The Way
The Man of God from Judah
The man who cried out against the altar
Story
Just as Jeroboam was about to burn incense beside the altar at Bethel, a man of God who had come from Judah cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and on you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places and burn human bones. This is the sign: this altar will split apart and its ashes will pour out.”
The king stretched out his hand and shouted, “Seize him!” His hand dried up where it was, and he could not pull it back; the altar split apart and the ashes poured out. The man of God prayed, and the king's hand was restored. The king told him to come home with him, rest, and receive a gift, and the man of God answered, “Even if you gave me half your palace, I would not go with you. The Lord commanded me, Do not eat bread or drink water here, and do not go back the way you came.”
But an old prophet from Bethel came after him and said, “I am a prophet too. An angel told me to bring you home and feed you.” It was a lie. The man of God went back with the old prophet and ate bread, and on the road home a lion killed him. The lion and the donkey stood quietly beside the body. The old prophet took up the body, buried it in his own tomb, and wept, saying, “Oh, my brother!”
Walk this scene on the map →Words of God and the Prophets
Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and on you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places.
Even if you gave me half your palace, I would not go with you. The Lord commanded me not to eat bread or drink water here.
When I die, bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried, and lay my bones beside his bones. What he cried out against the altar at Bethel will surely come true.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: 1 Kgs 13:1–32
Background
This prophecy came true about three hundred years later, when Josiah king of Judah tore down the altar at Bethel and burned the bones from the tombs. Only the tomb of this man of God and the old prophet did Josiah leave untouched.
Pause and Reflect
When words that sound convincing differ from God's word, which do I follow?