Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Bethel; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. He cried against the altar by Yahweh’s word, and said, “Altar! Altar! Yahweh says: ‘Behold, a son will be born to David’s house, Josiah by name. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men’s bones on you.’ ” He gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which Yahweh has spoken: Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”
Parallel Translations
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Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Bethel; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
He cried against the altar by Yahweh’s word, and said, “Altar! Altar! Yahweh says: ‘Behold, a son will be born to David’s house, Josiah by name. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men’s bones on you.’ ”
He gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which Yahweh has spoken: Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”
-
And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
Show all 3 translations
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And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer.
And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said: 'O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon thee.'
And he gave a sign the same day saying: 'This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.'
Cross-references (48)
- 1 Kings 12:32-33 (v1) Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the…
- 2 Kings 23:17 (v1) Then he said, “What monument is that which I see?” The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God, who came from Judah,…
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15 (v1) For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede…
- Jeremiah 25:3 (v1) From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years, Yahweh’s word has come to…
- 2 Kings 23:15-18 (v2) Moreover 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…
Show all 47 cross-references
- Jeremiah 32:29 (v1) The Chaldeans, who fight against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and burn it with the houses on whose roofs they have…
- Ezekiel 36:1 (v2) You, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, “You mountains of Israel, hear Yahweh’s word.
- 1 Corinthians 1:22 (v3) For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom,
- Exodus 4:3-5 (v3) He said, “Throw it on the ground.” He threw it on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses ran away from it. Yahweh said to Moses,…
- Judges 6:17 (v3) He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.
- 2 Kings 22:1-2 (v2) Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter…
- John 2:18 (v3) The Jews therefore answered him, “What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?”
- 1 Kings 13:32 (vv1–2) For the saying which he cried by Yahweh’s word against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the…
- Exodus 4:8-9 (v3) “It will happen, if they will not believe you or listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter…
- Exodus 7:10 (v3) Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his…
- Numbers 16:40 (v1) to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger who isn’t of the offspring of Aaron, would come near to burn…
- Deuteronomy 13:1-3 (v3) If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of…
- Deuteronomy 32:1 (v2) Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak. Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
- 1 Samuel 2:34 (v3) This will be the sign to you that will come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they will both die.
- 1 Kings 12:22 (v1) But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
- 1 Kings 13:5 (v1) The altar was also split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by Yahweh’s…
- 1 Kings 13:9 (v1) for so was it commanded me by Yahweh’s word, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, drink no water, and don’t return by the way that you came.’ ”
- 1 Kings 13:26 (v1) When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to Yahweh’s mouth.…
- 1 Kings 20:35 (v1) A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by Yahweh’s word, “Please strike me!” The man refused to strike him.
- 2 Kings 20:8 (v3) Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I will go up to Yahweh’s house the third day?”
- 2 Chronicles 9:29 (v1) Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, aren’t they written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of…
- 2 Chronicles 26:18 (v1) They resisted Uzziah the king, and said to him, “It isn’t for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests the sons of…
- 2 Chronicles 34:1 (v2) Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 34:4-7 (v2) They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and he cut down the incense altars that were on high above them. He broke the…
- Isaiah 1:2 (v2) Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.
- Isaiah 7:11-14 (v3) “Ask a sign of Yahweh your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.” But Ahaz said, “I won’t ask. I won’t tempt Yahweh.” He…
- Isaiah 38:6-8 (v3) I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city. This shall be the sign to you from…
- Isaiah 38:22 (v3) Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I will go up to Yahweh’s house?”
- Isaiah 42:9 (v2) Behold, the former things have happened and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.”
- Isaiah 44:26-28 (v2) who confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers; who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited;’ and of…
- Isaiah 46:10 (v2) I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all…
- Isaiah 48:5-7 (v2) therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them. My…
- Isaiah 58:1 (v2) “Cry aloud! Don’t spare! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Jeremiah 11:12 (v1) Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to which they offer incense, but they will not save…
- Jeremiah 22:29 (v2) O earth, earth, earth, hear Yahweh’s word!
- Jeremiah 44:29 (v3) “ ‘This will be the sign to you,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words will surely stand…
- Ezekiel 36:4 (v2) therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: The Lord Yahweh says to the mountains and to the hills, to the…
- Ezekiel 38:4 (v2) I will turn you around, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them…
- Matthew 12:38-40 (v3) Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and…
- Luke 19:40 (v2) He answered them, “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
- Malachi 1:11 (v1) For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my…
- Revelation 8:3 (v1) Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of…
47 distinct cross-references across this passage (48 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (24 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 Not that that was called Luz in Benjamin, but…
Not that that was called Luz in Benjamin, but another of that name.
That is, a Prophet.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–3 1Ki 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of…
1Ki 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
Ver. 1. And, behold, there came a man of God.] A prophet, {1Ki 13:18} but whether Shemaiah, as Tertullian saith, or Joel, or Theodoret, or Iddo, as Josephus, or some other, it is not known.
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Out of Judah.] Who "yet ruled with God, and was faithful with the saints," {Hos 11:12} though shortly after the faithful city became a harlot, a very Poneropolis. {Isa 1:21}
By the word of the Lord.] Or, With the word of the Lord.
Unto Bethel.] Now become Bethaven: where at that mock feast of tabernacles {1Ki 12:33} was a great assembly, and so the fitter opportunity for a prophet to warn this backslidden people: but they were revolted and gone. {Jer 5:23} Once they quarrelled the erecting of but a new altar by the Reubenites, and were ready to kill and slay, {Jos 22:10-34} but now it was far otherwise. Oh, where is our ancient fervour and forwardness? and why is our "silver become dross, our wine mixed with water" {Isa 1:22}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–3 A man of God; a holy prophet. By the…
A man of God; a holy prophet. By the word of the Lord; by Divine inspiration and command.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Here is, I. A messenger sent to Jeroboam, to…
Here is, I. A messenger sent to Jeroboam, to signify to him God's displeasure against his idolatry, Kg1 13:1. The army of Judah that aimed to ruin him was countermanded, and might not draw a sword against him (Kg1 12:24); but a prophet of Judah is, instead thereof, sent to reclaim him from his evil way, and is sent in time, while he is but dedicating his altar, before his heart is hardened by the deceitfulness of his sin; for God delights not in the death of sinners, but would rather they would burn and live. How bold was the messenger that durst attack the king in his pride and interrupt the solemnity he was proud of! Those that go on God's errand must not fear the face of man; they know who will bear them out. How kind was he that sent him to warn Jeroboam of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against his ungodliness and unrighteousness!
II. The message delivered in God's name, not whispered, but cried with a loud voice, denoting both the prophet's courage, that he was neither afraid nor ashamed to own it, and his earnestness, that he desired to be heard and heeded by all that were present, who were not a few, on this great occasion. It was directed, not to Jeroboam nor to the people, but to the altar, the stones of which would sooner hear and yield than those who were mad upon their idols and deaf to divine calls. Yet, in threatening the altar, God threatened the founder and worshippers, to whom it was as dear as their own souls, and who might conclude, "If God's wrath fasten upon the lifeless guiltless altar, how shall we escape?" That which was foretold concerning the altar (Kg1 13:2) was that, in process of time, a prince of the house of David, Josiah by name, should pollute this altar by sacrificing the idolatrous priests themselves upon it, and burning the bones of dead men. Let Jeroboam know and be sure, 1. That the altar he now consecrated should be desecrated. Idolatrous worship will not continue, but the word of the Lord will endure for ever. 2. That the priests of the high places he now made should themselves be made sacrifices to the justice of God, and the first and only sacrifices upon this altar that would be pleasing to him. If the offering be such as is an abomination to God, it will follow, of course, that the offerers must themselves fall under his wrath, which will abide upon them, since it is not otherwise transmitted. 3. That this should be done by a branch of the house of David. That family which he and his kingdom had despised and treacherously deserted should recover so much power as to demolish that altar which he thought to establish; so that right and truth should at length prevail, both in civil and sacred matters, notwithstanding the present triumphs of those that were given to change the fear both of God and the king. It was about 356 years ere this prediction was fulfilled, yet it was spoken of as sure and nigh at hand, for a thousand years with God are but as one day. Nothing more contingent and arbitrary than the giving of names to persons, yet Josiah was here named above 300 years before he was born. Nothing future is hidden from God. There are names in the book of the divine prescience (Phi 4:3), names written in heaven.
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III. A sign is given for the confirming of the truth of this prediction, that the altar should be shaken to pieces by an invisible power and the ashes of the sacrifice scattered (Kg1 13:3), which came to pass immediately, Kg1 13:5. This was, 1. A proof that the prophet was sent of God, who confirmed the word with this sign following, Mar 16:20. 2. A present indication of God's displeasure against these idolatrous sacrifices. How could the gift be acceptable when the altar that should sanctify it was an abomination? 3. It was a reproach to the people, whose hearts were harder than these stones and rent not under the word of the Lord. 4. It was a specimen of what should be done to it in the accomplishment of this prophecy by Josiah; it was now rent, in token of its being then ruined.
IV. Jeroboam's hand withered, which he stretched out to seize or smite the man of God, Kg1 13:4. Instead of trembling at the message, as he might well have done, he assaulted him that brought it, in defiance of the wrath of which he was warned and contempt of that grace which sent him the warning. Rebuke a sinner and he will hate thee, and do thee a mischief if he can; yet God's prophets must rather expose themselves than betray their trust: he that employs them will protect them, and restrain the wrath of man, as he did Jeroboam's here by withering his hand, so that he could neither hurt the prophet nor draw it in to help himself. When his hand was stretched out to burn incense to his calves it was not withered; but, when it is stretched out against a prophet, he shall have no use of it till he humble himself. Of all the wickedness of the wicked there is none more provoking to God than their malicious attempts against his prophets, of whom he has said, Touch them not, do them no harm. As this was a punishment of Jeroboam, and answering to the sin, so it was the deliverance of the prophet. God has many ways of disabling the enemies of his church from executing their mischievous purposes. Jeroboam's inability to pull in his hand made him a spectacle to all about him, that they might see and fear. If God, in justice, harden the hearts of sinners, so that the hand they have stretched out in sin they cannot pull in again by repentance, that is a spiritual judgment, represented by this, and much more dreadful.
V. The sudden healing of the hand that was suddenly dried up, upon his submission, Kg1 13:6. That word of God which should have touched his conscience humbled him not, but this which touched his bone and his flesh brings down his proud spirit. He looks for help now, 1. Not from his calves, but from God only, from his power and his favour. He wounded, and no hand but his can make whole. 2. Not by his own sacrifice or incense, but by the prayer and intercession of the prophet, whom he had just now threatened and aimed to destroy. The time may come when those that hate the preaching would be glad of the prayers of faithful ministers. "Pray to the Lord thy God," says Jeroboam; "thou hast an interest in him; improve it for me." But observe, He did not desire the prophet to pray that his sin might be pardoned, and his heart changed, only that his hand might be restored; thus Pharaoh would have Moses to pray that God would take away this death only (Exo 10:17), not this sin. The prophet, as became a man of God, renders good for evil, upbraids not Jeroboam with his impotent malice, nor triumphs in his submission, but immediately addresses himself to God for him. Those only are entitled to the blessing Christ pronounced on the persecuted that learn of him to pray for their persecutors, Mat 5:10, Mat 5:44. When the prophet thus honoured God, by showing himself of a forgiving spirit, God put this further honour upon him, that at his word he recalled the judgment and by another miracle healed the withered hand, that by the goodness of God Jeroboam might be led to repentance, and, if he were not broken by the judgment, yet might be melted by the mercy. With both he seemed affected for the present, but the impressions wore off.
VI. The prophet's refusal of Jeroboam's kind invitation, in which observe, 1. That God forbade his messenger to eat or drink in Beth-el (Kg1 13:9), to show his detestation of their execrable idolatry and apostasy from God, and to teach us not to have fellowship with the works of darkness, lest we have infection from them or give encouragement to them. He must not turn back the same way, but deliver his message, as it were, in transitu - as he passes along. He shall not seem to be sent on purpose (they were unworthy such a favour), but as if he only called by the way, his spirit being stirred, like Paul's at Athens, as he passed and saw their devotions. God would, by this command, try his prophet, as he did Ezekiel, whether he would not be rebellious, like that rebellious house, Eze 2:8. 2. That Jeroboam was so affected with the cure of his hand that though we read not of his thanksgivings to God for the mercy, or of his sending an offering to the altar at Jerusalem in acknowledgment of it, yet he was willing to express his gratitude to the prophet and pay him for his prayers, Kg1 13:7. Favours to the body will make even graceless men seem grateful to good ministers. 3. That the prophet, though hungry and weary, and perhaps poor, in obedience to the divine command refused both the entertainment and the reward proffered him. He might have supposed his acceptance of it would give him an opportunity of discoursing further with the king, in order to his effectual reformation, now that he was convinced; yet he will not think himself wiser than God, but, like a faithful careful messenger, hastens home when he has done his errand. Those have little learned the lessons of self-denial that cannot forbear one forbidden meal.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–3 And, behold, there came a man of God out…
And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah,.... Whom Josephus (x) calls Jadon, perhaps the same with Iddo, who is by the Jewish writers (y) generally thought to be this man of God, and which may seem to be countenanced by Ch2 9:29 but cannot be, because this man was quickly slain, whereas Iddo lived after Rehoboam, and wrote his acts, first and last, nay, after Ahijah his son, Ch2 13:22 and for the same reason Shemaiah cannot be the man of God, Kg1 12:22, though Tertullian (z) calls him Sameas, and designs Shemaiah: but, whoever he was, he came
by the word of the Lord to Bethel: that is, by his command:
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and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense; at the time he came, Kg1 12:33.
(x) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 8. sect. 3.) (y) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 11. 1. Jarch & Kimchi in loc. (z) De Jejuniis, c. 16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–3 A prophet threatens Jeroboam's altar, and gives a sign,…
A prophet threatens Jeroboam's altar, and gives a sign, which immediately comes to pass, ver, 1-5. He restores Jeroboam's withered hand, and leaves Bethel, ver. 6-10. The old prophet deceives and entertains him, ver. 11-19. He is threatened with death, ver. 20-23. Slain by a lion and buried, ver. 24-32. Jeroboam is hardened in his idolatry, ver. 33, 34.
Man of God - An holy prophet. By the word, &c. - By Divine inspiration and command.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–3 A man of God prophesies against Jeroboam's altar, and…
CHAPTER XIII
A man of God prophesies against Jeroboam's altar, and foretells
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the destruction of that altar, and of its idolatrous priests by
Josiah; and gives Jeroboam a sign that the prophecy should be
accomplished, 1-3.
