John Weaver] And what was Naboth's answer? His answer in verse 3 was, God forbid it me that I should give unto thee the inheritance of my fathers. Now, Naboth was not trying to be hard to get along with. Naboth was not trying to jack up the price or get a better offer. What Naboth was doing was expounding a scriptural truth. The Lord had forbidden those people to sell their land on a permanent basis. Now the land was theirs.

[John Weaver] It was to be kept in their tribes. It was to be kept in their families. It was not to be sold. In fact, God said in Leviticus 25 and verse 23, the land shall not be sold forever, for the land is Mine. You are strangers and sojourners with Me. So God says, here's a good reason you can't sell the land permanently. The land doesn't belong to you. It belongs to Me. And you've got to use My land the way I tell you that it can be used.

[John Weaver] Now, it is true that those people could lease their land for a number of years, like six years in the sabbatical year, it came back to them. Or there were certain circumstances where they might even lease that land up to 49 years and the year of Jubilee, the 50th year, it still came back to them. But the land could not be transferred to anyone on a permanent basis.

[John Weaver] So Naboth then was speaking truthfully. The Lord did indeed forbid him to give or to sell his family's inheritance. Now watch this. Here's Naboth and he's refusing to sell the land. Here's Ahab and he wants the land. He knows that God's law forbids him from taking that land. And God's law forbids Naboth from selling or giving him that land. So there's a question that comes to his mind. The question is this, I want that land. God's law forbids me to have that land. So how do I get around God's law? I want the land. I've got to get around to God's law.

[John Weaver] In other words, what his idea was this. We cannot allow God's law to stand in the way of our lusts and our desires. I mean, I want it. I've got to have it. So I must either ignore or replace God's law. Now listen to me. The very second the question arises in your mind, how can I ignore or replace God's law? The very second that question flashes in your mind, you've already apostatized. Do you realize You cannot violate any of God's commandments without violating the first one. Thou shalt have no other gods before thee. And the very minute that you contemplate violating any of God's commandments, you've already replaced God with yourself. You're already dethroning God and enthroning yourself.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 46. Let me just point this out. It is true that God forbade Naboth to sell his vineyard. But it is equally true that God forbade Ahab in taking that vineyard. In Ezekiel chapter 46, notice if you would please verse 18. The Bible says, moreover, the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression to thrust them out of their possession, but he shall give his son's inheritance out of his own possession that my people be not scattered every man from his own possession. Did you see what the Bible says? The prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression. Now, what did God say? God said thou shall not covet. Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbor's, his wife, his ass, his maidservant, his manservant, his land. God's law said thou shalt not covet. God's law said thou shalt not steal. God's law said thou shalt not murder. But such commandments are mere trifles to Ahab and his ilk.

[John Weaver] They can always get around God's law by replacing it with their own law. And you know, the problem with that is this. Many of these rulers who want to play God make up their own law as they go. Did you ever do that as a child playing a game? Well, what are the rules? I don't know. We'll make them up as we go. But the one who makes the rules always make them in his favor. And so Ahab took the idea, what it may be wrong for everyone else to get that garden by replacing God's law, but it's not wrong for me because I am the king. I can do what I want to do. Do we not reason exactly the same way when we want to violate God's law? Do we not say, well, it may be wrong for everybody else, but it's not wrong for me after all. I've obeyed God here. I've done this for God there. And certainly God's going to overlook my violation in this area. In other words, we take the idea that we are the exceptions.

[John Weaver] In other words, we get to thinking like the wicked. We get to thinking that God won't take notice of it. And if God does take notice, he'll probably forget it. And if he doesn't forget it, certainly he's never, ever going to hold us accountable. Well, Ahab wanted that garden. So he had to replace God's law with his own.

[John Weaver] Now, he had a little help from Jezebel. When Jezebel saw his demeanor and he was depressed, she said, what's wrong?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to watch this. Well, he said, I want that guard, but Naboth won't sell it to me. Here is her question. Does thou now govern the kingdom? You're the king. You can do whatever you want to do. What is she saying? Well, you're not bound by God's law. You just replace that. Now, I want to show you what they did. You already know this. But they used their law, they used a man-made law to replace God's law. In doing so, they used man's law in contradistinction from God's law.

[John Weaver] How did they do that? Well, they even incorporated a little bit of God's law, which I shall show you in just a moment, but they used the law to legally murder Naboth and his sons. Now, Naboth's murder was legal, albeit it was wicked and wrong, and Naboth was charged with blasphemy against God and the king. Now, if Naboth blasphemed God, he deserved to die. If Naboth blasphemed the king, then he deserved to have his property confiscated.

[John Weaver] But see, the problem is this. You can't just murder Naboth. Because Naboth has sons. And if Naboth is dead, then his children inherit the property. So in order to really get the property, you must not only murder Naboth, you must also murder his sons. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to 2 Kings chapter 9 and verse 26, Just to demonstrate to you that they indeed did murder Naboth and his sons, notice what is said. 2 Kings 9 verse 26, Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord. And I will require thee in this plant, saith the Lord. Now therefore take and cast him under the plant of ground according to the word of the Lord. Notice that I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons. So they killed. the entire family.

[John Weaver] Now, in every respect, the trial was legal. What do I mean? Here came letters from the king, written by Jezebel, written in the king's name, and she tells the leaders of the city, you proclaim a fast, you set Naboth on high, you get two witnesses to testify against him, that you've heard him blaspheme God and you have heard him blaspheme the king and then you take him out and execute him. Certainly blasphemy against God merits the death penalty. There's no problem there. So I want you to know there was a public open trial.

[John Weaver] There was an official indictment. There were two witnesses against Naboth and his sons. And so they were then taken out and executed. Every aspect of the trial was legal, although it was not lawful. What did Ahab do? He used man's law to legally murder Nabob and his son. So man's law then was used to circumvent God's law even though an aspect of God's law was incorporated in it.

[John Weaver] Because Deuteronomy 19 verse 15 says that no man is to be put to death on the testimony of one witness. There must be a minimum of two or more. So we have the two witnesses. The whole trial, although it was legal, according to man's law, was nothing but a charade and nothing but mockery. It was the height of injustice. Naboth was innocent. His sons were innocent. Now, when his sons were killed, as well as Naboth, Ahab went down to claim the garden.

[John Weaver] Now, my question is this. Did Ahab outsmart God? And the answer is no. Did Ahab outsmart God? And the answer is no. Ahab got what he wanted, but it was a temporary victory. Look in your Bibles, 1 Kings 21, verse 19. Elijah is sent to a meeting, and here's what he says. Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs lick the blood of Nabob shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." Skip down to verse 22. And I will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baalsher the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dog shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."

[John Weaver] Now let me tell you something. I'm going to show you in just a moment. Ahab's victory was short-lived. He got what he wanted, but he never really had time to enjoy it. He had not outsmarted God by replacing God's law with his own law, but it was an attempt. You know what we've done in this country? We've done exactly the same thing. We've kicked God out. We've kicked his law out.

[John Weaver] We'd only be reminded that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we think that we're so smart and that we're going to have a multicultural, multilingual, multireligious, multifaceted society. We're going to have a mongrelized one world government and we're going to win. No, we're not. You can never outsmart God. And when you try to replace God's law with man's law, you're ultimately going to lose. Secondly, watch very quickly. Goes a little further, Ahab tried to outsmart God by substituting God's word with false prophets.

[John Weaver] Now let's go to chapter 22. Because the rest of the message is in chapter 22. Let's begin reading with verse one. First Kings 22, verse one, and there continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know you that Ramoth and Gilead is ours, and we be still and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria. And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Will thou go with me to battle to Raim of Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, of the word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Raim of Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?

[John Weaver] And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we might inquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imla, whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good concerning thee, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imla. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, having put on their robes in a void place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria.

[John Weaver] And all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah, the son of Shanaanah, made him horns of irons, and he said, Thus saith the Lord, with thee shalt thou push the Syrians until thou hast consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hands. And the messenger that was going to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now the words of the prophets declared good unto the king with one mouth. Let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king, and the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered, Go and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto them, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?

[John Weaver] And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have not a shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy any good concerning me but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the host of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up to fall at Ramah of Gilead?

[John Weaver] And one said on this manner, another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth and I'll be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him and prevail also. Go forth and do so. Now, therefore, behold, the Lord had put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets. Our Lord had spoken evil concerning thee.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just stop there temporarily. Here is another subterfuge that is very heavily relied upon by the wicked. And that is substitution. If you cannot successfully replace God's law with your own law, the next logical step would be that you substitute a false word and pretend that it is His word.

[John Weaver] Now, Ahab was king of Samaria, and he wanted Jehoshaphat, who was king of Judah, to go to war with him against Ramoth Gilead, against Syria to reclaim Ramoth Gilead. Now, I believe with all my heart that Jehoshaphat erred greatly in what he said in verse 4. What do you mean? Well, look in verse 4. After Ahab asked Jehoshaphat would he go to war with him, in verse 4, Jehoshaphat answered and said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. First of all, Jehoshaphat was not as Ahab. Jehoshaphat was basically a godly man.

[John Weaver] Now, he messed up in several areas. So he really was not as Ahab was. Ahab was a wicked, ungodly reprobate. But the very first thing that you observe is this. That Jehoshaphat gives his word to Ahab before he ever checks with the Lord. Then in verse 5, Jehoshaphat said to the king, of Israel, inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today." Well, you should have been inquiring before you gave your word that you're going to go help him fight. But anyhow, so he says, let's inquire of the Lord. So guess what Ahab does? Ahab pulls out 400 prophets to declare the word of the Lord. 400 prophets are saying, and prosper. The Lord shall deliver it into your hands. Now, Ahab must have undoubtedly been some type of religious or spiritual man to have had 400 prophets.

[John Weaver] Most of you only have one. One little preacher. Boy, Ahab had 400. Boy, he must have really been spiritual. The problem was that out of all the 400, None of them were of God. They were all false prophets, even though they prophesied in the name of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now look in verse six. Watch carefully. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said unto them, Shall I go up against Ramoth Gilead in battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up For the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king." Now watch. And Jehoshaphat said, is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that, that we may inquire of him? Now how obvious was it to Jehoshaphat that these were false prophets? It was obvious. It was clear. It was plain. Even though they prophesied in the name of the Lord. Now, I know that you know this verse.

[John Weaver] But I want you to hold 1st Kings 22 and turn in your Bibles to 2nd Corinthians chapter 11. I want to just remind you of this. Please turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 11. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. Look what the Apostle Paul writes. 2nd Kings 11 verse 14. In fact, we can begin reading at verse 13. He says, for such are false prophets, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

[John Weaver] And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their words.

[John Weaver] Now, what is the apostle Paul saying? He is saying, don't be deceived. Everyone who professes to be a preacher that is God's preacher. Everyone who professes to be godly is not so. I can sit here and names just run through my mind. But you can see some of these sweet. Smirky. TV preachers. Who always smile. And they're always positive. And they never, ever preach the Word of God. They would never preach anything negative. They'd never name sin. They would never talk about judgment.

[John Weaver] But yet they have multi-million dollar ministries. How in the world do you tell a true preacher from a false preacher? Well, Isaiah 8 and verse 20 gives us the answer. To the law and to the testimony, if they agree not, it's because there's no light in them. In other words, every preacher must be judged according to the totality of the Word of God. And God says if they do not agree with His Word, then they are wrong. They are wicked.

[John Weaver] I don't care how sweet I don't care how they appear. And that's why he said even Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. And since you're in the New Testament, on the way back to 1 Kings, stop, if you would please, at Matthew chapter 7. Look at what our Lord said in Matthew 7, just to show you this warning comes from the Lord himself as well. Notice Matthew chapter 7 and let's begin reading there with verse 21 Matthew 7 verse 21 Our Lord says not everyone that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied?

[John Weaver] That is, have we not preached in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And have I named on many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you that work iniquity." Who's he talking to? A lot of preachers. It's not that I knew you and forgot you. I never knew you. You were never one of mine. But yet they prophesied in his name.

