This text is the story of good intentions, deception, a miracle, and a lion. An unnamed man of God obeyed his instructions to prophesy the destruction of an altar in Bethel which was used in idol worship. King Jeroboam attempted to preserve the altar, but his hand was “dried up.” He appealed to the prophet who previously was an intended victim of the King but was the miracle worker healing the man’s hand. In appreciation, the king wanted to grant a reward to the prophet. He declined because God told him to destroy the altar and return home without accepting the hospitality of anyone.
An old prophet succeeded in lying by declaring, “I am a prophet also as thou art.” At first the prophet resisted the man’s invitation of hospitality repeating the same instructions God gave to him. However, because the old man said that an angel gave him this message, the prophet disobeyed God by going back with him so that he might eat and drink. As a result of his disobedience God caused a lion to slay him and leave his body in a ditch. Wow! There are many lessons for us to learn from this episode.
- Be loyal to the mission God sends you to accomplish regardless of people. Spiritual character is displayed by consistent loyalty, not just resisting evil.
- Beware of religious people that with cunning contradict God’s Word. The command post of hypocrites is in the church.
- God expects obedience, especially when the issue is so blatantly obvious. God does not negotiate the terms that he issues.
- We can pride ourselves on what “holy” missions we serve. “The returning” from the mission is just as much a part of the mission as “the going.”
- Even though we may not fully understand what the Word of God says, we must still be faithful to what we do understand.
- The good works that we do for God can be overshadowed by disobedience. The legacy of the prophet was deluded by the consequence of his wayward actions.
- The stand we take for God in calling out evil must be our single mission in life, not entering into debate about other spiritual accomplishments.
- Any loss of eternal glory in heaven is our responsibility, not God’s. We must be vigilant for what we do that it credits us with praise from God.
- The only one to suffer loss was the disobedient prophet. God holds us to a high standard as his children.
Christian Writer 