1Ki 13:1 KJV
And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
A man of God came out of Judah. He came from the one tribe. He came directly to Jeroboam. God knew exactly where Jeroboam was and what he was doing.
1Ki 13:2 KJV
And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
He spoke the word of God and said to Jeroboam instead of you, there will be a child born who’s name is Josiah, and he will take the priest that I did not allow to do as you have (make sacrifices) and he will burn the priest that work for you on the altar; but it will be their own lives that will be sacrificed.
1Ki 13:3 KJV
And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
The young man said the altar will be torn and the ashes of what is burned shall be poured out.
1Ki 13:4 KJV
And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
JEROBOAM gave instructions and said lay hold on that man while pointing. JEROBOAM hand dried up or became paralyzed. He instructed others to grab him but his own hand was unable to move.
1Ki 13:5 KJV
The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
What he spoke happened the moment Jeroboam stretched forth his hand against the Word of the Lord. Also, the prophesy happened hundreds of years later.
1Ki 13:6 KJV
And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
Jeroboam said ask your God to heal me. God graciously healed him. The same hand that gave instructions to harm the man with the Word of God, God healed. Jeroboam wanted healing, but he did not want to change of heart of directions.
1Ki 13:7 KJV
And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
Jeroboam said come to my house and I will give you a reward. This is a practice today, that people who are in leadership sometimes thinks gifts or bribes makes friends and or build relationships. Still Jeroboam refused to pay attention to the prophesy.
1Ki 13:8 KJV
And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
The man of God said, No. No gift from you, great or good, is enough to make me disobey God.
1Ki 13:9 KJV
For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
The same God who told me to bring you the message is the same God who told me to tell you no. I CANNOT DO WHAT YOU’VE ASKED.
1Ki 13:10 KJV
So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
THE YOUNG MAN LEFT AND PROCEEDED TO GO HOME.
1Ki 13:11 KJV
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
Several sons of an old prophet came home and told their father what they saw happen to Jeroboam at the altar with the young prophet sent from God. They explained everything they saw or heard.
1Ki 13:12 KJV
And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
These sons said he went that way!!!! They watched the way the young man traveled. People watch us and we should want them to. Be accountable if need be. Ponder your path. Which way is God telling you to go and where did he tell you to be?
1Ki 13:13 KJV
And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
The old prophet went to catch up with him.
1Ki 13:14 KJV
And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
The old man caught up with him. And he did not deny who he was.👀
1Ki 13:15 KJV
Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
The old man offered him to go to his house. When God gives directions for you, follow God. Old age does merit ignoring God's word. If any man ask you to do something against God's instructions to you, follow God.
1Ki 13:16 KJV
And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
He told the truth.
1Ki 13:17 KJV
For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
He was trying to be respectful. And explained to the old man what God told him.
1Ki 13:18 KJV
He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
Some Older people tell lies. And they use God's name to do so.
1Ki 13:19 KJV
So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
He disobeyed instructions from God.
1Ki 13:20 KJV
And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
God now speaks through the old prophet .
1Ki 13:21 KJV
And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
You disobeyed the mouth of the Lord!! said God, through the old man.
1Ki 13:22 KJV
But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
The old man had no control over what was being spoken through him. This time he was not lying. The young prophet was wrong for leaving the path God had instructed for him to follow. The older prophet was wrong by misleading him. Some older people take advantage of their maturity in age and cause younger people to be mislead or even death. Tell the truth all the time, someone's life may be on the line.
1Ki 13:23 KJV
And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
The old man did not plea for the young man's life. He quickly told him it was time for him to leave. This time he did not tell his son to saddle the donkey. He got the donkey ready himself. This indicates that he was scared and perhaps did not want the prophesy he spoke, to take place in his house.
1Ki 13:24 KJV
And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
Imagine the lion explaining to the ass. Well, I had to do what God instructed. That's what he (the young prophet) should have done. It is better to obey than to be a sacrifice. How can I be animated writing this? I am learning that God means what he says. (and I am just made to see things comical, I can't help it) 😅
The lion killed the young prophet. He did not kill the ass. The ass and the Lion stood there with the slain body.
1Ki 13:25 KJV
And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
Others passed by and saw the lion. The lion was not instructed to do nothing at this time but to stand there in that spot. The people passed by and spread the word of what they saw.
1Ki 13:26 KJV
And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
The old man repeated the truth of what God spoke through him. I can only imagine if he learned anything. Does he feel he caused this young man to lose his life? Did he tell anyone he lied and misled the young man? Will he have to answer to God for the fate of this young man?
1Ki 13:27 KJV
And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
He prepares to leave home. His sons are told to prepare the donkey for him.
1Ki 13:28 KJV
And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
He saw what he had be informed of. The lion stood in the same spot not having eaten anything nor moved away from the dead body of the young man.
1Ki 13:29 KJV
And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
The old man attended to the body that others left in the street. The old man now grieves. He does right. Did he do everything that he should have done? Did he confess of lying and misleading the young man. Since the young listens to older, should older people be responsible for the lives we have misled? The only thing the old man offered the young man was a his grave. (SMH) It takes more than a mourn to stand before God for what your part played in the young man's life taken. God saw the details. We see the tears.
1Ki 13:30 KJV
And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
He lays the man's body in his grave. Is that enough? Yes, the Younger prophet life tells us that we should obey God rather than man. He lost his life. The old man's lesson for us is stop interfering with God's plan. Tell the truth!!!
1Ki 13:31 KJV
And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
The old man tells his sons to bury him in the same grave as the life he misled. What could have been his motive? Is God satisfied with his instructions. Should he have redeemed himself by telling his son that he was a major cause of the young man's life being taken. Did his sons know of what their father said to the young man? Who gained from this? We all lose when we disobey God. We all lose.
1Ki 13:32 KJV
For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
What the young prophet said, will come to pass. He lost his life but what he spoke will come to pass. Losing his life came to pass. What he said before he disobeyed will also come to pass. This is a Tragic situation.
1Ki 13:33 KJV
After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
This is the religious practice of the day. God's word is ignored. Men are servants of man. This is the promise God told the son of Noah; You ran to carry an ashamed act of seeing your father naked, more than you cared to cover him. Today We still do the same thing. We gossip more than we cover/or care. Lord, help us to see ourselves. Ordaining people as leaders to preach and they have not be taught the Word of God. We are so far from God until it amazes me how much He loves us still. Jeroboam is a spirit that attacks the church even now. Out of all that Jeroboam knew, he refused to change.
1Ki 13:34 KJV
And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
This story reminds me of the fig tree that Jesus cursed. No man will eat from you. When we refuse to comply to the word of God, no one will benefit from us or what we serve.
Lord help us. I cry out for leaders to turn from their wicked ways and follow your instructions. If they refuse, may they be removed from the position quickly and raise up leaders you appoint. Lord, give us leaders so that people will see, and be instructed about you. Lord save us. As Solomon prayed, we have left you. Hear our prayers. Lord, teach us your word. Help us to obey. Amen.
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