what is the purpose of these verses in the scripture: 1Kings 13-24. what is the message one is suppose to learn from this event...godly and un-godly men of God? One Godly man was killed, it appears to me as an unjustly act but I am sure there is a truth buried here that I fail to understand. Please explain.
Greetings, Cynthia, on the The Lord's Day, the first day of the week, the day of Jesus' Resurrection!
The Old Testament is filled with accounts that do indeed seem strange to many. It's important to determine the type of writing that you are reading. There are historical accounts, poetry, instructions, census, genealogy etc. This appears to be history. Jeroboam was the first king of Israel after Solomon when the kingdom was split 10 to the north called Israel and 2 to the south called Judah. He was a bad king.
A prophet of God was sent to Bethel where an altar to false gods had been erected by Jeroboam and you can read the account in 1 Kings 13:1-24. In this account, the prophet tells the king that he was instructed by God to not eat, drink or return by the same route, and he proceeds to do just that.
However an evil prophet hears about the incident, accosts the prophet of God and persuades him to have dinner with him, by lying to him. 1 Kings 13:18. The prophet of God believed this evil prophet and they had dinner together. Then the evil prophet actually speaks a prophecy from God. 1 Kings 13:21-22. The prophet of God leaves, very likely frightened to death, and just as was prophesied, dies before he reaches home and was buried somewhere other than with his family.
God expected His prophets to 1) speak His words exactly and 2) do exactly as He commanded them to do. Not to believe and do so is dangerous. It is His prerogative to punish or reward. He does all thing with righteousness and justice. Don't mess with God. Too often we treat God and His Word glibly. We ought to be more sober-minded and God-honoring.
CNettles
The Old Testament is filled with accounts that do indeed seem strange to many. It's important to determine the type of writing that you are reading. There are historical accounts, poetry, instructions, census, genealogy etc. This appears to be history. Jeroboam was the first king of Israel after Solomon when the kingdom was split 10 to the north called Israel and 2 to the south called Judah. He was a bad king.
A prophet of God was sent to Bethel where an altar to false gods had been erected by Jeroboam and you can read the account in 1 Kings 13:1-24. In this account, the prophet tells the king that he was instructed by God to not eat, drink or return by the same route, and he proceeds to do just that.
However an evil prophet hears about the incident, accosts the prophet of God and persuades him to have dinner with him, by lying to him. 1 Kings 13:18. The prophet of God believed this evil prophet and they had dinner together. Then the evil prophet actually speaks a prophecy from God. 1 Kings 13:21-22. The prophet of God leaves, very likely frightened to death, and just as was prophesied, dies before he reaches home and was buried somewhere other than with his family.
God expected His prophets to 1) speak His words exactly and 2) do exactly as He commanded them to do. Not to believe and do so is dangerous. It is His prerogative to punish or reward. He does all thing with righteousness and justice. Don't mess with God. Too often we treat God and His Word glibly. We ought to be more sober-minded and God-honoring.
Hope this helps.
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