The Book of first kings

Chapter 13

[1] 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.
[2] 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.
[3] 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.
[4] 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.
[5] 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.
[6] 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.
[7] And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
[8] 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:
[9] 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.
[10] So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

1) Prophecy (Vs 1-10)

Intro: Israel has split in two as the judgment of God is executed over Solomon’s sins

Jeroboam is king over the N tribes of Israel and leads in idolatry, Rehoboam (Solomons son) is king over Judah

* The message is preeminent over the messenger

A man of God, a witnessing stranger, out of Judah is sent to King Jeroboam to proclaim the Word of God

He finds Jeroboam practicing idolatry and cries against the altar and pronounces judgment

There is to come a child from the house of David, Josiah by name, that will destroy idolatrous altars

Judgment will come to Jeroboam and the N Kingdom, thru a king from Judah

Fulfilled about 340 years later 2 K 23:15-20

An immediate sign is given to confirm the words to the present hearers

The idolatrous altar will be split and the ashes poured out

King Jeroboam, rather than respond to the message decides to silence the messenger

The King raises his hand to the man of God and says “Lay hold on him”

But suddenly the King’s hand froze and was paralyzed and he could not use it further

The idolatrous altar that he was using was split in two and the ashes were poured out

King Jeroboam asks the man of God to entreat the Lord your God

The King is not calling on his golden calves that he set up .....“behold thy gods, O Israel”

The man of God prayed a prayer of intercession for his persecutor & Jeroboams hand was restored

Yet, the King still did not repent, but rather offered the man of God a reward

The man of God refused the reward based on his prior warning from God (no compromise)

[11] 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.
[12] 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.
[13] And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
[14] 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.
[15] Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
[16] 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:
[17] 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.
[18] 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.
[19] So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

2) Persuasion (Vs 11-19)

There was an old prophet that dwelt at Bethel, in the N Kingdom (other priests had left but not this man)

* I wonder what he was doing in a time of idolatry (his sons surrounded by it / involved in it?)

The old prophet found the man of God under an oak tree and invited him back home

The man of God refused based on the same pretense and prior warning God had given him

The old prophet lied & said that an angel had given the word of the Lord to bring the man of God back

The man of God, under the oak, fatigued, faint and fasting accepted the old prophets words as truth

* Out of respect for the older, for the spiritual experience of angels, “word of the Lord”, & its just bread

Gal 1:6-8 God will not contradict Himself & 2 Cor 11:14,15- Joseph Smith & Mormonism, false prophet

The Man of God’s duty was to resist & be obedient to the Word of God (1Jn 4:1 try the spirits)1Th5:21

When he failed he lost his testimony, his witness, his usefulness (2 Tim 2:21 vessel of honor lost)

[20] 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:
[21] 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,
[22] 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.
[23] 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.
[24] 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.
[25] 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.
[26] 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.
[27] And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
[28] 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.
[29] 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.
[30] And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
[31] 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:
[32] 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.

3) Penalty of Sin (Vs 20-32)

The man of God was sitting at the table with the old prophet eating when the Word of the Lord came

The old prophet says “because of disobedience, you will die and not go home to be buried with fathers”

To be unburied is considered a curse – (1 P 4:17 judgment)– sin unto death (I Jn 5:16,17)

The man of God, now harshly judged of God, was given a saddled donkey and proceeded to leave

As when he was gone away, there a lion met him by the way and slew him

As the lion stands by the corpse, the donkey is unhurt and stands by, people pass & gaze upon it

The lion may represent the devil allowed to finish the man of God

The lion may represent the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who has taken the life of the man of God

The old prophet went and gathered the corpse and laid the body in the old prophets own grave

Though he lied, led him into sin, prophesied judgment, he respected & confirmed the prophecy

The man of God may be dead BUT the Word of the Lord still stands

[33] 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.
[34] 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.

4) Practice (Vs 33,34)

King Jeroboam did not repent, rather he ignored the warning totally and plunged deeper into sin

An opportunity with great potential (1 K 11:38) squandered and now he is a curse (2 K 17:21-23)

King was a sinful failure despite great blessing & great favor. He sold out for political advantage

The king led the nation into idolatry despite clear warnings to repent, paralyzing judgment and victorious deliverance, the king continued on in sin

Disobedience to God- Whether King, Prophet or People will have consequences and will be dealt with