BETTER TO OBEY GOD THAN MAN

 STRANGEST THINGS OF THE BIBLE

A MAN OF GOD ARRIVES IN BETHEL 

"At the Lord’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. Then at the Lord’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.” 

SIGN FROM THE LORD

That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The Lord has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.”

KING ORDERED TO SEIZE THAT MAN

"When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back.  At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the Lord."

KING BEGGED TO RESTORE HIS HAND 

"The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the Lord your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again. Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.” But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place."

THE LORD GAVE THE MAN OF GOD A COMMAND  

"For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”  So he left Bethel and went home another way."

OLD PROPHET IN BETHEL 

As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they showed their father which road the man of God had taken.  “Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it. Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “Yes, I am,” he replied. Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.”  “No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place.  For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”  

1 KINGS 13:1-16  NLT  New Living Translation

WHO DO YOU LISTEN TOO?

"The Lord warned me not to eat or drink or to go home the same way I came.” The old prophet said, “I'm a prophet too. One of the Lord's angels told me to take you to my house and give you something to eat and drink.”

DON'T LISTEN TO LIARS 

"The prophet from Judah did not know that the old prophet was lying, so he went home with him and ate and drank. During the meal the Lord gave the old prophet a message for the prophet from Judah: Listen to the Lord's message. You have disobeyed the Lord your God.  He told you not to eat or drink anything here, but you came home and ate with me. And so, when you die, your body won't be buried in your family tomb."

OOPS!

After the meal the old prophet got a donkey ready,  and the prophet from Judah left. Along the way, a lion attacked and killed him, and the donkey and the lion stood there beside his dead body. Some people walked by and saw the body with the lion standing there. They ran into Bethel, telling everyone what they had seen. When the old prophet heard the news, he said, “That must be the prophet from Judah. The Lord warned him, but he disobeyed. So the Lord sent a lion to kill him.”

RECOVERY

"The old prophet told his sons to saddle his donkey, and when it was ready,  he left. He found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and lion standing there. The lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey.  The old prophet picked up the body, put it on his own donkey, and took it back to Bethel, so he could bury it and mourn for the prophet from Judah.  He buried the body in his own family tomb and cried for the prophet. He said to his sons, “When I die, bury my body next to this prophet. I'm sure that everything he said about the altar in Bethel and the shrines in Samaria will happen.”

CONCLUSION, IT IS BETTER TO OBEY GOD THAN MAN

"But Jeroboam kept on doing evil things. He appointed men to be priests at the local shrines, even if they were not Levites. In fact, anyone who wanted to be a priest could be one.  This sinful thing led to the downfall of his kingdom."  

1 KINGS 13:17-33  CEV  Contemporary English Version