Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 13; 1 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 12; Philippians 3
Scripture: 1 Kings 13:16-19
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.
Observation: What a shame! This young prophet has daringly followed the word of the Lord in bringing a sharp rebuke to the king. And he has been careful to follow exactly the instructions the Lord gave him -- until now. Here, the young prophet repeats the Lord's instructions. "'You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.'" But he allows himself to be deceived by the old prophet who uses a carefully crafted canard to draw the young man away. Why the old prophet did this is unclear. Maybe he just wanted to spend time with a real man of God. Maybe he had grown so jaded that he thought that the instructions of God didn't matter, or that God wouldn't care. But whatever the reason, the old prophet lied. And the young prophet listened to the lie and was drawn aside even though it was a direct contradiction to what the Lord had spoken to him.
Application: Listen to God and don't waver on His clear word. There are many people who will challenge you, "Has the Lord really said that?" but you must stick with the word of the Lord.
The word of the Lord is precious and should be treated as such. It can be a tricky business to truly differentiate between what is God's word to us and what is our own thought. Of course, there is the written word of God that you can take to the bank. But when we receive a word from the Lord in the form of a still small voice, or the inner witness of the Spirit, it is not always easy to be sure. In today's scripture the young prophet was sure and he had the confirmation of the miraculous signs that accompanied the message he gave. This is why he could be 100% certain that he had received a message from God and why he should have followed it to the last jot and tittle.
Bottom line: When God speaks clearly, pay attention and follow closely. To fail in this can spell disaster.
Prayer: Lord, bring us Your clear word. And we will follow, with Your divine enablement. We desire to be faithful in our obedience to what You have spoken to us. May we put every word from You into practice in our lives.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 comment:
I think the old prophet had become either jaded or afraid to speak out God's truth. Why else would God have to send a prophet from Judah when there was a prophet already there in Israel? The old prophet lied, which showed he had already become a person who compromised his integrity without batting an eye. Yet he still could hear from God, as indicated by the word of the Lord he gave to the younger man of God. If we had to bear such heavy consequences for disobeying God as did the young prophet, we'd certainly take the word of God more seriously wouldn't we?
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