When God Speaks - 1 Kings 13-1-34

1 Kings chapter 13, which is page 352 in the Church Bible.

1 Kings 13 · chapter mention

Reading from verses 1 to 10.

By the word of the Lord, a man of God came from Judah to Bethel,

as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering.

By the word of the Lord, he 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.

On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here,

and human bones will be burned on you.

That same day the man of God gave a sign.

This is the sign the Lord has declared.

The altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out.

When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel,

he stretched out his hand from the altar and said,

Seize him!

But the hand he stretched out towards the man shriveled up,

so that he could not pull it back.

Also the altar was split apart,

and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God,

by the word of the Lord.

Then the king said to the man of God,

Intercede with the Lord your God,

and pray for me that my hand may be restored.

So the man of God interceded with the Lord,

and the king's hand was restored,

and became as it was before.

The king said to the man of God,

Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.

But the man of God answered the king,

Even if you were to give me half your possessions,

I would not go with you,

nor would I eat bread or drink water here.

For I was commanded by the word of the Lord,

You must not eat bread or drink water,

or return by the way you came.

So he took another road,

and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

And if you look down further in verses 33 and 34,

Even after this,

Jeroboam did not change his evil ways,

but once more appointed priests for the high places

from all sorts of people.

Anyone who wanted to become a priest,

he consecrated for the high places.

This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam

that led to its downfall and to its destruction

from the face of the earth.

So, 1 Kings 13,

we're actually going to look at the whole chapter.

I don't know if anybody's read it,

but it's a fascinating account,

and I'm sure raises all kinds of questions

which we hope we will work our way through.

So let's pray as we look at his word.

Father, would you give us humble hearts

and listening ears

so that we might not only hear your word,

but accept it

and apply it to our lives,

trusting that your word is powerful,

powerful to change,

powerful to do work

that nothing and no one else can do.

So, Father, please,

through your word,

would you make us more like Christ.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Growing up with two older siblings

was mostly a good experience.

But from time to time,

like I'm sure if you have siblings,

we would fight.

Sometimes it was two on one,

and occasionally all against each other.

I remember one Sunday afternoon,

we'd all been told to go into the kitchen

after Sunday lunch to wash up.

Now that seems quite straightforward,

one to wash,

one to dry,

one to put away.

But somehow,

between the three of us,

we couldn't come to a consensus.

So warfare erupted.

And the squabbling hadn't gone on very long

when we heard this booming voice,

if I hear any more,

there's going to be trouble.

Well, we didn't listen.

Or at least we reasoned

that those warning words

were not that serious.

Well, they were serious.

And what was threatened

came to pass.

With three warmed bums,

we quickly got on with the wash up.

We quickly came to realise

that there was only one ruling word.

And that's the message of chapter 13.

There is only one ruling word.

Have a look with me at verse 32,

which in some ways

is a great summary

of this whole chapter.

Verse 32.

For the message,

he, that's the prophet,

declared by the word of the Lord

against the altar in Bethel

and against all the shrines

and the high places

in the towns of Samaria,

will certainly come true.

When God speaks,

his words always come to pass.

They come true.

And to make sure we don't miss this,

the author keeps repeating

throughout the whole chapter

by the word of the Lord.

Everything happens

by the word of the Lord.

God rules by his word

and what he says

always comes to pass.

Of course, God continues to speak

and he continues to rule

through his written word.

So what we find in chapter 13

is not just history,

but it is God's word for us today.

So what is God speaking to us about

from chapter 13?

Well, first, we want to see

the power of God's word.

The power of God's word.

A little context will help

as we jump into chapter 13.

The kingdom that was under David

and then passed to Solomon, his son,

has now been divided.

And Jeroboam is ruling

in the northern part of the kingdom

over the majority of the tribes.

But the division of the kingdom

has led to great disobedience.

Have a look back at chapter 12,

verse 28.

After seeking advice,

the king, that's King Jeroboam,

made two golden calves.

He said to the people,

it is too much for you

to go up to Jerusalem.

