1 KINGS LESSON 18
We will begin this lesson in I Kings 13:1 "And, behold, there
came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el:
and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense."
The worship in the land of Israel had deteriorated to the worship
of calves. The man of God out of Judah was very similar to the man of
God, in the last lesson, who told Rehoboam not to war with Israel.
The message the man brings is from the LORD. Jeroboam was standing by
the altar. Everything about this worship was wrong.
I Kings 13:2 "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."
In the following Scripture, we see the first fulfillment of this
prophecy. II Kings 23:20 "And he slew all the priests of the high
places that [were] there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon
them, and returned to Jerusalem." I believe this is speaking
prophetically of these priests at judgement day, as well.
I Kings 13:3 "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."
This man of God brought a message that Jeroboam did not want to
hear. The sign that God was displesed with this worship will be the
destruction of the altar, and the ashes will spill out on the ground.
I Kings 13:4 "And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the
saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-
el, 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."
This was instant punishment from God upon Jeroboam, when he tried
to take the man of God. He was going to destroy the man of God and,
instead, had his hand dry up before him. This is like the withered
hand in the New Testament.
I Kings 13:5 "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."
God wasted no time with the sign either. The altar was rent, and
the ashes poured out, just as he had said.
I Kings 13:6 "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 besought the LORD,
and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as [it was]
before."
Jeroboam realizes quickly, that this man is truly from God. He
knows that the only help he has in getting his hand restored, is if
the man of God will pray to God for him. The man prays, and God
restores Jeroboam's hand.
I Kings 13:7 "And the king said unto the man of God, Come home
with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward."
Jeroboam wants to do something for the man, who prayed to God for
him. It was, probably, through gratitude for what he had done, that
Jeroboam asked him to go home with him, so he could give him a
present.
I Kings 13:8 "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:"
The man of God would not be taken in by the bribes of Jeroboam.
He would not eat from his table, or take his gifts. He wanted to be
under no obligation to Jeroboam. He had completed what God sent him to
do, and he wanted to go home.
I Kings 13:9 "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." I Kings 13:10 "So he went another way, and returned
not by the way that he came to Beth-el."
He did not want to partake of their evil. He must not fellowship
with Jeroboam, because it would appear to those looking on, that he
approved of him. He had bravely come into Rehoboam's territory, and
told him exactly what God wanted him to say. He wants to follow God's
instructions to the letter. He does just that.
I Kings 13:11 "Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and
his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done
that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them
they told also to their father." I Kings 13:12 "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."
Why this old prophet is living in this sinful place, is difficult
to understand. He had undoubtedly even allowed his sons to attend the
feast, where the sacrifice was made to the calf. They run to tell
their father of what went on at the feast. We do not know why the
father was interested. Had he been a prophet in good standing with the
LORD, he would have been protesting the sacrifice to the golden calf,
himself.
I Kings 13:13 "And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So
they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon," I Kings 13:14 "And
went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he
said unto him, [Art] thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And
he said, I [am]."
Why the man of God had stopped here to rest, we do not know. He
should have been in a hurry to get away from this evil city. The old
prophet rode the ass out to where the man of God was, and asked if he
was the man who had brought the message at the altar?
I Kings 13:15 "Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat
bread."
This is the same thing Jeroboam had asked him, that he turned
down. It was not just Jeroboam that he must not tarry with. Even this
old prophet had a certain amount of sin, in standing by idly and
allowing this to happen.
I Kings 13:16 "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:" I Kings 13:17 "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."
His instructions had been clear. He knew he was not to go home
and eat or drink with anyone here.
I Kings 13:18 "He said unto him, I [am] a prophet also as thou
[art]; and an angel spake unto 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."
We see very quickly that this old prophet was not in good graces
with the LORD. He lies to the man of God. The man of God should not
have listened to the prophet, since it did not line up with what the
LORD had told him. We are responsible for what we believe, just as
this man of God was. We must make sure what someone is telling us is
truly the Word of God, before we believe him.
I Kings 13:19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his
house, and drank water.
He was deceived. It is almost as if he wanted to be deceived. He
waited under the tree, when he should have been going home. He did
just what the LORD told him not to do.
I Kings 13:20 "And it came to pass, as they sat at the table,
that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him
back:" I Kings 13:21 "And he cried unto the man of God that came from
Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed
the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the
LORD thy God commanded thee," I Kings 13:22 "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 carcase shall not
come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers."
The man of God has disobeyed God. He denounced Jeroboam and now
he is denounced. The prophet is used of God to tell the man that he
will be killed, before he gets home. He brought this upon himself, by
disobeying God.
I Kings 13:23 "And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread,
and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, [to wit], for
the prophet whom he had brought back."
The prophet saddled his ass for the man of God to ride. This is
one time that a man's stomach got him into a lot of trouble. He did
what his flesh wanted to do, and now, he is condemned of God.
I Kings 13:24 "And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way,
and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood
by it, the lion also stood by the carcase."
The LORD had sent the lion to carry out his purposes. If it were
not so, he would have killed the ass, also. The lion, which seemed to
be plentiful in this area, killed the man of God, and left him on the
side of the road. The ass and the lion stood where the man died,
watching over the body. The man of God was killed for disobeying the
LORD. Truly, he was tricked into going back, but he should not have
taken the word of man over the Word of God.
I Kings 13:25 "And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase
cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came
and told [it] in the city where the old prophet dwelt." I Kings 13:26
"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."
It was obvious that the man was killed by the LORD. He used the
lion to carry it out. This should, also, be a warning to this old
prophet. If God would have the man killed for this, what would he do
to those who sacrifice to these golden calves? The prophet should fear
for himself, as well. He is allowing this to happen.
I Kings 13:27 "And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the
ass. And they saddled [him]." I Kings 13:28 "And he went and found his
carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the
carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass."
The old prophet had to see for himself. He rides an ass out to
where the body is. Notice, the lion had not eaten the man, nor
attacked the ass. This tells you this is no normal lion. The lion is
obeying the LORD.
I Kings 13:29 "And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of
God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old
prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him."
A normal lion would never have let him take up the body of this
man of God. He would have been guarding him to eat later. The prophet
would give him a decent burial.
I Kings 13:30 "And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they
mourned over him, [saying], Alas, my brother!"
In a sense, the old prophet cost the man of God his life. He
would bury him, because he had respect for him as a man of God. He
truly was sorry, that he had caused his death.
I Kings 13:31 "And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that
he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the
sepulchre wherein the man of God [is] buried; lay my bones beside his
bones:"
He felt that this man of God was more honorable than he had been.
He was honored to be buried beside him for his bravery in coming
against Jeroboam.
I Kings 13:32 "For the saying which he cried by the word of the
LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the
high places which [are] in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to
pass."
It is very obvious that the old prophet knew what Jeroboam was
doing was wrong. It is as if he is asking himself, why he had not
spoken out against this evil in their land? He greatly admired the man
of God.
I Kings 13:33 "After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his
evil way, 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."
The message the man of God brought was believed for a short
while, because of the withered hand. Jeroboam quickly forgot, and went
right back to sacrificing to the golden calf abominations. He still
made priests of everyone he desired to, disregarding the fact that the
priests must be of the Levitical tribe.
I Kings 13:34 "And this thing became sin unto the house of
Jeroboam, even to cut [it] off, and to destroy [it] from off the face
of the earth."
This sin was so great, that God decides to cut the house of
Jeroboam off from the earth. He was in total rebellion against God.
God took the throne, and cut them off forever.
1 Kings 18 Questions
1. The man of God came from __________.
2. Where did he come to bring his message?
3. What did the man of God say?
4. Where is this Scripture fulfilled?
5. What does the author think it to be speaking of prophetically?
6. What was the sign the LORD would send?
7. What did Jeroboam attempt to do to him?
8. What happened to Jeroboam?
9. This was instant ___________ from God upon Jeroboam?
10. What happened to the altar and the ashes?
11. What did Jeroboam ask the man of God to do for him?
12. After God healed Jeroboam, what did he ask the man of God to do?
13. What answer did he give Jeroboam?
14. Why would the man not go with Jeroboam?
15. Who came and told the old prophet about the man of God?
16. What did the prophet ask them of him?
17. How did the old man get to the place, where the man of God was?
18. What did the old prophet ask the man of God to do?
19. How did the man of God answer the prophet?
20. How did he trick the man of God into coming home with him?
21. What happened, as they sat at the table?
22. What punishment will be on the man of God for not obeying the
LORD?
23. How did the man of God travel on his way home?
24. What happened to him?
25. What happened to the ass?
26. What unusual thing did the ass and the lion do?
27. When the prophet heard what happened, what did he do?
28. Quote 1 Kings chapter 13 verse 29.
29. What is unusual about this?
30. Where did the prophet take the man?
31. Why did the prophet want to be buried by the man?
32. Did Jeroboam learn his lesson?
33. The sin of Jeroboam was so bad, God did what to him and his house?
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