Here in my study of Kings, I come to the first of many disturbing stories in 1 Kings 13. Jeroboam is king of northern Israel, but he betrays the Lord by building golden calves so that people would not go south to worship in Jerusalem like the Lord wanted. A nameless prophet comes from Judah as he is sacrificing at an altar and says that one day Josiah will come smash the altar and turn it into a bathroom.
King Jeroboam tries to seize him and kill him, but That Guy calls on the Lord who shrivels Jeroboam's hand. Jeroboam apologizes and That Guy restores his hand. The king invites the prophet to dinner, but That Guy says no, he must go home a different way and not eat or drink with anyone or the Lord will kill him.
On the way back home on a different route, That Guy is stopped by an older prophet who invites him over for dinner. That Guy says no, the Lord will kill him if he stops to eat. The old jerk lies and says God told him to stop there. That Guy goes in to eat, and then the old jerk tells him that since That Guy disobeyed God, he would send a lion to kill him. That Guy leaves, and sure enough, a lion comes to kill him. The lion stands next to his body and his donkey on the road. Finally the old jerk buries him and tells northern Israel that God will indeed keep his word and destroying King Jeroboam who is still betraying God by sacrificing to false idols.
The main thing I think in reading this account is "Why God?" That Guy really thought he was doing the right thing and finally getting a break along the road back home. But I'm reminded of two things.
1) God keeps his promises. If God says That Guy will die if he eats with someone as he goes back home, then he will follow through. Nobody deserves a reprieve from the Lord, not even his most devout people. He killed That Guy right away. He killed Jeroboam later on, and even later on sent Israel into exile to Assyria. All people deserve to die for their sins right away, including me. When he sends his collectors is up to him. He caused Rachel Held Evans to die young. Rob Bell is still alive. They both deny core teachings of Scripture and face judgment if they don't repent. We must all repent and trust in Jesus to die in our place if we don't want to die for our own sins.
2) God will not say one thing and then say the exact opposite later. He will not contradict himself. If he says to not eat with someone on the way home on your journey, he will not change his mind and say, "Okay, you can eat here." I certainly don't think he commanded the old jerk to lie to That Guy. That was the old prophet's sin. He did want to test That Guy. This proves true today. If God says that any sin outside marriage between in a man and a woman is sin, he's not going to change his mind with the times. People may say he did that with the kosher laws, but he actually fulfilled those laws in Jesus. His sexual standards have not changed. His roles for men and women have not changed. Our God does not change his mind.
And because God does not change his mind, you can still believe that he saved southern Judah's kingdom and that there will always be a man on David's throne. And although Judah also got exiled to Babylon, they came back, and Jesus was born. And he died and yet is alive forevermore and always lives to intercede between his Father and us. And we need no one else.
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