[John Weaver] Now, if you'll go back to First Kings, Chapter 22, you'll find these 400 prophets were prophesying in the name of the Lord. Look in the latter part of verse six. And they said, Go up for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. Then verse seven. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we may inquire of him? Jehoshaphat said, I want a real preacher. How did Jehoshaphat know that these were false preachers?

[John Weaver] Well, he should have known Ahab and he should have known Jezebel. But if you look in verse six, these false prophets are saying, go up for the Lord. And the word is Adonai, shall deliver it into thy hand. And the word Adonai just simply refers to any Lord. It refers to a Lord in general. But in verse 7, Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet? And notice the word Lord is in all caps.

[John Weaver] That is the holy name of God, Yahweh. Is there not here a prophet of Yahweh besides it when they inquire of him? Jehoshaphat said, I don't hear what these false preachers say. I want to hear what God says. And I want you to note. When you substitute for God's Word. When you try to replace God's Word and or substitute for God's Word, I want you to see the enmity that is revealed against the Word of God and the one who brings it. In verse 8, Then the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man. There is yet one man. Isn't that amazing? There is yet one man. There is yet one man. Why? Because he had killed all of God's prophets or driven them out.

[John Weaver] Oh, but God hid a hundred of them by fifty in caves and fed them with bread and water. There's just one that he knew about. But look what he says. There's yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imla, by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him. Why? For he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, let not the king say so.

[John Weaver] Ab said, I don't like his preaching. He's too negative. I mean, all he wants to talk about is judgment. Do you realize, folks, all you can talk about is judgment when you have such a wicked reprobate as they have on the throne? If you want to hear something else, change your life. It's kind of like the old black preacher I heard about that preached 15 Sundays straight on Thou Shalt Not Steal. Finally, one of the deacons came up and asked him, he said, preacher, when you go preach on something else, he said, when you start obeying what I'm preaching on right now. So, you know, if you want the message changed, change your life. Now, look what happens. He said, I don't like what he says.

[John Weaver] Why was he willing to replace The true prophets were the false prophets. I'm going to tell you why. He was willing to sacrifice truth for error and good for evil because he wanted to hear what he wanted to hear. He did not want the truth. He did not want to hear what the truth of the living God had to say, and so he preferred the words of a substitute God and a substitute law.

[John Weaver] Now the apostle Paul wrote something similar to this in the New Testament. He said in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, But after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned from faith." What did he say? The time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine. I want to tell you something.

[John Weaver] If you brought a man like Jonathan Edwards to America today and let him preach, I'll bet you, you couldn't get a crowd if you gave away T-bone steaks. You know why? Because Jonathan Edwards was a learned, erudite man. He was a scholar. He was a preacher. He thundered out the truth. You follow what I'm saying? You can't get people today to listen to doctrine. What people want today is entertainment. They want to come for a 15-minute sermon and then leave.

[John Weaver] That's all there is to it. Now, let me tell you, dear friend, you may not want to hear the truth, but the error is not going to help you. Look in verses 11 and 12. Ahab's false prophets gave him the truth that he wanted to hear. And Zedekiah, the son of Jananah, made him horns of iron and said, Thus saith the Lord, And notice, if you would, he now changes and uses Jehovah's holy name.

[John Weaver] With these, thou shalt push the Syrians until thou have consumed them. And the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Raim of Gilead and prosper. Watch, for Yahweh shall be delivered in the king's hand. Oh, well, we can change and we can say what the king of Judah wants to hear. Let me tell you something, folks. The devil can quote scripture when it fits his purposes. That's no problem. But you see what they told Ahab was what Ahab wanted to hear. They did not tell him the truth that which he needed to hear. And here comes Micaiah. And what does the man who brings Micaiah say to him? All the other prophets are prophesying good. You do the same. And so Micaiah comes up with his tongue in his cheek and he says evidently, very sarcastically, go up, go up and prosper for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. And Ahab knew that he was mocking him. He said, how many times must I adjure thee to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?

[John Weaver] Micaiah said, you want the truth? I'll give it to you. Here's what has happened. God has sent a lying spirit into the mouths of all your prophets. They're lying. And God has ordained it, and God it worked out, for you'll go up to Ramoth Gilead, and there God will kill you. You want the truth I have? That's it. God is going to kill you and Ramoth Gilead. Well, that's it. Now, watch this.

[John Weaver] Skip down, if you would, please. To verse. Verse 26. And the king of Israel said, take Micaiah and carry him. What's that next word? Carry him back. unto Ammon the governor of the city, and to Jomash the king's son, and say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with the bread of affliction, and with the water of affliction, until I come in peace." How did they have no where Micaiah was to begin with? He's willing to put him in prison. And they said, You take him back. You feed him with the bread of affliction, and with the water of affliction, until I return in peace. I like what verse 28 says. And Micaiah said, if thou return it all in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. He said, I'll tell you how you can tell whether the Lord has spoken by me. If you come back, God didn't say anything to me. But you're not coming back in peace. You may come back in pieces, but not in peace.

[John Weaver] Now, watch carefully. Ahab has tried to replace God's Word. He's now used substitution. And here's the thing that really got me. Number three, Ahab tried to outsmart God by overruling his providential judgment. Now listen to this. Ahab tried to outsmart God by overruling his providential judgment.

[John Weaver] Now skip down to verse 29. Let's read this. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. You know, just stop there for a second. I think after what I'd heard Micaiah say, if I had been Jehoshaphat, I'd say, wait a minute. I'm rethinking my commitment to this war. I believe you just need to go up by yourself. But he didn't. Now watch. Verse 30. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle, but put thou on thy And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. But the king of Syria commanded his thirty-two captains and had ruled over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

[John Weaver] And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness. Wherefore he said unto the driver of the chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the house, for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day, and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even, and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. And there went a proclamation about the host, about the going down of the sun, saying, every man to his city and every man to his own country. So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed a chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed his armor according to the word of the Lord which he spoke. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did in the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?"

[John Weaver] Ahab was quite aware of the judgment of God against him. Don't you remember when he went down in that garden, Elijah met him and said, hast thou killed and also taken possession? And don't you remember in that garden, Elijah told Ahab, were the dogs lick the blood of Naboth, they're going to lick your blood. Now, if you look in 1 Kings 21, beginning there with verse 27, Ahab initially averted the immediate judgment of God by humbling himself. Look in verse 27, 1 Kings 21, And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elisha the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbled himself before me? Because he humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in son's days, and I will bring the evil upon his house." So God says he's humbled himself.

[John Weaver] I'm going to give him just a little bit of time. Now, I want you to note, the time that he gave him was only three years. Look in chapter 22, verse 1. And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. So Ahab only got to enjoy that little garden about two years probably. And so Ahab was just as wicked and as cunning as ever. So when the immediate threat of God's judgment was passed, what did he do?

[John Weaver] He went back to his old ways. It's just like today. Let me tell you, people. I've had men and women come to me and say, Brother Weaver, my child's in the hospital. It looks like he's not going to make it. Please pray with me that God will spare my child. If God spares my child, I'll be in church every Sunday the rest of my life. And we pray and God miraculously spares that child. And guess what? They do come to church, at least for two weeks. You see, when you get everything back the way you want it, then you forget all about God.

[John Weaver] Well, that's what A.M. did. His humility was basically, you know, I've averted the judgment right now, so I'm happy. I'll get back to my life. Well, I can understand how Ahab wanted to avert God's judgment. I can also understand his plan to avert God's judgment. What I cannot understand is Jehoshaphat's simplicity, or more bluntly, his stupidity. Look in chapter 22, once again at verse 29. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle.

[John Weaver] But put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now, wait a minute. Jehoshaphat just heard Micaiah say that God was going to kill Ahab. And now Ahab says, Well, I'm not going as a king. You can be the king over this battle. I mean, you know, something should have gone off in Jehoshaphat's mind. This guy's setting me up. I mean, he wants them to come after me and pretend like I'm Ahab and that I'm killed. But, you know, Jehoshaphat, in his stupidity and in his simplicity, I mean, you know, He agreed.

[John Weaver] I don't understand it, but he was the only one there arrayed in the kingly garments. Thus he became a primary target. I don't understand how he agreed to such a scheme. But the king of Assyria told those 32 captains, you don't fight with anybody but the king of Israel. You kill him and that'll be it. And when they saw Jehoshaphat, they said, surely this is the king of Israel.

[John Weaver] And when they got after him, he cried. Now I'm going to tell you what he was crying. He was not crying out, I'm Jehoshaphat, I'm Jehoshaphat. No, no, no. That wasn't what he was crying out. He was crying to the Lord. And the Lord miraculously caused those captains to understand that it's not the King of Israel. And they turned from him. Now, folks, let me tell you.

[John Weaver] Had it not been for divine intervention, Ahab's scheme might have worked. Because those captains were after the man they thought was the king of Israel. Ahab had not only disguised himself, but his plan was also to hide himself in the middle of the battle.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. Who can identify men in the middle of a battle? In the middle of a battle, you're doing two things. Number one, you're trying to save your life, and number two, you're trying to kill your enemy. Other than that, you're not looking around. So nobody was seeking out Ahab in the middle of that battle. He had successfully disguised himself, and I might add, he had successfully enveloped himself in the battle. No one knew where he was, and no one knew who he was.

[John Weaver] But God was and is still on his throne. And God still controls everything in his providence. And verse 34 tells us, And a certain man, we don't even know who he was. And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness. Here it is, now watch this. Here's this battle raging. And this one guy just pulls an arrow back and shoots in the midst, hoping to hit somebody. He never even knew that he was the man that hit the King of Israel. But God, in His sovereignty, had that arrow with Ahab's name on it. And He sovereignly directed that arrow right between the joints of his shoulders. And Ahab said, I'm hit. What didn't happen? God's judgment fell exactly like God said it would. Look in verse 38.

[John Weaver] And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed his armor according to the word of the Lord which he spake. You just cannot outsmart God. It's impossible. God is infinite, and we're finite. And if you think for one minute that you can sin against God and get by with it, well, to use the words of Moses in Numbers 32 and verse 23, be sure your sins will find you out. You'll never get by with it. You can't outsmart God.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to show you something and try to tie this together for you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. Let me show you how men try to outsmart God. Here's what they endeavor to do. Jeremiah, chapter 23. And let's begin reading there with verse 30. Jeremiah 23, verse 30. Look carefully now. Jeremiah 23, verse 30. God says, Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say he saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness.

[John Weaver] Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not prophet this people at all, saith the Lord. Hmm. Now. Let's go back to verse 30, he says, behold, I'm against the prophets of the Lord that steal my words, everyone from his neighbor. Let me show you. There are three things that people do primarily. To get around the word of God. The first thing God does in verse 30 is he condemns those who steal his words. What does that mean? That means they remove his word or they try to replace his words or take away from those words in some manner. That's like when you're trying to preach just the love of God only and you never preach the justice of God or the judgment of God. It is true God is love, folks, but God is also a just God as well. So God said, I'm against those who steal my words. That is, they take from the truth of God. They don't preach the whole counsel of God. Next, if you'll look at verse 31, Behold, I'm against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, he saith.

[John Weaver] In other words, they're adding to the word of God. So on the one hand, he condemns those who takes from. Now, on the other hand, he's condemning those who adds to and then watch verse 32. Behold, I'm against them that prophesy false dreams of the Lord and do tell them and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness. Yet I sent them not nor commanded them.

[John Weaver] And now you have a substitution for. So instead of the word of God, now you've got the dreams and the visions of someone else. Do you realize that all false religions, all cults, and any and everyone who wishes to be his own god, like Ahab, does either one or all three of these three things that God condemns? They either take from, add to, or substitute for. You know what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 4 in verse 2?

