Hemet Conference: 1994
Table of Contents
Incidents in Abraham's Life
Chronology of the Church
What is in Thine House
The Man of God and Old Prophet of Bethel
Address—C. Hendricks
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This is a sad chapter when we read.
The beginning of Solomon.
How He began with the Lord and.
Didn't ask for fame or riches but.
For wisdom to lead and guide the people.
And the Lord.
He appreciated that he was.
And he blessed Solomon.
But now he's old.
And we read some.
Sad Things, 1 Kings 11.
But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians and Hittites.
Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go into them.
Neither shall they come in unto you.
Or surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clave unto these in love.
And he had 700 wives, princesses and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
For it came to pass when Solomon was old.
That is, wives turned away as hard after other gods.
And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
For Solomon went after Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milkham the abomination.
Of the Ammonites.
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chimash, the abomination of Moab?
In the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense, and sacrificed unto their gods.
And the Lord was angry with Solomon.
Because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.
And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods.
But he kept not that which the Lord commanded.
Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, For as much as this is done of thee.
And thou hast not kept my covenant in my statutes which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the Kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
Notwithstanding in thy days, I will not do it for David thy father's sake, but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.
Howbeit I will not render way all the Kingdom, but will give one tribe to thy son for David.
My servant's sake and for Jerusalem's sake, which I have chosen.
And the Lord stirred up.
An adversary unto Solomon, Hedad the Edomite.
I'm not going to read all those details again. We read in verse 23 and God stirred him up. Another adversary reason, the son of Eliade, which fled from his Lord had it easier. King of Zobah.
The Lord was angry with Solomon because he.
Went after other gods.
This is something that David never did. David failed, yes, but he never failed in turning away from the Lord like Solomon did.
And we're going to read about a division that came in.
It was the government of God against.
The unfaithfulness that existed there at the divine center.
We've gone through a division.
And I think we can say as we read here.
The Lord has been displeased with our state as He was displeased with.
Those there at the divine center.
The thing began there. The failure began there. The departure began there.
And we don't have to look beyond ourselves to see.
How that departure has come in?
Solomon was so blessed.
As he began.
But he didn't end well.
Remember an old brother?
Used to say to us, the laborer and the work.
Pray for this old man that he doesn't die a wicked old man.
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Well.
Let's read on.
It says in verse 25 he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon.
Beside the mischief that Hadad did.
And he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria.
These enemies got an advantage over Solomon, and they afflicted him and were adversaries to him because.
God was angry with Solomon for his departure, displeased with him.
And so the enemy came in.
Now, verse 26.
And Jeroboam the son of Nebat and Ephrathite of Zerida.
Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.
And this was the 'cause that he lifted up his hand against the king.
Solomon built Milo and repaired the breaches of the city of David, his father.
And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor.
Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the House of Joseph.
And it came to pass at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah, the Shiloh knight, found him in the way.
And he had clad himself with a new garment.
They too were alone in the field and Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him and rented in 12 pieces.
And he said to Jeroboam, Take the 10 pieces. For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the Kingdom.
Out of the hand of Solomon, and will give 10 tribes to thee.
This was all God's doing.
It was discipline, it was punishment, it was chastening against those that were unfaithful at Jerusalem.
And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee 10 pieces. For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the Kingdom.
Out of the hand of Solomon will give 10 pieces to thee, but he shall have one tribe for my servant.
David's sake and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
Because that they have forsaken me and have worshiped Ashtaroth, the goddess of Zidonians, Chmush, the God of the Moabites.
And Milcombe, the God of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways to do that which is right in mine eyes.
And to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
We often attend. We tend to.
To those that have left the divine center.
And fault them.
Forgetting as it happened here.
That the cause for the division.
We can trace to ourselves.
To the worldliness that has come in the departure, it was so here.
I believe it has been so.
Of late as well.
I will take the Kingdom out of His Son's hand, verse 35, and will give it unto thee even 10 tribes.
And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant, may have a light all way before me in Jerusalem.
The city which I have chosen me to put my name there.
And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shall be king over Israel.
From this point on, after the tribes were divided and the 10 went to Jeroboam and two to Rehoboam.
The 10 tribes are called Israel or Ephraim. They're referred to.
And the two tribes, Judah, Judah and Benjamin.
And it shall be if thou wilt notice what he says to Jeroboam. The Lord is speaking, He says, If it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto me.
