A prophet lied and then told the truth an hour later

[tonychanyt]

Jeroboam I was the first king of the separate Northern Kingdom. 1 Kings 13:

1 Behold, a man [M1] of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings.

God sent M1 to warn Jeroboam's golden calf worship. M1 told him the words of the Lord and left him.

11 Now an old prophet [O1] lived in Bethel.

O1 was a prophet. God didn't send O1 to warn Jeroboam, who lived in the same city. Instead, God sent M1 from the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel.

O1 was intrigued and wanted to meet M1.

14 He went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’”

M1 was careful to obey the words of the Lord. But then O1 said to M1

18 “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him.

O1 lied to M1 in the name of the Lord!

Why didn't God send O1 to warn Jeroboam?

O1 could not be trusted with the word of the Lord against Jeroboam.

19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.

The lie worked. M1 succumbed to the temptation. M1 failed the test.

20 And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.

Now God spoke to O1 in truth.

21 And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’”

O1 pronounced a punishment on M1.

23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.

M1 was killed as prophesied by O1. When O1 found out,

30 he laid the [M1's] body in his own grave.

O1 even played a role in fulfilling the prophecy against M1: "Your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers".

God didn't use O1 to warn Jeroboam but used him to lie to M1. After the lie, God used O1 to tell the truth to M1 and prophesied against M1. What was going on?

People were tested; prophets were tested for their obedience. O1 was an ambivalent character. The same prophet could lie in the name of the Lord and then, an hour later, tell the truth in the name of the Lord. This episode illustrated the complexity of spiritual dynamics. God used whomever he willed for whatever purpose.

One lesson is this: Don't trust a person, even a prophet, who contradicts what God has told you.

 

[RDKirk]

Jeroboam I was the first king of the separate Northern Kingdom. 1 Kings 13:


God sent M1 to warn Jeroboam's golden calf worship. M1 told him the words of the Lord and left him.


O1 was a prophet. God didn't send O1 to warn Jeroboam, who lived in the same city. Instead, God sent M1 from the Southern Kingdom of Judah.


O1 was intrigued and wanted to meet M1.


M1 was careful to obey the words of the Lord. But then O1 said to M1


O1 lied to M1 in the name of the Lord!

Why didn't God send O1 to warn Jeroboam?

O1 could not be trusted with the word of the Lord against Jeroboam.


The lie worked. M1 succumbed to the temptation. M1 failed the test.


Now God spoke to O1 in truth.


O1 pronounced a punishment on M1.


M1 was killed as prophesied by O1. When O1 found out,


O1 even played a role in fulfilling the prophecy against M1: "Your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers".

God didn't use O1 to warn Jeroboam but used him to lie to M1. After the lie, God used O1 to tell the truth to M1 and prophesied against M1. What was going on?

People were tested; prophets were tested for their obedience. O1 was an ambivalent character. The same prophet could lie in the name of the Lord and then, an hour later, tell the truth in the name of the Lord. This episode illustrated the complexity of spiritual dynamics. God used whomever he willed for whatever purpose.

One lesson is this: Don't trust a person, even a prophet, who contradicts what God has told you.

O1 declared a lie using God's name...but are you saying that it was God who commanded O1 to lie?

 

[tonychanyt]

O1 declared a lie using God's name...but are you saying that it was God who commanded O1 to lie?

Good question. No.