[John Weaver] Let me just quote it. God said, You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. You don't add to and you don't take from. Everyone is familiar with the passage in Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19. Let me just read it. God says, for I testify in every man that hears the words of this prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. If any man shall take away from the words of this book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book. You can't outsmart God. You can't say, God, I want to add to this. Or, God, I want to take from this. Or, God, I want to substitute for this. Isaiah 46, verse 10.

[John Weaver] God says, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Do you know how much of God's counsel is going to come to pass all of it. You know how much of God's plan is going to prosper? All of it. So you might as well stop trying to outsmart God. It can't be done. You can't outrun him. You can't hide from him. You can't stop him. You can't thwart Him. You can't hinder Him. You can't overthrow Him. You can't dethrone Him. You can't outwit Him. You can't outsmart Him. He's God. And His counsel shall stand. And He will do all His pleasure.

[John Weaver] And all of these one-worlders and global plans. I've got news for you folks. There is going to be a global empire and there is going to be a one world government, but it will be the government under the sovereign God of the universe who enthrones his son, Jesus Christ. Because you can't outsmart him. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your love and for your grace and for your mercy to us.

[John Weaver] We ask you, Lord, to teach us and build us up in the most holy faith. May we always, Lord, take your word as it is. Not adding to it, not taking from it, not substituting for it, but bowing to it and obeying it. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

You Can't Outsmart God

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	9230483323
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne
Genre	Sermon
Date	2004-09-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 140: Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	86

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Foolishness of Trying to Outsmart God

Weaver introduces the theme that fallen man believes he is smart enough to outthink God, linking to last week's message on objective vs. subjective standards.

Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 1 Kings 21. We're going to be looking at actually two passages, 1 Kings 21 and 1 Kings 22. The message I have entitled, "You Can't Outsmart God." And in light of what was preached last week, I think it is an excellent follow-up. Look in 1 Kings 21, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 21:1-4

"And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it. Or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said unto Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken him."

The Worldview of the Wicked: Denying God's Knowledge and Justice

From Psalms 73 and 10, Weaver shows the wicked assume God does not know, will forget, or will not hold them accountable.

Here is his way of thinking. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 73 and verse 11. I want you to note what the unsaved are acknowledging and confessing. Psalm 73 and verse 11. And of course, if you read the entire psalm, you will see that Asaph is indeed talking about the wicked. In fact, he says in verse 7, "Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than their heart could wish. They're corrupt."

"They speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily." So he's talking about the wicked. But look in verse 11. And here's what the wicked say. And they say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most high?" Now note that question, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most high?"

Now, if you will turn right on over to Psalm 10, let's continue with this worldview or this thinking of the ungodly. Notice Psalm 10 and verse 11. Once again, the psalmist is talking about the wicked. Look at the question that is being asked. Psalm 10, verse 11: "He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it." Now skip down to verse 13: "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it." Now look at that question in verse 13: "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?" Why do they condemn God, His wisdom, and His Word? Well, I want you to know in these three passages that I've just read from Psalm 73 and the two verses from Psalm 10, the wicked basically believe three things. First, that God does not know, that He is not omniscient. That's what he said in Psalm 73: "How does God know?"

"And is there knowledge with the most high?" So they are basically, first and foremost, denying the omniscience of God. They're saying that God does not really, truly, and accurately know. Secondly, according to Psalm 10, somehow they believe that they are smart enough to hide their sins from God. Look at verse 11:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 10:11,13

"He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it."

So they believe they're smart enough to hide their sins from God. And if God does happen to take notice of their sins, they believe that somehow ultimately He'll forget about them. He'll overlook them. And then thirdly, if you look in verse 13, "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?" What is the real source of the wicked's condemnation of God?

Scripture Reading — Psalm 10:11,13

"He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it."

So here's their third line of defense. Now watch. The first line is, God doesn't know. The second line is, if God does take notice, He'll probably forget it. And when that's blown away, their third and final line is, God will not require it. That is, God would never hold me accountable. He would never hold me answerable. Somehow, I'm going to get away with everything that I've ever done. Now, that's the worldview of the wicked.

Ahab's First Attempt: Replacing God's Law with His Own Law

Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard, and when Naboth refuses based on God's law, Ahab and Jezebel use a legal charade to murder Naboth and his sons.

Now let me explain this. Look in verse 1 of chapter 21: "And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house. And I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it, or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said unto Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." Now, I want you to know that Ahab was indeed very generous. Ahab said, "Look, if you will just give me your garden because it's close, it's convenient for me." And please remember, Ahab was the king. "I will give you a better vineyard than the one you've given me." What? And if you don't want a better vineyard, I'm more than willing to give you the price of it in money.

And what was Naboth's answer? His answer in verse 3 was, "God forbid it me that I should give unto thee the inheritance of my fathers." Now, Naboth was not trying to be hard to get along with. Naboth was not trying to jack up the price or get a better offer. What Naboth was doing was expounding a scriptural truth. The Lord had forbidden those people to sell their land on a permanent basis. Now the land was theirs. It was to be kept in their tribes. It was to be kept in their families. It was not to be sold. In fact, God said in Leviticus 25 and verse 23,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 25:23

"The land shall not be sold forever, for the land is Mine. You are strangers and sojourners with Me."

So God says, "Here's a good reason you can't sell the land permanently. The land doesn't belong to you. It belongs to Me. And you've got to use My land the way I tell you that it can be used."

Now, it is true that those people could lease their land for a number of years, like six years in the sabbatical year, it came back to them. Or there were certain circumstances where they might even lease that land up to 49 years and the year of Jubilee, the 50th year, it still came back to them. But the land could not be transferred to anyone on a permanent basis. So Naboth then was speaking truthfully. The Lord did indeed forbid him to give or to sell his family's inheritance. Now watch this. Here's Naboth and he's refusing to sell the land. Here's Ahab and he wants the land. He knows that God's law forbids him from taking that land. And God's law forbids Naboth from selling or giving him that land. So there's a question that comes to his mind. The question is this: I want that land. God's law forbids me to have that land. So how do I get around God's law? I want the land. I've got to get around God's law.

In other words, what his idea was this: We cannot allow God's law to stand in the way of our lusts and our desires. I mean, I want it. I've got to have it. So I must either ignore or replace God's law. Now listen to me. The very second the question arises in your mind, "How can I ignore or replace God's law?" the very second that question flashes in your mind, you've already apostatized. Do you realize you cannot violate any of God's commandments without violating the first one: "Thou shalt have no other gods before thee." And the very minute that you contemplate violating any of God's commandments, you've already replaced God with yourself. You're already dethroning God and enthroning yourself.

Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 46. Let me just point this out. It is true that God forbade Naboth to sell his vineyard. But it is equally true that God forbade Ahab in taking that vineyard. In Ezekiel chapter 46, notice if you would please verse 18. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 46:18

"Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression to thrust them out of their possession, but he shall give his son's inheritance out of his own possession, that my people be not scattered every man from his own possession."

Did you see what the Bible says?

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 46:18

"The prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression."

Now, what did God say? God said, "Thou shalt not covet." "Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbor's, his wife, his ass, his maidservant, his manservant, his land." God's law said, "Thou shalt not covet." God's law said, "Thou shalt not steal." God's law said, "Thou shalt not murder." But such commandments are mere trifles to Ahab and his ilk.

They can always get around God's law by replacing it with their own law. And you know, the problem with that is this. Many of these rulers who want to play God make up their own law as they go. Did you ever do that as a child playing a game? "Well, what are the rules?" "I don't know. We'll make them up as we go." But the one who makes the rules always makes them in his favor. And so Ahab took the idea, "Well, it may be wrong for everyone else to get that garden by replacing God's law, but it's not wrong for me because I am the king. I can do what I want to do." Do we not reason exactly the same way when we want to violate God's law? Do we not say, "Well, it may be wrong for everybody else, but it's not wrong for me. After all, I've obeyed God here. I've done this for God there. And certainly God's going to overlook my violation in this area." In other words, we take the idea that we are the exceptions.

In other words, we get to thinking like the wicked. We get to thinking that God won't take notice of it. And if God does take notice, He'll probably forget it. And if He doesn't forget it, certainly He's never, ever going to hold us accountable. Well, Ahab wanted that garden. So he had to replace God's law with his own.

Now, he had a little help from Jezebel. When Jezebel saw his demeanor and he was depressed, she said, "What's wrong?" Now, I want you to watch this. Well, he said, "I want that garden, but Naboth won't sell it to me." Here is her question: "Dost thou now govern the kingdom? You're the king. You can do whatever you want to do." What is she saying? "Well, you're not bound by God's law. You just replace that." Now, I want to show you what they did. You already know this. But they used their law, they used a man-made law to replace God's law. In doing so, they used man's law in contradistinction from God's law.

How did they do that? Well, they even incorporated a little bit of God's law, which I shall show you in just a moment, but they used the law to legally murder Naboth and his sons. Now, Naboth's murder was legal, albeit it was wicked and wrong, and Naboth was charged with blasphemy against God and the king. Now, if Naboth blasphemed God, he deserved to die. If Naboth blasphemed the king, then he deserved to have his property confiscated.

But see, the problem is this. You can't just murder Naboth. Because Naboth has sons. And if Naboth is dead, then his children inherit the property. So in order to really get the property, you must not only murder Naboth, you must also murder his sons. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to 2 Kings chapter 9 and verse 26, just to demonstrate to you that they indeed did murder Naboth and his sons, notice what is said. 2 Kings 9 verse 26:

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 9:26

"Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord. And I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground according to the word of the Lord."

Notice that

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 9:26

"I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons."

So they killed the entire family.

Now, in every respect, the trial was legal. What do I mean? Here came letters from the king, written by Jezebel, written in the king's name, and she tells the leaders of the city, "You proclaim a fast, you set Naboth on high, you get two witnesses to testify against him, that you've heard him blaspheme God and you have heard him blaspheme the king, and then you take him out and execute him." Certainly blasphemy against God merits the death penalty. There's no problem there. So I want you to know there was a public open trial.

There was an official indictment. There were two witnesses against Naboth and his sons. And so they were then taken out and executed. Every aspect of the trial was legal, although it was not lawful. What did Ahab do? He used man's law to legally murder Naboth and his sons. So man's law then was used to circumvent God's law even though an aspect of God's law was incorporated in it.

Because Deuteronomy 19 verse 15 says that no man is to be put to death on the testimony of one witness. There must be a minimum of two or more. So we have the two witnesses. The whole trial, although it was legal according to man's law, was nothing but a charade and nothing but mockery. It was the height of injustice. Naboth was innocent. His sons were innocent. Now, when his sons were killed, as well as Naboth, Ahab went down to claim the garden.

God's Judgment Declared on Ahab and Jezebel

Elijah pronounces that dogs will lick Ahab's blood where Naboth died, and dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

Now, my question is this: Did Ahab outsmart God? And the answer is no. Did Ahab outsmart God? And the answer is no. Ahab got what he wanted, but it was a temporary victory. Look in your Bibles, 1 Kings 21, verse 19. Elijah is sent to meet him, and here's what he says: "Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." Skip down to verse 22: "And I will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."

Now let me tell you something. I'm going to show you in just a moment. Ahab's victory was short-lived. He got what he wanted, but he never really had time to enjoy it. He had not outsmarted God by replacing God's law with his own law, but it was an attempt. You know what we've done in this country? We've done exactly the same thing. We've kicked God out. We've kicked His law out.

Ahab's Second Attempt: Substituting God's Word with False Prophets

Ahab gathers 400 false prophets who tell him what he wants to hear, while Micaiah, the true prophet, predicts his death at Ramoth Gilead.

Now let's go to chapter 22. Because the rest of the message is in chapter 22. Let's begin reading with verse 1. 1 Kings 22, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 22:1-6

"And there continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know ye that Ramoth Gilead is ours, and we be still and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, of the word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?"

"And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we might inquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, having put on their robes in a void place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria."

"And all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made him horns of iron, and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians until thou hast consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hands. And the messenger that was going to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth. Let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king, and the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered, Go and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?"

"And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have not a shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy any good concerning me but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the host of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up to fall at Ramoth Gilead?"

