1 Kings 13:15-19 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: 17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. 18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. 19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
This young prophet is faced with a dilemma. He has two conflicting sets of instructions from what on the surface seems to be two reliable sources. So what does he do?
Now we can tell from the little that we know about him that this young prophet is zealous for the Lord. He has come to the king and his priest with an unpopular message of the coming judgment of God upon them because of their idolatry. He has seen God's hand of protection upon his life as God protects him from the wrath of the King Jereboam because of instructions given him by God to neither eat nor drink in that place.
When confronted with the choice of obeying what he knows God has said or what this other prophet says that God has said the young prophet chooses to obey the words of the prophet instead of the words of God. We find the results of this decision recorded in verses twenty through twenty-four.
1 Kings 13:20-24 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: 21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, 22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. 23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
The young prophet's decision to follow the advice of the older prophet contrary to the words of God resulted in his death. The fact that he was killed by a lion that ate neither the prophet nor the donkey he was riding could perhaps point to the danger of our destruction at the hands of the devil (I Peter 5:8).
We can find in this narrative timeless truths that will protect us from the attack of the devil. First, it is important that we always choose to obey the clear teaching of the Bible, God's words, regardless of our own or anyone else's opinions. Secondly, and most importantly, we learn that it is essential that we know what God has said in His word so that we can differentiate between opinions and revelation. God has been gracious enough to give us His words to guide our lives, so let us read them, study them, memorize them, meditate on them, and live in obedience to them. Herein lies safety.
Daily Devotional-Luke 6:17-46 Sermon in the Plain
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