Jeroboam is enraged, and orders the man of God to be seized;
and stretching out his hand for this purpose, his arm dries up,
4.
The altar is rent, and the ashes poured out, according to the
sign given by the man of God; and at his intercession
Jeroboam's arm is restored, 5, 6.
Jeroboam wishes to engage him in his service, but he refuses,
and tells him that he was ordered by God not even to eat or
drink in that place; and he accordingly departs, 7-10.
An old prophet that dwelt at Beth-el, hearing of this, rides
after the man of God; deceives him; brings him back to his
house, and persuades him to eat and drink, 11-19.
While he is eating, the word of the Lord comes to the old
prophet, and he foretells the death of the man of God; who
departing is met by a lion, and slain, 20-25.
On hearing this, the old prophet goes to the place, finds the
carcass, brings it home, burns it, and mourns over it, charging
his sons to bury him, when dead, in the same grave, 26-32.
Notwithstanding these warnings, Jeroboam continues in his
idolatry, 33, 34.
NOTES ON CHAP. XIII
Verse 1. There came a man of God] Who this was we know not. The Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic call him a prophet. The Vulgate and Septuagint follow the Hebrew, איש אלהים ish elohim means a Divine person, one wholly devoted to God's service. Some have thought it was Shemaiah, others Joel, and others Iddo. It could not have been the latter, for he wrote the acts of Jeroboam, 2Ch 9:29, and the prophet was killed before he returned home; but conjecture is idle on such a subject.
Jeroboam stood by the altar] Like gods, like priest; he made himself high priest, and he took of the lowest of the people, and made them priests of the high places; they proved themselves to be fools by worshipping calves.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1–3 1Ki 13:1. Behold, there came a man of God…
1Ki 13:1. Behold, there came a man of God — A holy prophet; for none are called men of God in the Old Testament, but prophets. By the word of the Lord — By divine inspiration and command. “There is no foundation for so much as conjecture who this prophet was. His prophecy, however, is one of the most remarkable which we have in sacred writ. It foretels an action that exactly came to pass above three hundred and forty years afterward. It describes the circumstances of the action; and specifies the very name of the person who was to do it; and therefore every considerate Jew, who lived in the time of its accomplishment, must have been convinced of the divine authority of a religion founded on such prophecies as this; since none but God could foresee, and consequently none but God could fore-tel events at such a distance.” — Le Clerc, Calmet, and Dodd. Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense — Upon the feast day which he had instituted.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Rather, “in the word of the Lord.” The meaning…
Rather, “in the word of the Lord.” The meaning seems to be, not merely that the prophet was bid to come, but that he came in the strength and power of God’s word, a divinely inspired messenger. (Compare 1Ki 13:2, 1Ki 13:5,1Ki 13:32.)
By the altar - “On the altar;” i, e. on the ledge, or platform, halfway up the altar, whereupon the officiating priest always stood to sacrifice. Compare 1Ki 12:32 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–3 A man. Some suppose his name was Addo, 2…
A man. Some suppose his name was Addo, 2 Paralipomenon ix. 29. But this is quite uncertain. --- Incense, or victims. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Jeroboam’s Government In Israel
SECOND SECTION
Jeroboam’s Government In Israel
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1Ki_13:1 to 1Ki_14:20
A.—The admonition of Jeroboam by a Prophet, and the disobedience and end of the latter
1Ki_13:1-34
1And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord 2[Jehovah] unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord [Jehovah], and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord [Jehovah]; Behold, a child shall be born-unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.1 3And he gave a sign2 the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord [Jehovah] hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes3 that are upon it shall be poured out. 4And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. 5The altar also was rent, 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 [Jehovah]. 6And the king answered and said unto the man of God, In treat now the face of the Lord [Jehovah] thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord [Jehovah], and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. 7And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 8And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 9for so was it charged me by the word of the Lord [Jehovah], saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. 10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.4
11Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons5 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. 12And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen5 what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. 13And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, 14and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak [the terebinth6]: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16And 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: 17for it was said to me by the word of the Lord [Jehovah], Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. [And7] 18he said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord [Jehovah], saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. 19So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord [Jehovah] came unto the prophet that brought him back: 21and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah], Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord 22[Jehovah], and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord [Jehovah] thy God commanded thee, but earnest 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 carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. 23And 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.8 24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass. 25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord [Jehovah]:9 therefore the Lord [Jehovah] hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, 27according to the word of the Lord [Jehovah], which he spake unto him. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. 28And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor torn the ass. 29And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. 30And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! 31And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:10 32for the saying which he cried by the word of the Lord [Jehovah] against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. 33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest [mass] of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated11 him, and he became one12 of the priests of the high places. 34And this thing13 became [was a] sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
Preliminary
This section, over against the preceding and following chapters, bears an unmistakably peculiar character, and is doubtless inserted here from some other source. Nevertheless it is closely connected with chap. 12. and chap. 14., as is sufficiently obvious from its beginning and conclusion. The words, 1Ki_13:1 : עֹמֵד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְהַקְטִיר clearly refer to the concluding words of the former chapter (1Ki_13:33); וַיַּעַל עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְהַקְֹטִיר refer back and connect the present section completely with the foregoing. When Jeroboam ascended the altar at the feast he had instituted, and stood on it to offer incense, behold! there came a man of God out of Judah, &c. The man of God did not appear at an ordinary sacrifice, but on a solemn public occasion, most probably at the first of the new festivals. This gave peculiar significance to his appearing; “Jeroboam’s dreadful apostasy was not to escape severe chastisement from God” (v. Gerlach). With the appearing of the man of God (1Ki_13:1-10) the full account of his conduct and fate is conjoined (1Ki_13:11-32). That this account, though it says nothing of Jeroboam, is not a mere episode, but bears upon the principal subject, namely, “the sin of Jeroboam,” which had such a marked influence on all Israel’s future history, is obvious from the conclusion of the narrative (1Ki_13:33-34): “After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again,” &c. These words form the connecting link with the 14th chap. The connection is, briefly, this: Jeroboam not only entered on an evil way (1Ki_12:28-33), but let nothing turn him from it, neither the warning and the miracles of the man of God (1Ki_13:1-10) nor his remarkably significant fate (1Ki_13:11-32). He remained hardened in his apostasy. The divine sentence on him and his house, recorded in chap. 14., was therefore announced to him by the prophet Ahijah, who had promised him the kingdom on condition of fidelity to Jehovah (1Ki_11:31-39). In respect of the contents of our section here, in its phraseology, its source was not contemporaneous with the events, as is the case with the other sources of our books, which are written by contemporaneous prophets (cf. Introduc. § 2). 1Ki_13:32 shows this; the old prophet of Bethel speaks of the “cities of Samaria,” after the burial of the man of God. But the city of Samaria did not even exist then; it was built by Omri, who was king fifty years after Jeroboam (1Ki_16:24); and there certainly could not have been at that time any province named after it. The explanation that the expression is “proleptic” (Keil) is untenable, because it was not written by our author, who lived in exile, but it is given by him as an expression of the Bethel prophet. Later critics, Ewald and Thenius, for instance, have inferred that the whole account is of a much later date, from 1Ki_13:2, where the man of God does not speak of a future son of David only, but mentions the proper name of a king who lived more than 300 years later; the narrative must therefore date from after Josiah’s time (2Ki_23:15-20) and have been written down as it was repeated among the people. The calling of proper names, certainly, does not characterize prophecy, which differs from foretelling in this, that it does not notice more or less accidental outward circumstances, but announces only such things as are connected with the divine economy and development of God’s kingdom; it describes the persons whose future appearances it announces by their qualities, but not by their names. In the only exceptional case (Isa_44:28; Isa_45:1) the name כורשׁ may be appellative = sun, as a name of honor for the Persian kings (Hengstenb., Christol. I. 2, s. 192 sq.). Keil says that “the name יֹאשִׁיָּהזּ (in our passage) only follows its appellative meaning; he whom Jehovah sustains, from אָשָׁה to sustain, and means, a son shall be born to the house of David, whom Jehovah shall support and establish, so that he shall execute judgment on the high priests at Bethel. This prophecy was afterwards so fulfilled by divine Providence, that the king who executed the sentence bore the name of Josiah as his proper name.” But this name is never used anywhere else as an appellative, and only belonged to one person. If we must take the expression “all the cities of Samaria” (1Ki_13:32) “as proleptic,” we cannot see the reason why this may not also be the case with the words “Josiah by name” (1Ki_13:2). We need not suppose they were the gloss of a later interpolator; our author took them as he found them in the document from which he borrowed; this document, however, was, as we have said, not a contemporary one, but the later record of what had been preserved in the verbal traditions of the people, and had been revived by Josiah’s act (2 Kings 23. If any section of our books bears the stamp of tradition, the present one does; and that by no means because a miracle is recorded in it. The names of the two prophets with whom the whole narrative is taken up are wanting, which is an evidence of tradition, as are also the difficulties in 1Ki_13:6 sq. and 1Ki_13:18-22, about which opinions differ widely, and which can scarcely be satisfactorily explained. Although those facts which are most important here are historical and unchanged, yet the traditional coloring of single and less important circumstances can be plainly perceived; every attempt to determine what is purely historical and what is traditional is vain. We must not forget the general grand aim of the whole section, which is to make known the wonderful ways and judgments of God.
Exegetical and Critical
1Ki_13:1-3. And behold there came a man of God, &c. We cannot ascertain who this was. “Josephus calls him Jadon, thinking no doubt of the עִדּוֹ or עִדּוֹא who is called יֶעְרוֹ after the k’ri in 2Ch_9:29; we cannot accept this, however (as Jarchi does), because he lived under king Abijah, according to 2Ch_13:22, while the prophet spoken of here died now. For the same reason we cannot think, with Ephrem and Tertullian, that it was Shemaiah, see 2Ch_12:1, (Thenius). It expressly says that he came out of Judah, therefore he did not spring from the apostate part of the nation. בִּדְבַר יְהוָֹה does not mean: on the word or command of Jehovah, but, as appears from 1Ki_13:2; 1Ki_13:9; 1Ki_13:17 (cf. 1Ki_20:35 and 1Sa_3:21): in (through) the word. “The word of the Lord is spoken of as a power that came upon the prophet and forced him to utter the revelation made to him” (Keil). O altar, altar! the altar is metonymically for what was done on it and concentrated in it; in short, of the worship performed there. The fact that the prophet addressed the altar was incomparably more significant than if he had turned himself to the person of the king; the sentence of destruction which he pronounces on the altar as the type of the new worship, and of Jeroboam’s sin, includes the rain of the latter. For Josiah see preliminary remarks. The burning of men’s bones on the altar is the greatest possible desecration of it, as according to the law (Num_19:16) every, even involuntary, contact with a dead body made a person unclean; nothing else could have represented the altar as so utterly useless and abominable. In the genuine prophetic manner, the man of God adds to his words a deed (see on 1Ki_11:30) as a pledge of his prophecy. מוֹפֶת is not so much a sign (אוֹת), as an act producing astonishment, prodigium (Hengstenberg, Christol. II. s. 45 sq.). דֶּשֶׁן (really fat, hence the Sept. gives πιότης here) is the fat of the parts sacrificed on the altar, and ran out mixing with the ashes, therefore is not ashes absolutely. These ashes of sacrifice were, on that account, usually taken to a clean place (Lev_1:16; Lev_4:12). The spilling of them out, in this case, denoted that they, and consequently the sacrifice from which they came, and the whole worship, were unclean; it was no natural result of the bursting of the altar. 2 Kings 23. relates the fulfilment of the prophetical act and word.
1Ki_13:4-7. And it came to pass when king Jeroboam heard the saying, &c., 1Ki_13:4. Jeroboam did not raise his hand to offer the incense (Thenius); but as he stood on the altar, he stretched out his hand towards the man of God as he spoke, and cried out, Lay hold on him! It dried up. “Jeroboam’s hand, so suddenly affected that he could not draw it back, was either paralyzed or, what seems more explanatory of the expression dried up, struck with tetanus; this last is what Ackermann accepts (in Weise’s Materialien III. s. 131 sq.)” (Winer, R.- W.-B. II. s. 192). Jeroboam’s order thereby lost all effect; no one ventured to seize the prophet; it was also a warning to the king himself, and had a momentary effect on him. He was terrified, and begged the prophet to “entreat now [to make inattentive] the face of the Lord thy God for me” (חָלָה) i. e., to beseech Him so earnestly that He cannot refuse. “The Lord thy God,” he says, not that He was not his God, but: thy God in whose name and behalf thou hast come here. When he was succored he invited the prophet to go home with him, and offered him a present, but not from genuine repentance or gratitude, but only because he wished to win him over, and to do away with or lessen the impression his conduct (the prophet’s) made on the people present; for he himself remained the same apostate after as before.
1Ki_13:8-10. [But] And the man of God said, &c., 1Ki_13:8. The object of this prohibition of eating and drinking in Bethel was not to effect the “prompt execution of the commission” (Thenius). Eating and drinking with a person, sitting down to table with any one, is the sign of communion or fellowship, and used as such here, as often elsewhere in Scripture (1Co_5:11; cf. Gen. 43:32; Luk_15:2; Gal_2:12; 1Co_10:18; 1Co_10:21). The man of God, chosen to announce God’s judgment by word and deed on the apostate and his followers, was to avoid fellowship with him, for this would be utterly inconsistent with his commission; the command was given him, ad detestationem idololatriœ; ut ipso facto ostenderet, Bethelitas idololatras adeo esse detestabiles et a Deo quasi excommunicatos, ut nullum fidelium cum iis cibi vel potus communionem habere velit (Corn. a Lapide). When he afterwards ate and drank there, he transgressed a much higher and more important command than one relative to fasting only. This, too, was why he was to take another way home; not “to remain unnoticed and to avoid being detained” (Ewald), but to avoid being brought back, and persuaded to do anything inconsistent with his commission or not contained in it; this alone he was to do, and then vanish as quickly as he came. This sheds the necessary light on the following narrative, 1Ki_13:11-32.
1Ki_13:11-22. An old prophet in Bethel, 1Ki_13:11. He lived in the town (1Ki_13:25; 1Ki_13:29), but the high place was probably outside the town. Instead of “his son,” the Sept., the Vulg., and the Syr. give the plural, as in 1Ki_13:12. One spake in the name of the others, or they agreed with what the one said. These were actual sons of the prophet, not pupils, for the latter would scarcely have witnessed the golden calf worship. The Terebinth (1Ki_13:14) “is a tree that resembles an oak,.… has evergreen leaves, and grape-like fruit. It attains a great age, and therefore often serves as a monument or for topographical purposes; Gen_35:4; Jdg_6:11; Jdg_6:19; 1Sa_17:2; 1Sa_17:19; 2Sa_18:9” (Gesenius). The article points to a certain terebinth known in Bethel. The resting under this tree was not at all the beginning of his sin, as the older commentators think, for delay in Bethel alone was prohibited; still the delay gave time for others to come up to him. The בִּדְבַר 1Ki_13:18 is the same as in 1Ki_13:17 and 1Ki_13:2; the angel said to me, “by the word,” i. e., the power of Jehovah’s word; he does not venture to say Jehovah spake to him, but says an angel did. See the His. Ethic, below, for the announcement of punishment (1Ki_13:20-22) by the same old prophet who had lied to the man of God. The final words of 1Ki_13:22 : thy carcass, &c., do not mean, morte violenta, antequam in patriam redeas, peribis (J. H. Michaelis, Keil, and others), for נְבֵלָה means all dead bodies (Isa_26:19), not only those killed with violence; the Sept. simply gives σῶμα. The emphasis falls on the “sepulchre of thy fathers.” It was thought a misfortune to be buried among strangers, far from home and relations; so it was a very natural wish to be buried in the grave of his fathers (every respectable family had a family sepulchre, cf. Winer, R.-W.-B. I. s. 444), (2Sa_19:38; Gen_47:29 sq.;1Ki_1:5). But this blessing so coveted by every Israelite was refused to the “refractory.”
1Ki_13:23-34. And it came to pass, after he had eaten, &c., 1Ki_13:23. The subject of the last part of the sentence cannot be other than that of the first part; so it was not the prophet of Bethel who saddled the ass, neither is it “one saddled” (Luther, Bunsen), but the man of God did it or had it done. לַנָּבִיא is not in opposition with לֹו, so that we could translate: “he saddled the ass for him, for the prophet he had fetched back” (Keil, Luther, De Wette); for throughout the whole section, נָבִיא is only used for the prophet of Bethel; the Judaish one is called “the man of God;” and the clause אֲשֶׁר הֱשִׁיבוֹ, that occurs three times, cannot be translated differently here from 1Ki_13:20; 1Ki_13:26, where it is impossible to take אֲשֶׁר as the accusative. לַנָּבִיא is the general form of the genitive when it denotes possession and belonging, and must be connected with הַחֲמוֹר immediately preceding it. The old prophet either offered his ass to the man of God, who hastened home after eating and drinking, or he gave it to him at his request. שָׁבַר, used in 1Ki_13:26; 1Ki_13:28 to express killing by the lion, does not mean: to tear (Ewald, De Wette), but, to break, crush, and “is very expressive, for the lion kills with one blow” (Thenius). The grave in which the man of God was laid (1Ki_13:30) was the family sepulchre of the old prophet; see on 1Ki_13:22. הוֹי אָחִי seems to have been the usual form of lamentation, cf. Jer_22:18. The man of God from Judah was mourned and buried as a relative of the family. The Sept. adds at the end of 1Ki_13:31,ἴνα σωθῶσι τὰ ὀστᾶ μου μετὰ τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ, which Thenius thinks was original, because the כִּי in the following verse becomes thus perfectly justified. But this sentence, evidently borrowed from 2Ki_23:18, is unnecessary here; the connection is: My bones shall rest next his, for he was a true prophet; what he prophesied against the altar at Bethel will come to pass. For the expression “cities of Samaria” see Prel. Remarks. The connection of 1Ki_13:33-34 with the preceding verses has been given above. If in 1Ki_13:33, in the various directions for worship devised by Jeroboam, mention only of the priests he appointed is made, the reason of this is that they were the main supports of the whole of the unlawful worship, which could not have lasted without them. To “fill the hand” is the formula for investiture with priesthood, because the pieces of the sacrifices which belonged to Jehovah were solemnly laid in the hands of the candidate for consecration; Exo_29:24; Lev_8:27 sq. (Symb. des Mos. Kult. II. s. 426).
Historical and Ethical
1. The appearance of the man of God from Judah, at the feast in Bethel, shows in few strokes the characteristic nature of the prophet system, which stands alone in the history of the world. Unknown hitherto and living in retirement, neither named nor called, when the right moment came he stood there as suddenly as lightning from heaven, not coming in any man’s service but as a messenger of the Lord, borne up and sustained by the might of the “word” of God alone. Without any human help he stood before the proud, energetic king, knowing his hatred to David’s house and to Judah, knowing how Adoniram had fared (1Ki_12:18), but he fears nothing, and boldly announces the divine sentence, not at a private interview, but in presence of all the king’s followers, of the whole priesthood, and crowd of spectators. He adds a divine act to the divine word, which act is a significant “sign” and pledge of the fulfilment of the prophecy. Having spoken and acted in the name of the Lord, he was under Jehovah’s protection, no one dared to seize him; the hand of the king, when stretched forth against him, dried up and became powerless. When the king, thus punished, begs the prophet for help, the latter calls upon the Lord, who hears him, thus showing Himself to be a gracious as well as a just God (Rom_11:22), in order to bring him back from his evil ways. He vanished as suddenly as he came, without eating a bit of bread or drinking water, or receiving a present, even though it were the half of the house. He was to disappear completely, that every one should think of the Lord and His word alone; of what they had heard and seen.
2. Jeroboam’s conduct is full of contradictions and inconsistency. At first he was haughty and violent to the man of God, wishing to seize his person. But when he failed in this, and he felt a higher power, he became humble and dejected, begged the man he had just threatened to intercede for him, gave him a friendly invitation and offered him a present; he then let him go on his way, but paid no regard whatever to his words and deed. The cause of this conduct was not weakness of character, but rather, on the contrary, the obstinacy with which he pursued what his soul desired, and which was the mainspring of all his actions, i. e., the resolve to keep himself on the throne at any cost and under all circumstances, and not to come under the dominion of the hated house of David and Judah again (1Ki_12:26 sq.). The petition to have his hand restored was only the effect of momentary fright; when this passed, instead of listening to the man of God, he tried to bribe him and win him over, and the whole transaction left no trace behind it. He is a type of those usurpers who have no other aim in life than to gratify their ambition and love of power, and whose apparently good and noble actions are only the fruit of this passion. It seems from 1Ki_13:11 that the appearance of the man of God made an impression upon the surrounding people, but the account does not say of what sort this impression was, and it passes on at once to the much more important occurrence related in 1Ki_13:10-32.
3. The old prophet in Bethel was called a false prophet and a “lying prophet” in old times, because he induced the man of God to return by telling him a lie. Josephus regards him as such (Antiq. viii. 9), but he “misunderstands the whole narrative in a truly frightful manner” (Ewald); but Jonathan, several Rabbins, and older R. Catholic commentators, even Hess also, agree in the principal thing, and pronounce the motives of this old prophet, in what he said and did, to have been unworthy. The recent commentators, following Ephrem’s example and that of Theodoret, Witsius, and others, have very rightly rejected this view. The sentence he announces to the man of God (1Ki_13:21) shows that he was no partaker of Jeroboam’s calf-worship, but was a worshipper of Jehovah; still more does this appear from his belief in the fulfilment of the prophecy of the destruction of that false worship (1Ki_13:32), but most of all when, on hearing of the death of his guest, although he perceived divine punishment in it, he at once proceeded to the dangerous place to find the corpse and bury it in his family sepulchre, lamented over him as his “brother,” and desired his sons to “lay his bones beside his bones” (1Ki_13:31). We may see from 2Ki_23:18, that he never was regarded afterwards as a false prophet, but as a true comrade of the man from Judah. From all this it appears that he could have had no bad intention when he at first hastened after the man of God (1Ki_13:12-13) and pressed him to return and go into his house. On the contrary, when he had heard from his sons what he had said and done, he was seized with a strong desire to see and speak to the faithful and courageous messenger of Jehovah, to enter into friendship with him, and edify himself in his company. One thing alone he was guilty of, that he used a lie to reach his end. This, however, by no means shows that he was a false, bad, and hypocritical man, but only shows he was no saint, just as “dissembling” did not make the apostle Peter (Gal_2:13) a pseudo-apostle. “This was one of the many lies spoken in good intentions by otherwise enlightened persons of the Old Testament, but who were weak in faith” (Von Gerlach); old age, too, may have partly accounted for it. It is, however, a difficulty that the same prophet who had lied to the man of God announced his punishment to him afterwards. Perhaps his conscience awoke meantime, when he heard more at table, so that he saw his own guilt as well as that of the man of God, and in this condition became the instrument to announce the punishment, so that what happened to the man of God might not seem an undeserved fate. We ought to notice that he did not announce his death by a lion, but only said that he should not come into the sepulchre of his fathers (see above on 1Ki_13:22). Of all the conjectures about the reason and motive, of the old prophet’s conduct, the least tenable are such as that he followed the Judah-man from more curiosity or “from human envy” (Thenius), or “because God had charged him to speak to the king” (Dereser), and that he felt his prophetical reputation injured (Hess). Apart from everything else, the commission of the man of God was no enviable one, but difficult and dangerous, and also a fruitless one. According to Hengstenberg (Beiträge II. s. 149), with whom Keil and Lisco agree, the old prophet had “sinned by silence about Jeroboam’s innovations.” “What the Judah-prophet did, showed him what he should have done. Penetrated with shame for his neglect, he endeavored to restore himself in his own opinion and that of others by intercourse with the witness for the Lord.” In this case, his purpose in hurrying after him could not have been a good one, but selfish and objectionable, and the he would have been so much the greater sin. Besides, if silence were a sin, the prophet Ahijah would have been peculiarly guilty of it, as he was an Ephraimite and had placed the prospect of the kingdom before Jeroboam (1Ki_11:31-39). Neither prophet undertook the mission to Bethel, because no commission was given them from above—a man of God was to come from Judah. According to Knobel (Der Prophetismus der Hebr. II. s. 66 sq.), the old prophet induced him to return because “no doubt he wished to test the firmness and obedience of the Judah-man to Jehovah; perhaps the Ephraimite wished to form some theocratic plan with him, and thought it needful to ascertain first whether he was reliable—a very natural measure for an old and cautious man who lived among hostile idolatrous priests.” This, it is supposed, explains how he announced his punishment to the Judah-man, but could not refuse him his pity and esteem, as one in the same vocation. This opinion is also untenable, for, according to it, the old prophet would have taken the very opposite means to attain his end (the formation of a theocratic plan); if his test of the fidelity and obedience of the Judah-man had succeeded, and he had continued his home journey without delay, the old prophet could not have communicated his plan to him, still less have carried it out together with him.
4. The tragical end of the man of God out of Judah is clearly represented as a divine dispensation, in consequence of disobedience to Jehovah’s command, wholly conformable to the stern legal character of the Old-Testament economy (cf., for instance, Num_20:24; Num_27:14; 1Sa_12:15, &c.). The question has often been asked, why the prophet of Judah came to such an end, and the Bethel prophet who lied to him went unpunished? To this we may reply with another question: Who can say to Him who is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works (Psa_145:17), Lord, what doest Thou (Job_9:12)? We do not know what fate God allotted to the old prophet; he acts only a minor part in the narrative, compared with the prophet of Judah. It is quite wrong to assert, as is so often done, that the sin of the lie was much greater than the disobedience to Jehovah’s command. This was distinct from Jeroboam’s sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, for it touched the whole of the prophet-system, i. e., the institution of the office of divine guardians and witnesses. By not eating or drinking in that place, where that sin fully showed itself, he was to prove (as well by word as by deed) that there could be no fellowship between those who kept Jehovah’s covenant and those who had broken it. If he ate and drank in that place, he nullified the important end of his mission, and deprived the threat he had solemnly pronounced of all its force, by appearing as one who himself did not fear to transgress the express command of Jehovah. The fate that overtook him was a confirmation of the truth of the sentence he had pronounced against Jeroboam’s sin, and which sentence had appeared doubtful through his conduct; it showed also to all the people, as Theodoret remarks, that if God so punished the man of God, he would certainly not leave Jeroboam’s sin unpunished. In that the man of God did not “come unto the sepulchre of his fathers” (1Ki_13:22), but was buried in Bethel, (i. e., “in this place”), he was, even after death, a witness against the apostasy, and his grave was a lasting monument that reminded the apostates of Jehovah’s judgments and exhorted them to conversion. But for the prophet-system itself, his fate was of great significance. With it began the active working (henceforth uninterrupted) of the prophet-system in the kingdom of organized apostasy: here it had a mission, on the unconditional fulfilment of which everything depended, namely, the constant struggle against the pseudo-theocracy. The fate of the man of God contained the strongest warning to all who should afterwards receive a similar charge, not to allow themselves to be enticed by anything, however plausible and alluring it might be (1Ki_13:18), from implicit obedience to the divine commission. This is very probably the reason that the narrative is so explicitly detailed. As to the old prophet, his lamentation (1Ki_13:31-32) evidently proceeds from a heart that mourns over his own sin; he says, as it were, If I can have no more fellowship with my brother in life, I will at least be united to him in death; our common grave, to which I shall soon go down in sorrow, shall be a lasting testimony against the sin of Jeroboam.
5. Witsius says of the wonderful circumstances which accompanied the end of the man of God (Miscell, sacr. I. cap. 15, s. 145): Denique tot admiranda in unum concurrentia effecerunt, ut vaticinium adversus aram Betheliticam in omnium ore atque memoria versaretur, et legatio hujus Prophetœ multo redderetur conspectior et illustrior. The extraordinary nature of these circumstances distinguishes his end from every ordinary accidental death, and bears the impress of a special dispensation; this is peculiarly apparent in the fact that the corpse remained untouched, instead of falling a prey to the wild beasts (cf. 1Ki_14:11), and that it was honorably carried to the grave without any pollution. To pronounce this deeply serious and significant narrative to be a “sensational” story (Vatke), on account of its miraculous disclosures, seems to indicate an almost frivolous character. For, though one or another part may bear the trace of a verbal tradition (see Prelim. Remarks), having been written down at a later date, yet the chief point remains, and that is that this history of the two prophets loudly and sternly proclaims the wonderful ways and judgments of God, and therefore lived for hundreds of years in the mouths of the people. The fact of the man of God out of Judah being killed by a lion is significant, inasmuch as God carried out His judgments elsewhere by lions (2Ki_17:25 sq.; Wis_11:15-17), and He Himself, when He comes as a judge, is likened to a lion (Isa_31:4; Jer_4:7; Amo_3:8), and those also who execute His judgments are called lions (Jer_25:30; Jer_25:38; Jer_49:15). That the lion did not tear the dead so that he could not be buried, is a sure evidence that all creatures are in His hand (the Almighty’s), and that they cannot stir against His will (Heidelberg Katech.). Cf. Job_38:11.
