1 Kings 13

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JEROBOAM AND THE PROPHETS

1 Kings 13:1 to 1 Kings 14:20

Because of his religious deviations, Jeroboam lost the support of the influential and conservative prophetic order. This section consists in the main of two narratives. The first relates how Jeroboam was publicly denounced by an unnamed prophet from Judah on the very day he dedicated his new temple at Bethel (1 Kings 13:1-34). The second narrative tells of an oracle of doom which Ahijah delivered against the house of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:1-18). To this material the author adds a brief concluding note regarding the reign of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:19-20).

First King of Israel JEROBOAM BEN NEBAT 931-910 B.C. (whose people is many)

1 Kings 11:26-40; 1 Kings 12:1 to 1 Kings 14:20, 2 Chronicles 10; 2 Chronicles 13:1-20

Synchronism Jeroboam 1 = Rehoboam 1 Contemporary Prophets Ahijah Man of God from Judah, Old prophet of Bethel

*The memory of the just is blessed,

but the name of the wicked shall rot.* Proverbs 10:7

REVIEW OF CHAPTER ELEVEN

I. FACTS TO MASTER

A. Identify how each of the following fit into the events in this section:

1. Bethel

2. Josiah

3. Samaria

4. Abijah

5. Shiloh

6. Ahijah

7. Tirzah

B. Each of the following should bring to mind significant information contained in this section:

1. sign

2. oak

3. ten loaves

4. altar

5. angel

6. blind eyes

7. hand

8. lion

9. sick child

10. donkey

11. sepulcher

12. disguised woman

C. Summarize each of the following:

1. The prophecy against the Bethel altar
2. The prophecy regarding the son of Jeroboam and his dynasty

II. QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What admirable qualities can one see in the life of the unnamed man of God from Judah?

What lesson was God teaching Jeroboam when He caused his arm to wither?

Why did the king invite the man of God to go home with him?

Why do you think the old Bethel prophet wanted to meet the man of God? Why the lie?

Why was the man of God slain while the old prophet escaped punishment? Did the old prophet really escape punishment?

What purpose did the death of the man of God serve?

Is it possible to believe a lie today and eternally be punished? See 2 Thessalonians 2:11.

What basic lessons of eternal value can be gleaned from 1Kings 13?

Why did Jeroboam have his wife disguise herself before going to consult with Ahijah?

Why did God take the life of Jeroboam’s son? See especially 1 Kings 14:13.

Jeroboam’s religion was part truth and part error. Since it was man-made and man-centered, it was in essence idolatry. In what way was Jeroboam’s brand of idolatry worse than that practiced by pagans?

1 Kings 13:1-10

I. DENUNCIATION OF JEROBOAM 13:1-32

Chapter 13 narrates a thought-provoking episode from the early history of the Northern Kingdom. The historical message of the chapter is clear. Because Jeroboam had initiated his apostate religion in Israel, he lost the support of the prophetic community. But while this basic thrust of the chapter is simple, the ethical and doctrinal implications are profound.

The historian first describes the mission of an unnamed man of God who publicly and fearlessly denounced Jeroboam for his religious innovations (1 Kings 13:1-10). He then relates how this devout man of God was deceived and consequently violated the specific commandment of God (1 Kings 13:11-19). Then the account moves on to relate how the man of God received divine condemnation and judgment for his disobedience (1 Kings 13:20-26). Finally, the section closes with the sad burial of this man of God and attendant lamentation for him (1 Kings 13:27-32).

A. THE MISSION OF THE MAN OF GOD 13:1-10

**TRANSLATION

(1) And behold a man of God came from Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel, while Jeroboam was standing upon the altar to make sacrifice. (2) And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, Thus says the LORD: Behold a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah will be his name; and he shall sacrifice upon you the priests of the high places who make sacrifice upon you; and the bones of men shall be burned upon you. (3) Then he gave a sign in that day, saying, This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: Behold the altar shall be rent and the ashes which are upon it shall be poured out. (4) And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of God which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from upon the altar, saying, Seize him! And his hand which he put forth upon him withered, so that he was not able to pull it back to himself. (5) And as for the altar, it was rent and the ashes spilled from upon the altar according to the sign which the man of God had given in the word of the LORD. (6) And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat the face of the LORD your God, and pray on my behalf, that my hand may be restored unto me. So the man of God entreated the face of the LORD, and the hand of the king was restored unto him, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God. Come with me to the house and refresh yourself, and I will give you a gift. And the man of God said unto the king, If you were to give me half of your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. (9) For thus it was commanded me in the word of the LORD, saying, Do not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way you went. (10) So he went another way, and did not return by the way which he had come unto Bethel.

COMMENTS**

The God of Israel did not permit the inauguration of Jeroboam’s first great feast at Bethel to proceed without prophetic protest. An unidentified man of God[336] or prophet from Judah received divine revelation to go to Bethel to deliver the word of the Lord. Bethel, modern Beitin, was located about twelve miles north of Jerusalem, in Benjaminite territory just a short distance beyond the border between Judah and Benjamin.[337] When the youthful man of God entered the illegitimate Bethel temple, Jeroboam was standing on the ramp or steps that led to the altar and was preparing to make sacrifices there (1 Kings 13:1). Pushing his way through the throngs, the man of God stood beside the abominable altar and delivered a dramatic oracle against that symbol of apostate worship. The man of God predicted that a future scion of David’s house would utterly desecrate that altar at Bethel by burning the bones of apostate priests upon it. With precision rare but not unique[338] in Bible prophecy, the very name of the son of David who would accomplish this desecration is given. Josiah,[339] who would not be born for some three hundred years, is named as the instrument who would bring the wrath of God upon Bethel and its altar. The fulfillment of this prediction is recorded in 2 Kings 23:20.

[336] Josephus (Ant. VIII, 9.1) gives the name of this prophet as Yodon. The Iddo of 2 Chronicles 13:22 has also been nominated.

[337] In 931 B.C. the northern part of Benjamin had seceded with the other tribes; the southern part nearer Jerusalem remained with Judah.

[338] In Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1 Cyrus, the Persian king who would deliver the Jews from Babylonian exile, is named about a hundred fifty years before his birth.

[339] No valid reason can be advanced for eliminating the name Josiah from this text (as proposed by Hammond), or for regarding Josiah as merely an appellation (he whom Yahweh sustains) rather than a proper name (as Keil proposes).

Because his prophecy pertained to the distant future, the prophet felt compelled to offer to King Jeroboam and the astonished audience a miraculous sign to attest the divine origin of his oracle. The long-range prediction was to be validated by a short-range prediction that the altar would be rent and the ashes (lit., fatness, i.e., the fat of the sacrificial victim mixed with the ashes that consumed it) poured out (1 Kings 13:3). This residue of fat was that part of the sacrifice reserved for the Lord, and so had to be very carefully disposed of in a clean place (Leviticus 1:16; Leviticus 4:12; Leviticus 6:10 ff.). The unceremonious scattering of the fat signified that the fat was common and the sacrifice invalid.[340] This partial destruction and scattering of the sacrifice was admirably suitable to presage the ultimate and ignominious overthrow of that altar.

[340] Gray, OTL, p. 326.

Overcoming his momentary shock, Jeroboam in violent anger whirled about to seize the prophet, at the same time shouting orders that the intruder be arrested. In his unbelief it never occurred to him to wait to see if the promised sign was given. He was determined to punish this brash young man who had dared interrupt .the solemnity of the royal sanctuary and denounce the state religion. But that powerful arm reaching out to punish the prophet of God was itself punished. His hand dried up, i.e., it was stricken with a paralysis so that he could no longer control it (1 Kings 13:4). God protected His messenger from the wrath of the king and at the same time taught the king that he must never lay a hand upon the spokesmen of God.[341] At that same instant the altar was smitten by God and the sign which had been offered by the man of God was fulfilled before the entire congregation (1 Kings 13:5).

[341] Liberal scholars are prone to explain away the miracle of the withered hand. Gray (OTL, p. 322) thinks the factual basis of this account is the stretching forth the hand to command arrest having no effect owing to the popular dread of the word of God in the mouth of the prophet.

In the face of such dramatic manifestations of divine power, the king’s countenance changed. He was humbled and alarmed by the judgment which he had experienced in his own person. In desperation he begged the prophet to entreat (lit., smooth or stroke the face of) God on his behalf that the use of his hand might be restored. The phrase the Lord your God perhaps suggests the spiritual estrangement which Jeroboam felt in this awesome moment.[342] The sight of the pompous and presumptuous Jeroboam humbly beseeching this outspoken opponent of calf worship must surely have made a lasting impression on the minds of those who had assembled for worship on that auspicious occasion. The prophet of God, sensing that he was no longer in danger, complied with the request of the king. He entreated the Lord and the king’s hand was made whole once again (1 Kings 13:6).[343]

[342] The expression the Lord your God may have been customary usage when a man of God was being addressed. See 1 Kings 17:12; 1 Kings 18:10.

[343] The intercessory role of the prophet is documented throughout the Old Testament, e.g., 1 Samuel 7:8; Amos 7:1-6.

In grateful appreciation for the prophet’s intercessory prayer, Jeroboam invited the young man to the palace for refreshment and reward. Whether or not Jeroboam had any ulterior motives in this invitation is uncertain. Was he trying to win this man of God to his side by friendliness? Did he hope by this means to somehow neutralize the threat which the prophet had made against his religion? Possibly. But oriental courtesy alone would require him to offer hospitality to his benefactor. In the mention of the reward nothing sinister or seductive is necessarily intended. Petitioners frequently gave presents to seers or prophets either before or after personal services were rendered.[344]

[344] 1 Kings 14:3; 1 Samuel 9:7-8; 2 Kings 5:5; 2 Kings 5:15; 2 Kings 8:8-9.

The man of God was firm in his refusal to accept the hospitality of the apostate king. Even if the king were to promise him half of the wealth of his house, the young man could not accept the hospitality of Bethel (1 Kings 13:8). To share a meal in the ancient East was a token of close communion, and God had forbidden him to have such fellowship with the apostates. The refusal of the prophet was a forcible disclaimer of all fellowship with, and a public repudiation of, the Northern calf-worshipers.[345] God had even commanded His messenger that he should not return to Judah by the way which he had gone to Bethel (1 Kings 13:9). The precise reason for this last command is not clear. Possibly the object of it was to avoid as far as possible his being traced and followed.[346] In any case, the man of God faithfully carried out these instructions (1 Kings 13:10).

[345] The traditional Jewish explanation of the refusal to eat in Bethel: To eat there involved the danger of eating meat of the sacrificial animals which would be tantamount to participation in the rites he was denouncing. Honor, JCBR, p. 191. [346] Other explanations of this prohibition offered by commentators: (1) to test the obedience of the man of God (Hammond; Rawlinson); (2) to prevent delay (Keil); (3) to prevent his being waylaid and molested (Gray; Slotki).

1 Kings 13:11-19

B. THE DECEPTION OF THE MAN OF GOD 13:11-19

**TRANSLATION

(11) Now a certain old prophet lived in Bethel; and his son**[347]** came and related to him all which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken unto the king, they told to their father. (12) And their father spoke unto diem, What way did he go? For his sons had seen the way which the man of God who had come from Judah had gone. (13) And he said unto his sons, Saddle the donkey! And they saddled for him the donkey and he rode after him. (14) And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak; and he said unto him, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? And he said, I am. (15) And he said unto him, Come with me to my house and eat bread. (16) And he said, I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. (17) For it was said unto me in the word of the LORD, Do not eat bread nor drink water there; do not return by going the way in which you went. (18) And he said to him, I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke unto me in the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with you unto your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him. (19) So he returned with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.**

[347] The Hebrew is singular here, but plural in the last clause of the verse. Apparently one of the sons acted as spokesman for the rest.

COMMENTS

It is somewhat surprising to find a prophet of God residing in Bethel, the very stronghold of the Northern apostasy, Faithful priests and Levites had emigrated to Judah (2 Chronicles 11:13-16), and probably most all other devout worshipers of the Lord had followed their lead. It was not a sense of duty which kept the old prophet in Bethel. The fact that he remained silent while the schism was being born, and that he permitted his sons to attend Jeroboam’s sacrificial feast is perhaps an index to the character of this prophet. His allegiance to his tribe superseded his allegiance to truth. Despite his better judgment, he had gone along with the majority of the nation. Now he found it difficult to withdraw from that position even though he personally could not participate in the apostate worship.[348]

[348] Others see the old prophet as one who had condoned Jeroboam’s apostasy and who attempted to use the weapon of lying to thwart the mission of the man of God. He would, then, be one of the first of the false prophets.

Upon returning from the Bethel temple, the sons of the old prophet reported to their father what they had seen and heard[349] (1 Kings 13:11). The account of the fearless appearance of the man of God before Jeroboam stirred the old prophet to assert himself. The old prophet, wishing to converse with the man of God inquired as to what way the man of God had gone. The motives of the old prophet are not entirely clear. Did he merely wish to fellowship with the dynamic and daring young prophet? Or was it his intention to persuade that man of God to reverse or change the curse he had pronounced against the Bethel altar? The sons, having noted the route the young prophet had selected,[350] related this information to their father (1 Kings 13:12). The old man promptly ordered his donkey to be saddled and he then rode off in pursuit of the man of God (1 Kings 13:13).

[349] 1 Kings 13:11 begins by quoting one son and ends by quoting several of them. Very likely one son started talking and the others joined in the account of what happened. Something of the excitement of the occasion is thus skillfully conveyed to the reader (Honor, JCBR, p. 193).

