(1 Kings 13)
When our story begins, the kingdom of Israel is a big mess. Actually, it's not even a united kingdom anymore, but split in two. Because king Solomon let his many foreign wives turn his heart away from Yahweh to worship other gods and engage in detestable pagan practices, God had taken the kingdom away from his family and given 10 tribes to Jeroboam, son of Nebat. But because of God's covenant with David, one of Solomon's sons still rules over the tribe of Judah.
Previoulsy, we learned that Jeroboam was afraid that if the people continued to go to Jerusalem to worship God, that his share of the kingdom might give their allegiance back to David's line. So to try and secure himself as king, he sets up two golden calves for the people to worship as their gods. (NOT a great first move as new king, and one that would cost him the loss of the very kingdom he was trying so desperately to cling to.)
So God sends a prophet from Judah to go up to Bethel, where Jeroboam is making sacrifices to one of the golden calves, and to declare a prophesy against him and the altar where he's worshiping.
We don't know the prophet's name, but we see that he was clearly sent by God, to declare God's message and display God's power. The prophet gives Jeroboam a very short, very specific word of prophesy that we learn later, happens exactly as he says it would. (See 2 Kings 23:15-20 to read about the prophecy's fulfillment.) And he gives Jeroboam a sign that the prophecy was true, which happened immediately, exactly as he said it would. (v3, 5) And when Jeroboam (who is not super pleased with the prophet's message) stretches out his hand to command that the prophet be arrested, his hand shrivels up until the prophet intercedes on his behalf and God restores it. So it's clear that this prophet had been given a mission and a message that was from the LORD, and that God's power was at work through him.
The next thing that we learn about this prophet is that God had given him a very specific set of instructions: he was not to eat any bread or drink any water on his journey, and he was not to return home the same way he had come. Sounds simple enough! And when the king (who has a sudden change of heart when his shriveled hand is restored) invites the prophet to dine with him, the prophet refuses in order to obey these instructions the Lord had given him. This tells us that the prophet knew the command he'd been given and wanted to obey it.
But then, our story takes a turn for the worse, and unfortunately (spoiler alert!) it does not have a happy ending. As the prophet is on his way home to Judah, he is stopped by an old prophet from Bethel who had heard about God's display of power when the prophecy was given to Jeroboam at the altar. The prophet from Bethel urges the prophet from Judah to come back with him and be his guest. And initially, the prophet from Judah refuses and says, “Sorry, no can do! God said so.” (paraphrase mine). So the prophet from Bethel tells him a lie to persuade him, “Oh, it's okay! I am a prophet of God too! And He sent an angel to tell me to bring you back to my place, and give you some food.” (again, my words but that was the gist of it…) And so, the prophet from Judah foolishly listens, and goes back to eat and drink with him.
SOOO... on the prophet's return trip to Judah, God sends a lion to maul him and kill him.
Great story, right? Maybe you're thinking that that was a bit of a harsh judgment for accepting a meal in the wrong place. Maybe you're wishing you could've been there to shake the prophet by the shoulders and say, “Don't go back there and eat with him, you dummy, you know God TOLD you not to do it, you just said so yourself!” Maybe you're wondering why God struck down his own prophet, but gave healing to the wicked king worshiping false gods. Or maybe you're just thinking, “That's a terrible ending to a story!”
Well to be fair, that isn't exactly the end of the story. The prophet from Bethel hears what happened and brings back the prophet's body, has it buried in his own tomb, mourns for him, and asks his sons to bury him in the same grave when his time comes. So even though the prophet from Judah isn't buried with his own people, he is at least given some honor in his burial, which is something that was really important in their culture. And if you read the passage in 2 Kings 23 where the prophesy is fulfilled, you'll see that his bones are shown respect in that story too. But his death still seems a sad and sudden end for our nameless friend, the prophet.
Oh yeah, and king Jeroboam continues in his evil ways, appointing priests for his golden calf idols, and eventually his entire family is wiped off the face of the earth. Just in case you were wondering how that part of the story ends.
Perhaps by this point, you're also wondering, “What does this story have to do with me? What possible application could this story have for our lives today?" Well, I believe that every part of Scripture has value and is given to us for us reason (2 Timothy 3:16!), and I think that there are some valuable lessons for us to learn from this strange, unhappy, somewhat alarming, obscure story from 1 Kings.
