I Kings 13:1-10
“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."
Jeroboam had been chosen by God to be king, but didn’t believe God’s promise to secure the kingdom to him, so he reorganized the Jewish religion so people wouldn’t go back to Jerusalem. He built altars in high places , built two idols, changed the times of the feasts God had commanded Israel to observe, and placed men other than God had chosen as priests. God sent a man warn him of the consequences of his sin.
“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.
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.” (I Kings 13:2-3)
The prophecy was that one day a king would be born in Judah that would conquer Israel and sacrifice the bodies of the false priests Jeroboam had ordained on the altar he had built. Over a hundred years later, in II Kings 23, the prophecy would finally be fulfilled.
As proof that a prophecy came from God, the prophet was to give a sign for the short term. Deuteronomy 18:22 says, “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” The sign this time was to be that the altar would split open and dump the ashes on the ground.
“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. 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.” (I Kings 13:4-5)
Like most people, Jeroboam didn’t want to hear that he was doing wrong. Instead of repenting, he ordered the prophet arrested. When he pointed at the prophet, his arm shriveled up like a dead stick and he was unable to move it, or even let it fall to his side. At the same time, the altar burst open, dumping the ashes as the prophet had said. Apparently the altar was similar to the brazen altar, consisting of an open box that supported a grate on which the sacrifices were burned. When it split open, one side of the grate fell and dumped out the ashes. It was proof that the prophecy was from God.
“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. “ (I Kings 13:6a)
Suddenly, Jeroboam was a lot more concerned with getting the use of his arm back than he was with arresting the prophet. Like a drunk driver who isn’t worried about the dangers of his drinking , but only cares about staying out of jail, Jeroboam was only concerned with getting the use of his arm back, and made no effort to repent, although he recognized it was God’s power, and released the prophet.
“And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.” (I Kings 13:6b-7)
When the prophet prayed for him, Jeroboam’s arm was restored to health, and he could use it again. Jeroboam was appreciative of having his arm healed and asked the prophet to come home and eat with him so he could give him a reward for healing him. His attitude was like that of the drunk who was allowed to go home, he was very thankful, but nothing changed.
"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: 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. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.” (I Kings 13:8-10)
God had commanded the prophet to have no part in what was going on in the land, not even to return back over the same trail he came on. He would not take anything that was from that area, because God did not want him to in any way imply what they were doing was acceptable, just as he advises us to do with Christians who are clearly disobeying God’s command in I Corinthians 5:11. “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.” If he refuses to pay attention we are to treat him as any other unsaved person who does those things, according to Matthew 18:17. “…but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.”
“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."
Jeroboam had been chosen by God to be king, but didn’t believe God’s promise to secure the kingdom to him, so he reorganized the Jewish religion so people wouldn’t go back to Jerusalem. He built altars in high places , built two idols, changed the times of the feasts God had commanded Israel to observe, and placed men other than God had chosen as priests. God sent a man warn him of the consequences of his sin.
“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.
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.” (I Kings 13:2-3)
The prophecy was that one day a king would be born in Judah that would conquer Israel and sacrifice the bodies of the false priests Jeroboam had ordained on the altar he had built. Over a hundred years later, in II Kings 23, the prophecy would finally be fulfilled.
As proof that a prophecy came from God, the prophet was to give a sign for the short term. Deuteronomy 18:22 says, “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” The sign this time was to be that the altar would split open and dump the ashes on the ground.
“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. 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.” (I Kings 13:4-5)
Like most people, Jeroboam didn’t want to hear that he was doing wrong. Instead of repenting, he ordered the prophet arrested. When he pointed at the prophet, his arm shriveled up like a dead stick and he was unable to move it, or even let it fall to his side. At the same time, the altar burst open, dumping the ashes as the prophet had said. Apparently the altar was similar to the brazen altar, consisting of an open box that supported a grate on which the sacrifices were burned. When it split open, one side of the grate fell and dumped out the ashes. It was proof that the prophecy was from God.
“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. “ (I Kings 13:6a)
Suddenly, Jeroboam was a lot more concerned with getting the use of his arm back than he was with arresting the prophet. Like a drunk driver who isn’t worried about the dangers of his drinking , but only cares about staying out of jail, Jeroboam was only concerned with getting the use of his arm back, and made no effort to repent, although he recognized it was God’s power, and released the prophet.
“And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.” (I Kings 13:6b-7)
When the prophet prayed for him, Jeroboam’s arm was restored to health, and he could use it again. Jeroboam was appreciative of having his arm healed and asked the prophet to come home and eat with him so he could give him a reward for healing him. His attitude was like that of the drunk who was allowed to go home, he was very thankful, but nothing changed.
"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: 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. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.” (I Kings 13:8-10)
God had commanded the prophet to have no part in what was going on in the land, not even to return back over the same trail he came on. He would not take anything that was from that area, because God did not want him to in any way imply what they were doing was acceptable, just as he advises us to do with Christians who are clearly disobeying God’s command in I Corinthians 5:11. “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.” If he refuses to pay attention we are to treat him as any other unsaved person who does those things, according to Matthew 18:17. “…but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.”
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