By Peter Merz
"At the Lord's command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, and he arrived there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to offer a sacrifice. Then at the Lord's command, he shouted, 'O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense and human bones will be burned on you.' That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message, and he said, 'The Lord has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground'" (1 Kings 13:1-3 NLT).
To fully grasp this story of King Jeroboam and the man of God (or the prophet Jadon [possibly a form of Adonias] as Flavius Josephus calls him [see Jewish Antiquities Book 8, Chapter 8) we need only examine the events surrounding the death of King Solomon and his son Rehoboam's early reign over a still united Israel. Just prior to the death of Solomon God promised to remove 10 of the 12 tribes from Solomon's son (Rehoboam) and appoint a man from the tribe of Ephraim (Jeroboam, the same king of 1 Kings 13) to rule over them (see 1 Kings 11:29-39). God promised Jeroboam that
"if you pay heed to all my commands, if you conform to my ways and do what is right in my eyes, observing my statutes and commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you. I will establish your family for ever as I did for David; I will give Israel to you, and punish David's descendants as they have deserved, but not for ever" (1 Kings 11:38-39 NEB).
After the death of Solomon the 10 tribes represented by Jeroboam petitioned King Rehoboam to lighten the burdens of the Israelites both in the degree of taxes and to physical hardships. Rehoboam after conferring with two sets of counselors, one group made up of older men and another group made up of younger men, decided to follow the rash and unwise advice of the younger men and told the people of Israel,
"My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions" (1 Kings 12:14-15 NASB).
This of course did not go over with the Israelites (especially those who would now comprise the Northern 10 tribes of Israel or House of Israel) and so the once United Kingdom now was split as the North seceded from the South (see 1 Kings 12:16-19).
True to the word of the Lord, through the prophet Ahijah, the people of Israel made Jeroboam their king (see 1 Kings 12:20). However, Jeroboam began to doubt the promise of the Lord, and began to fear man instead of God. The text goes on to say,
"Jeroboam thought to himself, 'Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. When they go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.' So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves [or bulls]. He said to the people, 'It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!' He placed these calf idols at the southern and northern ends of Israel—in Bethel and in Dan. This became a great sin, for the people who worshipped them, traveling even as far as Dan" (1 Kings 12:26-29 NLT).
Jeroboam on the pretext of imaginary fears sought advice on how to keep his kingdom, but he did not seek advice from godly counselors (such as the prophet Ahijah), or from the Most High, but rather from those who gave bad and utterly corrupt advice. Scripture then goes on to tell how Jeroboam built shrines at the pagan high places and ordained priests in Bethel from the people of Israel who were not of the priestly tribe of Levi; and how Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel to take place on the fifteenth of the eighth month (or mid-autumn), one similar to the annual Festival of Shelters (or Feast of Tabernacles) in Jerusalem—and on this annual festival, Jeroboam would offer sacrifices on the altar at Bethel (see 1 Kings 12:31-33).
Looking once again at 1 Kings 13:1-3 through the lens of 1 Kings Chapters 11 and 12 it becomes more apparent what is going on here. Gods sends the prophet Jadon to rebuke Jeroboam and his self-imposed pagan worship and festivals, which are an abomination in the eyes of a holy God.
The story continues by saying,
"King Jeroboam was very angry with the man of God for speaking against the altar. So he pointed at the man and shouted, 'Seize that man!' But instantly the king's hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn't pull it back. At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in the message from the Lord. The king cried out to the man of God, 'Please ask the Lord your God to restore my hand again!' So the man of God prayed to the Lord, and the king's hand became normal again. Then the king said to the man of God, 'Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.' But the man of God said to the king, 'Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not eat any food or drink any water in this place. For the Lord gave me this command: 'You must not eat any food or drink any water while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came'. So he left Bethel and went home another way" (1 Kings 13:4-10 NLT).
Jeroboam's thinking he's pretty hot stuff. I mean, how dare this man from Judah speak against this altar that he had built and threaten him like this. So Jeroboam does what any other wicked king would do in his sandals. He orders the prophet to be seized so he can do one of two things: either throw Jadon in jail or have Jadon executed. But not even the best laid plans of mice and men come together like evil despots would like. And so Jeroboam's hand becomes withered (or paralyzed)—and suddenly Jeroboam is more concerned with his hand than getting back at Jadon. So he starts begging for Jadon's help. Notice that by the time this story takes place Jeroboam does not refer to Yahweh as his God, but asks Jadon to pray to Yahweh his God.
