1 Kings 13: 1-10:
A man of God came from Judah to Bethel by a revelation from the Lord while Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense. The man of God cried out against the altar by a revelation from the Lord: “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says, ‘A son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’ ” He gave a sign that day. He said, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘The altar will now be ripped apart, and the ashes that are on it will be spilled out.’ “
When the king heard the word that the man of God had cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Arrest him!” But the hand he stretched out against him withered, and he could not pull it back to himself. The altar was ripped apart, and the ashes spilled off the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
Then the king responded to the man of God, “Please plead for the favor of the Lord your God and pray for me so that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God pleaded for the favor of the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it had been at first. Then the king declared to the man of God, “Come home with me, refresh yourself, and I’ll give you a reward.”
But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your house, I still wouldn’t go with you, and I wouldn’t eat bread or drink water in this place, for this is what I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or go back the way you came.’ “
So he went another way; he did not go back by the way he had come to Bethel.
Fast forward a few verses. They go back and tell a “certain old prophet” all the events that just occurred. The prophet has them ready a donkey to go after the “man of God.” We pick back up in verse 14.
He followed the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “I am,” he said. Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
But he answered, “I cannot go back with you, eat bread, or drink water with you in this place, for a message came to me by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or go back by the way you came.’ “
He said to him, “I am also a prophet like you. An angel spoke 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.’ ” The old prophet deceived him, and the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water. -I Kings 13:14-19
What do you think happens to this man of God? God told him specifically what to do, but then another comes claiming that God had spoken to him and said something different. He used food, water, friendship to deceive the man of God. The guy said “I am just like you.” He said: I know what God wants.
Can you imagine? How much do we see this today? “I know God and I know what he really wants for your life.” People in authority, leadership, friends, etc. all sharing what they know to be “true” of God. Who are we listening to? Man or the HOLY, PERFECT GOD of LOVE?!?!?
As you can imagine, the story does not end well for the “Man of God” as he trusted the one who said he was speaking on behalf of God.
We pick up again in I Kings 13:20-26:
While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back, and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you rebelled against the command of the Lord and did not keep the commandment that the Lord your God commanded you, but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place that He said to you: Do not eat bread and do not drink water, your corpse will never reach the grave of your fathers.’ “
So after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, the old prophet saddled the donkey for the prophet he had brought back. When he left, a lion met him along the way and killed him. His corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it; the lion was standing beside the corpse too.
There were men passing by who saw the corpse thrown on the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and spoke [about it] in the city where the old prophet lived.
When the prophet who had brought him back from his way heard [about it], he said, “He is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the Lord. The Lord has given him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord that He spoke to him.”
This story is gut-wrenching. We live in a timeline where countless individuals profess that they are doing God’s work, but who are they listening to? Do you truly know? Do their actions match up with what you know to be true of the LORD? Are you seeking community with God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus daily to know if something is truly off? Who was held accountable? The deceiver or the “man of God”? It only takes a little doubt, a little seed to get you to question what you know is truth. It is so easy to slip into beliefs that sound reasonable and then you have crossed over to beliefs that God never intended for you to know. We see this all the time in the Bible from Eden to Judas, good people being led astray by what they feel are things God would want until we are faced with the consequence of death.
God is a generous, giving and loving God, but somewhere along the way, we have fallen prey to the “wrath and fear.” We have this desire to control others and force them to live in a way we think is best (most times, out of fear). Was the “old prophet” doing a bad thing? He was offering food and water. If you were the man of God, would you believe that God told him to do so? We need to be individuals who are in constant communion with God so that we realize the freedom from fear that HE offers. God alone.
This age we are living in has gotten a little absurd. We listen to politicians because they say they are of God without ever questioning if that is something God wants. We share hate on social media misrepresenting the God of the universe while shouting his name. I am friends with a lot of non-Christians, and their impression of God right now is not great. This makes me weep. As the church, we have aligned ourselves with a political party that is knowingly “oppressing” children of God. Sit with that. Ask yourself did God really want that budget bill to pass? Does God really want immigrants locked in cages for an indifinite time for committing a misdemeanor? Can immigrants also be Christians? or all just murderers? You are allowed to have the beliefs you have-I am no way saying that. I am just asking, did they come from God or did they come from the “old prophet that deceives?”
How should we act?
Titus 2:7-8:
in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.
Are we living in a way that others do not have anything bad to say about us?
Titus 2:11-14:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.
Prayer
Father God, please forgive us. Forgive us that we did not heed your warning in 2 Timothy 3:2-5 and “avoid” the deceivers. Forgive us that we have not been “eager” to do good, but instead did what was popular or easy. Forgive us Lord. Help us to only HEAR, SEE and DO as you would want us to do. Please forgive us for our transgressions. Help us to be your light to others. Help us to remember you died for ALL sins and bring salvation to ALL. Help us to remember you awe-inspiring LOVE. We LOVE you Lord. Help us to do your good works and remember your UNCHANGING word throughout our days. Amen
