1 Kings 13:1-24
1 By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD : "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.' " 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: "This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out."
4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.
6 Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.
7 The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift."
8 But the man of God answered the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the LORD : 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.' 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
11 Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" "I am," he replied.
15 So the prophet said to him, "Come home with me and eat."
16 The man of God said, "I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the LORD : 'You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.' "
18 The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD : 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.' " (But he was lying to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.
20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: 'You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.' "
23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
This is a really interesting story about a unnamed man of God. The bible records that he was annointed and moved mightly as he was commanded by the word of God. With boldness, he proclaimed the word of God against the king at Bethel (house of God). Ordinarily, no one in his right mind would go and offend the king, but this man of God proclaimed what God instructed him and for that the king ordered his arrest. Immediately, God's judgement falls swiftly on the king and the king immediately recognised that he was indeed God's annointed servant and starts pleading for mercy.
At this juncture of the passage, I'm blessed that the story testifies that the God protects his chosen messengers/servant and at His will, no one would be capable of coming against his annointed.
This man of God showed high standards and intense focus in his life. Despite being offered the king's royal food and a gift, he turned it all down because he focused on the specific instructions to live his life. Admirably, he firmly pushed aside all offer, told the king not even an offer of half of the king's wealth would tempt him, and left Bethel.
Sadly, this man who started so well in Bethel, failed to end it on the same high note. The bible records that before he could go back to his destination, an old prophet came to him and seduced him with a lie, because he wanted to meet and know more about him. Without further ado, he proceeded to the old prophet's house and ate and drank with him. Thus, disobeying the orders of God required for his life.
The price for not keeping the commands of God was death and God sent a lion to kill him as he left the old prophet's house.
As I read this story, a few questions pop up. Why had God not punished the old prophet for his heineous lie instead? Why did the man of God so foolishly follow the old prophet? Why was the judgement of God so severe?
Yet, as I contemplate these questions, I recognise the following Godly requirements that echo throughout the bible: "Be alert", "Uncompromising standards", "God is a Serious God".
a. Alert - the bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion ready to devour. Sure the man was annointed, especially since he went to the "house of God" and prophesied in great annointing against the king. How awesome it must have been to everyone to see God's power and might in his life. How even more awesome he must have felt to be the vessel around which everything happened. However, when all this signs and wonders have faded away and he leaves the annointed place, he fails to stay alert.
Resting, under an oak tree from his personal walk back to his destination, he neglected to discern and check if the old prophet did speak the instructions of God. Sadly, for letting his guard down, and giving the old prophet the benefit of the doubt of being a man of God, he failed to live out God's required standards of his life. For that slip in alertness, he incurred God's judgement.
b. Uncompromising Standards - Since the time of Cain & Abel in Genesis 4, God has always shown Himself to be one of exacting, uncompromising standards. Leviticus 19:2 instructs us "Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy."
For this man of God, the standards required to live by were strict and specific. I believe that should he have continued to perservere and stay focused on his calling and God's orders in his life, he would have become a mighty man of God. Perhaps doing greater exploits for God that would exceed what he had earlier done in the first nine verses of this passage.
Similar to Samson's strict Nazirite standards (Judges 13:4-5), we see how God required such special individuals to be set-apart and distinct from all others. This meant that until God instructed otherwise, the man of God was to stay firm to the instructions commanding his calling in life. When God instructs us, we need to know that His standards expected of us are uncompromising, in spite of what others around us say or pressure us.
c. God is a serious God - I truely believe that the old prophet had sinned greatly against God by misleading the man of God to his death, and will be judged by God accordingly. However, unlike mankind, God does not look at this entire issue and emotionally make a call to pardon the man of God for his disobedience because of the sinful lie of the old prophet.
God takes everything seriously, especially when He gives specific instructions on us who have a purpose and destiny to fulfil. When He instructed Noah to enter the ark in Genesis 7 and sent the floodwaters, it must have been difficult not to feel anguish for the deaths of the rest of His creation. I am not God, but I do believe that because He is true to his word and hates sin, everything that God commands is serious to God as we see in Isaiah 55:11 - "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
Today as you meditate upon this story of the Man of God from Judah, may you inscribe deep in your heart to not let your guard down. Be alert and live excellently for God.
blessings
M.
