Jeroboam & Lying Prophet

Synopsis     1Kings 13:15-24     5/9/2019 

God tasked the prophet from Judah with giving a prophecy. So, he prophesied to King Jeroboam. And he told the king that God was displeased with the altars he set up throughout the land. 

His word was accompanied by a sign. God briefly paralyzed the king until the prophet prayed for him. And then, God healed him.

After this, the prophet remained steadfast. He refused to take food or water from Jeroboam. And almost immediately, he began his return home. 

But, another prophet of the Lord heard what had happened. And so, this prophet went in pursuit of the prophet from Judah. He eventually caught up. And he prevailed upon him to return to Bethel and eat with him. Initially the prophet refused. 

But the second prophet identified himself as a prophet. What’s more, he lied to the prophet from Judah. He told him God had directed him to give food and water. So, the prophet from Judah relented and agreed to eat and drink. But as he did, the second prophet received an actual word from God. 

He prophesied against the prophet of Judah for disobeying the original word to neither eat or drink. And part of this prophesy was the anticipation that the prophet from Judah would die. So, when the prophet from Judah finally began his journey home, he was almost immediately attacked and killed by a lion.  

The Lying Prophet 

This one of the strangest passages in scripture. The motive of the prophet from Judah is obvious. He meant to fulfill the word of the Lord – though doing so was not easy. For example, it wasn’t easy to confront Jeroboam in his homeland. And it wasn’t easy to go without eating during the journey. Nor was it easy to travel home a different path than the way he had come. Yet he met all of these challenges. 

But the motive of the lying prophet is confusing. The lying prophet didn’t feel conflicted. He had a clear purpose from the beginning. For, as soon as he heard about the prophet from Judah, he immediately sought to pursue him. And when he met the prophet, he was persistent in his efforts to cause the prophet to fail in his mission. He even went to the extent of lying. 

Yet, whatever else may lay within this story, God has clearly communicated the critical need to remain steadfast. The Judahite prophet could have saved himself. He could have remained steadfast in his determination.

And so emerges a message: In doing God’s will, the greatest vulnerability is the myriad interpretations and claims that other people make about God. 

My Vulnerability 

The world is awash with interpretations of God’s word. And strangely often in my experience, these interpretations oppose one another. Messages and messengers abound. But which is right? And who can I trust?  

If I give ear to every voice, then it’s hard to know. And, amidst the cascade of confusing dialogue, I feel vulnerable.  

In the end, living in The Way is about learning to hear the voice of My Master. It’s about me learning to hear the voice of Jesus. This is the one thing.  

This is loving God and loving my neighbor with all my heart, and all my spirit, and all my strength. 

“But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:26-27