If you belong to Jesus, you have been given a mission to share God's message and display God's power, just like the prophet in our story. Like him, we are called to speak God's truth and confront those who are turning away from the God who loves them to worship lesser things. And we are called to share the hope of Christ, and the salvation that was eventually given to Israel through the line of David, in spite of the many wicked kings and years of idol worship in this nation's history. We are called to go, to tell, and to share the bad news AND the good news of the Gospel. We are called to be living testimonies of His power and love.
And like the prophet, God has given us specific commands to follow as we go on the mission He's sent us on: We are to love our “neighbor,” pray for our enemies, forgive those who wrong us, care for the widow and the orphan, seek justice for the oppressed, and give to those who are in need. We are to trust God's timing and provision, submit ourselves to God's will, offer ourselves as living sacrifices, carry our crosses, and lay down our burdens. We are to exhibit patience, kindness, goodness and self-control, and to give thanks in all circumstances. We have been given many important commands to follow, and God takes our obedience seriously.
But as we live out God's calling on our lives and fulfill the mission He's given us, there will be people who try to give us their own advice about what we need to be doing. And I am sure many of them will have good intentions. I don't think the prophet from Bethel was maliciously seeking to get the prophet from Judah to disobey God so that he would face God's judgement. I think he was probably just eager to meet another prophet of God who clearly had God's calling and power on his life in a time when there was a lot of godlessness in Israel. Or perhaps he was selfishly hoping to gain some sort of favor with God by showing hospitality to the prophet sent to pronounce judgement on Israel's king, in an attempt to escape judgement himself. Whatever his intentions were, whether pure or not, he thought he knew what was best, and tried (and unfortunately succeeded) to convince the prophet from Judah that his way was what God really wanted.
Not everyone who is an enemy of God's purposes will appear evil. Sometimes good people are just misguided. Sometimes there will be wolves in sheep's clothing. Sometimes there will be people who claim to have a special message from God, or claim that they know God's will for us. But if we KNOW God's Word for ourselves, and what it is that He has commanded us to do, then we should know better than to listen to anything or anyone that contradicts it. We can't let anyone deter us from being obedient in the mission and ministry God's given us. We can't give in to the world's temptations, and the whisper of Satan that says, as he did to Eve, “Oh, it's okay...it's not really harmful. God didn't really mean that...” Temptation always sounds good, but in the end it leads to sin, and sin leads to death...just as it did for the prophet in this story.
And it might seem like God's judgement in this story is harsh, but let me remind you that the wages of ALL sin is death (Romans 6:23), and we don't get to tell God that He is harsh for rightly punishing it. God's justice is such an important part of His character, and one that we don't talk about enough. We would rather just talk about his mercy and love. But if we don't recognize the severity of our sin, and the severity of God's holy wrath, then how can we truly appreciate that He chooses to love and forgive us through Christ? God's wrath against sin is perfectly righteous. He wouldn't be good if He didn't hate evil. And He wouldn't be loving if He didn't despise the thing that causes us pain, sickness, sadness and worst of all, separation from Him. The fact is that we have all sinned, and we all deserve to be struck dead, just like the prophet in the story. We deserve to be mauled by a lion, or crucified on a cross, or thrown into the fires of hell.
But the beauty of the Gospel is that because of Jesus, we are given mercy and grace that we don't deserve. We are given forgiveness when we sin. We are given a Good Shepherd who brings us back to the fold when we are led astray. We are given a Savior who took the punishment we deserve, and gives us abundant eternal life. We have a God who loves us as much as He hates our sins and the terrible things it causes. We have a God who sent His Son into the world to bring us hope, joy and peace.
So my friends, I hope you will remember the story of the prophet from 1 Kings 13. I hope you remember that you are called and equipped with a God-given mission, message and power. I hope you remember that God has given you specific and important commands that are for your good. I hope you remember not to let well-intentioned naysayers distract you from your purpose. I hope you remember and cling to the truth you know, so that you won't be led astray by lies. I hope you remember that God is just and holy, as well as merciful and kind. I hope you remember that there are consequences for your disobedience. I hope you remember that Jesus took the punishment for your disobedience. And I hope you remember the sweet Gift of unconditional love and grace that He gave you instead!
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