Key: Blue=Bible, Red= Author notes

Hello World!

This is Chapter 3 of the False Prophet Series. Chapters 1-2 referred to the prophet Hananiah. This chapter will refer to something a little different. I have installed a TL;DR (Too Long Didn’t Read) section at the bottom of the post. Basically a TLDR is a quick summary of what I wrote. This is for people who may not have the time to read the whole blog!

Have you ever heard of a prophet that lied? Is it possible to be a “man of God” or a “messenger of God” and sin? Of course. Before you are a prophet, you are a human. A creature created in God’s image but born with a sinful nature.

Here we will look at a story where a prophet exhibited “false prophet” tendencies. And the tendency I am referring to is saying that something is from God, when you know it wasn’t.

As always, I recommend you read it for yourself. 1 Kings 13:1-32. Or click HERE.

So, the setting here is Israel, King David and King Solomon’s time has passed. And now new kings are ruling Israel…and doing a bad job of it. God says, “Enough is Enough!” and orders an unnamed Prophet from Judah to travel to Bethel to prophesy against the King of Israel at that time, King Jeroboam.

1 Kings 13:2-3

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.”

I can get to what this prophecy means, but it’s not the main point of this post. Basically, the prophet says some pretty bad stuff to the King. And the King gets mad. Eventually he realizes that this prophet is the real deal and the prophet leaves and heads back to Judah.

This is really where the blog kicks off. While resting on the road to Judah, an older unnamed prophet from Bethel finds him and invites him over for dinner and rest. And well read for yourself!

1 Kings 13: 11-19

Now 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. Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

So the prophet said to him, “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.’”

The old prophet answered, “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.

What happened here? The older prophet LIED to the prophet from Judah. And what was the result?

1 Kings 13: 20-22

While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 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 and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. 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.’”

The prophet from Judah was punished for disobeying God’s command. He may have thought that the command was nullified because another prophet convinced him that God told him something different. But the result is the same. And just in case you may be thinking that the punishment isn’t too bad…

1 Kings 13: 23-24

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 standing beside it.

Not only was he not buried with his ancestors, God had him killed as soon as he went on his way back home.

Dear Brothers and Sisters: Do NOT think the Bible is just a book. It is a guide to help us reach God. An acronym I found was “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” Just like how this prophet (who was a real prophet) lied and deceived the thoughts of the prophet from Judah. The same can happen to you. With the same results. Now did the false prophet suffer any punishment? I’m sure he did, but the Bible never says anything more about what happened to the older prophet. But for YOU….

~*~TO LONG; DIDN’T READ~*~

The prophets of the days in the Old Testament are different from the prophets that we see in the New Testament. Many people will make an argument, but I believe,that the prophets in the new testament are different for the simple fact that we have JESUS now. (That’s a discussion for another post.)

However, I say that to say, if anyone is saying anything that contradicts God’s word (the Bible). And in this story, we see a perfect example of that. Then you should KNOW, that this will ONLY lead to destruction. We must obey God’s words and commands. By doing so we will not be destroyed by God.

And again, if you call yourself a prophet, and perhaps you do hear the word of God, then you need to make sure that you are telling people what GOD is saying not what YOU are saying. This older prophet had good intentions. He wanted to care and feed this younger prophet. However, his good intentions lead to the death of someone trying to do God’s will. Please do not repeat past mistakes.

With Love,

Ayodeji Alaketu