Chapter 163. 1 Kings 13. The Disobedient Prophet.
ONE day Jeroboam was standing by the altar he had made at Bethel, burning incense. A prophet of God came from Judah, and went to the altar and cried, “O altar, thus saith the Lord: there shall be born a King in Judah named Josiah, and upon thee shall he offer the priests that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.” Then the altar was rent and the ashes poured out as a sign to show Jeroboam that the prophet came from God. The king was angry, he did not like to hear that his altar should be destroyed, and he put out his hand, saying to his men, “Lay hold on him!” But the wicked king had no power to hurt God’s prophet. The hand dried up, and Jeroboam had not strength to bring it down again.
The king was frightened when he looked at his withered hand, and found he could not use it. He begged the prophet to pray for him that his hand might be healed. The man of God prayed and God in His mercy heard and healed the hand. Jeroboam asked him to go home with him to eat and drink and receive a reward, but the prophet refused. He would not eat and drink with him, nor with any in that place, if the king offered him half his house. God had forbidden him; he was to be entirely separate from them. He would show in this way that he took God’s part against evil. He would not be partaker of their evil deeds.
His mission fulfilled, the man of God started for home by another way than the one he came to Bethel.
There was an old prophet who lived at Bethel. When his sons came home that day they told him the wonderful story of the prophet who came from Judah. The old man knew God had sent the stranger and wanted to see him. He asked his sons which way the man had gone, and having saddled his ass, the old prophet rode after him. Before long he saw the man he was looking for, sitting under an oak tree, and begged him to come to his house. But the man refused. “I must not,” he said, “for God commanded me to eat no bread and drink no water here, nor return by the way I came.” Then the prophet from Bethel said, “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.’” This was not the truth and the man of God should have known it, had he inquired of the Lord. Had he said, “Lord, shall I go with his man? Hast Thou sent him after me?” God would surely have made His will known to him. Probably he wanted to believe the old prophet; after a long journey, sitting down at the table to a substantial meal seemed good to him. He followed the prophet back to Bethel, and sat down with him to eat and drink.
King Solomon, among the wise sayings he wrote, says, “If sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” Our own sinful hearts love sin better than righteousness and holiness, for they are evil, and respond to the evil. We need to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:1313And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:13)), and also “Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust.” (Psa. 16:11<<Michtam of David.>> Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. (Psalm 16:1).)
Punishment was soon to overtake the disobedient prophet. God had seen all he did. His eye is ever upon us. Wherever we go, whatever we do, He knows all. When we obey His word, and trust Him to guide us in all our ways, then His blessing follows us, and we are safe wherever we go. But if we are disobedient to Him, and forget or rebel against His commands, we cannot expect His blessing, or His smile of approval.
God sent a sad message to the old man, while they were all sitting at the table. “Thus saith the Lord,” he cried to the man of Judah, “for as much as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, ... . thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy fathers.”
When they had finished eating, the prophet saddled the ass for the man of God, who departed. On the way God sent a lion to meet him and kill him. But the lion did not kill the ass nor devour the dead body.
The people who passed by soon came and told the sad story to the old prophet. He knew why the man of God was slain, and he felt very sorry and went directly to the place where the body lay. There stood the lion and the ass on the side of it, for the Lord had not allowed the lion to tear the body or harm the ass.
The old man took up the body and laid it on the ass and took it home. He buried it in his own tomb and mourned over it, crying, “Alas! my brother.” He told his sons when he himself was dead they must bury him in the same grave, for he felt assured that the prophecy against Bethel and against the altar would come true.
The poor old prophet must have been very unhappy when he saw the result of his wicked lie. He was the cause of this man’s death; he had led him to do wrong. May the Lord keep all of His own, old or young, from leading others to do the same thing, whether in words or merely by their example.
ML 10/01/1916