To secure his throne, Jeroboam strategically built two key temples in his kingdom, one in the northernmost region of Dan and the other at Bethel which was bordered by the southern kingdom of Judah. He created rival holy places all over his kingdom, crafted golden calves as idols, established new festivals and even appointed non-Levitical priests. When he tried to replicate the consecration of the temple, God did not send His presence but sent a man from Judah to warn him to forego his evil ways.
By the word of the LORD he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’”
1 Kings 13:2 (NIV)
A king from the house of David named Josiah, born more than three hundred years later did indeed rise up against the house of Jeroboam. Today, political parties after coming to power, destroy the statues erected to honour the influential leaders of the opposing party and even change the names of stadiums and airports so that the people forget about their rivals. Similarly, upon his appointment, Josiah destroyed the high places and other ritualistic altars built by Jeroboam, thus, erasing the memory of Jeroboam from the minds of the people.
A Sign From the LORD
While the prophecy about Josiah would take a couple of centuries to come to pass, a man of God, gave a sign that very day that would seek to validate his warning to Jeroboam. He declared that the very altar on which Jeroboam was offering his sacrifices would be split apart and the ashes on it would be poured out. When Jeroboam heard what this man of God had to say against his altar, he stretched out his hand and commanded his men to seize him but his hand shrivelled up so that he could not pull it back and before his very eyes, the altar split apart with its ashes pouring out just as the man of God had prophesied.
Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.
1 Kings 13:6 (NIV)
God answered the intercession that the man of God had made on behalf of Jeroboam, not as a recall of His rebuke but as a warning to Jeroboam to change his evil ways. Just like the king had asked for his shrivelled hand to be healed, if he had prayed for his hardened heart to be softened, God would have answered his prayers. God was giving him a chance to change his ways on his own rather than forcing him to transform his heart.
There is a new phone that is hitting the stores called the ‘light phone’. Unlike modern smartphones, which have tonnes of storage space and hundreds of apps for every need, this new phone limits itself to only providing basic functionalities. You can take calls or message your friends but not use any of the social media apps to check up on them. In this toxic environment created by excessive use of social media, this phone helps its users undergo a digital detox by making it impossible for them to access their social media accounts. However, this would mean that the users also won’t be able to access crucial apps such as navigational and banking apps.
A better way would be to have a smartphone but willingly limit or delete one’s social media account if it is having a negative impact on their mental state. People should make their choice on their own rather than make the phone company limit their options. God wants everyone to come to Him on their own rather than being scared by their pastors into accepting His path. The fear of the LORD is the biggest deterrent for a person to fully understand God’s heart but will drive them to portray a facade of only an outward transformation.
A Meal and A Gift
Seeing his shrivelled hand heal, Jeroboam realised that this man from Judah was sent by the Living God. He immediately asked him to accompany him to his house for dinner and also offered him gifts but the man of God declined his invitation.
I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’
1 Kings 13:8-9 (NIV)
The man who came all the way from Judah was instructed by God to not eat or drink anything during his visit to Bethel. But Jeroboam kept on insisting that the man of God come to his home and dine with him. Having witnessed the awesome sign done by God through His servant, Jeroboam would have wanted to keep the man of God happy in return for blessings. Saul did the same when he got the message of rebuke from Samuel. He tried to convince Samuel to let go of his anger momentarily and join in the festivities to keep up appearances, that there is harmony between the king and the prophet.
People do this even today when a pastor or a servant of God delivers a message of rebuke to them. People try to change the hearts of pastors who are warning them to correct their ways by almost bribing them to change their opinions about them. They try to buy back the grace of God by pleasing the messenger sent by the LORD. This is usually done by people who themselves have no connection with God and are solely dependent on a third party to know the heart of God. When they find someone who has a connection with God they do everything to be in close proximity to them.
The Prophet of Bethel
In Bethel, an old prophet’s sons informed him about the man of God’s actions and words there. The old prophet then found the man of God and invited him home for a meal. The man of God initially refused, citing instructions from the Lord. The old prophet lied, claiming that an angel told him to bring the man of God home. The man of God, believing the old prophet, went with him and ate and drank at his house.
