A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

 

1 Kings 13:1-10

 

June 3, 2021

 

 A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings.   And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’”   And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’”   And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up so that he could not draw it back to himself.   The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.   And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before.   And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”  And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’”   So, he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

Often my problem has been not reading the Scriptures but applying them to my daily life.  It is not our outward actions, the LORD looks at but the intent of our hearts.  You can go to church and many Bible Studies but if you never examine yourself and apply them to how you, lead in your family, at work, and with your neighbors, what real value are they?

 

As you read the Proverbs, give thought to these verses, Proverbs 12:15, “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.”  I recall a foolish young man who God was a blessing and using in His kingdom to turn people’s hearts back to God.  He had by most people's account, been a never was, and now people were asking him to speak and lead and He became prideful.  God sent men and one exceptional lady to warn him, but he did not listen.  Great was his fall, I am that man.

 

So, when I read Proverbs 19:20, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”  I do so now, but a very foolish person like the young man I was talking about would ignore such a council.

 

That young man had to go back to the Scriptures and allow the men God sent to him to teach him the ways of God.  One that is very dear to him is 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!  

 

That young man also had to learn about his unique version of his flesh, his flesh desire to be first, be the best, and have the praise of men, and that is what the old devil used to destroy him.  We all have unique flesh and if you are blind to yours, you are an easy target for the evil one.

 

It is clear that Jeroboam had fearful flesh, and was fearful of man, but had no fear of God, which are the sins he had committed.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice