12 THE NAMELESS PROPHET FROM JUDAH

In this curious story we see the hand of God working which tells us to look carefully for the lessons to be found in it. At the end of this teaching we will reach three important conclusions.

After Jeroboam built two altars with two golden caves, a messenger came from Judah to address God’s displeasure against his idolatry. Jeroboam is still in the process of dedicating one of the altars when the prophet arrives. Those who go on God’s errand must not fear the face of man because they know God will stand with them. God was kind to warn Jeroboam of what would come on him for his ungodliness and unrighteousness! The message delivered in God’s name, not whispered, but cried with a loud voice, suggests both the prophet’s courage, that he was neither afraid nor ashamed. His earnestness shows that he desired to be heard and obeyed by everyone there.

The prophesy, however, was not directed to either Jeroboam or the people, but to the altar. In threatening the altar, God threatened the founder and worshippers. Anyone who heard the message would understand its meaning. The word of the Lord foretold that, in process of time, a son in the house of David, Josiah by name, would pollute this altar by sacrificing idolatrous priests on it, and that the bones of dead men would be burnt on it. Let Jeroboam know and be sure, that the altar he now is consecrating would be desecrated. Idolatrous worship would not continue, but the word of the Lord will endure for ever.

The priests of the high places Jeroboam made should themselves be made sacrifices to the justice of God. They would be the first and only sacrifices on this altar that would be pleasing to Him. This would be done by someone in the house of David, and that very family which Jeroboam and his kingdom had despised and treacherously deserted would recover so much power as to demolish this altar which he thought to establish. It was about 356 years before this prediction was fulfilled, yet it was spoken of as sure and near at hand, for a thousand years with God are but as one day. The giving of names seems to us to be a rather arbitrary matter, yet Josiah was mentioned by name more than 300 years before he was born. Nothing future is hidden from God.

To confirm the truth of this prediction, the altar would be shaken to pieces by an invisible power and the ashes of the sacrifice scattered. This happened immediately. Wouldn’t this be a proof that the prophet was sent from God and an indication of God’s displeasure against these idolatrous sacrifices. How could the gift be acceptable when the altar that would sanctify it was an abomination? The altar was a blemish to the people, whose hearts were harder than these stones and did not surrender to the word of the Lord. The small destructive work done this day was but a hint of it being eventually completely ruined.

When Jeroboam stretched out his hand and commanded that the man of God to be seized, his hand withered. Instead of trembling at the message, as he should have done, he physically opposed the man who had brought God’s message. Rebuke a sinner and he will hate you. Yet God’s prophets must rather risk this kind of treatment than betray their own calling. The God who employs them will protect them, and hold back the anger of man, as God did to Jeroboam’s by withering his hand. With a withered hand he could neither hurt the prophet nor even draw the hand in to help himself.

When his hand was stretched out to burn incense to his calves, it was not withered; but, when it is stretched out against a prophet, he will have no use of it until he humbles himself. Of all the wickedness of the wicked surely the malicious attempts against His prophets of whom he said, Touch them not, do them no harm, is one. This was a punishment of Jeroboam, a response to his sin, and was also the deliverance of the prophet. God has many ways of disabling the enemies of His church from carrying out their evil purposes. Jeroboam’s inability to pull in his hand made him a spectacle for everyone there to see and fear God. But even more serious is this that if God, in justice, hardens the hearts of sinners, so that the hand they have stretched out in sin cannot be pulled in again by repentance, that is a spiritual judgment represented by this and yet much more dreadful.

With a withered hand Jeroboam looks for help now, but curiously, not from his calves, but from God only, His power and His favor. God wounded and no hand but His can make whole. This would not happen by his own sacrifice on the altar he had just built, but by the prayer and intercession of the prophet, whom he had just now threatened and aimed to destroy. The time may come when those who hate the preaching would be glad of the prayers of faithful ministers. The problem with Jeroboams request, however, is that he did not want the prophet to pray that his sin would be pardoned or his heart changed, only that his hand might be restored. The prophet, as a good man of God, returned good for evil, did not scold Jeroboam because of his evil intent, nor triumph in his submission, but immediately prayed to God for him. Here is an example of someone praying for one that persecuted him. Whoever has learned to pray for their persecutors as Jesus taught is entitled to the blessing He pronounced on the persecuted that learn of Him. Matthew 5:10 and 44 say, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” and “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” When the prophet honored God, by showing himself to have a forgiving spirit, God put this further honor on him, that at his word He reversed the judgment and by another miracle healed the withered hand. By the goodness of God Jeroboam had an opportunity to repent. If he were not broken by the judgment, yet he might be melted by the mercy. He seemed affected for the present, but, sadly, the impression wore off.

The king invited the prophet to have a meal with him, but God did not allow His messenger to eat or drink in Bethel, probably to show His hatred for their idolatry and to teach us not to have fellowship with evil deeds or those that do evil deeds. God tested His prophet who, though hungry and weary, in obedience to the divine command, refused both the meal and the reward offered him. He might have thought he would have an opportunity to talk further with the king about obedience to God, but he will not think himself wiser than God; like a faithful and careful messenger, he hurries home when he has finished his errand. He denied himself this meal and a reward from the king, and is a good example for us that he obeyed.

