We left the last message with the prophet leaving Jeroboam after the altar was destroyed, just as God had warned and commanded. We will see how this truly affected Jeroboam later, but what about this prophet?
1 Kings 13:11-14 Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father.
13:12 Their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" Now his sons had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone.
13:13-14 Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" And he said, "I am."
What was his interest in finding this prophet? Did he want to thank him for his service and obedience in the face of an evil king? Did he want to pray with him? Did he want to just sit with him and hear the story himself?
13:15 Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread."
13:16-17 He said, "I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. "For a command came to me by the word of the LORD, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.'"
13:18-19 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.
While the man from Judah did not hesitate to turn down Jeroboam’s offer of a meal, he seemed to have no concerns about eating with this lying, old self-proclaimed prophet. The church falls for this today! True teachers are influenced too often by false teachers. These false teachers also have a “word” from God and try to identify with the true teachers.
Does this sound very familiar to what the serpent said to Eve? While Eve knew what God had said, she still seemed to believe the serpent rather than God.
13:20-22 Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back; and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have disobeyed the command of the LORD, and have not observed the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water"; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.'"
This is very interesting. Now the LORD is truly speaking to this lying prophet! Because of his lies and deceit, the true prophet will be punished for obeying man rather than God.
13:23-24 It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
Now when he had gone, a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body.
This seems like harsh treatment for just stopping to eat. But nothing is trivial to God. The LORD had given him very specific commandments for a very sacred assignment. Disobedience carries a very severe,swift punishment.
God is merciful, in that, He isn’t as quickly severe with us, even though we are just as guilty. A punishment delayed doesn’t imply innocence. This is true in everyday life in the U.S. and certainly true in the heavenly realms.