"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:14
06 June 2006
The Man of God From Judah
1 Kings 13:1-24
1 By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD : "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.' " 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: "This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out."
4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.
6 Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.
7 The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift."
8 But the man of God answered the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the LORD : 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.' 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
11 Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" "I am," he replied.
15 So the prophet said to him, "Come home with me and eat."
16 The man of God said, "I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the LORD : 'You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.' "
18 The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD : 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.' " (But he was lying to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.
20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: 'You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.' "
23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
This is a really interesting story about a unnamed man of God. The bible records that he was annointed and moved mightly as he was commanded by the word of God. With boldness, he proclaimed the word of God against the king at Bethel (house of God). Ordinarily, no one in his right mind would go and offend the king, but this man of God proclaimed what God instructed him and for that the king ordered his arrest. Immediately, God's judgement falls swiftly on the king and the king immediately recognised that he was indeed God's annointed servant and starts pleading for mercy.
At this juncture of the passage, I'm blessed that the story testifies that the God protects his chosen messengers/servant and at His will, no one would be capable of coming against his annointed.
This man of God showed high standards and intense focus in his life. Despite being offered the king's royal food and a gift, he turned it all down because he focused on the specific instructions to live his life. Admirably, he firmly pushed aside all offer, told the king not even an offer of half of the king's wealth would tempt him, and left Bethel.
Sadly, this man who started so well in Bethel, failed to end it on the same high note. The bible records that before he could go back to his destination, an old prophet came to him and seduced him with a lie, because he wanted to meet and know more about him. Without further ado, he proceeded to the old prophet's house and ate and drank with him. Thus, disobeying the orders of God required for his life.
The price for not keeping the commands of God was death and God sent a lion to kill him as he left the old prophet's house.
As I read this story, a few questions pop up. Why had God not punished the old prophet for his heineous lie instead? Why did the man of God so foolishly follow the old prophet? Why was the judgement of God so severe?
Yet, as I contemplate these questions, I recognise the following Godly requirements that echo throughout the bible: "Be alert", "Uncompromising standards", "God is a Serious God".
a. Alert - the bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion ready to devour. Sure the man was annointed, especially since he went to the "house of God" and prophesied in great annointing against the king. How awesome it must have been to everyone to see God's power and might in his life. How even more awesome he must have felt to be the vessel around which everything happened. However, when all this signs and wonders have faded away and he leaves the annointed place, he fails to stay alert.
Resting, under an oak tree from his personal walk back to his destination, he neglected to discern and check if the old prophet did speak the instructions of God. Sadly, for letting his guard down, and giving the old prophet the benefit of the doubt of being a man of God, he failed to live out God's required standards of his life. For that slip in alertness, he incurred God's judgement.
b. Uncompromising Standards - Since the time of Cain & Abel in Genesis 4, God has always shown Himself to be one of exacting, uncompromising standards. Leviticus 19:2 instructs us "Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy."
For this man of God, the standards required to live by were strict and specific. I believe that should he have continued to perservere and stay focused on his calling and God's orders in his life, he would have become a mighty man of God. Perhaps doing greater exploits for God that would exceed what he had earlier done in the first nine verses of this passage.
Similar to Samson's strict Nazirite standards (Judges 13:4-5), we see how God required such special individuals to be set-apart and distinct from all others. This meant that until God instructed otherwise, the man of God was to stay firm to the instructions commanding his calling in life. When God instructs us, we need to know that His standards expected of us are uncompromising, in spite of what others around us say or pressure us.
c. God is a serious God - I truely believe that the old prophet had sinned greatly against God by misleading the man of God to his death, and will be judged by God accordingly. However, unlike mankind, God does not look at this entire issue and emotionally make a call to pardon the man of God for his disobedience because of the sinful lie of the old prophet.
God takes everything seriously, especially when He gives specific instructions on us who have a purpose and destiny to fulfil. When He instructed Noah to enter the ark in Genesis 7 and sent the floodwaters, it must have been difficult not to feel anguish for the deaths of the rest of His creation. I am not God, but I do believe that because He is true to his word and hates sin, everything that God commands is serious to God as we see in Isaiah 55:11 - "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
Today as you meditate upon this story of the Man of God from Judah, may you inscribe deep in your heart to not let your guard down. Be alert and live excellently for God.
blessings
M.
"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:14
1 By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD : "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.' " 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: "This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out."