[350] Targum, Septuagint and Vulgate read his sons showed him the way the man of God went. This implies a change only of one vowel in the Hebrew text.

The old prophet caught up with the man of God sitting under an oak[351] along the road to Judah. Some have seen in this brief rest the beginning of the sin of the young prophet, and certainly it would seem against the spirit of his instructions to tarry so near a place from which he was to speedily disappear. In any case the action betrays his fatigue and exhaustion. Suspecting that this might be the man of God, the old prophet inquired and learned that he was indeed the man for whom he had been searching (1 Kings 13:14). He invited the man of God to his home to eat with him (1 Kings 13:15), but was rebuffed with the same words used in response to Jeroboam’s invitation (1 Kings 13:16-17). Determined to succeed in his mission, the old prophet fabricated a story about an angelic visitation in which he was instructed to bring the man of God back to Bethel (1 Kings 13:18). Probably the angel was mentioned partly for the purpose of making his story sound authentic, and partly to convey the idea of his having a superior authority for his message. A communication through a celestial messenger would seem to have been regarded as a higher form of revelation than a subjective communication to the mind of the prophet.[352]

[351] The Hebrew reads the oak suggesting that some particular, well-known landmark is meant.

[352] Hammond, PC, p. 296. cf. Acts 7:53; Hebrews 2:2; Luke 1:13; Luke 1:29, etc. Slotki (SBB, p. 101), on the other hand, regards a communication through an angel as being inferior to the direct communication from God which the man of God had received. Gray (OTL, p. 330) thinks the angel was mentioned in order to avoid telling a deliberate lie in the name of God, which might have called down immediate wrath.

The motives of the old prophet are not entirely clear. Putting his action in the best possible light, his lie may have been born out of an ardent desire for fellowship with the man of God. At least two more sinister interpretations for his actions have been suggested:

1. When the man of God rejected the hospitality of Jeroboam, he had put the city of Bethel and the calf cult under a bana prophetic anathema. Though the old prophet had not personally participated in the temple activities, he felt himself condemned by the actions of the man of God. If the man of God returned to Bethel and broke bread there, it would be a public repudiation of his earlier stern stand against any fellowship with the apostates.
2. Still another viewthat of Gray (OTL, p. 322)is that the old prophet was testing the authority of his colleague, attempting to determine whether the prophet spoke with the authority of God or was merely an agent for the political enemies of the Northern Kingdom. He concentrated on the alleged divine command not to eat and drink. If the man of God could evade this word of God with impunity, his threats regarding the future of the Bethel altar might be viewed as idle. Thus it may be that the old prophet was acting in the interest of his king. By bringing back the man of God the old prophet would make the whole city, and especially the sovereign, his debtor. By accomplishing what the king had failed to effect, he would secure for himself a position of no little influence in the new kingdom.

1 Kings 13:20-26

C. THE CONDEMNATION OF THE MAN OF GOD 13:20-26

**TRANSLATION

(20) And it came to pass as they were sitting at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet who brought him back; (21) and he cried unto the man of God which came from Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD, Because you rebelled against the word of the LORD, and did not keep the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, (22) but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He spoke unto you, Do not eat bread and do not drink water, your corpse shall not come unto the grave of your fathers. (23) And it came to pass after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him a donkey, for the prophet which he had brought back. (24) And when he had gone, a lion found him in the way and slew him, and his corpse was cast in the way, with the donkey standing beside it; also the lion was standing beside the corpse. (25) And behold men were passing by, and they saw the corpse cast in the way, and the lion standing beside the corpse, and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. (26) When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard, he said, He is the man of God, who rebelled against the word of the LORD; therefore the LORD has given him to the lion, which has torn him and slam him, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke to him.

COMMENTS**

The man of God fell for the lie and returned to Bethel to share the hospitality of the old prophet (1 Kings 13:19). How quickly obedience can turn to disobedience when one’s guard is down! During the meal the old prophet received a genuine revelation from God (1 Kings 13:20). The Holy Spirit took control of the old prophet and compelled him to cry out against the man of God. He who denounced the sin of Jeroboam is now himself denounced (1 Kings 13:21). Part of the punishment of the old prophet was this revelation, for it forced him to admit to his guest that he had told an untruth. Furthermore, he was forced to pronounce the sentence of doom on the life of a godly man.

The punishment of disobedience is severe. The man of God would experience an ignominious death (indicated by the word carcass) and the disgrace of burial among strangers. Only burial in the family sepulcher was regarded as dignified.[353] The supreme warning in these verses is plain: Disobedience brings punishment irrespective of past faithfulness and service.

