A Meditation on 1 Kings 13

by Steve Walvatne (USA)

Like a star he shined in the early dawn,
Faithfully labouring as noon wore on;
But afternoon shadows dispelled his song,
Ere evening fell, the man was gone.

The events of 1Kg.13 depict the spiritual journey of a man of God in perilous times. We WITNESS HIS SUDDEN ENTRANCE, WELCOME HIS STEADY ENDURANCE, then WEEP AT HIS SORROWFUL EXIT. His name is omitted, for this is a lesson to “all who would live godly in Christ Jesus,” 2Tim.3.12. Along the way he encountered three enemies: A Sovereign Power, A Senior Prophet, and A Savage Predator. Three in number, they were one in nature, representing the dreadful designs of Satan, that great adversary of the saint.

A Sovereign Power

Ten tribes from divided Israel had united behind the wicked Jeroboam. Like Satan, “the prince of the power of the air,” Eph.2.2, he directed his subjects into avenues of extreme evil. As the chapter commences, we find him officiating at the profaned altar in Bethel (“house of God”). “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into (masquerades as) an angel of light,” 2Cor.11.14. “If you were looking for Satan and knew only that he was disguised, where would you go to look for him … Would you think of looking in a pulpit?” (J. D. Pentecost).

Burdened by behaviour in Bethel, (remember 1Tim.3.15) the man of God arrived from Judah with a message to the altar. Like the wise men who bypassed Herod in their search for One born King of the Jews, he had no interest in King Jeroboam. As “God’s peculiar treasure, His special ambassador” (W. Hendrickson), he cried against the altar, “O altar, altar!”, much as the Saviour did, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” when He wept for the city that rejected Him, Matt.23.37. Flagrant apostasy had brought catastrophe. Christians gathered in “house of God” character today, must guard against departure from God, lest He “come and remove thy candlestick out of his place,” Rev.2.5. “For the time is come, that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”, 1Pet.4.17.

The man of God announced the coming of King Josiah, who three hundred years later would purge the land of idolatry. Upon the altar in Bethel, the bones of defiled priests from the high places would burn. The edict was sealed with an immediate sign — the altar was rent and its ashes poured out — declaring God’s disdain for the altar.

Christ, the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” 1Tim.6.15, is the preacher’s theme today. Descending from the “height of His sanctuary,” Ps.102.19, the Lord Jesus as a faithful Priest, “offered Himself without spot to God,” Heb.9.14. From above, fire entered His bones, Lam.1.13, and a sweet savour sprang heavenward.

The gathered fragrance sweet
From all the path He trod,
Now at His death, ascends complete
As incense unto God.

The veil of Herod’s temple was rent in twain from top to bottom, Matt.27.51, publicly signifying the Lord’s departure from Judaism. In contrast, in tabernacle typology, we who have been purged from dead works, may now enter the holiest “by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh,” Heb.10.19,20.

King Jeroboam’s first inclination was to use FORCE against the man of God. “Lay hold on him!” Similarly, Satan’s ire is aroused against faithful servants now. Even amongst saints there are those who will not tolerate “sound doctrine.” What was Timothy, the “man of God,” to do at such a time? “One might guess that such a desperate situation should silence him. If men cannot bear the truth, and will not listen to it, surely the prudent course will be for him to hold his peace? But Paul reaches the opposite conclusion” (J. Stott). Timothy’s charge instead, was to “preach the Word, be instant (urgent) in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine,” 2Tim.4.2. When Scriptural truth becomes unpalatable, it must be more earnestly preached.

The hand extended to restrain the man of God was restrained itself. Thus, the king switched from FORCE to FRIENDSHIP. “Pray for me,” he begged, “that my hand may be restored me again,” v6. He had no thought for Israel’s restoration, only his own. When the hand was healed, his heart remained unchanged — “Jeroboam returned not from his evil way,” v33. After the Great Tribulation, the devil will also be restrained and then released again without effect: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth,” Rev.20.7,8.

As gratitude, the king offered refreshment and reward to the man of God, but it came at tremendous cost. To enjoy it, he must “come home with me,” v7. The devil ever seeks to corrupt the message by compromising the messenger. Even to the Lord Jesus, he said: “All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me,” Matt.4.8, 9, — instant gratification without intense suffering, but with a dreadful stipulation attached. The Saviour could not be enticed, but saints can be. “But thou, O man of God, flee these things,” 1Tim.6.11. “Flee” means to put as much distance as possible — as quickly as possible — between yourself and satanic snares. Lot failed to flee. So did Demas. But this man refused Jeroboam’s overtures. “If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so was it charged me by the Word of the Lord,” v8,9. He remained separate as a stranger and faithful as a steward.

Homeward he marched, taking care not to retrace his steps, Eph.5.15. But spiritual victory can impair vigilance. The man stopped to sit under an oak. Far better had he kept moving, for a determined foe nipped at his heels. “The counsel of heavenly wisdom is, ‘Bear ever in mind that the current against you is strong and constant, so that to relax effort is to go downward. If you rest at the oar to muse complacently on what you have gained, you are meantime rapidly losing all the gain’,” (R. Johnstone).

A Senior Prophet

An “old prophet” was stirred into action by news of the man of God. His past is unknown, but his actions mirrored the subtle workings of the “old serpent,” Rev.20.2. The tactic now was FALSEHOOD. Informed by his sons of the man’s works, words, and way, he aggressively pursued him. Observe his relentless activity:

(1) He made an INVESTIGATION —“What way went he?” v12:
(2) He approached by INTERROGATION —“Art thou the man of God …?” v14:
(3) He extended an INVITATION —“Come home with me.” v15:
(4) He used INSINUATION —“I am a prophet also, as thou art.” v18:
(5) He claimed INSPIRATION —“An angel spake unto me by the Word of the Lord.” v18:
(6) He succeeded at INDOCTRINATION —“He lied unto him … So he went back.” v18-19:
(7) He expressed God’s INDIGNATION —“Thou hast disobeyed.” v.21.

