1 Kings 13

King Jeroboam I1 was a doer, not a philosopher; he was a man who first caught Solomon’s attention because he was busy, efficient, dependable, and productive (11:26–28). He was the ideal popular leader who knew how to fight the people’s battles and champion their causes. Ask him about his personal faith in the Lord and his answers might be a bit foggy. He had lived in Egypt long enough to develop a tolerance toward idolatry as well as an understanding of how religion can be used to control the people. In this skill, Jeroboam was one with Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3), Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:19–25), and the Antichrist (Rev. 13, 17), and today’s latest demagogue. But Jeroboam made three serious mistakes during his twenty-two-year reign.

This long chapter is not about young and old prophets; it’s about King Jeroboam and his sins. The young prophet’s ministry is very important in this account, for all that he said and experienced, including his death, were a part of God’s warning to King Jeroboam. According to verse 33, the king didn’t turn back to God: “After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil ways” (nasb). In this chapter, a prophet died, but in the next chapter, the crown prince died! Obviously, God was trying to get Jeroboam’s attention.

The message (vv. 1–2). The anonymous prophet came from Judah because there were still faithful servants of God there whom the Lord could use. He met Jeroboam at the shrine in Bethel, which eventually became “the king’s sanctuary” (Amos 10–12). When you devise your own religion, as Jeroboam did, you can do whatever you please, and Jeroboam chose to be a priest as well as a king. Jeremiah and Ezekiel were priests who were called to be prophets, but the Mosaic law didn’t permit kings to serve as priests (2 Chron. 26:16–23). Jesus Christ is the only King who is also Priest (Heb. 7—8), and all who believe in Christ are “kings and priests” (Rev. 1:6) and “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). Jeroboam’s “priesthood” was spurious and rejected by the Lord. That may be why the anonymous prophet from Judah delivered his message while the king was at the altar.

The prophet spoke to the altar, not to the king, as though God no longer wanted to address Jeroboam, a man so filled with himself and his plans that he had no time to listen to God. The message declared that the future lay with the house of David, not with the house of Jeroboam. Because of Jeroboam’s evil ways, the kingdom of Israel would become so polluted with idolatry and its accompanying sins that the kingdom would be wiped out within two centuries. In 722, the Assyrians captured Israel and the ten northern tribes moved off the scene. David’s dynasty continued until the reign of Zedekiah (597–586). He was Judah’s last king before the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586.

The prophet’s message looked ahead three hundred years to the reign of godly King Josiah (640–609) who rooted out the idolatry in the land, including the king’s shrine at Bethel (2 Kings 23:15–16). Josiah desecrated the altar by burning human bones on it, and then he tore down the altar and let the ashes spill out. The prophecy was fulfilled just as the prophet announced. So sure was this promise that the prophet even named the king! (See also Isa. 44:28; 45:1, 13.)

The miracles (vv. 4–6). The king paid no attention to the message from God; all he wanted to do was punish the messenger. He was infuriated to hear that a king from Judah would one day desecrate and destroy his successful religious system. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand and pointed to the prophet, the Lord touched his arm and it suffered a stroke. What a humiliating experience for such a powerful king and priest! At that moment, the pagan altar split and the ashes came pouring out. Often the Lord authenticated His Word by giving miraculous signs (Heb. 2:1–4) but only to give emphasis to the message. In spite of Jeroboam’s stubborn pride and willful disobedience, the Lord graciously healed his arm. (See Ex. 8:8; Acts 8:24.) It’s too bad that the king was more concerned about physical healing for his body than moral and spiritual healing for his soul.

The king witnessed three miracles in just a few minutes, yet there’s no evidence that he was convicted of his sins. Of themselves, miracles don’t bring conviction or produce saving faith, but they do call attention to the Word. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some of the witnesses believed in Jesus while others went straight to the Jewish religious leaders and stirred up trouble (John 11:45–54). Miracles aren’t necessary for evangelism (John 10:40–42), and those who claimed to believe on Christ only because of His miracles were really “unsaved believers” (John 2:23–25).

The maneuver (vv. 7–10). Jeroboam was a clever man and tried to trap the prophet by inviting him to the palace for a meal. Satan comes as the lion to devour us (1 Peter 5:8), and when that fails, he comes as a serpent to deceive us (2 Cor. 11:3; Gen. 3:1ff.). The king’s “Lay hold of him!” became “Come home with me!” But the prophet refused, for he knew his commission from the Lord compelled him to leave Bethel and not tarry. Had the prophet eaten a meal with the king, that one simple act would have wiped out the effectiveness of his witness and ministry. In the east, sharing a meal is a sign of friendship and endorsement. The prophet certainly didn’t want to be a friend to such an evil man or give others the impression that he endorsed his wicked works. “Like a trampled spring and a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked” (Prov. 25: nasb). A compromising servant of God muddies the waters and confuses the saints. The prophet refused the king’s friendship, food, and gifts. Like Daniel, he said, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another” (Dan. 5: nkjv).