However, sadly, next, he was persuaded by an old prophet to come back with him, and eat in Bethel, contrary to the command given him. This was a costly dinner. He should never have accepted the invitation from the old prophet. If the old prophet had been a good prophet he himself would have already reproved Jeroboam’s idolatry, and not have allowed his sons to attend the dedication of the king’s new altars as it appears he did. The narrative does not tell us why he wanted the prophet from Judah to come back with him. We may hope he did it in compassion for him, thinking he may be hungry, or out of a desire to be better acquainted with him and to more fully understand his errand than he could from the report of his sons. But since his sons told him what had happened, and particularly that the prophet was forbidden to eat or drink there, which he had openly told Jeroboam, it was probably done with a bad motive. Perhaps he was jealous and wanted to destroy him. It is certain that he used an evil method to bring him back.

When the man of God had told him, “I may not, and therefore I will not, return to eat bread with you” he wickedly pretended that he had an order from heaven to bring him back. He pushed himself on him by asserting that he too was a prophet. He pretended an angel sent him on this errand. But it was all a lie; it made light of prophecy; it was evil in the highest degree. Many years later in Josiah’s day he is referred to as a prophet from Samaria. 2 kings 23:18 says, “‘Leave it alone,’ he (Josiah) said. ‘Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.’ So they spared his bones and those of the prophet who had come from Samaria.” But there is a problem. Samaria did not exist until later than the incident we are now examining. Probably that means that though he was of Bethel, because he was like those who were afterwards the prophets of Samaria, who caused God’s people Israel to err; he was a bad prophet. Jeremiah 23:13 says, “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.” The old (and bad) man led the good prophet from Judah astray.

The good prophet was weak to have allowed himself to be deceived and go back with the old prophet. He who had resolve enough to refuse the invitation of the king, who promised him a reward, could not resist the invitation of one that pretended to be a prophet. God’s people are more in danger of being drawn from their duty by the believable prospect of God-related matters  than by material temptations. We need to beware of false prophets and not believe every spirit. The greatest lesson in this teaching is that each of us must be responsible to believe and do what God is telling each of us to do. To your own self be true. We may well wonder that the wicked prophet, who told the lie, went unpunished, while the holy man of God, who was deceived into sin by him was suddenly and severely punished. What will we make of this? The judgments of God are beyond our understanding. The deceived and the deceiver are His, and He seems to have no obligation to explain His judgments. He does what He wants to. Certainly there must be a judgment to come, when these things will be reviewed, and when those who sinned most and suffered least, in this world, will receive according to their works.

The message delivered to the man of God was strange. His crime is stated, in one word, it was disobedience to an express command. Judgment is pronounced. Verse 21b and 22 say, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 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.’” It was even more strange that the old prophet himself should be the messenger. Of this we can give no logical explanation except that God wanted it that way, as He spoke to Balaam by his donkey. The message could not but strongly affect him the more when he himself delivered it, and had so strong an impression made on his spirit by it that he cried out, as one in an agony.

He had good reason to think, if that prophet must die for his disobedience in a small matter who sinned by surprise, of how much sorer punishment will I be judged who told a lie and cheated a man of God by deliberate deceit. Perhaps it had a good effect on him. We can only hope that someone benefited from this lesson; the old prophet or perhaps his sons. Or is the lesson recorded only that you and I, these centuries later, can be sobered and learn from it? The deceived and disobedient prophet died. The old prophet that had deceived him, as if he would make some amends for the wrong he had done him or help to prevent the punishment threatened him, furnished him with a donkey on which to ride home.

The prophet simply returned back to refresh himself when he was hungry, and look! he must die for it. However, we must consider, that his offense was great, and it would by no means justify him that he was deceived to do it by a lie. He was responsible to obey what the Lord told him. He had great reason to question the honesty of this old prophet who did not tell the truth, nor did God see fit to use him to speak against the idolatry of the city he lived in. He should have taken time to beg direction from God, and not have gone along with the old prophet so soon. Did he think this old prophet’s house safer to eat in than other houses at Bethel, when God had told him not to eat in any of them? To disobey God was to make himself wiser than God. Did he think to excuse himself that he was hungry? Had he never read that man lives not by bread alone? Was his death for the glory of God because we learn again that disobedience to an express command is provoking to God, though in a small matter. No man is protected in disobedience by the greatness of his profession, the dignity of his office, his nearness to God, or any good services he has done for Him. Did God in this story intend to warn us to observe our orders or suffer serious consequences?

How do we interpret the fact that the lion gently killed him and did not tear him or eat his dead body or even bother the donkey or any other nearby travelers? The lion just stood there with the donkey. Evidently God’s commission was to kill the prophet and that was all. God showed His involvement in that the lion killed the disobedient prophet, but the punishment went no further than death. This miracle indicated that this development was from God; a sign that we should look for lessons in the story. We do not know why the lion was not sent against the old man and his house, rather than against the good prophet he had misled. If the old man had planned to laugh at the prophet, at least he now had the sense to change his mind and grieve.

The old man mourned and buried him saying. “Alas my brother.” The case was lamentable that so good a man, a prophet so faithful and bold in God’s cause, should, for one misjudgment, die as a criminal, while an old lying prophet lives at ease and an idolatrous king continues in pomp and power. More than 300 years later Josiah saw the grave and left it alone as 2 Kings 23:17,18 say, “The king asked, ‘What is that tombstone I see?’ The people of the city said, ‘It marks the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced against the altar of Bethel the very things you have done to it.’ 18 ‘Leave it alone,’ he said. ‘Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.’”

Conclusions: (1) Every man or woman of God should carefully obey what God tells them to do. (2) After successes we are particularly vulnerable. The prophet was successful in delivering the message to the altar and declined to have a meal with the king, but failed the next test by eating with the old man. (3) Josiah’s words 356 years later adds a sobering and warning emphasis to these lessons.