"And one said on this manner, another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth and I'll be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him and prevail also. Go forth and do so. Now, therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."

Now, let me just stop there temporarily. Here is another subterfuge that is very heavily relied upon by the wicked. And that is substitution. If you cannot successfully replace God's law with your own law, the next logical step would be that you substitute a false word and pretend that it is His word.

Now, Ahab was king of Samaria, and he wanted Jehoshaphat, who was king of Judah, to go to war with him against Ramoth Gilead, against Syria to reclaim Ramoth Gilead. Now, I believe with all my heart that Jehoshaphat erred greatly in what he said in verse 4. What do I mean? Well, look in verse 4. After Ahab asked Jehoshaphat would he go to war with him, in verse 4, Jehoshaphat answered and said to the king of Israel, "I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses." First of all, Jehoshaphat was not as Ahab. Jehoshaphat was basically a godly man.

Now, he messed up in several areas. So he really was not as Ahab was. Ahab was a wicked, ungodly reprobate. But the very first thing that you observe is this: that Jehoshaphat gives his word to Ahab before he ever checks with the Lord. Then in verse 5, "Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today." Well, you should have been inquiring before you gave your word that you're going to go help him fight. But anyhow, so he says, "Let's inquire of the Lord." So guess what Ahab does? Ahab pulls out 400 prophets to declare the word of the Lord. 400 prophets are saying, "Go up and prosper. The Lord shall deliver it into your hands." Now, Ahab must have undoubtedly been some type of religious or spiritual man to have had 400 prophets.

Most of you only have one. One little preacher. Boy, Ahab had 400. Boy, he must have really been spiritual. The problem was that out of all the 400, none of them were of God. They were all false prophets, even though they prophesied in the name of the Lord.

Now look in verse 6. Watch carefully. "Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said unto them, Shall I go up against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king." Now watch. And Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we may inquire of him?" Now how obvious was it to Jehoshaphat that these were false prophets? It was obvious. It was clear. It was plain. Even though they prophesied in the name of the Lord. Now, I know that you know this verse.

But I want you to hold 1 Kings 22 and turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. I want to just remind you of this. Please turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. Look what the Apostle Paul writes. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 14. In fact, we can begin reading at verse 13. He says, "For such are false prophets, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ."

"And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works." Now, what is the apostle Paul saying? He is saying, don't be deceived. Everyone who professes to be a preacher that is God's preacher, everyone who professes to be godly is not so. I can sit here and names just run through my mind. But you can see some of these sweet, smirky TV preachers who always smile. And they're always positive. And they never, ever preach the Word of God. They would never preach anything negative. They'd never name sin. They would never talk about judgment.

But yet they have multi-million dollar ministries. How in the world do you tell a true preacher from a false preacher? Well, Isaiah 8 and verse 20 gives us the answer: "To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." In other words, every preacher must be judged according to the totality of the Word of God. And God says if they do not agree with His Word, then they are wrong. They are wicked. I don't care how sweet, I don't care how they appear. And that's why he said even Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. And since you're in the New Testament, on the way back to 1 Kings, stop, if you would please, at Matthew chapter 7. Look at what our Lord said in Matthew 7, just to show you this warning comes from the Lord himself as well. Notice Matthew chapter 7 and let's begin reading there with verse 21. Matthew 7 verse 21: "Our Lord says, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied?"

"That is, have we not preached in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you that work iniquity." Who's he talking to? A lot of preachers. It's not that I knew you and forgot you. I never knew you. You were never one of mine. But yet they prophesied in his name.

Now, if you'll go back to 1 Kings chapter 22, you'll find these 400 prophets were prophesying in the name of the Lord. Look in the latter part of verse 6: "And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king." Then verse 7: "And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we may inquire of him?" Jehoshaphat said, "I want a real preacher." How did Jehoshaphat know that these were false preachers?

The Enmity Against God's True Word

Ahab hates Micaiah because he prophesies evil, not good; Micaiah is imprisoned for speaking truth.

Oh, but God hid a hundred of them by fifty in caves and fed them with bread and water. There's just one that he knew about. But look what he says: "There's yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him." Why? "For he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so." Ahab said, "I don't like his preaching. He's too negative. I mean, all he wants to talk about is judgment." Do you realize, folks, all you can talk about is judgment when you have such a wicked reprobate as they have on the throne? If you want to hear something else, change your life. It's kind of like the old black preacher I heard about that preached 15 Sundays straight on "Thou Shalt Not Steal." Finally, one of the deacons came up and asked him, he said, "Preacher, when you gonna preach on something else?" He said, "When you start obeying what I'm preaching on right now." So, you know, if you want the message changed, change your life. Now, look what happens. He said, "I don't like what he says."

Why was he willing to replace the true prophets with the false prophets? I'm going to tell you why. He was willing to sacrifice truth for error and good for evil because he wanted to hear what he wanted to hear. He did not want the truth. He did not want to hear what the truth of the living God had to say, and so he preferred the words of a substitute God and a substitute law.

Now the apostle Paul wrote something similar to this in the New Testament. He said in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned unto fables." What did he say? The time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine. I want to tell you something. If you brought a man like Jonathan Edwards to America today and let him preach, I'll bet you, you couldn't get a crowd if you gave away T-bone steaks. You know why? Because Jonathan Edwards was a learned, erudite man. He was a scholar. He was a preacher. He thundered out the truth. You follow what I'm saying? You can't get people today to listen to doctrine. What people want today is entertainment. They want to come for a 15-minute sermon and then leave.

That's all there is to it. Now, let me tell you, dear friend, you may not want to hear the truth, but the error is not going to help you. Look in verses 11 and 12. Ahab's false prophets gave him the truth that he wanted to hear. And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made him horns of iron and said, "Thus saith the Lord." And notice, if you would, he now changes and uses Jehovah's holy name. "With these, thou shalt push the Syrians until thou have consumed them." And the prophets prophesied so, saying, "Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper. Watch, for Yahweh shall deliver it into the king's hand." Oh, well, we can change and we can say what the king of Judah wants to hear. Let me tell you something, folks. The devil can quote scripture when it fits his purposes. That's no problem. But you see what they told Ahab was what Ahab wanted to hear. They did not tell him the truth, that which he needed to hear. And here comes Micaiah. And what does the man who brings Micaiah say to him? "All the other prophets are prophesying good. You do the same." And so Micaiah comes up with his tongue in his cheek and he says evidently, very sarcastically, "Go up, go up and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king." And Ahab knew that he was mocking him. He said, "How many times must I adjure thee to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?"

Micaiah said, "You want the truth? I'll give it to you. Here's what has happened. God has sent a lying spirit into the mouths of all your prophets. They're lying. And God has ordained it, and God has worked it out, for you'll go up to Ramoth Gilead, and there God will kill you. You want the truth I have? That's it. God is going to kill you at Ramoth Gilead." Well, that's it. Now, watch this.

Skip down, if you would please, to verse 26. "And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and carry him back unto Ammon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son, and say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with the bread of affliction, and with the water of affliction, until I come in peace." How did they know where Micaiah was to begin with? He's willing to put him in prison. And they said, "You take him back. You feed him with the bread of affliction, and with the water of affliction, until I return in peace." I like what verse 28 says: "And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me." He said, "I'll tell you how you can tell whether the Lord has spoken by me. If you come back, God didn't say anything to me. But you're not coming back in peace. You may come back in pieces, but not in peace."

Ahab's Third Attempt: Overruling God's Providential Judgment

Ahab disguises himself in battle to avoid God's predicted death, but a random arrow strikes him, fulfilling God's word.

Now skip down to verse 29. Let's read this. "So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead." You know, just stop there for a second. I think after what I'd heard Micaiah say, if I had been Jehoshaphat, I'd say, "Wait a minute. I'm rethinking my commitment to this war. I believe you just need to go up by yourself." But he didn't. Now watch. Verse 30: "And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. But the king of Syria commanded his thirty-two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him."

"And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness. Wherefore he said unto the driver of the chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host, for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day, and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even, and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. And there went a proclamation about the host, about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city and every man to his own country. So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed his armor according to the word of the Lord which he spake. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did in the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?"

Ahab was quite aware of the judgment of God against him. Don't you remember when he went down in that garden, Elijah met him and said, "Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?" And don't you remember in that garden, Elijah told Ahab, "Where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, they're going to lick your blood." Now, if you look in 1 Kings 21, beginning there with verse 27, Ahab initially averted the immediate judgment of God by humbling himself. Look in verse 27, 1 Kings 21:

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 22:29-38

"And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbled himself before me? Because he humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house."

So God says he's humbled himself.

Conclusion: You Cannot Outsmart God

Weaver warns that all attempts to add to, take from, or substitute for God's word fail; God's counsel will stand.

Now, I want to show you something and try to tie this together for you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. Let me show you how men try to outsmart God. Here's what they endeavor to do. Jeremiah chapter 23. And let's begin reading there with verse 30. Jeremiah 23, verse 30. Look carefully now. Jeremiah 23, verse 30. God says, "Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor." Verse 31: "Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith." Verse 32: "Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their lightness."

"Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord." Hmm. Now, let's go back to verse 30, he says, "Behold, I'm against the prophets of the Lord that steal my words, every one from his neighbor." Let me show you. There are three things that people do primarily to get around the word of God. The first thing God does in verse 30 is he condemns those who steal his words. What does that mean? That means they remove his word or they try to replace his words or take away from those words in some manner. That's like when you're trying to preach just the love of God only and you never preach the justice of God or the judgment of God. It is true God is love, folks, but God is also a just God as well. So God said, "I'm against those who steal my words." That is, they take from the truth of God. They don't preach the whole counsel of God. Next, if you'll look at verse 31, "Behold, I'm against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, He saith."

In other words, they're adding to the word of God. So on the one hand, he condemns those who take from. Now, on the other hand, he's condemning those who add to. And then watch verse 32: "Behold, I'm against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their lightness. Yet I sent them not nor commanded them." And now you have a substitution for. So instead of the word of God, now you've got the dreams and the visions of someone else. Do you realize that all false religions, all cults, and any and everyone who wishes to be his own god, like Ahab, does either one or all three of these three things that God condemns? They either take from, add to, or substitute for. You know what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 4 in verse 2?

Let me just quote it. God said, "You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." You don't add to and you don't take from. Everyone is familiar with the passage in Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19. Let me just read it. God says, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book." You can't outsmart God. You can't say, "God, I want to add to this." Or, "God, I want to take from this." Or, "God, I want to substitute for this." Isaiah 46, verse 10.

God says, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Do you know how much of God's counsel is going to come to pass? All of it. You know how much of God's plan is going to prosper? All of it. So you might as well stop trying to outsmart God. It can't be done. You can't outrun him. You can't hide from him. You can't stop him. You can't thwart Him. You can't hinder Him. You can't overthrow Him. You can't dethrone Him. You can't outwit Him. You can't outsmart Him. He's God. And His counsel shall stand. And He will do all His pleasure.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Foolishness of Trying to Outsmart God

Summary: Fallen man believes he can outthink and outwit God, but God's wisdom confounds human wisdom.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The truth of the matter is fallen man believes he is smart... he can outthink and outwit and outsmart God himself.'

Replacing God's Law with Man's Law

Summary: Ahab and Jezebel circumvent God's commandments by using a legal trial to murder Naboth and seize his vineyard.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'He used man's law to legally murder Naboth and his sons. So man's law then was used to circumvent God's law.'

Substituting God's Word with False Prophets

Summary: Ahab surrounds himself with 400 prophets who tell him what he wants to hear, rejecting the true prophet Micaiah.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'He was willing to sacrifice truth for error... because he wanted to hear what he wanted to hear.'

God's Sovereign Judgment Cannot Be Escaped

Summary: Despite Ahab's disguise and battle strategy, a random arrow fulfills God's prophecy of his death.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God, in His sovereignty, had that arrow with Ahab's name on it. And He sovereignly directed that arrow right between the joints of his shoulders.'