Unto all that I command thee, and will walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, that I will be with thee.
And build the assure house as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.
Wonderful blessings, he's promising to Jeroboam.
Sad to say, Jeroboam didn't have the heart to walk in the way of the Lord.
He departed very grievously.
And then the Lord says, I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not forever.
When a division happens among the Saints of God, no one wins.
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We're all losers.
And so it was here.
I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not forever.
Solomon sought therefore, to kill Jeroboam.
And Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt unto Shishak, king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
And the rest of the Acts of Solomon, and all that he did in his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the Acts of Solomon?
And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years.
And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son, reigned in his stead.
Now that chapter 12.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
Son of Solomon Rehoboam.
It came to pass when Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it.
For he was fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt.
That they sent and called him, and Jeroboam, and all the congregation of Israel came and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy Father made our yoke grievous. Now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father in his heavy yoke, which he put upon us lighter.
And we will serve thee.
And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
And King Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon, his father.
While he yet lived and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
And they spake unto him, saying, If thou will be a servant unto this people this day, and will serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever.
But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him. Notice that expression, the young men that were grown up with him.
And which stood before him.
And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put?
Upon us, lighter.
And the young men that were grown up with him, again, it's mentioned.
Spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people, that spake unto these sayings, Thy Father made our yoke heavy.
But make thou it lighter unto us. Thou shalt thou say unto them, my little finger.
Shall be thicker than my father's loins.
And now, whereas my father did laid you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke.
My Father hath chastised you with whips, I will chastise you with scorpions.
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying come to me again the third day.
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old man's counsel that they gave him.
And spake to them, after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke. My father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people, for the cause was from the Lord.
It says in one passage in Chronicles it was of the Lord, but that's an error.
That Mister Darby renders that it was from the Lord. The vision is not of the Lord, The vision is of Satan.
But it could be from the Lord. Here it was from the Lord difference the Lord sent it.
But it's never of God.
What God instituted and established in the beginning was unity.
And.
The enemy comes in.
And does his work.
Well.
So when all Israel saw that, the king hearkened not unto them. Verse 16.
The people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David?
Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. What a sad thing to read.
These 10 tribes. If you go back into the Book of Judges, you'll find that there was.
There was conflict between the 10 tribes and the two way back. If you can trace this back didn't just happen here. It's traced to the failure of Solomon. Yes, but there was there was friction between the 10 tribes and the two. You can trace it out in the book of Judges.
But now it comes to a head and when something like we've gone through of late.
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Happens and develops. There are things that have happened way back, way back.
Things that are being that have been harbored in hearts and bitterness and.
I'll feeling and whatever and there comes a time when it all comes to a head.
And the Lord brings it to that point when something has happened, like it did in Solomon's life.
That causes the Lord to be very angry.
We can only go so long, you know, in disobedience.
Then we have to pay.
For our wayward ways.
And so it was here with Israel.
Verse 16 again. So when all Israel saw that, the king hearkened not unto them.
He spoke very roughly unto them. You would have to say, not only was Solomon the cause of this division, but Rehoboam the way he spoke to them.
But it was from the Lord that it should be.
That this should happen because it was God that was behind the scenes, moving all the scenes that he was behind.
And he was now chastening Israel, afflicting them.
Even as we have been afflicted.
What are we to do then?
Give up. Oh no.
There was still a center. He never abandoned Jerusalem.
He took ten of the tribes away, gave them to Jeroboam.
That he never abandoned the divine center.
Never will.
And when they said we have no portion in David, what portion have we in David?
Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse.
The intent? So Israel.
Now see to thine own house, David.
So Israel departed unto their tents, and that division has never been healed to this day. It will be in a coming day. The two sticks will be made one, we're told.
And Israel will be reunited, the 10 tribes and the two.
Israel will be 1 again in the Millennium. What a day awaits them of blessing.
But As for the children of Israel, which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute.
And all Israel stoned him with stones that he died.
Therefore, King Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot and flee to Jerusalem.
So Israel rebelled against the House of David unto this day.
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel.
There was none that followed the House of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the House of Judah.
With the Tribe of Benjamin and 104 score 1000 chosen men.
Which were warriors to fight against the House of Israel, to bring the Kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.
But the word of God came unto Shemaya, the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.
King of Judah, and unto all the House of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying.
Thus saith the Lord, ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren, the children of Israel.
Return every man to his house.
For this thing is from.
They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart according.
