BEARING FALSE
WITNESS I – Sunday December 13th 2015
Memorise: Thou shalt
not bear false wihness against thy neighbour. Exodus 20:16
Read: Deuteronomy
19:15-21, 15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any
iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he
sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses,
shall the matter be established.
16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify
against him that which is wrong;
17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall
stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in
those days;
18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and,
behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against
his brother;
19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done
unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.
20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall
henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Bible in one year:
Psalm 119:1-112, James 2:14-3:12
“Is not this the fast that I
have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and
to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”
Isaiah 58:6
This Scripture summarises the fundamental nature of restitution.
Restitution is the undoing of an evil deed. Bearing false witness against a
person, family, community, institution, state or nation is an evil deed that
can have devastating effects. If you have been involved in this, you need to
restitute your ways.
Some time ago, a man died under some mysterious circumstances in a
polygamous setting. Driven by hatred for the deceased’s first son, the
deceased’s younger brother compelled the deceased’s daughter to falsely accuse
her step-brother (the first son) of killing their father, before a magistrate
court. She yielded to this evil uncle because he had threatened her, saying
that if she did not tell the lie, the whole family would desert her. In spite
of this evil frame-up, the accused was discharged. However, his uncle did not
let the matter rest; he had his nephew arrested again. Following this, the
matter was escalated to the high court. Again, the step-sister of the accused
was among the witnesses called against him.
In fact, she was the prime witness
of the prosecution.
Shortly before the commencement of proceedings in the case, those
connected to the case were asked to step outside. The lady went out, and her
uncle met her to rehearse the lies she should say before the judge. Thereafter,
her step-brother, who was her age mate and a born-again Christian, also came
outside the courtroom, and they got talking. He used this opportunity to lead
her to Christ. After she had accepted to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and
Saviour, and as he was about to lead her through the sinner’s prayer, the judge
sent for her to return to the courtroom and give her sworn testimony. However,
contrary to the plans made with her uncle, she told the truth that the accused
was innocent to the death of his father, because she was under the conviction
of the Holy Spirit. That is restitution. Although she faced a lot of
persecution from those who wanted her to sustain the lie, she stood firm and
straightened her crooked path. Do you know that a lot of innocent people are
languishing in prison because a false witness testified against them? if you
have testified falsely against anybody in the past, you need to undo that
wrong. If it is a sensitive matter, seek God’s face by praying and fasting, and
see your pastor for counselling and guidance on the best way to go about it.
Action Point
Pray that God will
cause confusion in the camp of those planning evil against God’s people.
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