The Wicked's False Assumptions About God

Summary: The wicked believe God does not know, will forget, or will not hold them accountable for sin.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 73:11 and Psalm 10:11,13 to show the wicked say, 'How does God know?' and 'God hath forgotten.'

The Danger of Adding to or Taking from God's Word

Summary: God condemns those who steal His words, add to them, or substitute dreams and visions for His revelation.

Evidence: Weaver references Jeremiah 23:30-32 and Deuteronomy 4:2, warning against altering God's word.

Key Arguments

Man's wisdom is foolishness to God

Summary: Worldly wisdom counts God's word as foolishness, but God destroys the wisdom of the wise.

Evidence: Weaver reads 1 Corinthians 1:18-21, 'For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness... I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.'

Ahab replaced God's law to satisfy his lust

Summary: Ahab knew God's law forbade taking Naboth's land, but he used a legal murder to get it.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The very second the question arises in your mind, "How can I ignore or replace God's law?"... you've already apostatized.'

False prophets tell people what they want to hear

Summary: Ahab's 400 prophets prophesied success, but Micaiah revealed they were inspired by a lying spirit.

Evidence: Weaver reads 1 Kings 22:6, 'Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king,' and contrasts with Micaiah's true prophecy.

God's judgment is inescapable

Summary: Ahab disguised himself and hid in battle, but a random arrow struck him exactly as God foretold.

Evidence: Weaver reads 1 Kings 22:34, 'And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness.'

Temporary repentance does not avert final judgment

Summary: Ahab humbled himself and delayed judgment, but returned to wickedness and died three years later.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'Ahab initially averted the immediate judgment of God by humbling himself... but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.'

God's counsel will stand

Summary: No human scheme can thwart God's sovereign plan; all His pleasure will be accomplished.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Isaiah 46:10, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.'

Scripture References

1 Kings 21:1-4

Context: Ahab offers to buy or trade for Naboth's vineyard, but Naboth refuses based on God's law.

1 Kings 21:5-16

Context: Jezebel orchestrates a false trial and execution of Naboth so Ahab can seize the vineyard.

1 Kings 21:17-19

Context: Elijah confronts Ahab with God's judgment: dogs will lick his blood where Naboth died.

1 Corinthians 1:18-21

Context: The preaching of the cross is foolishness to the perishing, but God destroys worldly wisdom.

1 Corinthians 2:5-8

Context: Paul speaks God's hidden wisdom, which the rulers of this world did not understand.

Psalm 73:11

Context: The wicked ask, 'How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most high?'

Psalm 10:11,13

Context: The wicked say God has forgotten and will not require an account.

Leviticus 25:23

Context: God commands that the land shall not be sold permanently because it belongs to Him.

Ezekiel 46:18

Context: The prince shall not take the people's inheritance by oppression.

2 Kings 9:26

Context: God says He has seen the blood of Naboth and his sons.

1 Kings 22:1-6

Context: Ahab asks Jehoshaphat to join him in battle; 400 prophets predict success.

1 Kings 22:7-28

Context: Micaiah prophesies Ahab's death and reveals a lying spirit in the false prophets.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Context: False prophets transform themselves into apostles of Christ, as Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Matthew 7:21-23

Context: Many will claim to prophesy in Jesus' name, but He will say, 'I never knew you.'

1 Kings 22:29-38

Context: Ahab disguises himself in battle but is killed by a random arrow; dogs lick his blood.

1 Kings 21:27-29

Context: Ahab humbles himself and God delays judgment to his son's days.

Jeremiah 23:30-32

Context: God is against prophets who steal His words, use their own tongues, or prophesy false dreams.

Deuteronomy 4:2

Context: You shall not add to or diminish from God's commandments.

Revelation 22:18-19

Context: Anyone who adds to or takes from the words of this prophecy will face plagues and loss of eternal life.

Isaiah 46:10

Context: God declares His counsel shall stand and He will do all His pleasure.

Historical References

Ahab, king of Israel

Context: Ahab is the primary example of one who tried to outsmart God by replacing His law, using false prophets, and disguising himself to avoid judgment.

Jezebel, wife of Ahab

Context: Jezebel orchestrated the legal murder of Naboth and his sons to seize the vineyard for Ahab.

Naboth the Jezreelite

Context: Naboth refused to sell his vineyard because it was his family inheritance under God's law, leading to his murder.

Elijah the Tishbite

Context: Elijah pronounced God's judgment on Ahab and Jezebel for the murder of Naboth.

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah

Context: Jehoshaphat allied with Ahab in battle and nearly became a target due to Ahab's disguise scheme.

Micaiah, son of Imlah

Context: Micaiah was the true prophet who foretold Ahab's death and revealed the lying spirit in the false prophets.

Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah

Context: Zedekiah was a false prophet who made iron horns and prophesied victory for Ahab.

Jonathan Edwards

Context: Weaver references Jonathan Edwards as an example of a learned preacher whose doctrinal preaching would not draw a crowd today.

Important Quotes

The truth of the matter is fallen man believes he is smart. In fact, he believes that he is so smart that he can outthink and outwit and outsmart God himself.

Significance: States the central thesis of the sermon: man's arrogant assumption that he can outsmart God.

The very second the question arises in your mind, 'How can I ignore or replace God's law?' the very second that question flashes in your mind, you've already apostatized.

Significance: Highlights the immediate spiritual rebellion involved in contemplating disobedience to God's law.

He used man's law to legally murder Naboth and his sons. So man's law then was used to circumvent God's law even though an aspect of God's law was incorporated in it.

Significance: Illustrates how Ahab replaced God's law with a legal but unjust system to achieve his desires.

He was willing to sacrifice truth for error and good for evil because he wanted to hear what he wanted to hear.

Significance: Explains Ahab's preference for false prophets over Micaiah's true prophecy.

God, in His sovereignty, had that arrow with Ahab's name on it. And He sovereignly directed that arrow right between the joints of his shoulders.

Significance: Demonstrates that God's providential judgment cannot be escaped, even by human schemes.

My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

Significance: Quotes Isaiah 46:10 to affirm the absolute sovereignty of God over all human plans.

Be sure your sins will find you out.

Significance: Cites Numbers 32:23 as a warning that hidden sins will eventually be exposed by God.

Discussion Questions

In what ways do people today try to replace God's law with their own standards, similar to Ahab?

Context: Weaver describes Ahab's attempt to circumvent God's law to get Naboth's vineyard.

How can we discern between true and false spiritual leaders, as Jehoshaphat did with the 400 prophets?

Context: Jehoshaphat recognized the false prophets and asked for a true prophet of Yahweh.

Why do people often prefer messages that make them feel good rather than the truth of God's Word?

Context: Ahab hated Micaiah because he prophesied evil, not good.

What does Ahab's disguise in battle teach us about the futility of trying to hide from God's judgment?

Context: Ahab disguised himself to avoid being targeted, but a random arrow struck him.

How does temporary repentance, like Ahab's, differ from genuine repentance?

Context: Ahab humbled himself and delayed judgment but soon returned to wickedness.

What are some modern examples of adding to, taking from, or substituting for God's Word?

Context: Weaver warns against altering God's Word based on Jeremiah 23 and Revelation 22.

How does the worldview of the wicked in Psalm 10 and 73 manifest in today's culture?

Context: The wicked assume God does not know, forgets, or will not hold them accountable.

Applications

Do not try to circumvent God's commands

Summary: When tempted to ignore or replace God's law to satisfy personal desires, recognize that this is spiritual rebellion.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'The very second the question arises in your mind, "How can I ignore or replace God's law?"... you've already apostatized.'

Test all teaching against Scripture

Summary: Evaluate preachers and prophets by whether they speak according to God's Word, not by their popularity or pleasant message.

Evidence: Weaver cites Isaiah 8:20, 'To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.'

Do not presume upon God's patience

Summary: Temporary relief from consequences does not mean God has forgotten sin; genuine repentance is required.

Evidence: Weaver notes Ahab's delayed judgment and says, 'When you get everything back the way you want it, then you forget all about God.'

Accept the whole counsel of God

Summary: Do not add to, take from, or substitute for God's Word; embrace both His love and His justice.

Evidence: Weaver warns from Jeremiah 23 and Revelation 22 against altering God's revelation.

Trust God's sovereign justice

Summary: No one can escape God's judgment; His counsel will stand, and all sin will be accounted for.

Evidence: Weaver declares, 'You can't outrun him. You can't hide from him... He's God. And His counsel shall stand.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:44:51Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:00:02Z

Clean Transcript

You Can't Outsmart God

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 1 Kings 21. We're going to be looking at actually two passages, 1 Kings 21 and 1 Kings 22. The message I have entitled, "You Can't Outsmart God." And in light of what was preached last week, I think it is an excellent follow-up. Look in 1 Kings 21, verse 1: "And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it. Or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said unto Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken him."
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"For he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it, and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with a seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and the nobles that were in the city dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letter saying, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth on high among the people, and set two men, sons of Belial, before him to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king, and then carry him out and stone him that he may die."
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"And the men of the city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants of the city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him. And the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died. Then they said to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned and is dead. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money. For Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it."
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"And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine."
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Now, you will remember that last week I brought a message entitled, "Objective vs. Subjective." That is, whether or not you had an objective standard or a subjective standard. And I showed from 1 Samuel chapter 15 the trouble that you got into when you left God's objective standard and then followed your own subjective standard. Here today is an excellent illustration of that truth as well. The message is entitled, "You Can't Outsmart God." The truth of the matter is fallen man believes he is smart. In fact, he believes that he is so smart that he can outthink and outwit and outsmart God himself.
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Now, it's not a game. Fallen man somehow actually believes in some way that he is genuinely in control.
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Now, it is true that there is a worldly wisdom. It is true that there are brilliant unsaved men. But may I point out the fact that this worldly wisdom is a wisdom that is contrary to God and His wisdom. Hold 1 Kings chapter 21, we're coming back there, but look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 18. Just to show you how the wisdom of this world is contrary to the wisdom of God. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, note what the Scripture says.
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"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness." Now to those who are perishing, that is to those who are lost, the preaching of the cross and the entirety of the Word of God is nothing more than mere foolishness. He says, "But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?"
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"Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." Now, there is a worldly wisdom, but that worldly wisdom counts God's counsel, God's Word as absolute foolishness, and by worldly wisdom, they deny God, and of course, they deny the truth of God. Look in 1 Corinthians 2, beginning there with verse 5. Here the Apostle Paul says, "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, or mature, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world that come to nought. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
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Now here's an excellent passage that just shows you how the wisdom of the world is pitted against the wisdom of God, or the wisdom of man. So what did the wisdom of man do? They crucified the Lord of glory. In the wisdom of man, in the wisdom of the world, the things of God are counted as absolutely foolish. So please understand that man's wisdom says that God's Word is nothing but foolishness. What is man doing? He is assuming that his wisdom is true and accurate, when in reality that man's wisdom is imperfect, foolish, and contrary to God. Now let me just try to show you briefly the concept of fallen man by nature. Here is fallen man's worldview.
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Here is his way of thinking. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 73 and verse 11. I want you to note what the unsaved are acknowledging and confessing. Psalm 73 and verse 11. And of course, if you read the entire psalm, you will see that Asaph is indeed talking about the wicked. In fact, he says in verse 7, "Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than their heart could wish. They're corrupt."
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"They speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily." So he's talking about the wicked. But look in verse 11. And here's what the wicked say. And they say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most high?" Now note that question, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most high?"
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Now, if you will turn right on over to Psalm 10, let's continue with this worldview or this thinking of the ungodly. Notice Psalm 10 and verse 11. Once again, the psalmist is talking about the wicked. Look at the question that is being asked. Psalm 10, verse 11: "He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it." Now skip down to verse 13: "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it." Now look at that question in verse 13: "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?" Why do they condemn God, His wisdom, and His Word? Well, I want you to know in these three passages that I've just read from Psalm 73 and the two verses from Psalm 10, the wicked basically believe three things. First, that God does not know, that He is not omniscient. That's what he said in Psalm 73: "How does God know?"
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"And is there knowledge with the most high?" So they are basically, first and foremost, denying the omniscience of God. They're saying that God does not really, truly, and accurately know.
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Secondly, according to Psalm 10, somehow they believe that they are smart enough to hide their sins from God. Look at verse 11: "He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it." So they believe they're smart enough to hide their sins from God. And if God does happen to take notice of their sins, they believe that somehow ultimately He'll forget about them. He'll overlook them. And then thirdly, if you look in verse 13, "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?" What is the real source of the wicked's condemnation of God? "He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it."
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So here's their third line of defense. Now watch. The first line is, God doesn't know. The second line is, if God does take notice, He'll probably forget it. And when that's blown away, their third and final line is, God will not require it. That is, God would never hold me accountable. He would never hold me answerable. Somehow, I'm going to get away with everything that I've ever done. Now, that's the worldview of the wicked.
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This is the mentality and the thinking of man by nature. No wonder man somehow thinks that he can outsmart God. Now, there is one ruler who thought he was smart enough to outsmart God, and that's Ahab back in 1 Kings chapter 21. Now, I want to show you some things in the life of Ahab, some things in the life of Ahab that will be reflective of the lives of people that you know today and leaders that you know today. I want you to note first of all that Ahab tried to outsmart God by replacing God's law with his own law. Ahab tried to outsmart God by replacing God's law with his own law.
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Now let me explain this. Look in verse 1 of chapter 21: "And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house. And I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it, or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said unto Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." Now, I want you to know that Ahab was indeed very generous. Ahab said, "Look, if you will just give me your garden because it's close, it's convenient for me." And please remember, Ahab was the king. "I will give you a better vineyard than the one you've given me." What? And if you don't want a better vineyard, I'm more than willing to give you the price of it in money.
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And what was Naboth's answer? His answer in verse 3 was, "God forbid it me that I should give unto thee the inheritance of my fathers." Now, Naboth was not trying to be hard to get along with. Naboth was not trying to jack up the price or get a better offer. What Naboth was doing was expounding a scriptural truth. The Lord had forbidden those people to sell their land on a permanent basis. Now the land was theirs.
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It was to be kept in their tribes. It was to be kept in their families. It was not to be sold. In fact, God said in Leviticus 25 and verse 23, "The land shall not be sold forever, for the land is Mine. You are strangers and sojourners with Me." So God says, "Here's a good reason you can't sell the land permanently. The land doesn't belong to you. It belongs to Me. And you've got to use My land the way I tell you that it can be used."
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Now, it is true that those people could lease their land for a number of years, like six years in the sabbatical year, it came back to them. Or there were certain circumstances where they might even lease that land up to 49 years and the year of Jubilee, the 50th year, it still came back to them. But the land could not be transferred to anyone on a permanent basis.
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So Naboth then was speaking truthfully. The Lord did indeed forbid him to give or to sell his family's inheritance. Now watch this. Here's Naboth and he's refusing to sell the land. Here's Ahab and he wants the land. He knows that God's law forbids him from taking that land. And God's law forbids Naboth from selling or giving him that land. So there's a question that comes to his mind. The question is this: I want that land. God's law forbids me to have that land. So how do I get around God's law? I want the land. I've got to get around God's law.
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In other words, what his idea was this: We cannot allow God's law to stand in the way of our lusts and our desires. I mean, I want it. I've got to have it. So I must either ignore or replace God's law. Now listen to me. The very second the question arises in your mind, "How can I ignore or replace God's law?" the very second that question flashes in your mind, you've already apostatized. Do you realize you cannot violate any of God's commandments without violating the first one: "Thou shalt have no other gods before thee." And the very minute that you contemplate violating any of God's commandments, you've already replaced God with yourself. You're already dethroning God and enthroning yourself.
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Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 46. Let me just point this out. It is true that God forbade Naboth to sell his vineyard. But it is equally true that God forbade Ahab in taking that vineyard. In Ezekiel chapter 46, notice if you would please verse 18. The Bible says, "Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression to thrust them out of their possession, but he shall give his son's inheritance out of his own possession, that my people be not scattered every man from his own possession." Did you see what the Bible says? "The prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression." Now, what did God say? God said, "Thou shalt not covet." "Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbor's, his wife, his ass, his maidservant, his manservant, his land." God's law said, "Thou shalt not covet." God's law said, "Thou shalt not steal." God's law said, "Thou shalt not murder." But such commandments are mere trifles to Ahab and his ilk.
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They can always get around God's law by replacing it with their own law. And you know, the problem with that is this. Many of these rulers who want to play God make up their own law as they go. Did you ever do that as a child playing a game? "Well, what are the rules?" "I don't know. We'll make them up as we go." But the one who makes the rules always makes them in his favor. And so Ahab took the idea, "Well, it may be wrong for everyone else to get that garden by replacing God's law, but it's not wrong for me because I am the king. I can do what I want to do." Do we not reason exactly the same way when we want to violate God's law? Do we not say, "Well, it may be wrong for everybody else, but it's not wrong for me. After all, I've obeyed God here. I've done this for God there. And certainly God's going to overlook my violation in this area." In other words, we take the idea that we are the exceptions.
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In other words, we get to thinking like the wicked. We get to thinking that God won't take notice of it. And if God does take notice, He'll probably forget it. And if He doesn't forget it, certainly He's never, ever going to hold us accountable. Well, Ahab wanted that garden. So he had to replace God's law with his own.
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Now, he had a little help from Jezebel. When Jezebel saw his demeanor and he was depressed, she said, "What's wrong?"
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Now, I want you to watch this. Well, he said, "I want that garden, but Naboth won't sell it to me." Here is her question: "Dost thou now govern the kingdom? You're the king. You can do whatever you want to do." What is she saying? "Well, you're not bound by God's law. You just replace that." Now, I want to show you what they did. You already know this. But they used their law, they used a man-made law to replace God's law. In doing so, they used man's law in contradistinction from God's law.
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How did they do that? Well, they even incorporated a little bit of God's law, which I shall show you in just a moment, but they used the law to legally murder Naboth and his sons. Now, Naboth's murder was legal, albeit it was wicked and wrong, and Naboth was charged with blasphemy against God and the king. Now, if Naboth blasphemed God, he deserved to die. If Naboth blasphemed the king, then he deserved to have his property confiscated.
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But see, the problem is this. You can't just murder Naboth. Because Naboth has sons. And if Naboth is dead, then his children inherit the property. So in order to really get the property, you must not only murder Naboth, you must also murder his sons. If you look in your Bibles very quickly to 2 Kings chapter 9 and verse 26, just to demonstrate to you that they indeed did murder Naboth and his sons, notice what is said. 2 Kings 9 verse 26: "Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord. And I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground according to the word of the Lord." Notice that "I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons." So they killed the entire family.
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Now, in every respect, the trial was legal. What do I mean? Here came letters from the king, written by Jezebel, written in the king's name, and she tells the leaders of the city, "You proclaim a fast, you set Naboth on high, you get two witnesses to testify against him, that you've heard him blaspheme God and you have heard him blaspheme the king, and then you take him out and execute him." Certainly blasphemy against God merits the death penalty. There's no problem there. So I want you to know there was a public open trial.
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There was an official indictment. There were two witnesses against Naboth and his sons. And so they were then taken out and executed. Every aspect of the trial was legal, although it was not lawful. What did Ahab do? He used man's law to legally murder Naboth and his sons. So man's law then was used to circumvent God's law even though an aspect of God's law was incorporated in it.
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Because Deuteronomy 19 verse 15 says that no man is to be put to death on the testimony of one witness. There must be a minimum of two or more. So we have the two witnesses. The whole trial, although it was legal according to man's law, was nothing but a charade and nothing but mockery. It was the height of injustice. Naboth was innocent. His sons were innocent. Now, when his sons were killed, as well as Naboth, Ahab went down to claim the garden.
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Now, my question is this: Did Ahab outsmart God? And the answer is no. Did Ahab outsmart God? And the answer is no. Ahab got what he wanted, but it was a temporary victory. Look in your Bibles, 1 Kings 21, verse 19. Elijah is sent to meet him, and here's what he says: "Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." Skip down to verse 22: "And I will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."
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Now let me tell you something. I'm going to show you in just a moment. Ahab's victory was short-lived. He got what he wanted, but he never really had time to enjoy it. He had not outsmarted God by replacing God's law with his own law, but it was an attempt. You know what we've done in this country? We've done exactly the same thing. We've kicked God out. We've kicked His law out.
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We'd only be reminded that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we think that we're so smart and that we're going to have a multicultural, multilingual, multireligious, multifaceted society. We're going to have a mongrelized one world government and we're going to win. No, we're not. You can never outsmart God. And when you try to replace God's law with man's law, you're ultimately going to lose. Secondly, watch very quickly. Goes a little further, Ahab tried to outsmart God by substituting God's word with false prophets.
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Now let's go to chapter 22. Because the rest of the message is in chapter 22. Let's begin reading with verse 1. 1 Kings 22, verse 1: "And there continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know ye that Ramoth Gilead is ours, and we be still and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, of the word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?"
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"And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we might inquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, having put on their robes in a void place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria."
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"And all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made him horns of iron, and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians until thou hast consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hands. And the messenger that was going to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth. Let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king, and the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered, Go and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?"
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"And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have not a shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy any good concerning me but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the host of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up to fall at Ramoth Gilead?"
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"And one said on this manner, another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth and I'll be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him and prevail also. Go forth and do so. Now, therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."
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Now, let me just stop there temporarily. Here is another subterfuge that is very heavily relied upon by the wicked. And that is substitution. If you cannot successfully replace God's law with your own law, the next logical step would be that you substitute a false word and pretend that it is His word.
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Now, Ahab was king of Samaria, and he wanted Jehoshaphat, who was king of Judah, to go to war with him against Ramoth Gilead, against Syria to reclaim Ramoth Gilead. Now, I believe with all my heart that Jehoshaphat erred greatly in what he said in verse 4. What do I mean? Well, look in verse 4. After Ahab asked Jehoshaphat would he go to war with him, in verse 4, Jehoshaphat answered and said to the king of Israel, "I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses." First of all, Jehoshaphat was not as Ahab. Jehoshaphat was basically a godly man.
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Now, he messed up in several areas. So he really was not as Ahab was. Ahab was a wicked, ungodly reprobate. But the very first thing that you observe is this: that Jehoshaphat gives his word to Ahab before he ever checks with the Lord. Then in verse 5, "Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today." Well, you should have been inquiring before you gave your word that you're going to go help him fight. But anyhow, so he says, "Let's inquire of the Lord." So guess what Ahab does? Ahab pulls out 400 prophets to declare the word of the Lord. 400 prophets are saying, "Go up and prosper. The Lord shall deliver it into your hands." Now, Ahab must have undoubtedly been some type of religious or spiritual man to have had 400 prophets.