[353] Slotki, SBB, p. 101.

The gloomy meal at an end, the Bethel prophet saddled his donkey for the man of God who seems to have been traveling on foot (1 Kings 13:23). The donkey may have been lent or given to the man of God by the false prophet to salve his conscience or as an act of courtesy. The donkey is mentioned specifically at this point because of the role this animal was to play at the end of the story.

As he was making his way south toward Judah, a lion[354] pounced upon the man of God and slew him. That this death was no accident is indicated by the peculiar behavior of the donkey and the lion, both of which simply stood near the corpse of the fallen prophet (1 Kings 13:24). The lion standing guard at the spot is a marvelous picture of perfect obedience to God in contrast to the fallen prophet who has paid the price of disobedience.

[354] Lions of a small breed were known in Palestine and the Near East in Old Testament times (1 Samuel 17:34; Amos 3:12, etc.), and are known to have become extinct only in the twelfth century A.D.

Those who had traveled that highway reported in Bethel what they had seenthe corpse of a man in the way with a lion standing nearby (1 Kings 13:25). Hearing this report, the old prophet knew instantly the identity of that corpse and the reason for this tragedy (1 Kings 13:26).

1 Kings 13:27-32

D. THE LAMENTATION FOR THE MAN OF GOD 13:27-32

**TRANSLATION

(27) Then he spoke unto his sons, saying, saddle for me the donkey, and they saddled it. (28) And he went and found his carcass cast in the way with the donkey and the lion standing beside the carcass; the lion had not eaten the carcass nor torn the donkey. (29) And the prophet lifted up the carcass of the man of God and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back and came unto the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury it. (30) And he laid the carcass in his own grave, and he lamented over him, Alas my brother! (31) And it came to pass after he buried him, that he said unto his sons, saying, When I die bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; cause my bones to rest beside his bones. (32) For the word which he cried in the word of the LORD against the altar which was in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

COMMENTS**

Immediately the old prophet ordered his sons to saddle his donkey (1 Kings 13:27), and he went to the spot where the man of God had fallen. A strange sight that was! His mouth having been sealed by the hand of God, the lion simply was standing by the body of the man of God. Contrary to his carnivorous instincts, the lion had not mangled the body of the man of God, nor had it attacked the donkey (1 Kings 13:28).

The prophet had no trouble shooing the docile lion from the scene. He then tenderly took up the body of the man of God and draped it over the donkey that was idly standing by. With great sorrow the old prophet brought the corpse back to Bethel (1 Kings 13:29). There he bestowed profound respect upon that corpse by burying it in his own grave. Seeing that the old prophet was responsible for his death, he could hardly have done less! Outside the sepulcher the man of God was mourned with a customary lamentation formula: Alas, my brother! (1 Kings 13:30). Thus the old prophet felt keenly the loss of the man of God and mourned his death as a relative or dear friend (cf. Jeremiah 22:18). The sudden death of the man of God authenticated the oracle spoken in the temple. The tomb where he was buried was still known in the time of Josiah (2 Kings 23:17).

Following the funeral, the Bethel prophet instructed his sons to bury him upon his death alongside of the man of God (1 Kings 13:31). The old prophet was now convinced that the predictions of the man of God regarding the Bethel altar and houses of the high places would certainly come to pass. All the houses of the high places suggests that other sanctuaries besides those at Dan and Bethel were springing up. On the other hand, it is possible that the old prophet foresaw that such sanctuaries would be multiplied in the North and knew that all such sanctuaries would meet the fate pronounced against the Bethel altar. The phrase cities of Samaria (1 Kings 13:32) is prophetical, for the city of Samaria owes its existence and name to King Omri (1 Kings 16:24).

1 Kings 13:33-34

E. THE DEPRECATION OF JEROBOAM 13:33-34

**TRANSLATION

(33) After this thing, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again made priests of the high places from all classes of the people. Anyone who desired, he ordained to be priests of the high places. (34) And this thing became a sin of the house of Jeroboam, even to cut off and destroy it from off the face of the earth.

COMMENTS**

The dramatic demonstration at the Bethel temple and the subsequent death of the man of God for disobeying the word of God failed to make any lasting impression on the apostate Jeroboam. Shortly after these events the king returned to his policy of appointing priests from the population in general rather than restricting that high privilege, as the Law required, to the sons of Aaron (1 Kings 13:33). Because of his contemptuous defiance of the Law of God, Jeroboam forfeited his claims to all promises made to him by Ahijah the prophet. From the moment he introduced the religious schism into Israel, his dynasty was doomed to destruction (1 Kings 13:34).