1 Kings 13: Man of God Part 2

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Kings 13:7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, 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 ancestors.’”

In Part 1, this man of God stood up to the king. King Jeroboam was afraid that if the people of the Nation of Israel had to travel into Judah to attend Temple, it would cause a loyalty shift away from King Jeroboam and Israel to Rehoboam [king of Judah] and Judah. So he built his own religion, built two temples, and furnished each with an alter and a golden calf. When God sent this man of God to tell him that his religions were wrong and had to go.... king Jeroboam threw out his arm as he issued the command to arrest the man of God. But the arm he drew back was useless. Just like the alter that broke in two at that moment [as prophesied by the man of god]allowing all that ash to drop to the ground. Jeroboam then begged the man of god to heal his arm. Jeroboam wasn't so interested in having the man of God arrested any more.

This is from the easy English site.

This is a very unusual story. The prophet from Judah refused the king’s invitation, but he accepted the old prophet’s invitation. Perhaps he thought that the old prophet from Bethel was telling the truth. In fact he was lying. He told the prophet from Judah that an angel had told him to give his invitation. When people talk to us about God, we need to be careful. Paul says this in Galatians 1:8. ‘We taught you the good news about Christ. Let God punish us if we teach you something different. Let God punish even an angel from heaven who teaches something different.’ We must compare everything with what the Bible teaches. People may say that they are teaching God’s truth. But not all of them actually are.

The prophet from Judah trusted the old prophet. And so he (the prophet from Judah) did not obey the instructions that God had given to him. That was a very foolish decision. The prophet from Judah had received God’s word. And he had seen that the message was right, because of the sign in verse 5. But the prophet from Judah wanted to eat the meal. So he went with the older prophet. We may often think that God is guiding us. This is often the case when we want to do something. But we should not just follow our own desires. We should find out what God wants.

The old prophet had lied. But that did not mean that he was unable to prophesy. He gave a genuine prophecy from God. The prophet from Judah would die because he had not obeyed God.

This is from blueletterbible.org.

If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place: The man of God refused the invitation, based on a prior warning from God. To accept Jeroboam's invitation would demonstrate fellowship with his idolatry.

So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water: The man of God from Judah listened to the lie from the prophet of Bethel. He did this for several reasons:

  • - The prophet from Bethel was probably older (an old prophet, 1 Kings 13:11) and had the respect of the man of God.
  • - The prophet from Bethel identified with the man of God (I too am a prophet as you are).
  • - The prophet from Bethel claimed a spectacular experience (an angel spoke to me).
  • - The prophet from Bethel claimed to speak for the LORD (by the word of the LORD).
  • - The prophet from Bethel did not seem to be an idolater who should be shunned (Bring him back with you to your house).
  • - The prophet from Bethel offered no reward, other than simple food (he may eat bread and drink water).

Sometimes.... even someone claiming to be a man of God can be telling lies.

:coffee:
 
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