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Most of you only have one. One little preacher. Boy, Ahab had 400. Boy, he must have really been spiritual. The problem was that out of all the 400, none of them were of God. They were all false prophets, even though they prophesied in the name of the Lord.
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Now look in verse 6. Watch carefully. "Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said unto them, Shall I go up against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king." Now watch. And Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we may inquire of him?" Now how obvious was it to Jehoshaphat that these were false prophets? It was obvious. It was clear. It was plain. Even though they prophesied in the name of the Lord. Now, I know that you know this verse.
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But I want you to hold 1 Kings 22 and turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. I want to just remind you of this. Please turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And let's begin reading there with verse 14. Look what the Apostle Paul writes. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 14. In fact, we can begin reading at verse 13. He says, "For such are false prophets, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ."
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"And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works."
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Now, what is the apostle Paul saying? He is saying, don't be deceived. Everyone who professes to be a preacher that is God's preacher, everyone who professes to be godly is not so. I can sit here and names just run through my mind. But you can see some of these sweet, smirky TV preachers who always smile. And they're always positive. And they never, ever preach the Word of God. They would never preach anything negative. They'd never name sin. They would never talk about judgment.
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But yet they have multi-million dollar ministries. How in the world do you tell a true preacher from a false preacher? Well, Isaiah 8 and verse 20 gives us the answer: "To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." In other words, every preacher must be judged according to the totality of the Word of God. And God says if they do not agree with His Word, then they are wrong. They are wicked.
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I don't care how sweet, I don't care how they appear. And that's why he said even Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. And since you're in the New Testament, on the way back to 1 Kings, stop, if you would please, at Matthew chapter 7. Look at what our Lord said in Matthew 7, just to show you this warning comes from the Lord himself as well. Notice Matthew chapter 7 and let's begin reading there with verse 21. Matthew 7 verse 21: "Our Lord says, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied?"
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"That is, have we not preached in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you that work iniquity." Who's he talking to? A lot of preachers. It's not that I knew you and forgot you. I never knew you. You were never one of mine. But yet they prophesied in his name.
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Now, if you'll go back to 1 Kings chapter 22, you'll find these 400 prophets were prophesying in the name of the Lord. Look in the latter part of verse 6: "And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king." Then verse 7: "And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we may inquire of him?" Jehoshaphat said, "I want a real preacher." How did Jehoshaphat know that these were false preachers?
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Well, he should have known Ahab and he should have known Jezebel. But if you look in verse 6, these false prophets are saying, "Go up, for the Lord"—and the word is Adonai—"shall deliver it into thy hand." And the word Adonai just simply refers to any lord. It refers to a lord in general. But in verse 7, Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a prophet?" And notice the word Lord is in all caps.
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That is the holy name of God, Yahweh. "Is there not here a prophet of Yahweh besides that we may inquire of him?" Jehoshaphat said, "I don't care what these false preachers say. I want to hear what God says." And I want you to note. When you substitute for God's Word, when you try to replace God's Word and or substitute for God's Word, I want you to see the enmity that is revealed against the Word of God and the one who brings it. In verse 8, "Then the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man." There is yet one man. Isn't that amazing? There is yet one man. There is yet one man. Why? Because he had killed all of God's prophets or driven them out.
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Oh, but God hid a hundred of them by fifty in caves and fed them with bread and water. There's just one that he knew about. But look what he says: "There's yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him." Why? "For he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so."
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Ahab said, "I don't like his preaching. He's too negative. I mean, all he wants to talk about is judgment." Do you realize, folks, all you can talk about is judgment when you have such a wicked reprobate as they have on the throne? If you want to hear something else, change your life. It's kind of like the old black preacher I heard about that preached 15 Sundays straight on "Thou Shalt Not Steal." Finally, one of the deacons came up and asked him, he said, "Preacher, when you gonna preach on something else?" He said, "When you start obeying what I'm preaching on right now." So, you know, if you want the message changed, change your life. Now, look what happens. He said, "I don't like what he says."
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Why was he willing to replace the true prophets with the false prophets? I'm going to tell you why. He was willing to sacrifice truth for error and good for evil because he wanted to hear what he wanted to hear. He did not want the truth. He did not want to hear what the truth of the living God had to say, and so he preferred the words of a substitute God and a substitute law.
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Now the apostle Paul wrote something similar to this in the New Testament. He said in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned unto fables." What did he say? The time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine. I want to tell you something.
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If you brought a man like Jonathan Edwards to America today and let him preach, I'll bet you, you couldn't get a crowd if you gave away T-bone steaks. You know why? Because Jonathan Edwards was a learned, erudite man. He was a scholar. He was a preacher. He thundered out the truth. You follow what I'm saying? You can't get people today to listen to doctrine. What people want today is entertainment. They want to come for a 15-minute sermon and then leave.
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That's all there is to it. Now, let me tell you, dear friend, you may not want to hear the truth, but the error is not going to help you. Look in verses 11 and 12. Ahab's false prophets gave him the truth that he wanted to hear. And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made him horns of iron and said, "Thus saith the Lord." And notice, if you would, he now changes and uses Jehovah's holy name.
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"With these, thou shalt push the Syrians until thou have consumed them." And the prophets prophesied so, saying, "Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper. Watch, for Yahweh shall deliver it into the king's hand." Oh, well, we can change and we can say what the king of Judah wants to hear. Let me tell you something, folks. The devil can quote scripture when it fits his purposes. That's no problem. But you see what they told Ahab was what Ahab wanted to hear. They did not tell him the truth, that which he needed to hear. And here comes Micaiah. And what does the man who brings Micaiah say to him? "All the other prophets are prophesying good. You do the same." And so Micaiah comes up with his tongue in his cheek and he says evidently, very sarcastically, "Go up, go up and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king." And Ahab knew that he was mocking him. He said, "How many times must I adjure thee to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?"
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Micaiah said, "You want the truth? I'll give it to you. Here's what has happened. God has sent a lying spirit into the mouths of all your prophets. They're lying. And God has ordained it, and God has worked it out, for you'll go up to Ramoth Gilead, and there God will kill you. You want the truth I have? That's it. God is going to kill you at Ramoth Gilead." Well, that's it. Now, watch this.
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Skip down, if you would please, to verse 26. "And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and carry him back unto Ammon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son, and say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with the bread of affliction, and with the water of affliction, until I come in peace." How did they know where Micaiah was to begin with? He's willing to put him in prison. And they said, "You take him back. You feed him with the bread of affliction, and with the water of affliction, until I return in peace." I like what verse 28 says: "And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me." He said, "I'll tell you how you can tell whether the Lord has spoken by me. If you come back, God didn't say anything to me. But you're not coming back in peace. You may come back in pieces, but not in peace."
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Now, watch carefully. Ahab has tried to replace God's Word. He's now used substitution. And here's the thing that really got me. Number three, Ahab tried to outsmart God by overruling his providential judgment. Now listen to this. Ahab tried to outsmart God by overruling his providential judgment.
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Now skip down to verse 29. Let's read this. "So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead." You know, just stop there for a second. I think after what I'd heard Micaiah say, if I had been Jehoshaphat, I'd say, "Wait a minute. I'm rethinking my commitment to this war. I believe you just need to go up by yourself." But he didn't. Now watch. Verse 30: "And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. But the king of Syria commanded his thirty-two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him."
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"And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness. Wherefore he said unto the driver of the chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host, for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day, and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even, and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. And there went a proclamation about the host, about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city and every man to his own country. So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed his armor according to the word of the Lord which he spake. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did in the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?"
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Ahab was quite aware of the judgment of God against him. Don't you remember when he went down in that garden, Elijah met him and said, "Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?" And don't you remember in that garden, Elijah told Ahab, "Where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, they're going to lick your blood." Now, if you look in 1 Kings 21, beginning there with verse 27, Ahab initially averted the immediate judgment of God by humbling himself. Look in verse 27, 1 Kings 21: "And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbled himself before me? Because he humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house." So God says he's humbled himself.
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I'm going to give him just a little bit of time. Now, I want you to note, the time that he gave him was only three years. Look in chapter 22, verse 1: "And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel." So Ahab only got to enjoy that little garden about two years probably. And so Ahab was just as wicked and as cunning as ever. So when the immediate threat of God's judgment was passed, what did he do?
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He went back to his old ways. It's just like today. Let me tell you, people. I've had men and women come to me and say, "Brother Weaver, my child's in the hospital. It looks like he's not going to make it. Please pray with me that God will spare my child. If God spares my child, I'll be in church every Sunday the rest of my life." And we pray and God miraculously spares that child. And guess what? They do come to church, at least for two weeks. You see, when you get everything back the way you want it, then you forget all about God.
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Well, that's what Ahab did. His humility was basically, you know, "I've averted the judgment right now, so I'm happy. I'll get back to my life." Well, I can understand how Ahab wanted to avert God's judgment. I can also understand his plan to avert God's judgment. What I cannot understand is Jehoshaphat's simplicity, or more bluntly, his stupidity. Look in chapter 22, once again at verse 29: "So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle."
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"But put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle." Now, wait a minute. Jehoshaphat just heard Micaiah say that God was going to kill Ahab. And now Ahab says, "Well, I'm not going as a king. You can be the king over this battle." I mean, you know, something should have gone off in Jehoshaphat's mind. "This guy's setting me up. I mean, he wants them to come after me and pretend like I'm Ahab and that I'm killed." But, you know, Jehoshaphat, in his stupidity and in his simplicity, I mean, you know, he agreed.
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I don't understand it, but he was the only one there arrayed in the kingly garments. Thus he became a primary target. I don't understand how he agreed to such a scheme. But the king of Syria told those 32 captains, "You don't fight with anybody but the king of Israel. You kill him and that'll be it." And when they saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely this is the king of Israel."
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And when they got after him, he cried. Now I'm going to tell you what he was crying. He was not crying out, "I'm Jehoshaphat, I'm Jehoshaphat." No, no, no. That wasn't what he was crying out. He was crying to the Lord. And the Lord miraculously caused those captains to understand that it's not the king of Israel. And they turned from him. Now, folks, let me tell you.
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Had it not been for divine intervention, Ahab's scheme might have worked. Because those captains were after the man they thought was the king of Israel. Ahab had not only disguised himself, but his plan was also to hide himself in the middle of the battle.
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Now let me ask you a question. Who can identify men in the middle of a battle? In the middle of a battle, you're doing two things. Number one, you're trying to save your life, and number two, you're trying to kill your enemy. Other than that, you're not looking around. So nobody was seeking out Ahab in the middle of that battle. He had successfully disguised himself, and I might add, he had successfully enveloped himself in the battle. No one knew where he was, and no one knew who he was.
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But God was and is still on his throne. And God still controls everything in his providence. And verse 34 tells us, "And a certain man," we don't even know who he was. "And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness." Here it is, now watch this. Here's this battle raging. And this one guy just pulls an arrow back and shoots in the midst, hoping to hit somebody. He never even knew that he was the man that hit the king of Israel. But God, in His sovereignty, had that arrow with Ahab's name on it. And He sovereignly directed that arrow right between the joints of his shoulders. And Ahab said, "I'm hit." What didn't happen? God's judgment fell exactly like God said it would. Look in verse 38.
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"And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed his armor according to the word of the Lord which he spake." You just cannot outsmart God. It's impossible. God is infinite, and we're finite. And if you think for one minute that you can sin against God and get by with it, well, to use the words of Moses in Numbers 32 and verse 23, "Be sure your sins will find you out." You'll never get by with it. You can't outsmart God.
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Now, I want to show you something and try to tie this together for you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. Let me show you how men try to outsmart God. Here's what they endeavor to do. Jeremiah chapter 23. And let's begin reading there with verse 30. Jeremiah 23, verse 30. Look carefully now. Jeremiah 23, verse 30. God says, "Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor." Verse 31: "Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith." Verse 32: "Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their lightness."
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"Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord." Hmm. Now, let's go back to verse 30, he says, "Behold, I'm against the prophets of the Lord that steal my words, every one from his neighbor." Let me show you. There are three things that people do primarily to get around the word of God. The first thing God does in verse 30 is he condemns those who steal his words. What does that mean? That means they remove his word or they try to replace his words or take away from those words in some manner. That's like when you're trying to preach just the love of God only and you never preach the justice of God or the judgment of God. It is true God is love, folks, but God is also a just God as well. So God said, "I'm against those who steal my words." That is, they take from the truth of God. They don't preach the whole counsel of God. Next, if you'll look at verse 31, "Behold, I'm against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, He saith."
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In other words, they're adding to the word of God. So on the one hand, he condemns those who take from. Now, on the other hand, he's condemning those who add to. And then watch verse 32: "Behold, I'm against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their lightness. Yet I sent them not nor commanded them."
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And now you have a substitution for. So instead of the word of God, now you've got the dreams and the visions of someone else. Do you realize that all false religions, all cults, and any and everyone who wishes to be his own god, like Ahab, does either one or all three of these three things that God condemns? They either take from, add to, or substitute for. You know what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 4 in verse 2?
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Let me just quote it. God said, "You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." You don't add to and you don't take from. Everyone is familiar with the passage in Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19. Let me just read it. God says, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book." You can't outsmart God. You can't say, "God, I want to add to this." Or, "God, I want to take from this." Or, "God, I want to substitute for this." Isaiah 46, verse 10.
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God says, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Do you know how much of God's counsel is going to come to pass? All of it. You know how much of God's plan is going to prosper? All of it. So you might as well stop trying to outsmart God. It can't be done. You can't outrun him. You can't hide from him. You can't stop him. You can't thwart Him. You can't hinder Him. You can't overthrow Him. You can't dethrone Him. You can't outwit Him. You can't outsmart Him. He's God. And His counsel shall stand. And He will do all His pleasure.
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And all of these one-worlders and global plans—I've got news for you folks. There is going to be a global empire and there is going to be a one world government, but it will be the government under the sovereign God of the universe who enthrones his son, Jesus Christ. Because you can't outsmart him. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your love and for your grace and for your mercy to us.
#85 | 1:02:50 to 1:03:22 | cleaned
We ask you, Lord, to teach us and build us up in the most holy faith. May we always, Lord, take your word as it is. Not adding to it, not taking from it, not substituting for it, but bowing to it and obeying it. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:44:51Z

