The Young & Old Prophet 1 Kings 13

1. The Young & Old Prophet 1 Kings 13

2. “1 Kings 13:1” • “Prophets in the Old Testament were not only ‘king-makers’ but also ‘king-breakers’. Those the Lord sent to choose and anoint kings could also be sent to declare divine judgment” (Dilday, p. 167). The prophet in this chapter is unnamed and simply called “a man of God”. “God did not permit the inauguration of Jeroboam’s first great feast at Bethel to proceed without prophetic protest” (Smith, p. 473).

3. “1 Kings 13:2” • The prophet cried against the altar because it was unscriptural in the sight of God. With the precision that is often found in the Bible, Josiah, a man who would not be born for some three hundred years, was named as the instrument who would bring God’s wrath upon Bethel and its altar. • The actual prediction is fulfilled in 2 Kings 23:20. “The time span between Jeroboam and Josiah was 291 years. But time means nothing to the One who inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15). He sees the future as clearly as the present” (Winters, p. 105).

4. “1 Kings 13:4,5” • Instead of listening and repenting, Jeroboam tried to silence this prophet. God immediately punished Jeroboam by causing his arm to wither. •  2 Peter 3:4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

5. “1 Kings 13:6-10” • Jeroboam now changes his tactics, and pleads for mercy, yet whatever softening of the king’s heart the request might imply, it was short-lived. He continued in disobedience until his death (33). • Jeroboam attempts to win the prophet’s favor by offering him food and a gift, but the prophet refused – he had his orders from God.

6. “1 Kings 13:11-13” • While devout worshippers of God had immigrated to Judah (2 Chronicles 11:13-16), at least one old prophet remained in Bethel. • It appears he had compromised himself, for God was not using him. • In addition he will tell an outright lie to the prophet that had come from Judah.

7. “1 Kings 13:14-18” • The old prophet lies to this unnamed prophet, and says that an angel had given him new information. “An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord” (18). • Does this sound familiar? (Galatians 1:6-9). • Here we learn that God does not contradict Himself and that He expects us to test those whose claim they are speaking for Him, with what He has said in the past (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1)

8. “Why?” • So why did this young prophet trust the word of an old prophet in the Northern Kingdom instead of relying upon what God had originally said? • Was it because he naively assumed that someone who professed to be religious always spoke the truth? • Was he fooled by the age, experience or prestige of the old prophet, thinking “Well, he must be right seeing that he has spent more time studying the Scriptures than I have?”

9. “Why?” • Was he under the illusion that he could not challenge someone if they claimed that God had indeed spoken to them? • Did he forget that even prophets can lie and fall away? • Did he forget that even Satan can use God’s professed servants? • Notice that the young prophet was not taken in, nor intimidated by Jeroboam or his offers, but was completely fooled by an old prophet. • The lesson here is that temptation is often most dangerous when it comes from someone who appears innocent and who appears to be on the same page as we are.

10. “Why?” • Then there is the question of why the old prophet lied. • Notice that he says, “I also am a prophet just like you” (13:18). • Yet, that was not true either. The old prophet did not have the conviction or faithfulness of the younger prophet. • Observe that the old prophet was informed by his sons concerning everything that the young prophet had told Jeroboam, including the direct command from God not to eat (13:11).

11. “Why?” • “The old prophet sports an alarming combination: he speaks the truth of God (20-22) and destroys the servant of God (18). You should be terrified if you have the truth and yet that truth does not grip, control, and transform you. For the old prophet the truth seemed to be more of a game than a love” (Davis, pp. 155-156).

12. “1 Kings 13” • 13:23-25 “That this death was no accident is indicated by the peculiar behavior of the donkey and the lion, both of which simply stood near the corpse of the fallen prophet” (Smith, p. 475). • 13:26-32 The old prophet who had lied goes and retrieves the body and shows profound respect for the unnamed prophet by placing his body in his own grave. Apparently, the old man was now convinced that the predictions regarding the Bethel altar and other sanctuaries in the north would come to pass” (Smith, pp. 475-476).

13. “Conclusion” • The old prophet says, “Alas, my brother” (13:30), when the reality is that such men had little in common. • If he was such a brother, then why had this man lied to him? • “What an indictment this is against false teachers and their doctrines! Jesus described them as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15-21). Paul warned of false teachers entering the church (Acts 20:28-32), gospel perverters (Galatians 1:6-11), and false prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) (who looked like faithful and sincere members).

14. “Conclusion” • Despite these warnings, many still contend, ‘It does not matter what one believes, just as long as he is sincere’. • But it was a matter of life and death with this young prophet, and the same it true of us (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; 2 John 9-11)”