The prophet of Bethel would have been a powerful worker of God in the past but now it seems that God’s favour was not upon his family. Even though his sons were present with Jeroboam when he was sacrificing at the altar, God chose to send a man from another region to rebuke the king. The prophet and his family aligned themselves with Jeroboam by not rebuking him for his evil ways and thus God had to find another medium to deliver His message. When the prophet heard about this man from Judah and the signs he performed, he wanted to get more information on his rival from the southern kingdom. To convince him to disobey the command given to him by God, he concocted a false narrative that he had received contradicting instructions from the angel of the LORD.
This is how certain ministers deceive their congregants into taking actions they have no interest in pursuing. Everyone should base their decisions on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, rather than simply following the direction of others. If someone claims, “God told me to tell you,” we should consider the larger issue of why God is not communicating with us directly. Have we obstructed the channels of communication with God, or are we being deceived by satan into acting against God’s will?
While they were at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. He told the man of God, that he had disobeyed and did not keep God’s command. He ate and drank where he was told not to, so his body would not be buried with his ancestors. After the man of God finished eating and drinking, the prophet who brought him back saddled his donkey. On the way, a lion met and killed him. The body lay on the road with the lion and donkey standing peacefully beside it.
The fact that the lion did not maul the donkey as well, astounded the passersby and they reported it in the city where the old prophet lived. When the prophet heard of it, he said, that the man of God defied the word of the LORD. He found the body, the lion, and the donkey, and then brought the body back to his city to mourn and bury him. After burying him, he asked to be buried next to the man of God, as the man’s prophecy against the altar in Bethel and the shrines would come true.
It can be challenging to comprehend that the man of God lost his life just because he was fooled by the old prophet of Bethel. Even more puzzling is why did God not intervene or reveal his verdict directly to the man from Judah rather than using the prophet as a vessel. God had sent the man from Judah all the way to Bethel to reveal his message of caution to the king of Israel but when it concerned his own shortcomings, God did not talk to him directly. It is possible that having found a colleague in Bethel the man of God from Judah let down his guard. Even after hearing God’s verdict regarding his disobedience, the man of God only left that place after finishing his meal, after his colleague had saddled his donkey for him. He didn’t listen to the voice of God and trusted a stranger’s words over following God’s instructions.
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.”
1 Kings 13:26 (NIV)
The old prophet was cunning enough to lure the poor man to his house but even after seeing the consequences of his fib, he is unrepentant. He blamed the man of God for bringing God’s wrath upon himself due to his failure to adhere to God’s instructions, completely ignoring the part he played. Seeing his rival from Judah perish would have given him joy, but his death also validated his message about Bethel’s fall and that would have sacred the old prophet. He asked his sons to bury his body in the same tomb where he laid to rest his rival perhaps wanting to have his eternal resting place in close proximity to the man of God.
Jeroboam’s Reaction
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. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.
1 Kings 13:33-34 (NIV)
Jerobaom now had three signs to help him trust the message of rebuke that God had proclaimed to him earlier that day. He saw the altar spit apart, his hand shrivelled and the messenger of God mauled by a lion for his disobedience to LORD’s instructions.
Regardless, the king doubled down on his evil ways and built many more high places and installed numerous priests in his pagan temples. During the reign of Jeroboam, priestly positions were handed out for political influence and leverage over a region and that would explain why he started installing priests from every tribe in the land. Rather than changing his ways, the message of rebuke seemed to only spur Jeroboam into further rebellion against the God of Israel.
In our lives, does a message of rebuke invoke a change or spur us to revolt against our Creator? Rather than reevaluating our choices we make excuses and try to justify our stand to the people around us. We do not even seek God’s forgiveness and are set in our ways. Let us take heed of God’s warning about our lives and not ignore it for the sake of fitting in with the world around us. The only opinion that matters is His, the only voice we should be listening to is of our God.
Discussion Questions
- Why is God answering the prayer on behalf of Jeroboam? Wouldn’t his shrivelled hand be a better deterrent for him to keep away from his evil ways?
- Why does the tendency to give gifts and feed the servants of God exist even today?
- Why is the prophet calling the man of God to his home for supper and why did he choose to lie to get him to his house?
- Why did God not speak directly to the man of God at the house of the old prophet?
- Even after witnessing these events, Jeroboam did not heed the warning from God. Why do we ignore the direct warning from God to change our ways?
The Jordan Valley 
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