Homiletical and Practical
1Ki_13:1-10. The man of God out of Judah. (a) He comes, led by the word of God, and goes on his dark, difficult way in faith, without taking counsel with flesh and blood. (b) He stands, strong and bold, before the king, fears him not, testifies against his sins, and announces the judgment of God. (c) He makes entreaty for him, who was about to lay hold on him, and heaps coals of fire on his head. (d) He resists the offers of the king, and will not be secured by bribes. The testimony against the service of the false gods. (a) It proceeded from a nameless, unknown, insignificant man who, without worldly consequence, has nothing and knows nothing, except only the power of the divine Word. That is the manner of the Lord in His kingdom. He accomplishes by means of small, insignificant instruments what no king, with all his power, can do. The altars of heathendom are shattered by means of the testimony of fishers and tax-gatherers (1Co_1:27-29), even as were the altars of the false worship of God by means of a poor world-despised recluse. It was received, at first, with scorn, wrath, and violence; but the wrath is powerless and avails nothing; the altar is rent, and the threatening arm is dried up. Humble entreaties then take the place of wrath, for: Isa_26:16. But, though the withered hand be restored, the heart remains withered as before. Physical aid is alway readily received by men, whilst they shut their hearts to the testimony against their sins.
1Ki_13:1. God has never, even when apostasy was almost universal, suffered His Church to fail for want of messengers, who would cry aloud in the world, “Down with the false idols! The Lord is God! the Lord is God! Give God all honor!”—God not only warns and admonishes men, as Jeroboam by Ahijah (1Ki_11:38) before they set out in the path of evil, but when they are already walking in it, even then He strives with them, in order to reclaim them, for “He has no pleasure,” &c. (Eze_33:11; Rom_2:4-5).
1Ki_13:2. God announces beforehand to sinners His judgments, that they may have time and space, for repentance. Woe to them who misemploy the respite, for the measure of their sins will be full. In the new covenant we have a far weightier prophecy. Unto us is born a Son, named Jesus, out of the House of David; who will come again, and pronounce judgment upon those who know not God, and who obey not the Gospel, &c. (2Th_1:8-9).
1Ki_13:3. The miracles which the Lord our God performs are not only proofs of His almighty power, to amaze us, but likewise significant signs which reveal to us His eternal decrees, and lead us to the recognition of that heavenly truth which sanctifies our hearts.
1Ki_13:4. Cramer: Although faithful teachers often accomplish nothing, and fail, most signally, with men of high degree, yet must they never on this account abandon their office. For if thou warn him, thou hast delivered thy soul (Eze_3:19), and although the obdurate remain untouched, yet it shall not remain without fruit (Isa_55:10). How did even this warning work itself out, and bear fruit, after 300 years (2Ki_23:15). Sinners, eminent by wealth and position, will only listen to prophets who are dumb dogs, and cannot bark (Isa_56:10). When a true servant of the Lord cries out “The axe is already laid at the root of the tree,” they arise in wrath, and cry out, Seize him! (2Ti_4:1-5). He who attacks a servant of God, on account of his testimony, never remains unpunished. In vain doth the enemy stretch forth his hand against those who are under God’s protection (Job 7:44; Lev_4:29 sq.; Psa_37:17). Those who will not listen to the word of truth, God often visits with bodily pain in order to humble them, and teach them to pray and supplicate.
1Ki_13:6. He who desires for himself the intercession of others must himself draw near, humbly and penitently, to God and implore His mercy. In this wise can we know if we are indeed children of God, and guided by His spirit, if we pray and supplicate for those who have done their worst to us, and thus overcome evil with good (1Pe_3:9).
1Ki_13:7. Osiander: Although the ungodly often hold in high esteem these holy men especially raised up by God, yet they never follow their instructions and warnings (Mar_6:19 sq.). What boots it that we gratefully acknowledge the material blessings which meet us, if we leave unfulfilled the very object of these blessings, viz., the turning of our hearts from sin and the world to God. Unbelief and impenitence cannot be outweighed by even the highest friendship and humanity. When the world can effect nothing more by force and threats, it seeks to gain its ends by plausible love-tokens.
1Ki_13:8-9. There is no bribe to which the man of God will yield: to him, that which God has commanded him seems, in all times and all places, in evil as in good days, the fixed and definite plan of action.—Starke: The best weapon and defence against the snares of our spiritual enemy is the word and law of God. It must always be said: God has forbidden me (Mat_4:4; Mat_4:7; Mat_4:10). It is far from being unimportant with whom we eat and drink, i. e., in fellowship and intimate alliance (1Co_5:11).
1Ki_13:10. If in a certain position thou hast done what God commanded, and left undone what he forbade, then go on thy way peaceful and content, how dark and unknown soever it may seem to thee.
1Ki_13:11-32. Von Gerlach: The history of these two prophets offers an important view of the relation of this class to the new order of things; in the prophet out of Judah we see a man of God full of life and strength, but who yet proved unstable in these disturbed times; in the old Israelite we look upon one in whom the fire is almost quenched—it only glimmers faintly—a type of the expiring high and manly strength of Israel; he is still upheld by faith in God’s word rather than by self-reliance. They both yet speak and testify in death. The fall and death of the man of Judah set forth two great truths: (a) He who thinketh he standeth, let him take heed, &c. (1Co_10:12). (He had conducted himself grandly and nobly, and victoriously withstood a severe temptation, yet he yielded to a lesser one. The higher a man stands the deeper is his fall, and to whom much is given from him will much be required. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, &c. 1Co_16:13; 1Co_10:13. Only those who are true unto death can obtain the crown of life.) (b) How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out, Rom_11:33. He who is holy in all his ways knows how to establish firmly that which is threatened with destruction and annihilation by human treachery and deceit. The death and the grave of the man of God announce in louder and more threatening accents than did his lips—the altar is rent.
1Ki_13:11-15. The old prophet when he hears of the man of God hastens upon his way and spares neither care nor pains to see him and bring him to his house; how much time, pains, and money are expended by the children of this world to see and to hear what will gratify their senses, whilst they stir neither hand nor foot to acquire that which pertains to their peace and salvation.
1Ki_13:16-19. So in indifferent ordinary matters, which God has either ordered or forbidden, we must observe unerring obedience, for he who is faithful in that which is least, &c. (Luk_16:10; Luk_19:17). Hearken not unto him who says: I am a prophet, declaiming that he announces divine truth, whilst he deprives your heart of the dear and steadfast word of God, which shall remain until heaven and earth shall pass away. Hence the warning of the apostle: Beloved, believe not, &c. (1Jn_4:1-3), and, But though we or an angel, &c. (Gal_1:8). Whatever obtains success and position by means of deceit cannot be followed by a blessing, but rather by a curse. The Scripture is not silent concerning the sins of the man of God; and this, not that we may excuse our sins by his, but that we may guard ourselves from haughtiness and spiritual pride, and pray earnestly: Search me, O God, &c. (Psa_139:23-24).
1Ki_13:20-22. The same sentence which the old prophet pronounced upon the man of God he pronounced upon himself, while he had led and betrayed him to disobedience. How often does the judgment which we utter for others fall upon ourselves, when we have sinned equally or in greater measure (Rom_2:1): for wherein thou, &c.
1Ki_13:23-25. The judgments of God often fall suddenly and unexpectedly, thus proving that although long delayed they are sure to come, even as this, after the lapse of three hundred years, was the punishment threatened for the golden ealf worship.
1Ki_13:24. see Histor. and Eth. 5.
1Ki_13:25-29. The chastisement with which God visits our fellow-men for their sins is both a warning to reflect upon our own sins and deserts, and a call to work active deeds of love with all our might, in life and in death.
1Ki_13:30-31. We often for the first time, at the grave of a friend, recognize what we possessed in him, and how we have sinned against him. One look into the open grave of one dear to us in life is adapted, beyond anything, to remind us of our own end. It is a very natural wish to rest in death near those who were closely bound to us in life by ties of blood or strong affection; but yet stronger should be the wish to die in the Lord, and enter into eternal glory. Then, wherever in the providence of God we may find our grave, there shall we rest in peace, for the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof (Psa_24:1).
1Ki_13:33-34. When neither the severity nor the patient long-suffering of his God brings to repentance a man who walks in evil ways, he is brought by his own sin under the sentence for the obdurate, viz., temporal and eternal ruin (2Ti_3:13; Joh_8:34).—Starke: Church patrons should not abuse their so-called jus patronatus, to place in charge of themselves and congregations teachers “having itching ears” (2Ti_4:3), or one who will preserve silence concerning every kind of godlessness and misrule. Should they do so they become followers of Jeroboam, and must expect Jeroboam’s punishment. The spiritual office is put to shame if borne by men who make a traffic of religion, and are intent only upon filling their own hands.
[R. South: 1Ki_13:33-34. “The means to strengthen or ruin the civil power is either to establish or destroy the right worship of God.” … The way to destroy religion is to embase the dispensers of it. “This is to give the royal stamp to a piece of lead.” … “It is a sad thing when all other employments shall empty themselves into the ministry; when men shall repair to it not for preferment but refuge; like malefactors flying to the altars only to save their lives, or like those of Eli’s race (1Sa_2:36), that should come crouching, and seeking to be put into the priest’s office that they might eat a piece of bread.”—E. H.]
Footnotes:
[1]1Ki_13:2.—[The Alex. Sept. omits the last clause of this ver.
[2]1Ki_13:3.—[On the meaning of מוֹפֵת = τέρας see the Exeg. Com. It is to be remembered, however, that any portent must have had the significance of a “sign” and hence this meaning appears in the Vulg., Chald., and Syr., as well as in the A. V. the Vat. Sept. curiously puts the verb in the future δώσει.
[3]1Ki_13:3.—[דֶּשֶׁן from the root דָּשֵׁן to be or become fat, primarily meaning fatness (Cf. Jdg_9:9; Psa_63:6, &c.), and hence translated here and in 1Ki_13:5 by the Sept. πιότης, is used for the ashes of animals offered in sacrifice, in contradistinction to אֵפֶר , common ashes. Cf. Lev_1:16; Lev_4:12, &c.
[4]1Ki_13:11.—[The Heb. has here בְנוֹ in the sing., followed by the sing. verb. With this agree the Chald. and Arab., and our author, like Luther, so translates. On the other hand the Sept., Vulg., and Syr., like the A. V., have the plural.]
[5]1Ki_13:12.—ויראו according to the understanding of all the VV. (except the Arab.) is to be pointed וַיַּרְאוּ [i.e. in the Hiphil = showed], and so we have translated: “they looked on” or “after the way” gives no proper sense. [The A. V. has followed the masoretic punctuation וַיִּרְאוּ in the Kal, but by taking it in a pluperfect sense has avoided the difficulty.
[6]1Ki_13:14.—[הָֽאֵלָה is usually rendered in the A. V. oak; in Isa_6:13 it is translated teil tree, because אַלּוֹן, also rendered oak, is in immediate connection with it; for the same reason, in Hos_4:13 it is rendered elm. The Sept. have δρῦς, the Vulg. terebinthus, which is the interpretation of most moderns. The article is by all means to be retained, as pointing out some well-known tree.
[7]1Ki_13:18.—[There seems no good reason for omitting the conjunction of the Heb., which is retained by the Sept. and Vulg.
[8]1Ki_13:23.—[Our author translates “the ass of the prophet who had brought him back.” The VV. differ from one another, the Vulg. and Chald. understanding “the ass of the prophet whom he had brought back;” the Syr. and Arab. simply “the ass for the prophet of God;” while the Sept. omits the words altogether.
[9]1Ki_13:26.—[The Vat. Sept. omits from this point to the end of 1Ki_13:27.
[10]1Ki_13:31.—[The Sept. adds ἵνα σωθῶσι τὰ ὀστᾶ μοῦ μετὰ τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ doubtless with reference to 2Ki_23:18, when the bones of the Samarian prophet were left undisturbed with the bones of the prophet from Judah.
[11]1Ki_13:33.—[Lit. “filled his hand,” a figurative expression for consecration, but rendered literally in the Sept. and Vulg.
[12]1Ki_13:33.—[The Heb. noun is in the plural כֹּהֲנֵי בָמוֹת, and is rendered in the plural by the Chald. and Arab.; the Sept., Vulg., and Syr. use the sing. as in the A. V.—F. G.]
[13]1Ki_13:34.—Instead of בַּדָּבָר we must read here הַדָּבָר with all the VV. and several [eight] of the MSS., as it is also in 1Ki_12:30. The translation: “The reason for sinning was in this thing (through the same)” (Keil) is forced.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v2 he cried against the altar--which is put for the…
he cried against the altar--which is put for the whole system of worship organized in Israel.
Behold, a child shall be born . . . Josiah by name--This is one of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Scriptures; and, in its clearness, circumstantial minuteness, and exact prediction of an event that took place three hundred sixty years later, it stands in striking contrast to the obscure and ambiguous oracles of the heathen. Being publicly uttered, it must have been well known to the people; and every Jew who lived at the accomplishment of the event must have been convinced of the truth of a religion connected with such a prophecy as this. A present sign was given of the remote event predicted, in a visible fissure being miraculously made on the altar. Incensed at the man's license of speech, Jeroboam stretched out his hand and ordered his attendants to seize the bold intruder. That moment the king's arm became stiff and motionless, and the altar split asunder, so that the fire and ashes fell on the floor. Overawed by the effects of his impiety, Jeroboam besought the prophet's prayer. His request was acceded to, and the hand was restored to its healthy state. Jeroboam was artful, and invited the prophet to the royal table, not to do him honor or show his gratitude for the restoration of his hand, but to win, by his courtesy and liberal hospitality, a person whom he could not crush by his power. But the prophet informed him of a divine injunction expressly prohibiting him from all social intercourse with any in the place, as well as from returning the same way. The prohibition not to eat or drink in Beth-el was because all the people had become apostates from the true religion, and the reason he was not allowed to return the same way was lest he should be recognized by any whom he had seen in going.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–3 1. A man of God — A truly accredited…
1. A man of God — A truly accredited prophet, but his name is unknown. Josephus calls him Jadon, Epiphanius Joas, and Tertullian Sameas; but these names, together with the supposition that he was identical with Iddo the seer, or Shemaiah, have grown out of mere conjecture.
By the word of the Lord — Or, in the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord was the spiritual element in which he went upon his mission.