Here are your gods,

Israel, who brought you up

out of Egypt.

It's almost identical

to what Aaron said

to the people

when Moses went up to the mountain

and when they were

delivered from Egypt.

Verse 29.

One he set up in Bethel in the south

and the other god he set up

in Dan in the north.

And this thing became a sin.

The people came to worship

the one at Bethel

and went afar as Dan

to worship the other.

So Jeroboam has removed

the one true God

and has replaced him

with his own gods.

Essentially, he's breaking

the first commandments.

You shall have no other god

before me.

You shall not bow down

to them or worship them.

So what does God

have to say about this?

Well, here's where we jump

into chapter 13 and verse 1.

By the word of the Lord,

a man of God,

a prophet,

came from Judah to Bethel

as Jeroboam was standing

by the altar

to make an offering.

Now, we don't know

what the prophet's name is.

But that's not important.

It's what he has to say.

That's what should concern us.

We need to see the power

of God's word.

First, God's word

determines the future.

It determines the future.

Look at verse 2.

By the word of the Lord,

he cried out against the altar.

So here's the prophet

speaking against the altar.

Altar, altar.

This is what the Lord says.

A son named Josiah,

we're going to come back

to him in a minute,

will be born to the house of David.

On you,

he will sacrifice

the priests of the high places

who make offerings here

and human bones

will be burned on you.

Quite straightforward.

God says he's going to

raise up a king

who's called Josiah,

who's going to bring about

a reformation

of the whole people.

He's going to punish

the priests

and he's going to

break down the false altars.

Don't believe that God

will do it?

Well, have a look at

2 Kings 23 sometime.

Because there,

not surprisingly,

we meet a king

named Josiah

who does what God said

would happen.

But Jeroboam

and the prophet,

well, obviously,

they don't have

2 Kings 23

to turn to.

For them,

what the prophet has said

is still a word

about the future.

It is yet to happen.

So how are we

and how are they

ever going to trust

that God's word

determines the future?

Well, second,

God acts

in the present.

Verse 3.

That same day,

the man of God

gave a sign.

This is the sign

the Lord has declared.

The altar

will be split apart

and the ashes

on it

will be poured out.

So that you may know

that God determines

the future.

That his word

controls what is

going to happen.

Let me show you

the power of God's word

now.

Verse 4.

So when King Jeroboam

heard that the man

of God cried out

against the altar

at Bethel,

he stretched out

his hand

from the altar

and said,

seize him.

But the hand

he stretched out

towards the man

shriveled up

so that he couldn't

pull it back.

It's like a kind

of paralysis

or a weakness

has come over the king.

Jeroboam's power

has been removed.

All he can do

is watch

the power

of God's word

take action.

And so,

verse 5,

the altar

was split apart

and the ashes

poured out

according to the sign

given by the man

of God

by the word

of the Lord.

He says,

if he's saying,

do you believe me

now,

Jeroboam?

My word

determines the future

and it acts

in the present

so therefore

listen to my word

and deal

with your sinful

hearts.

Now,

let's not do

ourselves

out of a favour

and resign

this account

chapter 13

to some event

that took past

in the history.

Because God's word

continues to speak

to us today

and confronts

our sin.

You see,

we do

what Jeroboam

has done

all the time.

We break

the creator's commands.

You shall have

no other god

before me.

You shall not

bow down to them

and worship them.

Now,

okay,

we mightn't go out

and be building

shrines

and sacrificing

at altars

or have golden

calves in our garden,

but we do

turn to our work

and to our children

and to our hobbies

and we make them

little gods.

They become

our god substitutes.

We worship them.

We give our life

to them

in the hope

that somehow

they're going to

give us joy

and happiness.

We remove God

from the centre

of our lives

and we replace him

with our own

made-up gods

which have no power

to change us

or forgive us.

God's word

has something

to say about that.

You might remember

the account in Acts

where the apostle Paul

is wandering

around the city

of Athens

and as he wandered

around he saw

all these idols,

objects of worship,

God substitutes,

dotted all around

the city.