The Lord had sent a man from Judah to the altar in Israel, so the devil sent a man from Israel to the messenger from Judah. The Lord sent a prophet, so the devil sent an “old” prophet. The man of God had a heavenly charge and a right way, so the devil, through an old prophet, contradicted that charge, by introducing “a way which seemeth right,” Prov.14.12. The Saviour warned of false prophets, “which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves,” Matt.7.15. And Paul alerted Timothy of those “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof,” 2Tim.3.5.

Three times over, the old prophet demanded that the ass be saddled. This seems suggestive. When Saul, the people’s choice for king was introduced, he was pursuing the lost asses of his father, but when David, God’s choice for king was introduced, he was keeping the sheep of his father. What a remarkable difference! Israel was to redeem every firstling of an ass with a lamb, or else break its neck, Ex.13.13. Wild and unclean, it illustrated the sinner in rebellion to God. The old prophet and his sons saddled (constrained) the asses for service. Satan binds his victims as well, Lk.13.16. How unlike the Lord Jesus who woos the sinner, offering freedom from bondage! Rom.6.22; Gal.5.1. This was portrayed in the gospels, when the tied and untamed colt of an ass was brought to the Saviour, and garments — not a saddle — were thrown over it. Graciously subdued, it carried the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem, Mk.11.2-7.

Clothed in garments of salvation
At Thy table is our place;
We rejoice, and Thou rejoicest,
In the riches of Thy grace.

The old prophet invited the man of God home, just as Jeroboam had. Where one cloak failed, another succeeded. The man was less adamant now. “I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee,” he responded. The old prophet’s age and stature alone, likely elicited spontaneous respect. The elderly can be a tremendous help or a tremendous hindrance to the young. Timothy was exhorted to “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them,” 2Tim.3.14.

Feigning inspiration, the old prophet “lied” to the man of God. Perhaps out of resentment, he sought to stumble the faithful servant. “Jealousy is cruel as the grave,” SofS.8.6. But whatever the reason, he emulated the devil who is “a liar, and the father of it,” Jn.8.44.

Without further dissent or prayerful inquiry, the man of God abandoned his sacred charge. “I marvel,” exclaimed Paul to the Galatians, “that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you,” 1.6. “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you,” 5.7,8. Sadly, some saints today are discarding truth. Their rationale may sound plausible, but their route is poisonous. “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee,” 1Tim.4.16.

The man of God went back, and like Eve, partook of forbidden fruit. Judgment was pronounced through the old prophet. “Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee … thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers,” v21,22. Surely God is no respecter of persons, Acts 10.34. Shadows hung heavy as the man of God rode off to judgment.

A Savage Predator

“A lion met him by the way and slew him,” v24. The “way” can be dangerous. Joseph warned his brethren: “See that ye fall not out by the way,” Gen.45.24. Moses stated: “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way … how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindermost of thee,” Deut.25.17,18. Ezra wrote: “And we departed from the river Ahava … and the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way,” Ezra 8.31. And Jeremiah cautioned: “Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side,” Jer.6.25.

The first two foes were human, the last was a beast. The devil stalked with FEROCITY now. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,” 1Pet.5.8. The man of God’s disobedience gave Satan an opening, and it cost him his life. This warrants sober reflection. Disregard for truth has grievous consequences. It may destroy one’s testimony, one’s health, and even one’s life, 1Cor.11.30. Scriptural examples abound. “For this reason, we should give heed more abundantly to the things we have heard, lest in any way we should slip away,” Heb.2.1, (JND).

“Behold,” said the Psalmist, “the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him … to deliver their soul from death,” Ps.33.18,19. David and Daniel were each delivered from the lion. Paul stated metaphorically: “I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,” 2Tim.4.17. And the Lord Jesus, who at Calvary implored, “Save Me from the lion’s mouth,” Ps.22.21, triumphed gloriously, “having spoiled principalities and powers,” Col.2.15.

A solemn repetition sounded: “Cast in the way!” “Cast in the way!” “Cast in the way!”, v24,25,28. Paul feared a similar fate spiritually. “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-a-way,” 1Cor.9.27. The flesh can disqualify a saint for service. This poor man had preached to others, but now through disobedience was “cast in the way.”

Travellers were startled to see the lion standing like a sentinel over the man’s corpse. “The lion, contrary to its nature, had neither consumed the prophet whom it had slain, nor torn in pieces and devoured the ass upon which he rode, but had remained standing by the corpse and by the ass, that the slaying of the prophet might not be regarded as a misfortune that had befallen him by accident, but that the hand of the Lord might be manifested therein” (Keil and Delitzsch). Also we note, that like the lion, Satan is allowed to go only so far. He might touch the erring saint, but he cannot have his soul. “If any man’s work shall be burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire,” 1Cor.3.15.

News of the man’s death reached the old prophet and the sequence that followed was eerily familiar. The ass was again saddled, the man of God was sought, found, and brought back, and mournful words were pronounced over him. A strong beginning ended in a sad burial. Prior to crucifixion, the Lord Jesus declared to His Father: “I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do,” Jn.17.4. And facing martyrdom, Paul wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith,” 2Tim.4.7, (RV). This man failed to fulfil his ministry, 2Tim.4.5, (RV). And the evil foes remained. The words of the Psalmist come to mind: “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end,” 73.16.