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To burn incense — This seems to show that Jeroboam performed with his own hand the holy service of the priests. See note on 1Ki_12:32 and 1Ki_13:4.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Chap. 1Ki_13:1-10. Prophecy against Jeroboam’s altar in Bethel. Withering…
Chap. 1Ki_13:1-10. Prophecy against Jeroboam’s altar in Bethel. Withering and restoration of Jeroboam’s hand (Not in Chronicles)
1. A man of God] Josephus (Ant. viii. 8, 5) says this prophet whom the narrative does not name was called Jadon (Ἰαδὼν ὄνομα).
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out of Judah] Out of Judah to speak the word of the Lord in Israel. Later on Israel had her own prophets. Josephus also says he came from Jerusalem.
by the word of the Lord] Those who would not follow with Jeroboam in his worship of the calves had most likely all departed from the northern kingdom. But if this were not so, God would still choose His special messenger from that portion of the people who still clung to the pure worship at Jerusalem.
and Jeroboam stood by the altar] The Hebrew is better rendered by the R.V. was standing. The appearance of the prophet of Judah took place at the moment when the king was about to engage in the act of worship. We cannot be sure that the offering of incense by one who was not of the priestly race would be counted a sin in the days of Jeroboam. King Solomon (1Ki_8:62-64) is described as offering sacrifice, peace offerings and burnt offerings, without anything to indicate that it was not lawful. But no doubt as time went on, and probably before the composition of the history before us, the persons who alone were allowed to offer at the altars were the priests and Levites.
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 (1) A man of God out of Judah.—Josephus calls…
(1) A man of God out of Judah.—Josephus calls him Jadon (Iddo); but from 2Ch_13:22 it appears that Iddo was the chronicler of the reign of Abijah, and must, therefore, have lived till near the close of Jeroboam’s reign. Probably the tradition came from a mistaken interpretation of the “visions of Iddo against Jeroboam.”
By the word of the Lord.—A weak rendering of the original, “in the word of the Lord.” The constantly recurring prophetic phrases are, “the word of the Lord came to me,” and “the Spirit of the Lord was upon me,” enabling, or forcing, to declare it. The original phrase here implies both. The prophet came clothed in the inspiration of the word put into his mouth.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–3 THE TESTIMONY OF GOD AGAINST THE CALF WORSHIP. We…
THE TESTIMONY OF GOD AGAINST THE CALF WORSHIP. We have in this chapter, which some commentators consider to be derived from a different source from the narratives which precede and follow it the expression of ver. 32, "the cities of Samaria," according to them, proving it to be of a later date, while the style and colouring of the story suggest that it embodies a tradition current in the time of the compiler an account of certain circumstances of profound significance which marked the inauguration of Jeroboam"s first great feast for the close connexion with ch. 12. shows that it is "the fifteenth day of the eighth month" that is here described. The Chapter divides itself into two sections, the first (vers. 1-10) containing the public testimony of the prophet of Judah against the schismatic worship, the second (vers. 11-32) his subsequent perversion and his tragical death.
And, behold, there came a man of God. (see on 1Ki_12:22) The "man of God" is throughout carefully distinguished from the"prophet." Josephus calls the former Jadon, probably the Grecized form of Iddo, wODi which appears as wOdy, Ia"do in the Keri of 2Ch_9:29. Iddo, however, notwithstanding his "visions against Jeroboam the son of Nebat", (2Ch_9:29) it cannot have been, for he survived to the reign of Abijah, and indeed wrote a "story" (Heb. Midrash, i.e., Commentary) of that reign, whereas this man of God died forthwith. For a similar reason, we cannot believe it to have been Shemaiah, the historian of the reign of Rehoboam (2Ch_12:5, 2Ch_12:15) out of Judah whither, as a rule, both priests and prophets would seem to have retreated. (2Ch_11:14, 2Ch_11:16) It is clear, however, that the migration of the latter was not so general as that of the former. In ver. 11 we find a prophet at Bethel; in ch. 14. Ahijah is still at Shiloh, and at a later day we find schools of the prophets at Bethel, Jericho, etc.. (2Ki_2:8, 2Ki_2:5) Stanley says with truth that "the prophetical activity of the time is to be found in the kingdom, not of Judah, but of Israel," but omits to add that it was because the northern kingdom more especially needed their ministry. It was just for this reason that Ahijah and others remained at their posts. by Heb. in, same word as in vers. 2, 9, 17, 20, 32, etc. Similarly, 1Sa_3:21. The b is not merely instrumental, but, like the ejn, of the N.T., denotes the sphere or element. By the word" would imply that he had received a Divine communication; in the word," that his message possessed him, inspired him, was "in his heart as a burning fire shut up in his bones" (Jer_20:9) the word of the Lord unto Bethel It is worth remembering that the new sanctuary at Bethel would probably be visible from the temple (Porter, p. 219; Van de Velds, 2:283), so that this function was an act of open defiance: and Jeroboam stood by Heb. upon . See on 1Ki_12:32, 1Ki_12:33. It is the same occasion the altar to burn incense or to burn the fat, etc., of the sacrifice. (See on 1Ki_12:33) This altar was clearly, pro hac vice, an altar of burnt offering; not an altar of incense, as is proved by the next verse.
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HOMILIES BY J.A. MACDONALD. Vers. 1-3.
The Fire of Jehovah.
Jeroboam went to inaugurate his feast of tabernacles at his principal temple in Bethel, and to give effect to the ceremonies officiated in person as high priest. Then, as he stood by the altar, censer in hand, he was confronted by the word of the Lord. A man of God from Judah denounced the altar in the words before us, which contain a very remarkable prophecy; and he authenticated his message by a miraculous sign. (Compare Mar_16:20) The subject teaches
I THAT GOD SEES THE END FROM THE BEGINNING.
1. This is evinced in His works of creation.
(1) There is foresight in the constitution and adjustments of the framework, and in the motions, of the orbs.
(2) Also in the anticipatory instincts of animals storing of food, provisions for young. Moths deposit their eggs upon leaves, not used by themselves as food, but proper to sustain the larvae.
(3) And in the anticipatory faculties of man. Intelligent foresight in business, in politics, in science, in religion.
2. It is evinced in prophecy.
(1) Great outlines of the world"s history pre-written there. (see Gen_9:25-27 Da 7)
(2) Particular example here. (Compare this with 2Ki_23:15-20) The facts here were attested By the Jews, on whose behalf they were ordered By the Ephrathites, who would have impugned their authority if they could.
3. This example is too circumstantial to have been accidental.
(1) The child was to be of the house of David. Who but God could foresee that the house of David should occupy the throne of Judah at a distance of 856 years?
(2) Who but God could foresee that Bethel would then have passed from the kings of Israel under the dominion of Judah? (See 2Ch_13:19)
(3) Who but God could foresee that at a distance of 840 years a child should be born to the house of David, bearing the name of Josiah, who should in due time do these things?
(4) Who else could anticipate, even when Josiah received his name, that the grandson of the wicked Manasseh, and son of the no less wicked Amen, should come to the throne, and with pious zeal bring these things to pass? Note: Such prescience as God displayed in this prophecy, and such providence as He evinced in its accomplishment, encourage faith. They assure us that our very names are in His book. (Php_4:8) They encourage prayer.
II THAT HE WILL CONFRONT THE SINNER IN JUDGMENT.
1. The m essage to Jeroboam was to this very effect.
1. He bore His testimony against the altar. It had been consecrated, after a fashion, by the king, but God would desecrate it. The bodies of its priests were to be sacrificed upon it, and the bones of men were to be burnt upon. (1Ki_13:2) God will accept no will worship no worship ordered after the policy of statesmen.
2. In the demolition of the altar, not only is the religion connected with it doomed to be overthrown, but the judgment involves its votaries the king, his priests, his people.
3. The testimony was strong. The man of God cried aloud. He did not quail in the presence of the king amidst his friends. God"s messengers should never cringe nor quail God"s word can never fail.
2. These things were an allegory.
(1) Many of the wonderful narratives of Holy Scripture may be thus understood. We have the famous example, Gal_4:21-31.
(2) Here Jeroboam, like all other leaders in apostasy, was a forerunner of the Antichrist. As the religion of the "man of sin" is a caricature of the religion of Christ, so was that of Jeroboam a parody upon the Mosaic.
(3) Josiah was a type of Christ, the true Son of David. (Compare Isa_7:14.) Warning and mercy come before destruction. The army of Judah was stayed from crushing Jeroboam, (1Ki_12:24) and in the mission of the man of God there was mercy in the warning. Let the sinner be admonished not to refuse the gospel. J.A.M.
HOMILIES BY A. ROWLAND Vers. 1, 2.
The Nameless Prophet.
Jeroboam"s inauguration of the high place at Bethel was an imitation of Solomon"s dedication of the temple at Jerusalem. Like Solomon, he chose the feast of tabernacles as the season for this ceremony, although he daringly altered the date of the feast from the seventh month to the eighth. Describe the scene: the crowds of people, the new-made priests, the gorgeous shrine, the conflicting feelings of the worshippers. None dared to oppose the king, and at the expected moment he stepped forward to burn incense before the calf. Just then one, who had been till then unnoticed, pressed to the front of the crowd. He came from the neighboring kingdom of Judah. In words of terrible invective he delivered the message of the Lord. Who was he? Josephus (Ant., 8:8. identifies him with Iddo the seer. There is no proof of this. He was one of the many servants of Jehovah who have done their work without emblazoning on it their name. Like John the Baptist, he was content to be "a voice crying" out a testimony for God. In considering the service rendered in his day by this NAMELESS PROPHET let us look at the following:
I HIS MESSAGE.
1. Its Divine origin. "He cried in the word of the Lord." A remarkable expression. It represents the word as the sphere in which he lived, the atmosphere he breathed. A sense of the Divine presence, a confidence in the Divine call, a certainty of the Divine message, characterized him. This was a sign of the true prophet. Compare with this the call of Samuel, the announcements of Elijah, the commission of Isaiah, etc. To some the declarations of God"s will came fitfully. Prophecy was never a constant possession of a servant of God. There was a tidal flow of inspiration, the law of which we know not. So was it with the miraculous powers of the Apostles.
2. Its definite nature (ver. 2). The very name of the coming avenger is mentioned more than three hundred years before Josiah"s birth. It was foretold that the priests would be sacrified on the altar at which they had insulted God. The lex talionis is the ground of this, as of other theocratic laws. It reminds us that the sinner is destroyed by his own sin; that punishments are not arbitrary, but are the legitimate issues of crime against God. It was further announced that the bones of the dead would be taken from the graves and burnt on the altar, so that the place of idolatry might be defiled and dishonoured. See Num_19:16. For fulfilment of prophecy read 2Ki_23:15-20.
3. Its merciful design. In 1Ki_12:24 we read that God forbade the advance of the army of Judah on Jeroboam. Instead of carnage he sends this message. He willeth not the death of a sinner, but would rather he should turn from his wickedness and live. Suggest the warnings God now sends to rouse us to thought and penitence.
II HIS COURAGE. It was a bold thing to venture amongst the people at a time when they were full of hatred to Judah, and of unwillingness to be reminded of Jehovah; and to face the king, who was a man of despotic and resolute temper, in the very pride of his royal strength. But in the presence of them all the prophet"s cry arose, "O altar, altar, thus saith Jehovah," etc., as if the stones would listen more readily than the people. Give examples of similar courage being displayed by men who have had the Consciousness they were speaking for God; e.g., Moses before Pharaoh, Elijah before Ahab, John the Baptist before Herod, Peter and John before the Sanhedrim, Paul before Felix. From church history, too, such examples as that of Ambrose, John Knox, etc., may be cited. Show how requisite courage is now to genuine fidelity to conviction, amongst sceptical or sinful associations.
III HIS CREDENTIALS. A sign was given there and then. The altar was cleft in twain, and the ashes were poured out. For the significance of the latter see Lev_16:3, Lev_16:4. Point out the credibility of supernatural signs as attesting supernatural revelations. Refer to the miracles of Christ, of which He said, "Believe me for the very works" sake." See also Mar_16:20; Act_2:43. Indicate the nature of the credentials which the world may fairly demand of Christian men in the present day; and show how far we fail in giving these, and the causes of our failure.
IV HIS SAFETY. Amidst all the perils encircling him he was "kept by the power of God." The hand that would have slain him was withered; the man who cursed his message besought his prayers. "Man is immortal till his work is done." When God"s servants die, it is because they have fulfilled the purpose of their lives. They have many enemies, but God can disable all their foes. The path of duty is the path of safety. Illustrate this from the records of the Christian Church; Luther at Worms, etc.
1. Learn to listen for God"s message. He would make you His "voice.
2. Learn to dare anything in God"s name. The rarity of Christian chivalry.
3. Learn to trust in God"s protection. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
4. Learn to pray even for your persecutors. Compare ver. 6 with Mat_5:44. A.R.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART Vers. 1-10.
I THE PRETENSIONS OF ERROR DEEPEN ITS SHAME. The idolatrous altar was being solemnly consecrated. The people"s eyes were dazzled with the splendour of the priestly and regal display. Jeroboam himself stood by the altar to offer incense. And then the cry arose which arrested every ear and thrilled through every soul.
1. The attempt to give importance to the new idolatry only broadened the mark for God"s rebuke: it simply lent emphasis to His condemnation. They had come to consecrate, and had really come to attend upon God while He desecrated the work of their hands. Heathenism in its splendour thus rebuked by the preaching of the cross, Rome by the light of the Reformation.
2. The agent by whom God"s glory was vindicated. The insignificance of the poor, weary, travel-stained man deepened their disgrace. "God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
II THE DOOM OF IDOLATROUS WORSHIP.
1. The altar will be desecrated. The place will be made an abomination and horror. Sin"s judgment will in the end be sin"s destruction.
2. The sin will be wiped out in the blood and shame of those who have wrought it. The priests will be offered upon the altar, the bones of its worshippers burned upon it. The world"s sin will be ended in God"s fiery judgment upon the sinful.
3. The certainty of God"s purpose. Centuries intervened between the prediction and the fulfilment, but all was arranged. The time was fixed, the avenger named. There is no uncertainty in God"s mind regarding the end of iniquity. The decree has been recorded, the time fixed, THE MAN named by whom He will judge the world in righteousness.
4. The sign meanwhile given. The altar was rent and its ashes poured out. The wrath revealed from heaven now is proof that all God"s purpose shall be fulfilled.
III MAN"S INABILITY TO CONTEND WITH GOD.
1. The withered arm. The arm outstretched in eager, wrathful command to arrest the man of God, withered in the very attitude. It was the emblem of his house and of his people; they were withered in the attitude of rebellion against God.
