Historical Books 1 Kings

The Deception of the Man of God

Discover Jesus as: Something Greater 1 Kings 13-14 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 263 of 730
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INTRO

As we move into the study of 1 Kings 13—14, we are also moving into chaos. This study will feel a little like the lessons in the book of Judges with evil and killing. In 1 Kings 11—12, we saw the death of Solomon and the division of the kingdom with two new kings: Jeroboam as king over the ten tribes of Israel in the northern kingdom and Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, as king over the tribe of Judah in the southern kingdom. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon’s, but a prophet told him he would become king over ten tribes when Solomon died. While 1 Kings 11 was all about Solomon’s problems and sins, 1 Kings 13 is about Jeroboam’s problems and sins.

TEACHING

Wiersbe divided chapter 13 into these sections:1

1 Kings 13:1-2: The Message. A man of God heard from the Lord through a revelation to go to Bethel with a message for Jeroboam while Jeroboam was getting ready to burn incense on the altar (v. 1). Jeroboam was already taking on the place of the king and the role of the priest—both would have been bad. A king was never to take on the role of the priest until the coming Messiah (2 Chronicles 26:16–23). The man of God proclaimed Josiah, from the house of David, would become king and would root out the evil in the kingdom (v. 2). Josiah’s reign would come 300 years later when he would burn the high places, slaughter the illegitimate priests, burn the Asherah, destroy the altars, and burn human bones that defiled the altars (2 Kings 23:15–20). Bethel was a community where many came to learn about being a prophet. The man of God completed God’s message to Jeroboam by explaining the altar would be destroyed and the ashes poured out (v. 3).

1 Kings 13:4-6: The Miracles. King Jeroboam stretched out his hand, pointed to the man of God, and told his guard to arrest the man. His hand withered as he spoke and it did not go back to normal (v. 4). Then, the man of God’s statement came true—the altar ripped apart and the ashes poured from the altar (v. 5). The king asked the man to pray for God’s favor to restore his hand. The man did, and the king’s hand was restored completely (v. 6).

1 Kings 13:7-10: The Maneuver. The king invited the man of God to come to his home so he could be refreshed and rewarded (v. 7). Wiersbe suggests that Jeroboam “was a clever man and tried to trap the prophet by inviting him to the palace for a meal.”2The man replied he would not even accept half of Jeroboam’s house, his food, or his water because the Lord had specifically told him not to (vv. 8–9). If the man of God had eaten a meal with Jeroboam after just releasing God’s message about Jeroboam’s sin, his actions would have “wiped out the effectiveness of his witness and ministry.”3The man of God followed God’s instructions completely, even returning home a different way from the way he had come (v. 10).

1 Kings 13:11-34: The Mistake. In Bethel, Jeroboam was leading the people in worship of idols. An old prophet was living in this town where the things of God were no longer taking place (v. 11a). The old prophet’s sons told him what had happened when the man of God released God’s message in Bethel (v. 11b). The prophet asked which way the man of God had gone and his sons told him (v. 12). He told his sons to saddle his donkey for him, and he rode after the man of God (v. 13). The prophet found the man of God under an oak tree. The prophet asked if he was the man of God and invited him to come home with him for a meal (vv. 14–15). The man of God explained that God told him not to eat or drink there or return home the same way (vv. 16–17). The prophet told the man of God he had been told to invite him back by an angel (v.18). The old prophet lied to the man of God, and the man of God failed to discern the old man’s deceit (v. 19). Why did the old prophet lie? MacArthur suggests, “It may be that his own sons were worshipers at Bethel or perhaps priests, and this man wanted to gain favor with the king by showing up the man of God as an imposter who acted contrary to his own claim to have heard from God”4(Jeremiah 23:16; Ezekiel 13:2, 7).

While they were dining, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had lied to the man of God. The prophet told the man of God that since he had disobeyed God’s commands to him, his bones would not reach the grave of his ancestors (vv. 20–22). The Israelites buried their dead with the bones of their ancestors in a common grave (Judges 8:32; 2 Samuel 2:32). This indicated a disgrace. The old prophet saddled his donkey for the man of God (v. 23). On his way home, the man of God was attacked and killed by a lion on the road. The donkey and the lion stood beside the corpse (v. 24). This is not a natural response of a lion and a donkey to the man’s corpse. Nelson’s Commentary states, “The way the lion stood by both the man of God and his donkey shows that the lion did not kill for food but was God’s executioner.”5Men who passed by the corpse went back to Bethel and told what they had seen (v. 25). When the old prophet recognized that the man of God suffered God’s punishment, he went and recovered the man’s corpse, mourned his death, and buried his body in his own family grave (vv. 26–30). Then the old prophet instructed his sons to bury his body next to the bones of the man of God, who had carried God’s message (vv. 31–32). After this, Jeroboam still did not repent or hear God’s word. He did not turn from his sin, and his house would be annihilated because of it (vv. 33–34).