Well,

listen to God's word

through Paul.

He,

that is God,

commands all people

everywhere to repent

for he has set a day

when he will judge

the world with justice

by the man,

that is Christ,

he has appointed.

So it's a word

about the future.

It's a judgment

that he says

is going to come.

Well,

how are we to believe that?

Are we meant

to trust this word?

How do we know

or how can we trust

that God determines

the future

and that a judgment

is to come?

Well,

listen to the rest

of what Paul said.

For he,

that is God,

has given proof

of this

to everyone

by raising him

from the dead.

Do you see

the connections there?

God has acted

in the present

by raising his son,

Jesus Christ

from the dead

by his powerful word

to prove

that we can trust

his word

about a future

judgment

to come.

So first,

we need to see

the power

of God's word

and that when

he speaks,

it always

comes

true.

Second,

we need to hear

the clarity

of God's word.

The focus

now takes

a dramatic

shift

away from

King Jeroboam

to the prophet

himself

because he too

needs to hear

God's word.

First,

the command.

Look at verse 11.

Now,

there was a certain

old prophet,

so we've got to

keep right here,

so this is an old

prophet

prophet,

and there's

the prophet

who spoke

earlier.

So there was

a certain

old prophet

living in Bethel

whose sons

came and

told him

all that

the man of

God had

done there

that day.

They also

told their

father what

he had said

to the king.

Now,

this has

intrigued

the old

prophet.

He's heard

about these

events where

the altar

has crashed

apart and

split open

and everything

that had

gone on

there,

and he

wants to

have a

meeting

with this

particular

prophet.

So,

verse 15,

the prophet

said to him,

that's the

old prophet

says to the

younger prophet,

come home

with me

and eat.

The man

of God

said,

I cannot

turn back

and go

with you,

nor can

I eat

bread

or drink

water

with you

in this

place.

I have

been told

by the

word of

the Lord,

you must

not eat

bread

or drink

water

there,

or return

by the

way you

came.

Now,

we might

begin to

question the

commands of

God.

We might

not understand

why the

young prophet

must turn

down such

a generous

invitation

and such

great

hospitality.

It might

be that the

old prophet

wants to

use him

for his

good.

We don't

know.

We're not

told what

the reason

is.

But whatever

the reason,

God's

command

remains

crystal

clear.

Don't

go back

to his

house.

Verse 18.

The old

prophet

answered,

Ah,

I too

am a

prophet

as you

are.

And an

angel said

to me,

by the

word of

the Lord,

bring him

back with

you to

your house

so that

he may

eat bread

and drink

water.

but he

was lying

to him.

So the

man of

God

returned

with him

and ate

and drank

in his

house.

Now,

we might

have a

bit of

sympathy

here with

this young

prophet.

After all,

this new

word that

has come

to him,

so it

was claimed,

came from

an angel.

Now,

you can't

argue with

that kind

of authority,

can you?

I mean,

he has to

go along

with it.

After all,

an angel

has spoken,

so we

must do

what the

angel has

said,

right?

No.

God's

command

was crystal

clear.

Don't

go back

to his

house.

You see,

God's

word is

full of

commands

that we

might

question

and that

we might

deem to

be unfair

or that

perhaps we

don't even

understand.

But that

doesn't mean

to say we

have the

right to

disobey

it.

Oh,

we can

claim that

it was

some new

revelation.

Oh,

God told

me.

Or we

can come

up with

a new

interpretation.

You know

what?

That was

then,

this is

now.

Times

have

changed.

We

do

things

differently.

Or we

might even

say,

an angel

told me.

Well,

at the

very

least,

such

claims

of

so-called

new

revelation

need to

be checked

out with

God's

word itself.

Better

still,

somebody

come along

and they

tell you,

I've got a

new

revelation

for you.

It

should be

ignored

completely.

Sadly,

this young

prophet

never bothered

to check

it out.

So,

there was

the

command,

don't

go back

to the

house.