2. The prophet"s safety. He needed none to shield him. God protects all those who serve Him.
3. Jeroboam"s humiliation. He turns from idol and altar and priests, and requests the prophet"s intercession with Jehovah.
4. His arm is restored at the prophet"s request, and he thus bears in his person another token that the word he has heard is from God. It is the story of God"s contest with darkness and wrong today.
IV SEPARATION ESSENTIAL FOR TESTIMONY. Jeroboam"s hospitality and reward were alike refused. The prophet was even forbidden to return by the same way: he was not to enter even into acquaintance with men who were sinning so deeply against God. Unless there be separation our testimony is a sham. Our life unsays our speech. If we will speak God"s word to the sinful, our attitude must reveal their distance from God and the peril in which they stand. If our own heart be filled with holy fear it may pass item us to them. J.U.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits…
JEROBOAM AND THE MAN OF GOD
1Ki_13:1-34
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"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God."
- 1Jn_4:1
WE are told that Jeroboam, whose position probably made him restless and insecure, first built or fortified Shechem, and then went across the Jordan and established another palace and stronghold at Penuel. After this he shifted his residence once more to the beautiful town of Tirzah, where he built for himself the palace which Zimri afterwards burnt over his own head. Although the prophet Shemaiah forbade Rehoboams attempt to crush him in a great war, Jeroboam remained at war with him and Abijah all his life, till his reign of two-and-twenty troubled years ended apparently by a sudden death-for the chronicler says that "the Lord struck him, and he died."
Nearly all that we know of Jeroboam apart from these incidental notices is made up of two stories, both of which are believed by critics to date from a long subsequent age, but which the compiler of the Book of Kings introduced into his narrative from their intrinsic force and religious instructiveness.
The first of these stories tells us of the only spontaneous prophetic protest against his proceedings of which we read. So ancient is this curious narrative that tradition had entirely forgotten the names of the two prophets concerned in it. It probably assumed shape from the dim local reminiscences evoked in the days of Josiahs reformation, when the grave of a forgotten prophet of Judah was discovered among the tombs at Bethel, three hundred and twenty years after the events described.
A nameless man of God-Josephus calls him Jadon, and some have identified him with Iddo-came out of Judah to atone for the silence of Israel, and to protest in Gods name against the new worship. His protest, however, is against "the altar." He does not say a word about the golden calves. Jeroboam, perhaps, at his dedication festival of the kings shrine at Bethel, was standing on the altar-slope, as Solomon had done in the Temple, to burn incense. Suddenly the man of God appeared, and threatened to the altar the destruction and desecration which subsequently fell upon it. We cannot be sure that some of the details are not later additions supplied from subsequent events. Josephus rationalizes the story very absurdly in the style of Paulus. The sign of the destruction or rending of the altar, and the outpouring of the ashes, may have been first fulfilled in that memorable earthquake which became a date in Israel. The desecration which it received at the hands of Josiah reminded men of the threat of the unknown messenger. Then we are told that Jeroboam raised his hand in anger, with the order to secure the bold offender, but that his arm at once "dried up," and was only restored by the man of at the kings entreaty. The king invites the prophet to go home and refresh himself and receive a reward; but he replies that not half Jeroboams house could tempt him to break the command which he had received to eat no bread neither drink water at Bethel. An old Israelite prophet was living at Bethel, and his son told him what had occurred. Struck with admiration by the faithfulness of the southern man of God, he rode after him to bring him to his house. He found him seated under "the terebinth"-evidently some aged and famous tree. When he refused the renewed invitation, the old man lyingly said to him that he too was a man of God, and had been bidden by an angel to bring him back. Deceived, perhaps too easily deceived, the man of God from Judah went back. It would have been well for him if he had believed that even "an angel of God," or what may seem to wear such a semblance, may preach a false message, and may deserve nothing but an anathema. {Gal_1:8} With terrible swiftness the delusion was dispelled. While he was eating in Bethel, the old prophet, overcome by an impulse of inspiration, told him that for his disobedience he should perish and lie in a strange grave. Accordingly he had not gone far from Bethel when a lion met and killed him, not, however, mangling or devouring him, but standing still with the ass beside the carcass. On hearing this the old prophet of Bethel went and brought back the corpse. He mourned over his victim with the cry, "Alas, my brother," {Comp. Jer_22:18} and bade his sons that when he died they should bury him in the same sepulcher with the man of God, for all that he had prophesied should come to pass.
Josephus adds many idle touches to this story. If in a tale which assumed its present form so long after the events imaginative details were introduced, the incident of the lion subserves the moral aim of the narrative. {2Ki_17:25; Jer_25:30; Jer_49:19 #/RAPC Wis 11:15-17, etc.} The significance of the story for us is happily neither historic nor evidential, but it is profoundly moral. It is the lesson not to linger in the neighborhood of temptation, nor to be dilatory in the completion of duty. It is the lesson to be ever on our guard against the tendency to assume inspired sanction for the conduct and opinions which coincide with our own secret wishes. Satan finds it easy to secure our credence when he answers us according to our idols, and can quote Scripture for our purpose as well as his own; and God sometimes punishes men by granting them their own desires, and sending leanness withal into their bones. The man of God from Judah had received a distinct injunction from which the invitation of a king had been insufficient to shake him. If the old prophet willfully lied, his victim was willingly seduced. We may think his sin venial, his punishment excessive. It will not seem so unless we unduly extenuate his sin and unduly exaggerate the nature of his penalty.
His sin consisted in his ready acceptance of a sham inspiration which came to him from a tainted source, and which he ought to have suspected because it conceded what he desired. Gods indisputable intimations to our individual souls are not to be set aside except by intimations no less indisputable. There had been an obvious reason for the command which God had given. The reason still existed; the prohibition had not been withdrawn. The sham revelation furnished him with an excuse; it did not give him a justification. Doubtless Jadons first thought was that
"He lied in every word,
That hoary prophet, with malicious eye
Askance to watch the working of his lie."
Why did he yield so readily? It was for the same reason which causes so many to sin. "The tempting opportunity" did but meet, as sooner or later it always will meet, "the susceptible disposition."
Yet his punishment does not justify us in branding him as a weak or a vicious man. We must judge him and all men, at his best, not at his worst; in his hours of faithfulness and splendid courage, not in his moment of unworthy acquiescence.
And his speedy punishment was his best blessing. Who knows what might not have happened to him if the speck of conventionality and corruption had been allowed to spread? Who can tell whether in due time he might not have sunk into something no better than his miserable tempter? Rather than that we should be in any respect false to our loftiest ideals, or less noble than our better selves, let the lion meet us, let the tower of Siloam fall on us, let our blood be mingled with our sacrifices. Better physical death than spiritual degeneracy.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 1Ki_13:1. There came a man of God: an unknown…
THE MYSTERIOUS PROPHET OF JUDAH
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
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1Ki_13:1. There came a man of God: an unknown prophet. Josephus suggests Jadon, confounding him with Iddo (2Ch_13:22), but he lived on during Abijab’s reign; whereas this man died immediately. Names fade; ministries endure. By the word of the Lord—בִּדְבַּר—“By the word” means not commanded by, but in the power of the word, obeying its impulsion. Jeroboam stood by the altar (see notes on 1Ki_12:33)—Acting a foremost part in the national apostasy.
1Ki_13:2. “Cried against the altar,” as if ignoring the king; for the profaned altar possessed a vaster solemnity than the mere agent of its profanation. And the prediction of its ruin would carry with it and include the doom of the violator of God’s temple—the lesser included in the greater. The “altar” also symbolically stood for the whole system of idolatry imposed now upon Israel. Josiah by name—One of the most minutely delineated prophecies of Scripture, and most minutely fulfilled, after a lapse of 360 years (2Ki_22:1; 2Ki_23:15). Evidence of literal inspiration of prophets. Possibly the word יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ—Josiah—may be (as Keil suggests) descriptive of the child who should do this work of retribution, and not necessarily his personal name, the word meaning “whom Jehovah sustains.” Yet Divine Providence arranged that the prophecy should assert itself even in the name which the predicted person bore.
1Ki_13:3. A sign the same day—A portent and pledge of the coming event. מוֹפֶת means a prodigy rather than a simple “sign.”
1Ki_13:6. Entreat now the face of the Lord thy God—“Entreat,” חִלָה, to soften; “entreat the face,” soften the rigour of its expression.
1Ki_13:7. Come home with me—A guilesome attempt to get the man under his influence, since he had experienced his alarming power; or to lessen the startling impression which the event of his arm withering had produced on the people—an event calculated to convey an appearance of Divine rebuke of the king. If the people became alarmed the king’s control would be gone.
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_13:1-10
THE INVINCIBLE COURAGE OF A DIVINELY AUTHORISED MESSENGER
THE audacity of Jeroboam must not go unreproved or unpunished. He had assumed sacerdotal functions, and stood by the altar to offer sacrifice. He had introduced dangerous innovations, and involved the whole nation in the guilt of idolatry. His conduct is to be denounced at the very altar where his offence culminated in its highest aggravation. It required more than ordinary bravery to confront so strong-willed and reckless a king, who seemed impatient of contradiction, and was accustomed to be obeyed. But Jehovah had already provided an agent, and qualified him for the work. A stern-visaged prophet of Judah, like a spectral figure emerging out of misty space, appears upon the scene, armed with supernatural powers before which the proud king was humbled and made to tremble. The passage illustrates the invincible courage of a divinely authorized messenger.
I. It aided him in the full and faithful declaration of the Divine message (1Ki_13:1-3).
1. As to the promise of a coming avenger. “Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name.” The very name of the avenger is predicted, an unusual instance of particularity in Divine prophecies. Only three other similar instances are recorded: Israel (Gen_17:19); Solomon (1Ch_22:9); and Cyrus (Isa_45:1). The All-Prescient Jehovah, who sees the end from the beginning, may cause events to be foretold minutely by His prophets, though in the general law of His providence He does not do so. He only can be the most capable judge as to how much of the future should be revealed.
2. As to the particular character of the punishment to be imposed. “Upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places,” &c. (1Ki_13:2). This prophecy was exactly fulfilled (2Ki_23:15-20). God is too righteous to indulge in idle threats. They who disregard warning are without excuse when the punishment falls.
3. As to the visible tokens of the authenticity of the message. “And he gave a sign the same day,” &c. (1Ki_13:3). The altar was rent, and the ashes poured out (1Ki_13:5), as an evidence that the prophet was Jehovah’s ambassador, and spoke with the Divine sanction. Without this sign the prophecy of an event that did not take place for three hundred and fifty years would have wanted authority with those who knew nothing about the strange, mysterious messenger. God gives to His servants all the power necessary to accomplish their difficult and often unwelcome mission; and woe be to him who has not the courage or fidelity to act in harmony with his commission—neither to fall short of it, nor to go beyond.
II. It rendered him fearless in the presence of an angry and unscrupulous monarch (1Ki_13:4). Like all usurpers and tyrants, Jeroboam’s remedy for all difficulties was force. He would have made short work of the man who had dared to interrupt him in the very act of performing the highest function of his self-assumed priesthood, and who denounced him and his idolatrous policy in the presence of his courtiers and supporters. The divinely authorised messenger is as bold as a lion (Pro_28:1). and is not to be intimidated by the fear of consequences. Few prophets suffered more than Jeremiah; yet all the cruelties of his enemies were impotent in bribing him to silence, or in impairing his fidelity. A sense of the Divine call to service, however painful and perilous, fills the soul with an incorruptible bravery.
III. It was supported by unmistakable evidences of supernatural power The king’s hand was withered, and the altar rent asunder (1Ki_13:4-5). He who had not scrupled to stir up rebellion and to seize a crown, did not scruple to lay his hand menacingly on God’s servants; but in vain. How unexpected was the result! God will protect His messengers, who are ever the special butts of malice: he who touches them, touches the apple of His eye. Before God strikes, He warns: He willeth not that any should perish, but rather that they should come to repentance. It does not appear that either Jeroboam or his followers were moved to repentance by all they witnessed—another example of the hardening nature of sin, and the powerlessness of external miracles to affect and transform man’s spiritual nature. How many beheld the miracle-working power of Christ, and yet died in unbelief!
IV. It was not inconsistent with an act of mercy (1Ki_13:6). Jeroboam prayed, not for pardon, but for the restoration of his withered limb. An impenitent heart ever betrays itself in greater concern for its sufferings than its sins. They who in prosperity reject the warnings of God’s messengers are ready enough in distress to have recourse to their prayers. To pray for those who despitefully use and persecute us is the way to obtain the promised beatitude (Mat_5:10; Mat_5:44). Those who are most severe and faithful in telling us of our sins are the most eager and genuine in rendering sympathetic help when we are in trouble. Courage and tender-heartedness go together.
V. It enabled him to resist the strongest temptation to disobedience (1Ki_13:7-10).
1. The temptation appealed to his physical needs. “Come home with me and refresh thyself” (1Ki_13:7). Weary and faint as he must have been with his journey, this invitation would cost the prophet some self-denial to resist. Satan ever tempts most powerfully at the weakest point and at the weakest moment. But the prophet must have no fellowship or communion with their works of darkness—not so much as even to eat and drink with them. He was not to accept the hospitality of any dweller at Bethel, in order to show in a marked way, which men generally could appreciate, God’s abhorrence of the system which Jeroboam had “devised of his own heart.”
2. The temptation offered immediate temporal advantage. “And I will give thee a reward” (1Ki_13:7). It was customary to honour a prophet with a gift if he performed any service that was requested at his hands (1Sa_9:7-8; 1Ki_14:3; 2Ki_5:5; 2Ki_8:9). The prophet was tempted with three things: royal hospitality, refreshment, and reward. How far these offers influenced the future action of the prophet can be only imperfectly conjectured. At this point of his history they had no power to corrupt his fidelity. Neither offers nor threats must be allowed to prevail with us to swerve a single step from the path of duty.
3. The temptation was resisted by a remembrance of God’s Word. “For so was it charged me by the Word of the Lord” (1Ki_13:9). This was the weapon by which the Sinless One conquered the most furious onslaughts of the great adversary (Mat_4:4; Mat_4:7; Mat_4:10). The Word of God is an impregnable defence, against which the arrows of temptation are shot in vain.
