1 Kings 13:11 – 34 “Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words that the man had spoken to the king.
“Which way did he go?” their father asked.
And his sons showed him the way taken by the man of God, who had come from Judah. So the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.”
Then they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it and went after the man of God. 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 the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some bread.”
But the man replied, “I cannot return with you or eat bread or drink water with you in this place. For 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.’ ”
Then the prophet replied, “I too 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, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ”
The old prophet was lying to him, but the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water.
While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back, and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment that the LORD your God gave you, but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to do so, your body shall never reach the tomb of your fathers.’ ”
And after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
And there were men passing by who saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported this in the city where the old prophet lived.
When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.” Then the old prophet instructed his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it, and he went and found the body lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or mauled the donkey. So the old prophet lifted up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!”
After he had buried him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, you must bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones, for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.”
Even after these events, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways, but again he appointed priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained anyone who desired to be a priest of the high places. And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth.”
This is one of the most confusing stories in the Old Testament. The young prophet who has cried out against Jeroboam’s altar at Bethel has done extremely well. God has split the altar and spilled out the ashes, withering Jeroboam’s hand and then restoring it once the young prophet has prayed. But God has told this young prophet not to eat or drink anything in that place and to return home by a route different from the one he took to get there.
In the same vicinity lives an old prophet whose behavior is far from exemplary. The old prophet wants to meet the young one, and this is fine. But then when the young prophet describes his orders from God, the old prophet lies, saying that an angel has appeared to him and that the young prophet is to stop at his house to eat with him. Why would this old prophet behave this way? Perhaps this old prophet is jealous; after all, the young prophet has just ministered in a powerful way. Perhaps the old prophet has never had anything miraculous happen in his life. Perhaps the old prophet has been called to speak out against Jeroboam and he has refused, fearing for his life. Now he is jealous and resentful that someone else has succeeded where he has failed. This old prophet is already on the spot at Bethel. What has he been doing while Jeroboam has been establishing this fake religion? Anyhow, the old prophet entices the young one to come home and eat with him, only to turn around and prophesy that the young prophet will die on the way for failing to follow God’s instructions correctly. (Is the old prophet gloating as he utters this proclamation?)
When the young prophet leaves and is killed by a lion, it is obvious that this lion is from the Lord because the lion leaves the body and the young prophet’s donkey alone and allows the old prophet to collect the body. Finally, the old prophet instructs his sons to bury him with the young prophet because the young prophet’s outcry against Jeroboam’s fake religion is going to come true. Now that the young prophet is safely dead and can no longer make the old prophet feel ashamed of himself, the old prophet is willing to cry, “My brother! My brother!”
APPLICATION: IF GOD TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING, FOLLOW ALL THE DIRECTIONS IMPLICITLY! This young prophet has carried out the work of the Lord; however, he is willing to listen to the old prophet when that man claims that an angel has appeared to him. By this point, the young man is probably hungry, thirsty, and tired. How nice it would be if God would allow him to enjoy just a small refreshment before he takes the long road home!
Fatigue and self – pity are a disastrous combination. Satan uses the old prophet to sway the young one so that he will forfeit his life for lack of obedience. Because of the old prophet’s perfidy, we will never know how wonderful the young prophet’s career might have been. This young man might have become a second Samuel or a precursor to Elijah. Now all that promise lies dead on the road at the feet of God’s lion, who watches until the old prophet and his sons collect the body.
IF YOU ARE AN OLDER BELIEVER, DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE CALL OF GOD ON SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE FOR ANY REASON, ESPECIALLY FOR JEALOUSY! The old prophet has behaved wretchedly, duping the younger one at the cost of that man’s life. If this old man has ever moved in the prophetic, he knows the cost of such a life. Perhaps he has turned away from God, refusing to pay the price for effective ministry. Now he is willing to deceive a promising young man because that man’s ministry is proving more effective than his own. We can never know precisely what God intends for someone else; only God knows. When we interfere as the old prophet has done, we may cripple a fellow believer so that he or she may never develop their full potential. God will hold us responsible if we act so wickedly.
The old prophet and the young one: Follow God’s directions implicitly and don’t interfere with the call of God on someone else’s life. Allow God to do His full work with someone else; anything less is like removing a butterfly or a moth from its chrysalis without allowing it to struggle. It is the struggle that develops the magnificent wings. No struggle, no flight, only a poor crippled thing left on the ground to die, stripped of its potential by someone playing amateur providence. May God help us, so that we follow His Will for our lives and refuse to interfere in His dealings with others for any reason!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You that You have a perfect plan for each of our lives and that in Your sight, humble actions are just as important as big public ones, if they are done in obedience. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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