Sometimes the Lord would give me dreams or visions, and then accompanied by prophetic words or words for the time and season. But sometimes the Lord would just put in my heart a certain chapter in the Bible. Today is like that.
1 Kings chapter 13 is what the Lord wants me to share today. This is one of the most bizarre and unusual stories in the Scripture. But the lessons or principles derived from it is so important, especially if you are a minister of God or you are doing ministry. However, this applies also if you are in the business or commercial world.
1 Kings 13:1-3 says, 'And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, "O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: 'Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you; and men's bones shall be burned on you.'" And he (this man of God) gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altars shall split apart and the ashes on it shall be poured out."'
Here, this man of God rebuked Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom of Israel at that time. This man of God pronounced judgment against the altar, which has been used by King Jeroboam for his idolatrous practices.
Now, who is this man of God? What we know here is he's from Judah, which is the southern kingdom of the previously united kingdom of Israel. By that time, the kingdom was already split into the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. So, this man of God is from the southern kingdom (Judah), whereas King Jeroboam was from the northern kingdom.
What's the name of this man of God? Interestingly, he's anonymous. Yet this prophet of the Lord was used in an important way by the Lord, even though his name was not mentioned. This only shows that one does not have to be known or famous to be greatly used by the Lord.
For the record, in cross-reference, 2 Kings 23:15 says, 'Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he (Josiah) broke down. And he (Josiah) burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image.'
So the prophecy by that man of God in 1 Kings 13 came to pass in 2 Kings 23 many generations later, in the days of King Josiah, the king of Judah, who was one of those good kings who wanted to restore worship before the true God, YHWH.
Let's continue with 1 Kings 13:4-5, 'So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Arrest him!" Then his hand (King Jeroboam's hand), which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself. The altar also was split apart and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.'
So you see, this man of God was authentic and genuinely used by the Lord to work signs mightily, even though there was no mention of his name in the Scripture. And he actually pronounced judgment against the altar, which was actually a rebuke to King Jeroboam. King Jeroboam, feeling threatened, then commanded for this man of God to be arrested. And that's when King Jeroboam's hand was withered. Not only that, God caused the altar to be split apart, and ashes poured out from the altar.
1 Kings 13:6 says, 'Then the king answered and said to the man of God, "Please entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me."'
So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and became as before. The Lord heard the prayer of this man of God.
1 Kings 13:7-10 says, 'Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward." But the man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, "You shall not eat bread nor drink water nor return by the same way you came."'
As you can see, King Jeroboam wanted to give this man of God an invitation and a reward. But this man of God declined. Why? Based on the forewarning given by the Lord beforehand. Well, to accept Jeroboam's invitation would have been to fellowship with idolatry.
So far, what can we learn here? This man of God chose to heed what God says more than even what the king says. Indeed, what God says is more important than what man says. Now, don't get me wrong. This is not to say you are not to submit to authority, or submit to one another. But there is a place when God wants us to do something, or when God has already forewarned us not to do something, we better heed, no matter what kind of enticement or reward that man can give to us.
Do not allow yourself to compromise what God has spoken to you. Do not allow yourself to give in to any form of temptation or enticement offered by man. When God has already said no, it's better to heed what God has said, even if the offers by someone of higher stature or someone in high position seem to be tempting.
When God says no about something, or when God forewarns us about something, that's because God sees further, and knows what's ahead, and knows all the pitfalls ahead for us to avoid.
Let's continue with 1 Kings 13:11-14, 'Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. And their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" For his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, and went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" And he said, "I am."'
There's this old prophet in Bethel who heard about what this younger man of God had done. And see what 1 Kings 13:15-17 says, 'Then this old prophet said to this younger man of God, "Come home with me and eat bread." And he said, "I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. For I have been told by the word of the Lord, 'You shall not eat bread nor drink water there nor return by going the way you came.'"'
Now, the very same answer given by this man of God to this old prophet, just as he said to King Jeroboam. Initially, this younger man of God refused the invitation, because he knew that God had specifically told him to return to Judah without accepting any further invitation, and to return via a different way.
Speaking about job done, and it's time to return home. Once a job is done in a time and season, the Lord wants you to move on. But if one would not heed what God says to move on, and if he still lingers, there will be pitfalls, there will be danger, and he will get stuck. And true enough this happened to this younger man of God.
1 Kings 13:18-19 says, 'So this old prophet said to this younger man of God, "I too am a prophet as you are, 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.'" And there's a bracket there: (He was lying to him.)
This old prophet was actually lying to this young prophet, and alas, this young man of God went back with this old prophet, ate bread in his house and drank water. Now you see this old prophet had the audacity to lie just to get what he wanted.
So, what can you learn here? Just because some people, even some people who claim to be minister of God or prophet of the Lord claim this and claim that, and say it's from the Lord, it doesn't mean you take it hook, line and sinker. Sense in your spirit first. That's why it's so important to be sensitized in your spirit man. Be open and yielded to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give you the peace if it's a yes, and no peace if it's a no. So, sense first. Do not just agree to anything and take whatever people claim and say, even if that person claims to be a minister of God or prophet of the Lord.
Now again, don't get me wrong. This is not to teach you not to submit to one another. But this is to teach you to be wise. There can be lots of temptations and enticement, especially when you start to become more and more known by people around you, or more and more known by people who are in high position or by other fellow ministers of God.
This old prophet was trying to persuade the younger man of God to change his course from doing exactly what God had told him. And this time the younger prophet gave in. He did not give in to King Jeroboam, but he gave in this time. If you continue to read 1 Kings chapter 13, you would know that's the beginning of the end for this man of God who was so greatly used by the Lord prior to this encounter with the old prophet from Bethel.
Beloved of God, I'm not saying we will all end up like this man of God. Not at all. But what I'm saying is be very careful when you start to get more and more well known in the world. If there's any invitation, check with the Holy Spirit first. The Holy Spirit knows all things. The Holy Spirit will never lead you into trouble and pitfalls. The Holy Spirit will always lead you to the perfect will of God. So, let the Holy Spirit guide you. Let the Holy Spirit direct you. Wherever the Holy Spirit turns, you follow. Like God turning the river. Just flow with the river of the Holy Spirit. And that's how you have safety. It will save you from lots and lots of troubles or pitfalls.
This is my message for you today. The Lord has put in my heart to release this to you today, for whatever reason only He knows. But I just want to obey and release what He wants me to release in each time and season. Amen.
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