The mistake (vv. 11–34). The faithful man from Judah couldn’t be deceived by a wicked king but he could be fooled by an old retired prophet! This narrative presents some things to puzzle over, but we must not forget the main message: if the Lord punished a deceived prophet for his disobedience, how much more would he punish a wicked king who was sinning with his eyes wide open? If a true prophet disobeyed and was disciplined, what will happen to the false prophets? The prophet from Judah didn’t compromise in his message, but he did compromise in his conduct, and he paid for his disobedience with his life. The Lord was saying to King Jeroboam, “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4: nkjv; see also Prov. 11:31).

There are some characteristics of the old prophet that bother me. First of all, what was he doing living in Bethel when by traveling just a few miles he could be in Judah? We get the impression that the prophet wasn’t exactly a spiritual giant, otherwise the Lord would have called him to rebuke the king. The fact that he lied to a fellow prophet raises some questions about his character. It’s also disturbing that he wept over the younger man’s death when he helped to cause it, and then buried the man he helped to kill. Was he trying to atone for his own sins against the prophet?

The younger prophet did his work well and got out of town. Had he kept going and not lingered under the tree he would have escaped the tempting offer of the old prophet. God’s servants often face great temptations after times of great success and excitement. (See 1 Kings 18 and 19.) The old man’s sons witnessed the confrontation with Jeroboam at the altar and told their father what the prophet from Judah had said about the king and about his commission from the Lord (vv. 8–10). When the old prophet caught up with the messenger of the Lord, he deliberately tempted him to disobey the Lord’s commission, and the younger man fell into the trap! The older prophet should not have tempted a fellow servant to disobey, but the younger man shouldn’t have hastened to accept the older man’s words. If God gave the man from Judah the message and the instructions for delivering it, then God could also give him the changes in the plan.

When an emotionally disturbed man told Charles Spurgeon that God had told him to preach for Spurgeon the next Sunday at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Spurgeon replied, “When the Lord tells me, I’ll let you know.” Other believers can use the Word to encourage us, warn us, and correct us, but beware of letting other believers tell you God’s will for your life. The Father loves each of His children personally and wants to convey His will to each personally (Ps. 33:11). Yes, there’s safety in a multitude of counselors, provided they’re walking with the Lord, but there’s no certainty that you have the will of God just because a committee approved it.

Since he knew what the prophet from Judah was supposed to do, why did the old man deliberately lie to the young man and encourage him to disobey the Lord? Was the old man worried that the visiting prophet might stir things up in comfortable Bethel and create problems for him and other satisfied compromisers? Perhaps the young prophet was feeling proud of what he had done—preaching a powerful message and performing three miracles—and the Lord used the old man to test him and bring him back to essentials. By telling the lie, the old prophet tempted the young man, but by going back to Bethel, the young prophet tempted himself (he was out of God’s will) and tempted the Lord. Why didn’t the young visitor seek the face of the Lord and find out His will? The text tells us only the events, not the motives in the hearts of the participants, so we can’t answer any of these questions with finality.

One of the strangest events of all is that the Lord sent His word to the old prophet who was out of His will! But God spoke to Balaam, who was not necessarily a separated and dedicated man, as well as to Elijah (1 Kings 18) and Jonah (Jonah 3–4). After the meal, the younger prophet started back home and the lion met him and killed him. But even this event had miracle aspects to it, because the lion didn’t maul the body or attack the mule, and the mule didn’t run away. The animals must have remained there a long time because witnesses told the tale in Bethel and people came out to see the sight, including the old prophet who carried the body away and buried it. Surely the news arrived at the palace, and perhaps the king rejoiced that his enemy was dead. But the prophet’s words were not dead! And the very death of the prophet was another warning to Jeroboam that he had better start to obey the Word of God.

The old prophet must have recovered his courage, for he publicly declared that the prophecy given at the Bethel altar would be fulfilled (vv. 31–32), and it was (2 Kings 23:15–18). Three hundred years later, King Josiah saw the old prophet’s tomb and took courage that the Lord does fulfill His Word. But did any of these unusual events convict the heart of King Jeroboam and bring him to a place of repentance? “But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways” (v. 33 nlt). However, God’s next warning would come closer to home.