You Can't Outsmart God

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver preaches from 1 Kings 21–22 that fallen man foolishly believes he can outwit God by replacing His law, substituting His word with false prophets, and overruling His providential judgment. Using Ahab's schemes to seize Naboth's vineyard and his death at Ramoth Gilead, Weaver warns that God's counsel always stands and no one can escape His justice.

Introduction: The Foolishness of Trying to Outsmart God

Weaver introduces the theme that fallen man believes he is smart enough to outthink God, linking to last week's message on objective vs. subjective standards.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 21:1-4

"And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it. Or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said unto Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken him."

The Worldview of the Wicked: Denying God's Knowledge and Justice

From Psalms 73 and 10, Weaver shows the wicked assume God does not know, will forget, or will not hold them accountable.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 10:11,13

"He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 10:11,13

"He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it."

Ahab's First Attempt: Replacing God's Law with His Own Law

Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard, and when Naboth refuses based on God's law, Ahab and Jezebel use a legal charade to murder Naboth and his sons.

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 25:23

"The land shall not be sold forever, for the land is Mine. You are strangers and sojourners with Me."

So God says, "Here's a good reason you can't sell the land permanently. The land doesn't belong to you. It belongs to Me. And you've got to use My land the way I tell you that it can be used."

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 46:18

"Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression to thrust them out of their possession, but he shall give his son's inheritance out of his own possession, that my people be not scattered every man from his own possession."

Did you see what the Bible says?

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 46:18

"The prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression."

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 9:26

"Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord. And I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground according to the word of the Lord."

Notice that

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 9:26

"I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons."

So they killed the entire family.

God's Judgment Declared on Ahab and Jezebel

Elijah pronounces that dogs will lick Ahab's blood where Naboth died, and dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

Ahab's Second Attempt: Substituting God's Word with False Prophets

Ahab gathers 400 false prophets who tell him what he wants to hear, while Micaiah, the true prophet, predicts his death at Ramoth Gilead.

Now let's go to chapter 22. Because the rest of the message is in chapter 22. Let's begin reading with verse 1. 1 Kings 22, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 22:1-6

"And there continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know ye that Ramoth Gilead is ours, and we be still and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, of the word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?"

The Enmity Against God's True Word

Ahab hates Micaiah because he prophesies evil, not good; Micaiah is imprisoned for speaking truth.

Ahab's Third Attempt: Overruling God's Providential Judgment

Ahab disguises himself in battle to avoid God's predicted death, but a random arrow strikes him, fulfilling God's word.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 22:29-38

"And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbled himself before me? Because he humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house."

So God says he's humbled himself.

Conclusion: You Cannot Outsmart God

Weaver warns that all attempts to add to, take from, or substitute for God's word fail; God's counsel will stand.

You Can't Outsmart God

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	9230483323
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne
Genre	Sermon
Date	2004-09-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 140: Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	86

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Foolishness of Trying to Outsmart God: Weaver introduces the theme that fallen man believes he is smart enough to outthink God, linking to last week's message on objective vs. subjective standards.
The Worldview of the Wicked: Denying God's Knowledge and Justice: From Psalms 73 and 10, Weaver shows the wicked assume God does not know, will forget, or will not hold them accountable.
Ahab's First Attempt: Replacing God's Law with His Own Law: Ahab covets Naboth's vineyard, and when Naboth refuses based on God's law, Ahab and Jezebel use a legal charade to murder Naboth and his sons.
God's Judgment Declared on Ahab and Jezebel: Elijah pronounces that dogs will lick Ahab's blood where Naboth died, and dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
Ahab's Second Attempt: Substituting God's Word with False Prophets: Ahab gathers 400 false prophets who tell him what he wants to hear, while Micaiah, the true prophet, predicts his death at Ramoth Gilead.
The Enmity Against God's True Word: Ahab hates Micaiah because he prophesies evil, not good; Micaiah is imprisoned for speaking truth.
Ahab's Third Attempt: Overruling God's Providential Judgment: Ahab disguises himself in battle to avoid God's predicted death, but a random arrow strikes him, fulfilling God's word.
Conclusion: You Cannot Outsmart God: Weaver warns that all attempts to add to, take from, or substitute for God's word fail; God's counsel will stand.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Man's wisdom is foolishness to God

Worldly wisdom counts God's word as foolishness, but God destroys the wisdom of the wise.

Weaver reads 1 Corinthians 1:18-21, 'For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness... I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.'

Ahab replaced God's law to satisfy his lust

Ahab knew God's law forbade taking Naboth's land, but he used a legal murder to get it.

Weaver says, 'The very second the question arises in your mind, "How can I ignore or replace God's law?"... you've already apostatized.'

False prophets tell people what they want to hear

Ahab's 400 prophets prophesied success, but Micaiah revealed they were inspired by a lying spirit.

Weaver reads 1 Kings 22:6, 'Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king,' and contrasts with Micaiah's true prophecy.

God's judgment is inescapable

Ahab disguised himself and hid in battle, but a random arrow struck him exactly as God foretold.

Weaver reads 1 Kings 22:34, 'And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness.'

Temporary repentance does not avert final judgment

Ahab humbled himself and delayed judgment, but returned to wickedness and died three years later.

Weaver notes, 'Ahab initially averted the immediate judgment of God by humbling himself... but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.'

God's counsel will stand

No human scheme can thwart God's sovereign plan; all His pleasure will be accomplished.

Weaver quotes Isaiah 46:10, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.'

Scripture References

1 Kings 21:1-4: Ahab offers to buy or trade for Naboth's vineyard, but Naboth refuses based on God's law.
1 Kings 21:5-16: Jezebel orchestrates a false trial and execution of Naboth so Ahab can seize the vineyard.
1 Kings 21:17-19: Elijah confronts Ahab with God's judgment: dogs will lick his blood where Naboth died.
1 Corinthians 1:18-21: The preaching of the cross is foolishness to the perishing, but God destroys worldly wisdom.
1 Corinthians 2:5-8: Paul speaks God's hidden wisdom, which the rulers of this world did not understand.
Psalm 73:11: The wicked ask, 'How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most high?'
Psalm 10:11,13: The wicked say God has forgotten and will not require an account.
Leviticus 25:23: God commands that the land shall not be sold permanently because it belongs to Him.
Ezekiel 46:18: The prince shall not take the people's inheritance by oppression.
2 Kings 9:26: God says He has seen the blood of Naboth and his sons.
1 Kings 22:1-6: Ahab asks Jehoshaphat to join him in battle; 400 prophets predict success.
1 Kings 22:7-28: Micaiah prophesies Ahab's death and reveals a lying spirit in the false prophets.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15: False prophets transform themselves into apostles of Christ, as Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Matthew 7:21-23: Many will claim to prophesy in Jesus' name, but He will say, 'I never knew you.'
1 Kings 22:29-38: Ahab disguises himself in battle but is killed by a random arrow; dogs lick his blood.
1 Kings 21:27-29: Ahab humbles himself and God delays judgment to his son's days.
Jeremiah 23:30-32: God is against prophets who steal His words, use their own tongues, or prophesy false dreams.
Deuteronomy 4:2: You shall not add to or diminish from God's commandments.
Revelation 22:18-19: Anyone who adds to or takes from the words of this prophecy will face plagues and loss of eternal life.
Isaiah 46:10: God declares His counsel shall stand and He will do all His pleasure.

Historical References

Ahab, king of Israel: Ahab is the primary example of one who tried to outsmart God by replacing His law, using false prophets, and disguising himself to avoid judgment.
Jezebel, wife of Ahab: Jezebel orchestrated the legal murder of Naboth and his sons to seize the vineyard for Ahab.
Naboth the Jezreelite: Naboth refused to sell his vineyard because it was his family inheritance under God's law, leading to his murder.
Elijah the Tishbite: Elijah pronounced God's judgment on Ahab and Jezebel for the murder of Naboth.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah: Jehoshaphat allied with Ahab in battle and nearly became a target due to Ahab's disguise scheme.
Micaiah, son of Imlah: Micaiah was the true prophet who foretold Ahab's death and revealed the lying spirit in the false prophets.
Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah: Zedekiah was a false prophet who made iron horns and prophesied victory for Ahab.
Jonathan Edwards: Weaver references Jonathan Edwards as an example of a learned preacher whose doctrinal preaching would not draw a crowd today.

Important Quotes

The truth of the matter is fallen man believes he is smart. In fact, he believes that he is so smart that he can outthink and outwit and outsmart God himself.

States the central thesis of the sermon: man's arrogant assumption that he can outsmart God.

The very second the question arises in your mind, 'How can I ignore or replace God's law?' the very second that question flashes in your mind, you've already apostatized.

Highlights the immediate spiritual rebellion involved in contemplating disobedience to God's law.

He used man's law to legally murder Naboth and his sons. So man's law then was used to circumvent God's law even though an aspect of God's law was incorporated in it.

Illustrates how Ahab replaced God's law with a legal but unjust system to achieve his desires.

He was willing to sacrifice truth for error and good for evil because he wanted to hear what he wanted to hear.

Explains Ahab's preference for false prophets over Micaiah's true prophecy.

God, in His sovereignty, had that arrow with Ahab's name on it. And He sovereignly directed that arrow right between the joints of his shoulders.

Demonstrates that God's providential judgment cannot be escaped, even by human schemes.

My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

Quotes Isaiah 46:10 to affirm the absolute sovereignty of God over all human plans.

Be sure your sins will find you out.

Cites Numbers 32:23 as a warning that hidden sins will eventually be exposed by God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways do people today try to replace God's law with their own standards, similar to Ahab?

[Context]

Weaver describes Ahab's attempt to circumvent God's law to get Naboth's vineyard.

[Question]

How can we discern between true and false spiritual leaders, as Jehoshaphat did with the 400 prophets?

[Context]

Jehoshaphat recognized the false prophets and asked for a true prophet of Yahweh.

[Question]

Why do people often prefer messages that make them feel good rather than the truth of God's Word?

[Context]

Ahab hated Micaiah because he prophesied evil, not good.

[Question]

What does Ahab's disguise in battle teach us about the futility of trying to hide from God's judgment?

[Context]

Ahab disguised himself to avoid being targeted, but a random arrow struck him.

[Question]

How does temporary repentance, like Ahab's, differ from genuine repentance?

[Context]

Ahab humbled himself and delayed judgment but soon returned to wickedness.

[Question]

What are some modern examples of adding to, taking from, or substituting for God's Word?

[Context]

Weaver warns against altering God's Word based on Jeremiah 23 and Revelation 22.

[Question]

How does the worldview of the wicked in Psalm 10 and 73 manifest in today's culture?

[Context]

The wicked assume God does not know, forgets, or will not hold them accountable.

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