Sin always begins with one step down and if sin is not dealt with speedily that downward progression will continue. Jeroboam became fearful of what the people would do to him, instead of believing what God had told him through the prophet Ahijah. Proverbs 29:25 says, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe" (NIV). Had Jeroboam followed this advice he would not have taken that first step down that scarlet staircase of willful and deliberate sin.
It's interesting that even after Jadon prays for God to restore Jeroboam's hand that there is no repentance. Instead Jeroboam tries to bribe Jadon's good favor by offering him food, drink, and a gift. All very tempting offers to someone who's been fasting since he got to Bethel—and that this was coming from a king would mean that whatever gift he would give would be more than just some cheap trinket. However, Jadon simply responds by repeating the command God had given him, and by obeying that command.
Now this is where things start to get interesting. Picking up in verse 11,
"As it happened there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told him what he had said to the king. The old prophet asked, 'Which way did he go?' So they told their father which road the man of God had taken. 'Quick, saddle the donkey,' the old prophet said. And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. The old prophet asked him, 'Are you the man of God who came from Judah?' 'Yes,' he replied, 'I am.' Then he said to the man of God, 'Come home with me and eat some food.' 'No, I cannot,' he replied. 'I am not allowed to eat any food or drink any water here in this place. For the Lord gave me this command: 'You must not eat any food or drink any water while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came'" (1 Kings 13:11-17 NLT).
Okay so far so good. Jadon's tempted with food a second time and counters the old prophet's offer of food with the command the Lord gave him. But now comes the real test:
"But the old prophet answered, 'I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this message from the Lord: 'Bring him home with you, and give him food to eat and water to drink.' But the old man was lying to him" (1 Kings 13:18 NLT).
So how do you argue with that? This guy's a prophet just like Jadon -- and an angel of the Lord's told him to bring him back and have him eat some food and drink some water. Perhaps God's had a change of heart. So what does Jadon do? Does he ask the Lord to confirm that this is true? Or does he take the old prophet at his word with no further argument? Unfortunately for Jadon, he chooses the latter and not the former.
"So they went back together, and the man of God ate some food and drank some water at the prophet's home. Then while they were sitting at table, a message from the Lord came to the old prophet. He cried out to the man of God from Judah, 'This is what the Lord says: 'You have defied the Lord's message and have disobeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. You came back to this place and ate food and drank water where He told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.'" (1 Kings 13:19-22 NLT).
The old prophet is able to pull the wool over Jadon's eyes and gets him to come back to his house for some prime rib and a glass of Perrier. Albeit, Jadon is completely unaware this is gonna be his last meal because he has disobeyed the Lord. When God gives us a Word we should follow that Word until He gives us another Word. If someone comes along with a Word that contradicts God or the Bible—or if even an angel comes along and gives you a word or a message that contradicts God or the Bible: Watch Out! In the epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul warns:
"But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8-9 NASB).
The Bible concludes Jadon's story by saying,
"After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet saddled his own donkey for him, and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived. When the old prophet heard the report he said, 'It is the man of God who disobeyed the Lord's command. The Lord has fulfilled His word by causing the lion to attack and kill him.' Then the prophet said to his sons, 'Saddle a donkey for me.' So they saddled a donkey, and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the city to mourn over him and bury him. He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, 'Oh, my brother!' Afterward the prophet said to his sons, 'When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. For the message of the Lord told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria wills surely come true'" (1 Kings 13:23-31 NLT).
It's interesting that after Jadon realized he had been tricked by the old prophet, he doesn't come to his senses and stop what he's doing. The Lord had commanded him not to eat or drink in that place, and instead of pushing the food and drink away he finishes up his meal (I guess he figures he's gonna enjoy his last meal before he dies). The power of God is clearly shown by the lion killing Jadon but sparing his donkey and then lying beside the donkey. This peculiar motif is very reminiscent of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
"The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox" (Isaiah 65:25 NASB).
Because of the way in which Jadon is killed the old prophet is convinced that Jadon's prophecy will come to pass. And the old prophet was right; however it wouldn't be fulfilled until nearly 360 years later.
"The altar that was at Bethel and the High place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he [Josiah] broke down. Then [Josiah] demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. Now when Josiah turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. Then he said, 'What is this monument I see?' And the men of the city told him, 'It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.' And he said, 'Let him alone, let no one disturb his bones.' So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet of Samaria" (2 Kings 23:15-18 NASB).
And as for King Jeroboam, well he just didn't get it.
"But even after this Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the rank and file of the people. Anyone who wanted to could become a priest for the pagan shrines. This became a great sin and resulted in the destruction of Jeroboam's kingdom and the death of all his family" (1 Kings 13:33-34).