Second,

the

confrontation,

verse 20.

So,

while they

were sitting

down at

the table,

the word

of the

Lord,

the true

word of

the Lord,

came to

the old

prophet who

had brought

him back.

I mean,

what a

scenario.

What's

going on

here?

All this

talk of

angels and

new

revelation

is all

of a

sudden

slapped

on the

head,

verse 21.

He

cried out

to the

man of

God who

had come

from

Judah.

This

is what

the

Lord

says.

You

have

defied

the

word

of

the

Lord.

You

have

not

kept

the

command

the

Lord

your

God

gave

you.

The

clarity

of

God's

word

confronts

all

their

speculations,

verse 22.

You

came back

and ate

bread

and drank

water

in the

place

where

he

told

you

not

to

eat

or

drink.

Therefore

your

body

will not

be buried

in the

tomb

of your

ancestors.

In other

words,

this ain't

going to

end well.

You're not

even going to

make it home

alive.

It seems

to be that

this young

prophet

is suffering

with what

Paul had

warned

Timothy about.

Have a look

on the screen.

God

for the

time

will

come

when

people

will

not

put

up

with

sound

doctrine.

They're

not

going to

put

up

with

what

God's

word

has

to

say.

Instead,

to

suit

their

own

desires,

they're

going

to

gather

around

them

a

great

number

of

teachers

to

say

what

their

itching

ears

want

to

hear.

Itchy

ears.

Instead

of

obedience

to

God's

clear

word,

there

is

a

desire

for

a

new

revelation,

a

new

word

that

fits

in

with

what

I

want

to

hear

and

what

I

want

for

my

life.

Well,

let's

not

fool

ourselves.

God's

word

is

crystal

clear.

We

do

not

need

to

add

to

it.

We

do

not

need

to

change

it

because

there

is

no

revelation

other

than

what

God

has

spoken

and

what

we

have

now

written

in

God's

word

to

us

today.

So

there

was

a

very

clear

command

and

there

was

a

very

clear

confrontation

and

then

third

the

clear

consequences

because

distorting

or

defying

God's

word

has

terrible

consequences.

Verse

23

When

the

man

of

God

had

finished

eating

and

drinking

the

prophet

who

had

brought

him

back

saddled

his

donkey

for

him.

As

he

went

on

his

way

a

lion

met

him

on

the

road

and

killed

him

and

his

body

was

left

lying

on

the

road

with

both

the

donkey

and

the

lion

standing

beside

it.

Some

people

who

passed

by

saw

the

body

lying

there

with

the

lion

standing

beside

the

the

city

where

the

old

prophet

lived.

You

see

God

had

spoken

clearly

and

once

again

God's

word

came

to

pass.

It

always

does.

Now

I'm

quite

sure

it's

confusing

you

and

it's

raising

lots

of

questions.

Just

like

we

can

sometimes

question

God's

commands

we

can

also

start

questioning

the

consequences

of

disobedience

and

we

could

look

at

this

and

go

it's

not

fair.

The

old

prophet

lied

to him

and

tricked

him.

He

told

him

it

was

an

angel

and

it

wasn't.

It's

not

fair.

Or

we

could

say

it's

too

severe

to

have

a

lion

kill

you.

The

punishment

is

too

severe.

He

should

have

been

warned

or

just

been

told

off.

And

so we

have

all

these

questions

going

on

in

our

minds.

Well

isn't

that

exactly

what

we

see

happening

in

the

Garden

of

Eden?

God's

command

was

crystal

clear.

Do

not

eat

the

fruit

from

the

tree

of

the

knowledge

of

good

and

evil

for

when

you

eat

of

it

you

will

certainly

die.

I

mean

what's

difficult

about

understanding

that?

Don't

eat

it

and

if

you

do

you

will

die.

Understood?

Crystal

clear.

Of

course

soon

after

came

a

new

revelation

didn't

it?

A

new

temptation

undermining

God's

clear

word.

Did

God

really

say?

Did

God

really

say

that?