4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.
6 Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.
7 The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift."
8 But the man of God answered the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the LORD : 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.' 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
11 Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. 12 Their father asked them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. 13 So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it 14 and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" "I am," he replied.
15 So the prophet said to him, "Come home with me and eat."
16 The man of God said, "I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 I have been told by the word of the LORD : 'You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.' "
18 The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD : 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.' " (But he was lying to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.
20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: 'You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.' "
23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
This is a really interesting story about a unnamed man of God. The bible records that he was annointed and moved mightly as he was commanded by the word of God. With boldness, he proclaimed the word of God against the king at Bethel (house of God). Ordinarily, no one in his right mind would go and offend the king, but this man of God proclaimed what God instructed him and for that the king ordered his arrest. Immediately, God's judgement falls swiftly on the king and the king immediately recognised that he was indeed God's annointed servant and starts pleading for mercy.
At this juncture of the passage, I'm blessed that the story testifies that the God protects his chosen messengers/servant and at His will, no one would be capable of coming against his annointed.
This man of God showed high standards and intense focus in his life. Despite being offered the king's royal food and a gift, he turned it all down because he focused on the specific instructions to live his life. Admirably, he firmly pushed aside all offer, told the king not even an offer of half of the king's wealth would tempt him, and left Bethel.
Sadly, this man who started so well in Bethel, failed to end it on the same high note. The bible records that before he could go back to his destination, an old prophet came to him and seduced him with a lie, because he wanted to meet and know more about him. Without further ado, he proceeded to the old prophet's house and ate and drank with him. Thus, disobeying the orders of God required for his life.
The price for not keeping the commands of God was death and God sent a lion to kill him as he left the old prophet's house.
As I read this story, a few questions pop up. Why had God not punished the old prophet for his heineous lie instead? Why did the man of God so foolishly follow the old prophet? Why was the judgement of God so severe?
Yet, as I contemplate these questions, I recognise the following Godly requirements that echo throughout the bible: "Be alert", "Uncompromising standards", "God is a Serious God".
a. Alert - the bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion ready to devour. Sure the man was annointed, especially since he went to the "house of God" and prophesied in great annointing against the king. How awesome it must have been to everyone to see God's power and might in his life. How even more awesome he must have felt to be the vessel around which everything happened. However, when all this signs and wonders have faded away and he leaves the annointed place, he fails to stay alert.
Resting, under an oak tree from his personal walk back to his destination, he neglected to discern and check if the old prophet did speak the instructions of God. Sadly, for letting his guard down, and giving the old prophet the benefit of the doubt of being a man of God, he failed to live out God's required standards of his life. For that slip in alertness, he incurred God's judgement.
b. Uncompromising Standards - Since the time of Cain & Abel in Genesis 4, God has always shown Himself to be one of exacting, uncompromising standards. Leviticus 19:2 instructs us "Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy."
For this man of God, the standards required to live by were strict and specific. I believe that should he have continued to perservere and stay focused on his calling and God's orders in his life, he would have become a mighty man of God. Perhaps doing greater exploits for God that would exceed what he had earlier done in the first nine verses of this passage.
Similar to Samson's strict Nazirite standards (Judges 13:4-5), we see how God required such special individuals to be set-apart and distinct from all others. This meant that until God instructed otherwise, the man of God was to stay firm to the instructions commanding his calling in life. When God instructs us, we need to know that His standards expected of us are uncompromising, in spite of what others around us say or pressure us.
c. God is a serious God - I truely believe that the old prophet had sinned greatly against God by misleading the man of God to his death, and will be judged by God accordingly. However, unlike mankind, God does not look at this entire issue and emotionally make a call to pardon the man of God for his disobedience because of the sinful lie of the old prophet.
God takes everything seriously, especially when He gives specific instructions on us who have a purpose and destiny to fulfil. When He instructed Noah to enter the ark in Genesis 7 and sent the floodwaters, it must have been difficult not to feel anguish for the deaths of the rest of His creation. I am not God, but I do believe that because He is true to his word and hates sin, everything that God commands is serious to God as we see in Isaiah 55:11 - "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
Today as you meditate upon this story of the Man of God from Judah, may you inscribe deep in your heart to not let your guard down. Be alert and live excellently for God.
blessings
M.
"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:14
