You'll recall that in yesterday's text the prophet from Judah healed Jeroboam's withered hand, after which Jeroboam invited him to his house to dinner and promised him a gift of gratitude. The prophet refused, saying, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.' So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel." (1 Kings 13:8-10) I presume the prophet was given these instructions because of the idolatrous wickedness that was already abounding in the northern kingdom in its early years. The prophet had to be careful not to appear to condone anything going on in that territory by partaking of anything there. Jeroboam did not repent when he heard the prophet's message, nor did anyone else as far as we can tell. Under these dire circumstances it was best for the prophet not to fellowship with anyone in the breaking of bread. To quote the Apostle Paul: "What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (See 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 for this entire quote.)
We talked yesterday about how the Bible doesn't forbid believers to eat meals with unbelievers. Jesus ate at the houses of sinners who invited Him. But what the Bible instructs is to do is to consider each of these invitations on a case by case basis. The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about following one's conscience where taking part in meals and feasts were concerned. In his day, many feasts were idolatrous ones, where the meat served had previously been offered to idols. A lot of those feasts involved sinful forms of entertainment. There's a difference between attending an event like that and eating lunch in a cafe with a friend or co-worker who is not a believer. So, to provide us with a modern example, if we are invited to a meal that's a party where there will be drug use and drunken carousing, we ought to politely decline. Like the prophet who visited King Jeroboam, we don't want anyone to think we are taking part in anything contrary to the word of God. That will harm our testimony for the Lord. But if we are simply being invited to someone's house for an ordinary meal just like the type of meal we'd be invited to at a believer's home, I don't believe we are commanded to refuse. I believe in that case we should view it as an opportunity, just as Jesus did, to build rapport with an unbeliever in hopes that our love for the Lord will inspire them to seek their own relationship with Him.
We found the prophet from Judah heading home as we concluded Saturday's study. On his way he is met by a elderly prophet from Bethel. I think it's extremely likely that this prophet is his senior by many years. The man from Judah isn't described to us as "old", which is how the man from Bethel is described. I believe that the difference in their ages has a lot of bearing on what happens in today's text. The older prophet will deceive the younger prophet and I think the younger prophet's respect toward an older man is the reason why he gives heed to bad advice.
"Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. Their father asked them, 'Which way did he go?' And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. So he said to his sons, 'Saddle the donkey for me.' And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it and rode after the man of God." (1 Kings 13:11-14a) Bethel is the religious center of Jeroboam's kingdom. It's the capital, if you will, of his state-appointed religion. This prophet's sons appear to have been at the sacrificial ceremony Jeroboam was holding at the location of the golden calf and idolatrous altar that day. This does not necessarily mean his sons were taking part in anything idolatrous; they may have attended only as observers, possibly at their father's request so they could report back to him the sinful doings of the king.
Upon learning that a prophet from Judah came and pronounced a judgment against the altar, then caused Jeroboam's hand to wither, then caused the altar to split in two, and then healed Jeroboam's hand, the older prophet wants to meet this man. I don't get the feeling that he intended any harm. I tend to think he wants to enjoy a time of fellowship with a like-minded individual. Living during the spiritually dark days of Jeroboam's reign, the older man may feel as Elijah will later feel during a time of widespread spiritual darkness. Elijah will say, "I am the only remaining prophet of the Lord." (1 Kings 18:22) This was not true but in Elijah's distress he felt like it was true. I believe the elderly prophet thinks he and the man of Judah are the only two prophets standing up for the Lord at this moment. He takes off after him to invite him home with him.
"He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, 'Are you the man of God who came from Judah?' 'I am,' he replied. So the prophet said to him, 'Come home with me and eat.' The man of God said, 'I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. I have been told by the word of the Lord: 'You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.' The old prophet answered, 'I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord: 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.' (But he was lying to him.) So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house." (1 Kings 13:14b-19) The prophet from Judah takes the man's word for it, not questioning in his heart why the Lord would change his mind, not taking the time to consult the Lord to make certain this is His will.
The younger prophet's mistake is a reminder to us not to automatically accept anyone's statement that they have a word from God for us, no matter who that person is. Even if it's our church pastor, we still must consult the Lord before taking any action on any supposed word of God the Lord gave to someone other than us about us. The person may mean well and they may really believe they are giving us sound advice but in many cases they are just being led by their emotions. A person who cares about us and deeply desires to help us with our problems may think they are operating in the Holy Spirit when they give us advice but they could be deceiving themselves, as well as us, by passing along a message that is from their own minds and not from the Lord. Anyone who thinks they are passing along a word from the Lord ought to take time to pray and make sure this is so, but even if they have done this and feel convinced they are giving us the truth, we still have a duty to pray and make certain of it ourselves. The Lord is a good father and a good father is not going to reject his child's request for instruction. If I had ever gone to my late father for advice for living, he wouldn't have said, "I've already told so-and-so to tell you what to do. Go and ask them." When the older prophet told the younger prophet he'd been given a message for him from God, the younger prophet should have confirmed this with the Lord. The Lord would then have told him he was being deceived.
Why doesn't the younger prophet pray to the Lord before going home with the older man? We've already talked about the possibility that he held the older man in such high esteem that he did not question his words. There are two other reasons I can think of that may have led to his moment of poor judgment. Our remaining text from Chapter 13 is too long for us to include in today's study. Tomorrow we will take a look at the other half of this text and talk about why the younger man allowed himself to be led to the older prophet's home.
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