GOD’S WORD IS CERTAIN
1 Kings 13:11-34
For the message he declared by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.” (32)
chapter 13
11. 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.
12. Their father asked them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken.
13. So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it
14. and rode 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.
15. So the prophet said to him, "Come home with me and eat."
16. 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.
17. 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.’"
18. 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.)
19. So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.
20. While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back.
21. He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: ’You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you.
22. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’"
23. When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him.
24. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
25. Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26. When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, "It is the man of God who defied the word of the LORD. The LORD has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the LORD had warned him."
27. The prophet said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me," and they did so.
28. Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey.
29. So the prophet picked 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.
30. Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him and said, "Alas, my brother!"
31. After burying him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
32. For the message he declared by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true."
33. Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places.
34. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1. An old prophet heard what the man of God had said and done, and he wanted to meet him. So, he went and met the man of God and invited him to come home with him and have something to eat. The man of God refused, saying God had told him not to eat or drink anything in that land. But the old prophet lied to him and said God had told him to bring the man of God back to his home to eat bread and drink water. So the man of God went with him. While eating, the prophet rebuked the man of God for disobeying God’s word. The man of God had no discernment. He should have known God never contradicts his own word.
2. The man of God paid a heavy price for his lack of discernment—on his way home, he was mauled by a lion. The lion didn’t eat the man nor the donkey he was riding. He just stood beside the man’s body. The old prophet knew that everything he had said to King Jeroboam would come true. He went and took the body and buried it in his own tomb, mourning, “Alas my brother!” Even as Jeroboam heard what had happened to the man of God, he refused to repent of his wicked ways. His sin, as sin always does, led to the downfall and destruction of the house of Jeroboam. The word of the Lord is always certain.
Prayer: Father, thank you for your word and for the certainty of your word. Help us to hold on to your word. Your word is truth.
One Word: God’s word will certainly come true