1 Kings 13:1-34
Q.1. What was remarkable about the intervention of the man of God? How did Jeroboam respond? – (1 Kgs.13:1-10)
It took great courage for anyone to cross over from Judah with a prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel: (i) It was amazing that the Lord revealed the name of King Josiah, and the judgment of the false prophets on the altar at Bethel, three hundred years before the event (1 Kgs.13:1-2 c.f. 2 Kgs. 23:15-18). (ii) He added a sign that the altar would be split, and the ashes poured out … and it came to pass (1 Kgs.13:3 & 5). (iii) Nowhere in Scripture are we given this prophet’s name. When Jeroboam ordered the prophet’s arrest, his arm was frozen. He immediately asked the man of God to plead for healing … and it was so. (1 Kgs.13:4 & 6). Jeroboam was grateful to the prophet and offered him rich rewards. The prophet refused his offer because – So it was commanded me by the word of the Lord saying, ‘You shall eat no bread nor drink water, nor return by the way you came’ (1 Kgs.13:9). He then turned and left Bethel a different way.
Q.2. Why did God have to kill the man of God after he was misled by a backslidden prophet? – (1 Kgs.13:11-32)
The confrontation between the prophet and the king had been very public. It made a great impact, particularly upon an old prophet. The first prophet’s declaration that God had commanded him not to delay in Israel, but to go home another route was explicit (1 Kgs.13:8-10). However, he was deceived by the backslidden older prophet, who claimed that – … “I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him … he disobeyed God (1 Kgs.13:18 c.f. Gal.1:8). If God had allowed the younger prophet to get away with disobedience, then all leaders from Jeroboam onwards would have had a precedent to disregard God’s commands and ignore His prophecies. This was God’s judgment for his disobedience (1 Kgs.13:24). Nevertheless, the young prophet was given a proper burial and would eventually be honoured many generations later (1 Kgs.23:17-18).
Q.3. What did the story tell us about King Jeroboam? What would happen to Jeroboam? – (1 Kgs.13:1-10, 33-34)
God had extended lavish grace on Jeroboam, namely, a promise of a lasting dynasty like David’s (c.f. 1 Kgs.11:29-38). However, God’s warning, plus the sign against him at Bethel, and the unusual death of the man of God, failed to deter Jeroboam from rebellion. This was the reason why God determined to destroy the house of Jeroboam, and to blot it from the face of the earth (1 Kgs.13:34). King Jeroboam stands out in history as one of the biggest fools of all time. He had a cast iron promise of a lasting dynasty but forfeited it all by his wicked disobedience. Instead of trusting God to establish his name and his kingdom, Jeroboam used carnal strategies to shore up that which would have happened, had he just believed God’s promises, and obeyed Him. His attempt to buy the services of, and to corrupt the man of God revealed a sinister view of power, and of his own importance. What more did God have to do to appeal to his heart? History recorded that Jeroboam was the one who caused Israel to sin.