1 Kings 13:11 says, Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. The sons of an old prophet in Bethel came and told him all that the prophet had done in Bethel that day. I don't know why God had not spoken through this prophet, but He chose to use someone else instead, but it may be because of his character as we will see. Still, when someone is doing a great work for God today, we need to let others know, and we can never be jealous of their work. Verse twelve adds, And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. The old prophet asked his sons which way the other prophet went, and they told him toward Judah. The prophet who had confronted Jeroboam was doing what God had told him to do, and so must we today. Verse thirteen continues, And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, The old prophet had his sons saddle him an ass and he rode on him after the other prophet. Since we are not told the name of either prophet, this can become confusing when talking about them. As we know though, we don't know the names of all those who had worked to spread the gospel of Christ nor of all those who have professed to but really don't, as we will see was the case of the old prophet. Verse fourteen states, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. The old prophet caught up with the other prophet as he was sitting under an oak. I am not sure why he had stopped, but He wasn't still on his way home as God had told him to be. I do know that we should never stop short of doing what God has commanded us to do. Verse fifteen adds, Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. The old prophet invited the other prophet to come home with him and eat bread. Having a meal seems to be a simple and non-sinful thing to do, and some things that we as Christians may be invited to do today may seem simple and unoffensive to God. Verse sixteen continues, And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: The prophet told the old prophet that he couldn't do this. Verse seventeen declares, For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He then told the old prophet why he couldn't. God had told him not to eat or drink until he got back to where he came from. This should have been the end of the conversation as far as the prophet was concerned. God had told him what to do, and until God told him otherwise, he should have simply obeyed God. So must we today. Verse eighteen adds, He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. The old prophet said he was also a prophet and that an angel had spoken to him and told him to bring the prophet home with him so he could eat and drink, but he lied. We are never actually told that this old prophet was a prophet of God, and by his actions, we have to conclude that if he had been, he no longer was acting as one. Just because someone claims to be speaking for God today by His authority doesn't mean that they are, and we as followers of Christ must be careful that we aren't deceived by them. Verse nineteen continues, So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. The prophet went with the old prophet and ate and drank with him, even though God had told him not to eat and drink there. We are not told that the prophet sought God's guidance in the situation and that should have been the first thing he did. If God had spoken to him to send him there and tell him what not to do while he was there, he should have questioned why God would not speak to him directly if he had changed His order to the prophet. If God calls us to do something for Him today, and someone tells us that God told them something different, we need to do what God has told us to do. We should certainly not just follow what they tell us to do without praying about it, because as Christians, the Holt Spirit will always lead us to the truth of God. Verse twenty says, And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back: This time, God did speak through the old prophet. We may not always understand God's ways, but we can always be sure that He is aware of what is going on in the world. Verse twenty-four adds, And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, The old prophet told the other prophet that God had told him that God was aware of his disobedience, and He will always be aware of ours today. Matthew Henry says we might wonder why the old prophet wasn't punished for lying to the other prophet, but this sin was on the other prophet alone. He had disobeyed God's command to him. Our concern should never be whether God punishes others or not, but it should be whether we are obeying Him or not no matter what anyone else may tell us. Verse twenty-two continues, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. God told the prophet that since he had disobeyed Him, he would not be buried with his ancestors. As Christians, where we are buried should be of little importance and if we are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, we will never lose our place in God's family, but there will be consequences in this lifetime, if it is only a feeling of guilt. Verse twenty-three states, And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. After the prophet ate, he was given or loaned an ass by the old prophet and he left. I have to wonder what both of them were thinking at this time. If we have allowed ourself to be led astray today as Christians, it doesn't really matter if someone else tries to make life easier for us if God has already pronounced His judgment on us. Of course, the sentence that God pronounced on the prophet concerned only his physical state and not his everlasting soul. Though God may punish us in this lifetime, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, our soul is safely in God's care forevermore. Verse twenty-four adds. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. On his way home, a lion killed the prophet and stood by his carcass. God's word to the propjet was fulfilled, just as it always will be today. Though we may think it unfair that this prophet was punished, and we aren't told that the old prophet who lied was, what we need to understand is that we are only responsible for our own actions, and no matter what someone else may tell us, we must be faithful to God's calling in our life.
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