To the word of the Lord. It's beautiful to read that with all the failure that we have recorded, we rebond spoke to the people, not according to the council of the old men, but of the young, the ones that he was brought up with.
Now he listens to the Prophet.
And he submits to the hand of God in government. Hear the rod, and who hath appointed it?
It's a good thing to bow onto the chastening, disciplining hand of God.
And owning, we have sinned.
Then Jeroboam built Shechem.
In Mount Ephraim and dwelt therein.
And went out from fence and built Penuel.
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the Kingdom return to the House of David. God had said to Jeroboam, If you'll walk in obedience to me, I'll build you a sure house, I'll establish you, I will bless you. But now Jeroboam gets to thinking, he gets to reasoning. And he says, If this people go up to do sacrifice in the House of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord. That was the only place they really could worship.
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On divine ground that it was at Jerusalem.
And he says if they do that, they'll go back to the House of David.
So now he gets the machinery into motion and he begins to invent things.
That would prevent that, the very thing that he did.
To prevent it.
Is the very thing that brought judgment upon them.
If this people go up to do sacrifice in the House of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord.
Even unto Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me.
And go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah, whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold.
He didn't just set up another center.
When the enemy imitates the truth of God, he always imitates it wrongly.
He set up two centers, one at Dan at the northern part of the land, one at Bethel in the southern part.
So when he imitated, he didn't just imitate with one center, he imitated with two.
Two calves. Where did they learn that from?
Remember when Moses was up in the mount receiving the 10 commandments from Jehovah?
Aaron made a golden calf at the insistence of the people and they danced around it in the very first 3 commandments were broken there.
They made a graven image. They made another God. They called that other God.
A feast of Jehovah.
Took the name of the Lord in vain.
Now here we have this calf again, two of them this time that Jeroboam set up.
Of gold and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.
Behold thy gods, O Israel, as anything like this happened in Christendom. Oh, it's everywhere.
Man has seen the failure, and he thinks that that justifies him now to.
Set up something different from what God ordained in His Word.
Were never justified, no matter how much failures come in on our part to depart from the Word of God.
What are we to do? Own our failure, Own our departure. Judge ourselves, but go on in the truth of God. Remain at the divine center.
And then he says, Behold thy gods of Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
That though, means the House of God, and Dan means God will judge.
And he certainly will.
He will judge everything that man sets up, and the will in his own will, an independency of God.
And he will judge it.
And this thing became a sin.
For the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
And he made an House of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month. The Feast of Tabernacles was in the seventh month.
But he ordained a feast in the eighth month on the 15th day of the month.
Like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar.
So did he and Bethel, sacrificing under the calves that he had made.
And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the 15th day of the 8th month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart, and ordained A feast unto the children of Israel. And he offered upon the altar and burnt incense.
So now we have the division that has taken place.
2 new centers of worship has been established in the northern and southern part of the land.
And.
We've read what Jeroboam did. He didn't follow the Lord as he was told, and so he forfeited the blessing.
And we read the formula Jeroboam, the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin. Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin, over and over and over again.
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The 10 tribes had a very bad beginning. Solomon had a beautiful beginning.
Not a good ending.
But they didn't even have a good beginning.
Remember when the Lord talked to the woman of Samaria, she said Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
The Lord said he worship, you know, not what he never owned. Sumerian never owned Samaria.
Ye worship, ye know not what we know, what we worship for salvation is of the Jews.
The very Messiah came through that people, the Jews, the son of David.
Salvation is of the Jews.
And God never owned Samaria.
Now in chapter 13 and that's what I want to get to.
And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah.
By the word of the Lord, notice that expression will come across it over and over again in this chapter.
By the word of the Lord.
Unto Bethel, that rival center, which was closest to Jerusalem.
And Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. There's the king. He speaks of the world. He speaks of the head of that.
New nation that had been formed by rebellion against.
Rehoboam. Even though Rehoboam had spoken as he had so harshly to them, they should not have.
Abandoned the divine sin.
The authority that has been placed into man's hands has been misused many times.
It's still God's authority.
And the one that goes against it.
Does not do it with impunity.
Well.
This man of God comes out of Judah. He.
There was an old prophet in bed of the fell there sit staying there, but he couldn't use him because he was dwelling in the midst of that evil.
He couldn't render a faithful testimony against it because that's where he was functioning.
His presence was sanctioning the evil of that place, so God sends a man of God out of Judah from the divine center to witness against the evil that had been set up there in rebellion against the altar that was at Jerusalem.
