“Now it happened, as they sat at
the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him
back; and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus
says the LORD: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not
kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, but you came back,
ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the LORD said to you, “Eat no
bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your
fathers.’”
“Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it,
he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the
LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered
him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of
the LORD which He spoke to him.”
Reading through all of 1 Kings 13, the scene begins with the
man of God boldly prophesying against the altar that Jeroboam, king for the
north of the newly divided nation, had set up and thereby drawn the northern nation
into the sin of idolatry. The king
stretched out his hand against the man of God and his hand immediately withered
for all to see. Instant judgment. That same day the altar split, fulfilling part
of the prophecy. Then around 340 years
later, the last of the prophecy was fulfilled when Josiah eliminated the false
priests. When Jeroboam asked the man of
God to heal his withered arm, the man of God prayed and the arm was
restored. We find out that the man of
God was not to take bread or water in this sinful city when he refuses the
offer from the king. As the man of God
is on his way home, an old prophet deceives him with the lie that God had told
him the man of God should take bread and water with him. During the meal, the Holy Spirit speaks through the lying prophet, who then gives a true
prophecy that the man of God will die due to his disobedience.
We might perceive this to be a disproportionate
punishment. This man of God did what God
wanted him to do, boldly even, against the king, and then he was deceived. Here the king was breaking commandments by
committing idolatry and he was drawing the people into sin. The king also wanted to arrest the man of
God. The old prophet falsely prophesied,
he misrepresented God. In scripture there are some big names, such as Noah and Moses, of whom we hear all about their service
to God, but then they sin against God in some way, and we do not hear anything
about them again or their service is cut short.
Noah, as you know, built the arc that was the salvation for
humanity and land based animals during the flood. After the flood, though, we see that Noah
grew a vineyard, made wine, became drunk and was found naked by his son
Ham. According to Genesis 9:28, Noah
lived another 350 years after the flood, however, after this drinking binge, we
do not hear anything else about him.
Moses was used by God to free God’s people from Egypt,
scribe God’s law and receive the detailed architectural plans for the
tabernacle and its instruments, including the arc of the covenant. Big stuff.
Yet he was not allowed to enter into the promised land. Why?
Because he misrepresented God as we see in Numbers 20:1-13, when he
struck the rock in anger to give water to the people, when God had told Moses
to ‘speak’ to the rock. “Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron,
‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of
Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have
given them.’” (Numbers 20:12)
Charles Stanley says “When we know we have heard from the
Lord, we cannot let anyone convince us that He has changed His mind –
regardless of the source of the supposed new revelation.” David Guzik states: “This is an example of an
important principle of the way God works. We think that strict judgment should
begin among the most ungodly, but often God begins strict judgment among His
own people. Usually this is because God knows that the world will not be
reached when His people are compromising and disobedient.” Mr. Guzik refers to this scripture:
“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and
if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the
gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17
Paul said he was an ambassador for Christ (Ephesians
6:20). As Christians, we must be ever aware
of who we represent. When God gives us a
specific word, we should not stray to the right or to the left. He wants particular representation for
reasons often unknown to us, and if we miss the mark, in other words ‘sin,’ it
takes away from the glory of God.
This does not mean God did not love the man of God. It does not mean that the man of God went to hell. The gospel teaches us better than that. “But
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
What it means is that when we disobey God, we are no longer useful as a representative of Him. Worse yet, we are in danger of misrepresenting Him. This realization should
prick our heart if we have begun to comprehend the deep love for us that led
Jesus as a lamb to the slaughter. If you
are like me, you want to please Him, you want to stay useful, you want to hear
Him say “Well done, good and faithful
servant.” (Matthew 25:21a) How about you? If there is any question in your mind whether you have been disobedient or compromising, ask God, and continue asking Him,
to keep you on the right path.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties;
and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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