LESSONS:—
1. Faithful rebukes often produce proud wrath.
2. In the way of duty the Divinely-authorized messenger need fear no danger.
3. To reject Divine warnings aggravates transgression and invites vengeance.
THE CALF WORSHIP DENOUNCED
I. The great business of the prophet is evidently to denounce the altar and the sacrifices in Bethel. Of course, the rationalist teacher exclaims, “These were the offences of Jeroboam. He was an intruder upon the special privileges of the Jerusalem hierarchy; he had courage to introduce priests taken from the lowest of the people; he broke through the formalities of the Levitical law. Such a man in our days would be called a reformer or asserter of national and individual independence. Therefore he is denounced by the ecclesiastics who have compiled the Jewish records.” Yes, if the establishment of visible sensible worship be a great step in the progress of the human intellect—if the introduction of a set of priests continually at work to make that worship more visible, more sensual, more gross, to be a mode of fulfilling the aspirations of those who desire moral and spiritual liberty—if the breaking through the fetters of a law which restrained all sacerdotal inventions whatsoever, and bore witness continually that sacrifices were not offered to appease a tyrant, but to remove an obstacle between a righteous Lord and His unrighteous subjects—if the consequent establishment of a devil-worship be that which wise men of the nineteenth century after Christ call reformation, Jeroboam deserves all their patronage, and the man of God who came out of Judah to pronounce a curse upon his altar, all their wrath.
II. And this is precisely the question, not for this passage of the history only, but for every subsequent passage of it. The revolting kings of Israel, in whom modern enlightenment discovers the champions of human progress, were introducing the most unlimited sacerdotal tyranny, were making that sacerdotal tyranny an instrument of regal tyranny. The priests of the high places, the prophets of the grove, were building their own power upon the degradation of the multitudes whom they drew after them, were using that power to confirm every unrighteous decree, to remove every real moral restraint from the kings. The prophets, who, we are told, would never have been praised except in a book compiled by the supporters of a certain set of caste interests, were bearing a protest, at the hazard of their lives, for a righteous order which no caprices of human superstition or human will could set aside, for a spiritual authority which not only did not demand the slavery of the conscience, but was incompatible with it, for an actual relation between the Most High and His creatures which not only did not involve their regarding Him as an object of terror or distrust, but proved such habits of mind to contain the very essence of sin.
III. Men like the one we are now considering are said to speak the Word of the Lord, or sometimes in the Word of the Lord. Their function assumes that the thoughts of man’s heart and the utterances of it are of all things the most sacred; that a presence is there which men are seeking in dark groves, on high places, in sun, or sea, or air; that this Presence is not a phantom, not a creation of their own, but He who is, He who formed them; that the best and wisest man is He who confesses this presence with awe and wonder, who believes that he is standing before a living Being to whom all within is naked and open, who desires that that Being should direct him, act upon him, use him for His own purposes, who knows that those purposes are right purposes, who is sure that they cannot concern him more than they concern his fellows. To a man thus taught and trained, idolatry was something absolutely appalling. He had no measure of its enormity, only he was sure that a people worshipping calves, seeking God in high places, were flying from a friend and a deliverer, to enemies and destroyers; from the living and the true, to death and falsehood. He knew that it was so. He was certain that he was not uttering himself or his own fancies, when he said that it was so. God was speaking through his lips: God was pronouncing sentence upon that which defied him. What signified who might stand before the altar, who might be burning incense upon it? He no more could or dared tremble at the worshipper than at the thing worshipped. Both were creatures of the Eternal God. The one was setting himself up, the other was set up in contempt of Him: each alike must come down. The truth must stand fast and fulfil itself. He had only to proclaim the truth.
IV. But how shall the idolater know it and be convinced of it? The arm, we are told, which was stretched out to perform the sacrifice, and then to seize the prophet, was dried up so that he could not pull it again to him. “Here,” you say, “is a miracle; such a one as we expect in all records of this kind.” Precisely, such a one as you might expect in a record of this kind, and as you would not expect and not meet with in a record of another kind written by the supporters of a body which was interested in superstition, and trying by all means to sustain the reputation of it. The man of God testifies to Jeroboam that the juices and springs of life are renewed from an invisible source, that it is another than the dead thing which he is worshipping who can dry them up or give them their natural flow—a protest exactly in accordance with that which Moses bore against the gods of Pharoah, a protest on behalf of regularity and law, and for a God of regularity and law, with whom are the issues of daily life and death, against the seeker of charms in natural things, against the worshipper of capricious deities. The other part of the sign is precisely of the same kind. The altar is rent and the ashes are poured out from the altar, as a sure and everlasting testimony that law and order shall not be violated with impunity by any ruler, under any religious pretext, that his religious acts are more hateful in the sight of God than all his other acts, and must hasten the vengeance upon those.
V. The story of the prophet is continued in these words. (Read 1Ki_13:7-10). The invisible teacher who had bid him go forth on his journey and carry the message to the king, had made him understand as clearly, that when he had done his errand, he was to go back into Judah. He had no doubt that this was what he ought to do. It was part of his commission. The other part of it would not be faithfully discharged if this was forgotten. These words and acts of the prophet were connected with his own life, they belonged to his very self. His conscience, as well as his powers of thought and reflection, were not crushed or stifled by the Divine communication, but were awakened by it into activity. And the conscience so awakened was proof against any solicitations of the king. (Condensed from F. D. Maurice.)
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki_13:1-10. The man of God out of Judah.
1. He comes led by the Word of God, and goes on his dark, difficult way in faith, without taking counsel with flesh and blood.
2. He stands, strong and bold, before the king, fears him not, testifies against his sins, and announces the judgment of God.
3. He makes entreaty for him who was about to lay hold on Him, and heaps coals of fire on his head.
4. He resists the offers of the king, and will not be secured by bribes.
—The testimony against the service of the false gods.
1. It proceedeth from a nameless, unknown, insignificant man, who, without worldly consequence, has nothing and knows nothing, except only the power of the Divine Word. That is the manner of the Lord in His kingdom. He accomplishes by means of small, insignificant instruments, what no king, with all his power, can do. The altars of heathendom are shattered by means of the testimony of fishers and tax-gatherers (1Co_1:27-29), even as were the altars of the false worshippers of God by means of a poor, world-despised recluse.
2. It was received at first with scorn, wrath, and violence; but the wrath is powerless and avails nothing; the altar is rent, and the threatening arm is dried up. Humble entreaties then take the place of wrath (Isa_26:16). But though the withered arm be restored, the heart remains withered as before. Physical aid is always readily received by men, whilst they shut their hearts to the testimony against their sins.—Lange.
1Ki_13:1. But O, the patience and mercy of our long-suffering God, that will not strike a very Jeroboam unwarned! Judgment hovers over the heads of sinners, ere it light. If Israel afford not a bold reprover of Jeroboam, Judah shall. When the king of Israel is in all the height both of his state and his superstition, honouring his solemn day with his richest devotion, steps forth a prophet of God, and interrupts that glorious service with a loud inclamation of judgment. Doubtless, the man wanted not wit to know what displeasure, what danger must needs follow so unwelcome a message; yet, dares he, upon the commission of God, do this affront to an idolatrous king, in the midst of all his awful magnificence. The prophets of God go upon many a thankless errand. He is no messenger for God that either knows or fear the faces of men.—Bp. Hall.
1Ki_13:2. God announces beforehand His judgments to sinners, that they may have time and space for repentance. Woe to them who misemploy the respite, for the measure of their sins will be full. In the new covenant we have a far weightier prophecy. Unto us is born a Son, named Jesus, out of the House of David; who will come again and pronounce judgment upon those who know not God, and who obey not the gospel (2Th_1:8-9).—Lange.
—The prophet directed his speech to the altar out of detestation of such an abomination: and, as having no hope to prevail with Jeroboam, who stood by it, and was more insensible than that altar, or than the heap of stones which Bede once preached unto.—Trapp.
—It was the altar, not the person of Jeroboam, which the prophet thus threatens: yet not the stones are stricken, but the founder in both their apprehensions; so dear are the devices of our own brain to us, as if they were incorporated into ourselves. There is no opposition of which we are so sensible as that of religion. That the royal altar should be thus polluted by dead men’s bones and the blood of the priests, was not more unpleasing than that all this should be done by a child of the house of David; for Jeroboam well saw that the throne and the altar must stand or fall together; that a Son of David could not have such power over the altar, without an utter subversion of the government, of the succession; therefore is he thus galled with this comminatory prediction.
—Probably a prophecy against Jeroboam’s own person, instead of against the insensate altar, would have touched him less nearly. But this showed that his policy would come to nought, and that the power he was establishing with so much solicitude would be utterly subverted, while the house of David would still subsist in its strength, for only so could a king of that house be able to do this upon an altar in this realm. The king grasped the full meaning of this message, and it filled him with rage against the man who had dared to deliver it then and there.—Kitto.
1Ki_13:3. The miracles which the Lord our God performs are not only proofs of his almighty power to amaze us, but likewise significant signs which reveal to us His eternal decrees, and lead us to the recognition of that heavenly truth which sanctifies our hearts.
1Ki_13:4. Although faithful teachers often accomplish nothing and fail most signally with men of high degree, yet must they never on this account abandon their office. For if thou warn him thou hast delivered thy soul (Eze_3:19), and although the obdurate remain untouched, yet it shall not remain without fruit (Isa_55:10). How did even this warning work itself out and bear fruit after three hundred years (2Ki_23:15). Sinners eminent by wealth and position will only listen to prophets who are dumb dogs and cannot bark (Isa_56:10). When a true servant of the Lord cries out, “The axe is already laid at the root of the tree,” they arise in wrath and cry out, “Seize him” (2Ti_4:1-5). He who attacks a servant of God because of his testimony, never remains unpunished. In vain doth the enemy stretch forth his hand against those who are under God’s protection (Job_7:4; Lev_4:29; Psa_37:17). Those who will not listen to the word of truth, God often visits with bodily pain in order to humble them and teach them to pray and supplicate.—Cramer.
—A fearful stroke, had he well considered it; but his heart was as hard as his hand withered. Jeroboam had as great a miracle wrought before him herein, as St. Paul had at his conversion; but without the Spirit’s concurrence, neither miracle, nor ministry, nor misery, can in the least measure mollify the heart of an obdurate and obstinate sinner. Valens, the Arian emperor, would have signed a sentence of banishment against Basil, but could not by reason of a sudden trembling of his right hand, so that he could not write one letter of his own name, but for anger tore the paper in pieces, and let Basil alone. There is a story of one of our late innovators, who, turning with the times and beginning to bow towards altars, never went upright more; and of another who, hearing perjury condemned by a godly preacher, and how it never escaped unpunished, said in a bravery, “I have often forsworn myself, and yet my right hand is no shorter than my left.” These words he had scarce uttered, when such an inflammation arose in that hand, that he was forced to go to the chirurgeon and cut it off lest it should have infected the whole body; and so it became shorter than the other. The Jews tell us, that when Jeroboam’s hand was dried up, the false prophets told him that this fell out by chance, and so kept him from thinking of God who had smitten him. Let the saints learn to put their confidence in God; for if He deny concourse and influence, the arm of all adverse power shrinketh up presently.—Trapp.
1Ki_13:4-5. The importance of the authentication of the man of God by a miraculous sign appears from the conduct of Jeroboam towards him. Without waiting for the confirmation of his word by the announced miraculous sign, the king stretches his hand towards him with the words, “Lay hold on him;” but must now experience in the hand with which he could set aside the prophet who was disagreeable to him, the omnipotence of the Lord who has power to protect his servants. The outstretched hand is withered by a miracle—that is, stiffened, deprived of vital juice—so that he cannot draw it in again. On this follows the miraculous sign announced, and Jeroboam’s wicked arrogance is broken down by the double miracle; he is constrained to entreat the prophet to intercede for him with the Lord his God, that his hand may be restored.—Keil.
—Resolute wickedness is impatient of reproof, and, instead of yielding to the voice of God, rebelleth. Just and discreet reprehension doth not more reform some sinners than exasperate others. How easy is it for God to cool the courage of proud Jeroboam! The hand which his rage stretches out, dries up and cannot be pulled back again; and now stands the king of Israel, like some antique statue, in a posture of impotent endeavour, so disabled to the hurt of the prophet, that he cannot command that piece of himself. What are the great potentates of the world in the powerful hand of the Almighty? Tyrants cannot be so harmful as they are malicious. It must needs be a great strait that could drive a proud heart to beg mercy where he bent his persecution; so doth Jeroboam, holding it no scorn to be beholden to an enemy. In extremities the worst men can be content to sue for favour where they have spent their malice.—Bp. Hall.
1Ki_13:6. He who desires for himself the intercession of others must himself draw near humbly and penitently to God and implore His mercy. In this wise can we know if we are indeed children of God and guided by His Spirit, if we pray and supplicate for those who have done their worst to us, and thus overcome evil with good (1Pe_3:9).
—The faith of the wicked in the prayers of the good.
1. Shows that religion may be respected while it is personally ignored.
2. That religion bears external evidence of its own superiority.
3. That the wicked are ever ready to share in the benefits of religion while they reject its claims.
4. That the example of a religious life has a powerful influence for good.
—The display of miraculous power will not avail to change the heart.
1. It appeals mainly to the external senses.
2. The judgment may be convinced while the will remains unchanged; men reject religion, not for want of evidence, but for want of will.
3. To refuse divinely attested truth is to incur the greater guilt.
1Ki_13:7. Although the ungodly often hold in high esteem these holy men especially raised up by God, yet they never follow their instructions and warnings (Mar_6:19). What boots it that we gratefully acknowledge the material blessings which meet us, if we leave unfulfilled the very object of these blessings, namely, the turning of our hearts from sin and the world to God. Unbelief and impenitence cannot be outweighed by even the highest friendship and humanity. When the world can effect nothing more by force and threats, it seeks to gain its ends by plausible love tokens.—Osiander.
1Ki_13:8-9. There is no bribe to which the man of God will yield: to him, that which God has commanded him seems, in all times and all places, in evil as in good days, the fixed and definite plan of action. The best weapon and defence against the snares of our spiritual enemy is the law and Word of God. It is far from being unimportant with whom we eat and drink, i.e., in fellowship and intimate alliance (1Co_5:2).—Starke.
1Ki_13:9. The reasons for the Divine commands.
1. Are not always apparent.
2. Are always grounded in wisdom and righteousness. 3 Disobedience is inexcusable even where the Divine reasons are not understood.
—He was charged also not to return by the way that he came; probably lest the account of what was done should have reached the ears of any of the people through whom he had passed, and he suffer inconveniences on the account, either by persecution from the idolaters, or from curious people delaying him in order to cause him to give an account of the transactions which took place at Bethel. This is a reason why he should not return by the same way; but what the reason of this part of the charge, if not the above, is not easy to see.