And he cried against the altar. The man of God did very faithfully in his message.
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. This king that was still future is named here by the prophet, the man of God out of Judah.
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.
That was a prophetic utterance and it was going to be fulfilled.
And it was fulfilled, and we'll look at that a little bit later in 2 Kings 23.
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.
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 immediate judgment executed against Jeroboam and his profanity.
And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat 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 out of Judas shows grace and mercy to him. The man of God besought the Lord.
And the King's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And now, Jeroboam, his tone softens immensely.
And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me.
And refresh thyself.
And I will give thee a reward.
Now he wants to reward the man of God. He healed him.
The man of God said unto the King, If thou will give me half thine house.
I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place.
For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord. He had this from the word of the Lord.
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And when we have it from the word of the Lord, we don't have to go elsewhere, we don't have to consult with anyone else.
We don't have to get on the telephone. We don't have to call up this or that brother and find out what their judgment is if we have it.
From the word of the Lord that that settles it, doesn't it?
We don't have to go beyond that. That is the absolute authority.
The word of the Lord.
The man of God had that, and he knew exactly what it was. You are to deliver your message faithfully against the altar at Bethel and then go back a different way. It's not to look like he ate there, like he spent time there, like he had fellowship there. He's just passing through, giving his message and coming back another way. So that doesn't look like he had anything to do with those there except to pronounce judgment against them.
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 cameest.
So he went another way and returned. Not by the way, that he came to Bethel.
It wasn't to look like he had stopped and fellowshiped at that place. Oh no, it was that.
But now he's.
Now he meets with another temptation, much more subtle.
And hard to resist.
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel VS 11 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.
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.
And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ***. So they saddled him the *** and he rode thereon.
And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Speaks of the cross.
And he said unto him, Art thou the man of God, that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
Then he said unto him, Come home with me and eat bread.
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.
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.
And he said unto him, This old prophet of Bethel.
As I'm a prophet also as thou art.
I'm a brother. You're a brother.
We're all going to the same place. We're all going to spend.
Eternity together.
Let's have fellowship.
And this man was a prophet, just like the man of God out of Judah.
He says more than that I am a prophet also, as thou art an Angel.
Spake unto me by the word of the Lord. He even uses the very expression.
That is used so often that would have kept the man of God from out of Judith from making this mistake, listening to this spacious plea on the part of the old prophet of Bethel.
You see, he wanted the men of God's testimony that he had rendered so faithfully against.
The altar that Jeroboam had set up in Bethel, he wanted that nullified because that condemned him, because he was dwelling in that place.
And so he wants the old prophet's testimony to be negated.
By him going back and sitting down with him and eating and drinking with him.
So he says, an Angel spake to 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.
He lied unto him.
Now the man of God knew everything he needed to know to avoid this.
But he listens to the line. That's how sin came in in the 1St place, isn't it? Eve listened to the lie. Thou shalt not surely die.
That was a lie.
And the old prophet lied.
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So we went back with him.
And did eat bread in his house and drank water.
It came to pass, as they sat at the table, as he was expressing fellowship in the very place that he had pronounced severe judgment against.
That man that had seduced him to come back and to sit at that table.
That had caused him to compromise his faithful testimony against the evil.
By fellowshipping in the very place that he had witnessed against.
God uses that very prophet to pronounce the judgment that God was going to bring upon the man of God out of Judah.
It came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the Prophet that brought him back.
And he cried unto the men of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord.
For as much as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee.
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 carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
And it came to pass after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk.
That he saddled for him he asked, to wit, for the Prophet whom he had brought back.
So in pronouncing this judgment against the man of God out of Judah, he was condemning himself too.
He was in that place, he was in fellowship in that place, and he had no.
Light no faithful testimony to render against it, so God has to send another prophet from Judah.
To witness against the evil that was there.
You will never hear from those that are in the wrong place.
For them to render a testimony against the place they're in.
Because that was that would be self condemning, wouldn't it?
You'll never hear the truth of the one body. You'll never hear the truth of the assembly from the camp because.
They're in the wrong place.
And if they would render it.
They would be condemning themselves.
And so it was with the old prophet of Bethel verse 24 now. And when he was gone, a lion met him.
By the way, the man of God out of Judah, that is, and slew him.
And his carcass was cast in the way, and the *** stood by it, and the lion also stood by the carcass.
