Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Kings 12-14.
A young prophet who revealed a divine message to King Jeroboam refused to stay with the king and receive a reward from him. He explained why:
“If you were to give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. For 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 which you came’” (1 Kings 13:8-9).
This man knew what God instructed and was intent upon obeying Him. His determination was commendable. But unfortunately for this man, there was more to this story.
An old prophet from Bethel came to him and invited him to come and eat bread with him. The old prophet received the same answer that Jeroboam received about the Lord’s prohibition against staying in that place and delaying his return home. But the old prophet was determined to get this man to join him.
“He said to him, ‘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. So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water” (1 Kings 13:18-19).
As a result of the younger prophet heeding the invitation of the older prophet, the Lord condemned him (1 Kings 13:20-22). While he was on his way home, he was killed by a lion on the road (1 Kings 13:24).
Why did the old prophet lie to the younger prophet? We are not told. Frankly, it does not matter whether he had wicked motives, was mistaken about his message, or if there was some other reason behind it. All that matters is that the younger prophet listened to him, disobeyed the Lord, and was killed for it.
We need to be careful not to follow lying messengers today. We must test every teacher (1 John 4:1), examine every message by the Scriptures (Acts 17:11), accept what is true, and reject what is false (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).
The younger prophet did not test the old prophet’s message to see if it was true. He simply believed it and paid the price. Do not make the same mistake. Do not blindly follow anyone. Follow God and the instructions He has given in His word. That is the only safe course.
Tomorrow’s reading: 2 Chronicles 10-12
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