—This command seems to have been given simply to test the obedience of the prophet by laying him under a positive as well as a moral obligation. When he turned back with the old prophet, and retraversed a road over which he had already passed, he disobeyed this injunction, as by eating and drinking he disobeyed the other.—Speaker’s Comm.
1Ki_13:10. If in a certain position thou hast done what God commanded, and left undone what He forbade, then go on thy way peaceful and content, how dark and unknown soever it may seem to thee.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 1Ki 13:2
1Ki 13:2
These words are a prophecy against the form of worship set up in the kingdom of Israel. Consider what this kingdom and this worship were, and how this woe came to be uttered by a prophet of God.
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I. When Solomon fell into idolatry, he broke what may be called his coronation oath, and at once forfeited God’s favour. In consequence a message came from Almighty God revealing what the punishment of his sin would be. He might be considered as having forfeited his kingdom for himself and his posterity. In the reign of his son Rehoboam ten tribes out of twelve revolted from their king. In this they were quite inexcusable. Because the king did not do his duty to them, this was no reason why they should not do their duty to him. Say that he was cruel and rapacious, still they might have safely trusted the miraculous providence of God to have restrained the king by His prophets and to have brought them safely through.
II. That Jeroboam was an instrument in God’s hand to chastise Solomon’s sin is plain; and there is no difficulty in conceiving how a wicked man, without its being any excuse for him, still may bring about the Divine purposes. God had indeed promised him the kingdom, but He did not require map’s crime to fulfil His promise. Jeroboam ought to have waited patiently God’s time; this would have been the part of true faith. But he had not patience to wait; he was tried and found wanting.
III. It is not surprising, after such a beginning, that he sinned further and more grievously. His sins in regard to religious worship depended on this principle, that there is no need to attend to the positive laws and the outward forms and ceremonies of religion so long as we attend to the substance. He was but putting another emblem of God in the place of the cherubim. Yet after all his wise counsels and bold plans he has left but his name and title to posterity, "Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin."
J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. III., p. 60.
References: 1Ki 13:6.—R. Heber, Parish Sermons, vol. ii., p. 92. 1Ki 13:7, 1Ki 13:8.—A. Rowland, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxix., p. 165. 1Ki 13:7-15.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xiii., p. 23. 1Ki 13:8, 1Ki 13:16, 1Ki 13:19.—Ibid., vol. ix., p. 23. 1Ki 13:18.—J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 3rd series, p. 72.
1Ki 13:20-22
I. Consider what was the mission or work of this prophet of Judah. Jeroboam, like many a statesman since his time, looked upon religion, not as the happiness and strength of his own life, but simply as an instrument of successful government. He saw that if, after the separation of the ten tribes, Jerusalem should still continue to be the religious centre of the whole nation, sooner or later it would become the political centre too. The prophet was to Jeroboam what Samuel was to Saul after the victory over Amalek. He announced God’s displeasure at the most critical moment of his life, when an uninterrupted success was crowned with high-handed rebellion against the gracious Being who had done everything for the rebel. The prophet placed the king under the ban of God. It was a service of the utmost danger; it was a service of corresponding honour.
II. Consider the temptations to which the Jewish prophet was exposed in the discharge of his mission. It was not difficult for him to decline Jeroboam’s invitation to eat and drink with him. The invitation of the old prophet was a much more serious temptation, and had a different result. This old prophet was a religious adventurer who had a Divine commission and even supernatural gifts, yet who placed them at the service of Jeroboam. He wanted to bring the other prophet down to his own level. Looking at the sacred garb, the white hairs, of the old prophet of Bethel, the prophet of Judah listened to the false appeal to his own Lord and Master, and he fell.
III. Notice the prophet’s punishment. By a solemn, a terrible, irony the seducer was forced to pass a solemn sentence on his victim. If the sterner penalty was paid by the prophet who disobeyed, and not by the prophet who tempted, this is only what we see every day. The victims of false teaching too often suffer, while the tempter seems to escape. The lesson from the story is that our first duty is fidelity to God’s voice in conscience.
H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 667.
References: 1Ki 13:20-22.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 95. 1Ki 13:21, 1Ki 13:22.—J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 2nd series, p. 20. 1Ki 13:23, 1Ki 13:24.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 214.
1Ki 13:26
Of all men living, Jeroboam was the last to whom such a message as the prophet’s could be delivered with impunity. Doubtless as the prophet trod the solitary upland road from Judah to Bethel he forecast within himself all the coming struggle. And he bears his witness. As before the great altar on the feast-day of the king’s own devising the king’s own arm is raised to offer incense, from the dark, unbidden form which had thrust itself into the inmost circle of worshippers there wakes up the awful voice of denunciation. Jehovah’s power is seen in the withering of the king’s arm; the prophet sternly rejects the proffered gifts, and takes his triumphant departure. But his triumph is soon turned into shame, for he yields to the soft suggestions of the old prophet of Bethel, and meets the doom of disobedience. From his story we may gather these lessons:—
I. There is in this history a witness of the presence with us all our life through of the God of truth and righteousness.
II. Notice how terribly distinct are the evil features of the old prophet who dwelt at Bethel. What a history is his of illuminations of grace darkened, of visitings of the Spirit resisted and banished, of the transition from a teacher to a seducer, from being a prophet of the Lord to being a prophet of lies!
III. Is there not written, as in a legend of fire, on this nameless tomb the glory or the shame which must be the portion of every prophet of the Lord? How great are his ventures, how grand his triumphs, how irresistible his strength, how strict his account. Let us watch especially after successes. Let us beware of resting under wayside trees. Let us press on and cry mightily for God’s grace.
Bishop Mackarness, Oxford Lent Sermons, 1869, p. 1.
References: 1Ki 13:26.—H. P. Liddon, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxx., p. 136, Penny Pulpit, No. 1167, and Contemporary Pulpit extra, Jan. 1887; T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. vi., p. 76; W. Scott, Sermons for Sundays, Festivals, and Fasts, 2nd series, vol. iii.,p. 57. 1Ki 13:30.—Sermons for the Christian Seasons, 2nd series, vol. iii., p. 729; H. Whitehead, The Sunday Magazine, 1871, p. 91. 1Ki 13:33.—J. Edmunds, Sixty Sermons, p. 309; J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. ii., p. 102. 1Ki 13:34.—H. Thompson, Concionalia: Outlines of Sermons for Parochial Use, vol. i., p. 356. 1Ki 13—Parker, vol. vii., p. 358; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. i., p. 71. 1Ki 14:6.—A. Mursell, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 33; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. x., No. 584.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Disobedient Prophet
The Disobedient Prophet
2. Josiah] for the fulfilment see 2Ki_23:15-20. Some 300 years separated the prediction from the event, and the mention by name of the king destined to accomplish it is unlike the methods of Hebrew prophecy in general. It is possible that the records upon which the present account is based were less precise, and that Josiah's name was introduced by the compiler of the book of Kings, who lived after Josiah's time and was familiar with what he had done. Offer] better, 'slaughter.' They would not be offered in sacrifice.
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3. A sign] The fulfilment of the prediction in 1Ki_13:3 would be a warranty for the fulfilment of the prediction in 1Ki_13:2 : cp. 1Sa_2:34; Isa_38:7, Isa_38:8.
8. I will not.. thee] The prophet, who had come from Judah, was not to hold any friendly intercourse with the offending nation, or receive hospitality within its borders.
11. There dwelt.. Beth-el] The fact that the old prophet remained at Bethel and acquiesced without protest in the king's idolatry indicated that he was not loyal to the principles of spiritual religion. Being unfaithful himself he became the tempter of others (1Ki_13:18).
22. Shall not come.. fathers] This was esteemed a dishonour: cp. 2Ch_21:20.
24. A lion] for lions in Palestine cp. Jdg_14:5; 1Sa_17:34; 2Sa_23:20; 1Ki_20:36; 2Ki_17:25. Their chief haunt would be the jungle in the Jordan valley.
28. The lion had not eaten] So strange an occurrence was calculated to attract attention to the prophet's fate.
31. Lay my bones, etc.] To prevent them from sharing the dishonour which the man of God had said would befall the graves at Bethel: see 2Ki_23:17, 2Ki_23:18.
The moral conveyed by the fate of the prophet from Judah is that those who, like the old prophet of Bethel, are false to their own manifest duties (see on 1Ki_13:11), are to be distrusted when they offer advice in matters of right and wrong.
33. Consecrated] see on Exo_28:41; Exo_29:24.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 2. Jeroboam and Rehoboam and their Reign
2. Jeroboam and Rehoboam and their Reign
CHAPTER 13 The Man of God from Judah
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1. The man of God and Jeroboam (1Ki 13:1-10)
2. The temptation and lying message (1Ki 13:11-19)
3. Judgment announced (1Ki 13:20-22)
4. The fate of the man of Judah (1Ki 13:23-32)
5. Jeroboam’s impenitence (1Ki 13:33-34)
A dramatic scene opens this chapter. The idolatrous King is engaged in his religious ceremony when an unnamed man of God interrupted him. He did not rebuke Jeroboam, but addressed himself to the altar, uttering a remarkable prophecy: “Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burned upon thee.” More than 300 years later, and nearly a century after the ten tribes had been carried away captive, this prophecy was fulfilled (2Ki 23:15-18). The man of God announced the unborn king by name and also what he would do, just as Isaiah announced the unborn King Cyrus and his work. Higher criticism has labored in vain to destroy this great evidence of prophecy. Then the man of God added a sign which happened literally in the presence of the king. The angry king commanded the seizure of the prophet, but the outstretched arm withered. The withered arm was restored in answer to the prophet’s prayer. Jehovah was seeking in mercy even Jeroboam in all his wickedness. It was unsuccessful, for it is written: “After this King Jeroboam returned not from his evil way.” The man of God and what happened to him occupies the greater part of the chapter. The King invited him to a feast, probably an idol feast, and wanted to give him a reward. He refused both because the Lord had charged him not to eat bread nor drink water, nor return the same way he came. The man of God was to have no fellowship with the works of darkness. The same principle is laid down for God’s people in the New Testament (2Co 6:14-18; Eph 5:11; 2Jn 1:9-11). Then comes his great failure, showing that while he was a messenger of God, his heart was not altogether right with God. It was through the old prophet that a lying spirit induced him to disobey the Word of the Lord. And when the old prophet announced his coming judgment we read not a word that he turned to the Lord with confession and prayer. Then the predicted fate overtook him. It is a solemn lesson which teaches us obedience to the Word of God. “It teaches us that, whenever God has made His will known to us, we are not to allow any after thought whatever to call it in question, even although the latter may take the form of the Word of God, If we were nearer to the Lord, we would feel that the only true and right position is to follow that which He told us at first. In every case our part is to obey what He has said.” The lion who had killed the disobedient prophet remained for a time with the body without touching it. It was to show the divine character of the judgment. If we look upon Jeroboam’s departure from God and idolatrous worship as typical of the corruption of Romanism, we may see in the Man of God from Judah, who rebuked the false altar, a type of Protestantism. Like the prophet who delivered the message faithfully but became disobedient, Protestantism is disobedient to the Word of God and the judgment of God will overtake it in the end.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Jeroboam Reproved for his Sin
Jeroboam Reproved for his Sin
v. 1. And, behold, there came a man of God, a prophet, out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel, like a power which drove and compelled him to make known the Lord’s will; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense, presuming upon a right which was not his.
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v. 2. And he, the prophet, cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, his addressing the altar making his words all the more significant and emphatic, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name, and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burned upon thee, the greatest possible desecration which could come to an altar, Num 19:16. The prophecy was literally fulfilled, as history relates, 2Ki 23:15-20.
v. 3. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, utterly destroyed, torn to pieces, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out, the fat of the sacrifices being mixed with the ashes, to indicate that the entire worship was unclean.
v. 4. And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, in an angry and threatening gesture, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he put forth against him dried up, paralyzed or stiffened in a peculiar manner, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The miracle had the effect of terrifying the king’s attendants and keeping them from executing his orders.
v. 5. The altar also was rent, 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, all of which served to substantiate the prophet’s words and to terrify the king, at least for the time being.
v. 6. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the Lord, thy God, literally, "Soften His face," which was now turned against him in hardness and anger, beseeching Him so earnestly that He cannot refuse, and pray for me that my hand may be restored me again, so that he would again have its full use. And the man of God besought the Lord, he succeeded in softening Jehovah’s hard face by the fervor of his intercession, and the king’s hand was restored him again and became as it was before, he once more had control of it.
v. 7. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward, a present, or gift, to win him over to his side, and to weaken or remove the impression made by the awful threat; for Jeroboam was by no means repentant.
v. 8. And the man of God said unto the king, refusing the hand of fellowship extended by an idolater, if thou wilt give me half thine house, half of all that he possessed, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;
v. 9. for so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest, lest some one, knowing of his passing, might detain him.
v. 10. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. It is God’s will, most emphatically expressed, that His servants should not fellowship with such as teach, or adhere to, false doctrine.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v1 A man of God came out of Judah by…
A man of God came out of Judah by the word of Yahweh to Bethel
The implied information is that Yahweh sent the man of God to Bethel. This can be stated in active form. AT: "Yahweh sent a man of God from Judah to Bethel" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Active or Passive)
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A man of God
This is another title for a prophet. AT: "A prophet"
came out of Judah
"came from Judah"
the word of Yahweh
"the message of Yahweh" or "Yahweh's message"
He cried against the altar
Here "He" refers to the man of God.
cried against the altar
This means he prophesied toward the altar in a loud and condemning voice. AT: "prophesied loudly toward the altar" (See: Idiom)
Altar, altar
The prophet spoke to the altar as if it were a person who could hear him. He said this twice for emphasis. (See: Apostrophe and Personification)
a son named Josiah will be born to the family of David
Here the "family of David" refers to the descendants of David. This can be stated in active form. AT: "a descendant of David will have a son named Josiah" (See: Metonymy and Active or Passive)
they will burn
Here "they" refers to Josiah and the people with him.
the altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Yahweh will split the altar apart and the ashes on it will fall to the ground" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
man of God
kingdom of Judah
word of God
Bethel
Jeroboam
altar
incense
Yahweh
son
Josiah
David
sacrifice
priest
high place
sign
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3 13:1-10 The account of the unnamed man of God…
13:1-10 The account of the unnamed man of God who denounced Jeroboam’s false altar at Bethel emphasizes the authority of God’s word. Like Isaiah’s prophecy of Cyrus’s coming (Isa 44:28; 45:1) and Micah’s prophecy about Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace (Mic 5:2), this prophecy gave a distinctive proper name associated with an event long before it happened (2 Kgs 23:15-20). Such prophecies give assurance of God’s sovereignty and omniscience (see Isa 42:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.