And behold, men passed by and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass.
And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
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.
He spake to his son, saying, saddle me the ***.
And they saddled him, and he went and found his carcass cast in the way and the *** and the lion standing by the carcass. The lion had not eaten the carcass nor torn the ***.
All he did was kill the man, and that was the end of it. The lion didn't do anymore, didn't eat him. He didn't attack the *** just stood there. He'd been sent to God for that one purpose, and he'd accomplished it.
And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the ***.
And brought it back when the old prophet came to the city to mourn.
And to bury him.
He laid his carcass in his own grave.
And they mourned over him, saying, alas, my brother.
He had lied to him.
He had gotten him to compromise his faithful testimony against the evil at Bethel, and now the man of God loses his life.
And the old prophet.
Is smitten in his own conscience.
As to the evil that he's been in complicity with?
It came to pass after he had buried him, that he spake to his son, saying, when I am dead.
Then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried.
Lay my bones beside his bones. You wanted to be identified with him because he knew he spoke the truth.
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.
And then we read a very sad thing at the end of the chapter. After this thing, Jeroboam returned not from his evil way.
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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.
And this thing became sin under the House of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
Now let's turn over to the second.
Kings 23.
Well, we read of the fulfillment.
Of that prophetic utterance from the man of God out of Judah.
Let's start. It's all about Josiah, and we'll start in the middle of the chapter.
Verse 14.
And he break in pieces the images, and cut down the Groves, and fill their places with the bones of men.
Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel.
The one in the high place which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made.
Both that altar in the high place he breakdown.
And burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the Grove.
And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchers that were there in the mountains, sent and took the bones.
Out of the sepulchers and burned them upon the altar and polluted it.
According to the word of the Lord, which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.
Then he said, what title is that that I see?
And the men of the city told him it is the sepulcher of the man of God which came from Judah and proclaimed these things.
That thou hast done against the altar of Bethel. And he said, Let him alone.
And let no man move his bones, so they let his bones alone with the bones of the prophet.
That came out of Judah.
That would indicate that these two prophets were the Lords, really.
The man of God out of Judah, the old prophet of Bethel. And he said, alas, my brother.
Yes, they were brothers. One was in the wrong place, the place that God had never owned, never sanctioned.
And the other came from the divine center to witness against it. But he compromised that testimony.
Oh, he passed the test when he was offered a reward from Jeroboam.
When the world offered that reward, he passed the test, he said I won't do it.
But when another prophet.
We would say another Christian.
Another believer who is in the wrong place.
Invites us to sit down with him.
Even lies to us in order that we might do that.
We lose our testimony.
And that's what happened.
To the man of God out of Judah, slain by the lion, the enemy.
Came in and slew the.
The Prophet.
But now here we have the judgment of the world. These false prophets, their bones were taken out and burned on the altar. They go through the judgment, but not the true prophets.
We may fail in testimony here, but we'll never be judged alongside of the world. And that's wonderful, isn't it?
He makes a distinction in that coming day.
But how sad to read.
Of Solomon.
The source of that departure? That division.
God was displeased.
But the fact that he may be displeased with us.
Doesn't mean that he disowns the center.
And thank God he can't disown the center because the center is his son.
To be gathered to him, to his name.
That will never change.
God can't have another center. It can only have one.
And to be there is the greatest privilege that we have.
In the midst of all the confusion.
And all the departure.
And all that has happened.
In professing Christendom.
What lessons?
Well, I know you know this passage, but I thought it would be good to go through it again.
I haven't presented anything new.
But it's good to see these principles.
And they answer many a question.
Not to have any fellowship in a false place at a false table. Stay clear of it.
So that our testimony against the evil of it, and it's really evil, you know.
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The first sin that is mentioned in one Corinthians where all those things had to be corrected. The first sin that he mentions in the 1St chapter is division.
And having gone through it.
I fully believe that that's the worst sin.
Because it divides the Saints of God.
It splits up families.
It causes brethren that used to walk together in happy harmony to walk on the opposite sides of the street.
Yes, it's sad.
And the fact that we're going to be together in eternity doesn't change the fact that this has happened here.
And we're being tested, always being tested.
Truth that we profess to believe.
We're thankful for these stories in the Old Testament, they set forth principles.
Principles that should guide us as we go through this scene.
And keep us in the path of His choosing.
Philippines 1
Words of Agur
My Shepherd in Resurrection