CLOSING

We must trust the voice of God in our lives, not others speaking “for Him.” God must be our primary source. Everything else must filter through that (1 John 2:26–27). How can we be sure of God’s voice?

Greg Simas at www.gregsimas.org offers 10 Ways to Confirm God’s Voice:

  1. Does it agree with the Bible? (Psalm 119:105; 2 Timothy 3:16)
  2. Will it make me more like Christ? (Romans 8:29)
  3. Do my spouse and family confirm it? (Proverbs 11:14; Amos 3:3; Ephesians 5:21)
  4. Do spiritually mature believers confirm it? (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; Ephesians 3:10)
  5. Is it consistent with how God made me? (Romans 12:6; 1 Peter 4:10)
  6. Does it line up with prophetic words spoken over me? (1 Timothy 4:14)
  7. Does it move me? (Romans 12:11)
  8. Will it stretch me? (2 Corinthians 12:9; Philippians 3:13–14)
  9. Will it require faith? (Romans 10:17; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:6)
  10. Do I have peace about it? (Philippians 4:7)

After you go through this list confirming it is God's voice in your life, do not take five months to make a decision. This list is not to delay your process, it is to confirm what you are hearing is from the Lord. The man of God heard clearly from the Lord and knew what to do, yet he disobeyed because he gave in to the old prophet who deceived him. Stick to what you hear, do not add to it.

  1. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Exposition Bible Commentary: 1 Kings (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2003), pp. 456–457.

  2. Wiersbe, p. 457.

  3. Wiersbe, p. 457.

  4. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005), p. 414.

  5. Earl Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, and H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary: 1 Kings (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 447.

Questions

  1. In 1 Kings 13:18, why do you think the old prophet lied to the man of God? In your opinion, what should the man of God have done? (1 John 4:1)
  2. Why do you think the lion killed the man of God and left him uneaten? Is this an example of the animals obeying the Word of the Lord? (Psalm 148:7)
  3. In 1 Kings 13:33, Jeroboam made priests out of every people group/class. Why was this a sin (Numbers 8:16–18)? What was the price he would pay for these sins? (1 Kings 14)
  4. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in 1 Kings 13—14 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin 1 Kings 13:16–17

“But he answered, ‘I cannot go back with you, eat bread, or drink water with you in this place, for a message came to me by the word of the LORD: You must not eat bread or drink water there or go back by the way you came.’”

During Jeroboam’s reign as king, a man of God came to Jereboam with a revelation from the Lord. When this word actually happened, King Jeroboam invited the man of God to his home, offering the man refreshment and a reward. However, the man of God refused because God told him not to eat bread or drink water. In this instance, the man of God was obedient to the Lord’s specific direction and was steadfast in his walk. But later, when an old prophet went after the man of God and also asked him to come back with him for bread and drink, the man of God returned. At this point, he disobeyed the voice of the Lord, and as a result, he faced deadly consequences.

As you walk with the Lord, you need to trust His voice in your life and stick to it. Jesus says, “My sheep hear Me and know My voice.” Others may speak into your life, but if you know what you heard from the Lord, don’t be easily persuaded by others. If someone tells you to do something or has a word for you, listen to it. But before you react or respond, take some time to ask the Lord to confirm it through His Word, through others, and by giving you peace. If it goes against what the Lord is saying to you, don’t compromise or let it persuade you. The Lord will honor your obedience to His voice in your life.

“But he answered, ‘I cannot go back with you, eat bread, or drink water with you in this place, for a message came to me by the word of the Lord: You must not eat bread or drink water there or go back by the way you came.’”

—1 Kings 13:16–17

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Isaiah 30:21 — “And whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: ‘This is the way. Walk in it.’”
  • John 10:27 — “My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me.”
  • Galatians 5:7–8 — “You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from the One who called you.”