I

mean

let me

tell you

something

else.

You

won't

really

die

if

you

eat

it.

And

then

the blame

game

starts.

It's

not

fair.

The

woman

said

I

could

eat

it.

The

devil

deceived

me.

You

see

the

problem

is

it's

not

God's

word.

That's

not

the

problem.

The

problem

is

our

questioning

and

twisting

of

the

very

clear

truth

of

God's

word.

Verse

26

When

the

prophet

who

had

brought

him

back

from

his

journey

heard

of

what

had

happened

he

said

it

is

the

man

of

God

who

defied

the

word

of

the

Lord.

The

Lord

has

given

him

over

to

the

lion

which

has

mauled

him

and

killed

him

as

the

word

of

the

Lord

had

warned

him.

You

see

how we

respond

to

God's

word

is

deeply

serious.

To

defy

God's

word

is to

defy

God

himself.

And

if we

continue

to

persist

in

defiance

against

God's

word

judgment

will

come.

We

might

not

face

a

lion

but

one

day

we

will

all

die

and

we

will

all

stand

before

God

and

have

to

give

an

account.

So

hear

the

clarity

of

God's

word.

Third

experience

the

grace

of

God's

word.

Let's

look at

how

God's

grace

comes

to

the

old

prophet.

So

the

word

had

come

to

Jeroboam

at the

beginning.

The

word

comes

to

the

young

prophet

and

now

God's

grace

comes

to

the

old

prophet.

Three

things we

see here.

First

look at

the

mercy.

The

old

prophet

decides

to

go

out

to

see

what

has

happened.

He's

heard

about

the

young

prophet

who's

been

attacked

by

the

lion.

And

so

verse

28

then

he

went

out

and

found

the

body

lying

on

the

road

with

the

donkey

and

the

lion

standing

beside

it.

The

lion

had

neither

eaten

the

body

nor

mauled

the

donkey.

Now

you've

watched

David

Attenborough

haven't

you?

I

mean

this

is

extraordinary.

Lions

don't

stand

still

and

look

at

their

dinner

when

it's

ready

to

be

eaten

do

they?

They

get

stuck

in.

But

not

this

lion.

He

just

kills

the

man

leaves

the

body

and

doesn't

even

go

near

the

donkey

who's

prey.

This

lion

is

under

the

authority

of

God's

word.

God's

doing.

But

perhaps

it's

what

does

not

happen

that

should

take

us

by

most

surprise.

It's

what

doesn't

happen

that

is

a

shock.

Remember

this old

prophet,

he's

the one

who

lied.

He

said,

an

angel

told

me.

He

defied

God's

word.

We

could

even

make a

claim

and say

he was

worse

than the

younger

prophet.

I

mean

what

should

we

expect

to

happen

next

but

for

the

lion

to

pounce

and

jump

on

him.

But

the

lion

does

nothing.

By

a

word

of

mercy,

God

keeps

his

judgment

in

check.

Nothing

happens

to him.

Verse 29,

So the

prophet

picked up

the

body

of

the

man

of

God,

laid

it

on

the

donkey

and

brought

it

back

to

his

own

city

to

mourn

for

him

and

bury

him.

Are

you

shocked

at

the

mercy

of

God?

But

there's

not just

mercy.

Look

at the

evidence.

It

seems

that

this

old

prophet

has

begun

to

have

a

new

appreciation

for

God's

word.

The

evidence

of

God's

powerful

word

was

clear

and

it

has

now

given

him

a

new

understanding.

So

he

now

confidently

declares

in

verse

32,

For

the

message

he

that

is

the

prophet

declared

by

the

word

of

the

Lord

against

the

altar

in

Bethel

and

against

all

the

shrines

on

the

high

places

in

the

towns

of

Samaria

will

certainly

come

true.

He

now

believes

that

when

God

says

something

it's

going

to

happen

and

you

don't

defy

God's

word

you

obey

God's

word.

And so

he

declares

the

message

declared

by the

word

of the

Lord

will

certainly

come