LIVE | You Can't Fool God | 1 Kings 14:1-20 | Ascend Church

Human tendency to hide sin forms a throughline from Eden to the northern kingdom of Israel. Adam and Eve’s fig leaves modeled a habit of camouflaging guilt that reappears in Jeroboam’s attempt to disguise his wife when seeking prophetic counsel. The narrative contrasts human schemes—costumes of busyness, performance, and excuses—with divine sight; physical blindness does not limit prophetic insight, and spiritual blindness does not blind God. Hypocrisy receives sharp biblical critique: theatrical masks once described Greek actors and now name spiritual play-acting that looks righteous outwardly but remains corrupt within.

The account of Jeroboam, his sick son Abijah, and the blind prophet Ahijah exposes how concealment collapses under divine scrutiny. Attempts to bribe, to feign another identity, or to manage public perception only deepen culpability when God pronounces judgment. Scripture insists that nothing genuinely stays hidden: private whispers and carefully managed images will be declared in the light. The text moves from indictment to summons—God’s verdict in First Kings predicts national and personal consequences while New Testament citations remind every person that a final bow will come before God.

The gospel response sits at the center: honest self-examination, naming the hidden heart, and kneeling in repentance. Communion functions as both warning and remedy—an invitation to examine motives so that taking the bread and cup becomes a healing act rather than an act that compounds judgment. The five simple images—God’s love, human wandering, the cross as crossroads, the choice, and the flame of new life—compress both diagnosis and remedy into a practical path: remove the mask, reveal the truth, kneel before God, and receive renewal through Christ’s sacrifice. The piece closes with an urgent pastoral call to forsake pretense now rather than face exposure later, offering tangible pathways (confession, kneeling, communion) to align inner reality with outward devotion.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Sin finds camouflage futile Concealment may soothe shame briefly, but contrived identities and excuses only postpone exposure. Honest spiritual diagnosis requires naming what the costume hides and refusing the comfort of appearances. Truth-telling before God interrupts the cycle that turns private sin into public ruin. [49:11]
• 2. God exposes all hidden hearts Divine seeing pierces every disguise; physical blindness does not restrict prophetic vision when God chooses to reveal. Exposure functions not merely to shame but to unmask what must be surrendered for restoration. Yielding before revelation invites mercy; stubbornness invites judgment. [68:10]
• 3. Every knee will ultimately bow Scripture insists that all creation will one day kneel and every tongue confess the Lord’s sovereignty. That final universal submission reframes daily choices: humility now avoids coerced submission later. Voluntary kneeling transforms accountability into worship rather than defeat. [87:15]
• 4. Kneel, confess, then receive Communion calls for self-examination so participation heals rather than condemns; confession clears the way for restorative grace. Kneeling makes the choice visible and anchors repentance in the body as well as the heart. Coming forward to name sin and receive the elements enacts the gospel’s exchange—sin taken, life given. [98:25]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [33:49] - Missionary Introduction
• [48:56] - Series: Facing Failure
• [49:11] - Hiding Since Eden
• [53:12] - Jeroboam’s Deception
• [63:05] - The Human Mask: Hypocrisy
• [68:10] - God Reveals What’s Hidden
• [87:15] - Every Knee Will Bow
• [92:17] - Call to Reveal and Kneel
• [98:25] - Communion and Self-Examination
• [102:22] - Closing Prayer and Dismissal

Bible reading
1 Kings 14:1-18 (ESV)
At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people. Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”
Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. And the Lord said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”
When she came, she pretended to be another woman. But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”
Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

Observation questions

1. What specific instructions did Jeroboam give his wife before she went to see the prophet Ahijah, and what items did he tell her to bring? [53:12]
2. What was the physical condition of the prophet Ahijah, and how did God communicate with him about the visitor? [54:03]
3. How did Ahijah know the true identity of his visitor before he could even see her, and what was his immediate response to her? [54:37]
4. According to the message from God, what were the specific consequences pronounced against Jeroboam and his household for his actions?

Interpretation questions

1. Why did Jeroboam, who knew Ahijah was a true prophet of God, choose a strategy of disguise and bribery instead of approaching him with honesty and repentance? [59:26]
2. The prophet’s physical blindness did not hinder God’s revelation. What does this contrast between physical sight and spiritual insight teach us about how God sees and reveals what is hidden in people's hearts? [01:08:10]
3. God’s judgment mentions that Jeroboam’s son would be the only one in the family to be buried with honor. What significance might this detail hold in the midst of such a severe pronouncement? [01:13:59]
4. Jesus said that nothing is covered up that will not be revealed (Luke 12:2). How does the story of Jeroboam’s wife serve as a living example of this New Testament principle? [01:16:06]

Application questions

1. What are the modern "fig leaves" or "costumes" people stitch together today to hide their failure or sin, such as a costume of busyness or a wig of fake confusion? [49:52] What costume have you been wearing recently to manage how others perceive you?
2. The name Abijah means "God is my father," which stood in stark contrast to Jeroboam's life. What does the disconnect between the name he gave his son and the life he lived reveal about the danger of pretending? [57:00] In what area of your life is there a similar disconnect between your outward identity and your inward reality that needs to be confessed?
3. The word "hypocrite" comes from Greek actors who held masks. What spiritual "mask" are you most tempted to hold up at church, in your small group, or at home to play a part and appear more righteous than you truly are? [01:04:41]
4. The invitation was given to physically kneel as an act of humbling the heart. [01:36:05] What would it look like for you to create a regular habit of kneeling, either physically or in your spirit, to voluntarily bow your heart before God in honesty instead of waiting until you are forced to?
5. Communion is a time for self-examination so that taking the bread and cup becomes a healing act rather than an act that compounds judgment. [01:38:25] What specific thing do you need to examine and confess in your heart before you next take communion so that you can receive it as a remedy and not a verdict?
6. The final, universal bowing of every knee is a certainty. [01:27:15] How does the reality that you will one day give an account for every hidden thing change the urgency with which you deal with sin and pretense in your life today?