Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
By the word of the Lord, a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. He cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord:
"O 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 now 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."
When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.
Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.
The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift."
But the man of God answered the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.' "
So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
1 Kings 13:1-10
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As the Promised Land divided into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, we saw Jeroboam successfully keep the people in the north from returning to Judah to worship by having two golden calves fashioned and placed at Dan and Bethel. The people believed their king who convinced them that worshiping the calves was acceptable.
We also read where Jeroboam constructed shrines in high places for worship, sacrificed to the golden calves at Bethel, and appointed priests from a variety of people, not the Levites as God had instructed Moses when He delivered the law.
Clearly, God wasn’t going to tolerate such actions. Something was going to happen…and as we enter Chapter 13, we see that something did.
For we read where “a man of God came from Judah to Bethel”…”by the word of the Lord”. In other words, God had commanded the man to go and do what He willed him to do.
And as the man did this, he went to Jeroboam who “was standing by the altar to make an offering” and cried out “against the altar by the word of the Lord” saying:
"O 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 now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.' "
The man of God prophecy about what to come had to be harrowing for Jeroboam and all who heard it. But his words were concerning something well yet to come. So how serious would Jeroboam really take the words of the prophet?
It’s for this reason that the man of God’s prophecy was followed up by a sign on the same day. Scripture tells us he proclaimed:
"This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out."
Well, King Jeroboam was fed up with this old man who had disrupted his sacrificing and “cried out against the altar at Bethel”. But when Jeroboam “stretched out his hand from the altar” and ordered the man to be seized, we read where “the hand he stretched out…shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back”. And at the same moment, the sign the man of God predicted came to be as “the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out”. The “word of the Lord” had come alive.
Imagine King Jeroboam’s state of mind at this moment. His outstretched hand shriveled and his sacrificial altar split in two with the ashes dumped out…a visual demonstration of God not accepting the offerings presented. If the fear of the Lord wasn’t in him before now, it surely was now.
Back to the scriptures where we find Jeroboam pleading with the man of God and asking him to “intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." Did Jeroboam deserve God’s mercy and pardon? Given his actions, God didn’t have to restore him at all. But as “the man of God interceded with the Lord”, we see where “the king's hand was restored and became as it was before”, restored by the awesome power of the true God…not the golden calves he had honored before.
Obviously in a spirit of gratitude but more so to show he had elevated himself back into God’s good graces, Jeroboam asked the man of God to, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift." But we read where the man of God refused saying:
"Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.' "
And with that, the man left and “took another road”, not returning “by the way he had come to Bethel”.
This passage is a blessed exposition of the power found in the word of God. Let’s look at some of those powers:
1. The word of God has the power of to lead and guide.
Note at the beginning of our passage we read where “a man of God came from Judah to Bethel”…”by the word of the Lord”.
In other words, God, by His word, had told the man to go from Judah to Bethel where He wanted the man to confront Jeroboam. And the man…being a man of God…obeyed God’s word.
As we walk through this Christian walk day-by-day, we should walk with the assurance that the word of God will always lead us where God wants us to go and to do what He wants us to do.
2. The word of God has the power to proclaim.
As the man of God reached Bethel, he confronted Jeroboam by announcing a prophecy and sign, crying out “against the altar by the word of the Lord”…a word that contained the power used by the man of God to proclaim.
As we follow the Lord, we often come on times when we need to speak on behalf of the Lord…to proclaim His word to others. And during those times, we need to always remember this passage and know that God grants us the power to proclaim through His word.
3. The word of God has the power of prediction.
As the man of God proclaimed, we saw the power of God revealed in the predictions he spoke forth.
The first prediction involved a future king, Josiah, who was yet to come. But the power in the word of God had to send fear into the hearts of those who were worshiping falsely. For the prophecy said the future king would “sacrifice the priests of the high places” who had made offerings on the altar…their human bones burned there.
And just in case the people didn’t fully respect the power in the word of God that brings prediction, the man of God declared that the altar would be “split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out” and that’s exactly what happened.
Friends, God’s word is truth and don’t think for a minute that it lacks an ounce of power to do what it says it will do. This is why it’s so critical for us to remain obedient to it…to what it calls us to do and to how it calls us to live.
4. The word of God has the power of consequence.
As Jeroboam tried to have the man of God taken into custody, he found that his outstretched had shriveled to where it was unusable anymore. And it was at that moment where the altar of Bethel split and spilled its ashes out. All this by the power found in the word of God as spoken by the man of God.
Friends, when we decide to obstinately disobey God we better be ready for the consequence that will follow…consequence spelled out in the word of God…and consequence brought about through the power found in the word of God.
Jeroboam had to find out the hard way.
Will we make the same mistake?
5. The word of God has the power to forgive and restore.
There’s little doubt that Jeroboam deserved what had happened to him. He had blatantly worshiped falsely and led his people to do likewise. He had broken more than just a few of God’s commands and decrees. God could have just left him with a shriveled hand as a sign to him and others about what can happen when you cross God vice comply.
But what we saw happen showed us yet another side of the power found in God’s word. For as Jeroboam pleaded for the man of God to intercede with the Lord, praying that his hand be restored, something amazing happened. God answered the prayer and Jeroboam’s hand was restored and “became as it was before”.
In this, we see the word of God bring the power of forgiveness and restoral…mercy and grace. And the good news is that this power is displayed billions of times over a day...each and every day to sinners like Jeroboam…to sinners like you and I.
6. The word of God has the power to instruct.
As our passage closes, we see Jeroboam wishing to feed and reward the man of God but the man refusing him. Why? Because the word of the Lord had commanded him to “not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came” and so the man did just that.
Without the power of instruction gained through the word of God, the man would have been left to his own devices as to what to do and how to act. But he didn’t need worry about his decision because God had made it for him…all through the power of His word to instruct.
Friends, this is the very beauty and essence of writing these devotionals daily…because each and every day, I get to experience the power of the word of God and share it with you, the readers. And in doing so, we all gain so much…a power that leads and guides…a power that helps us proclaim…a power that allows us to predict and prophecy…a power that corrects us with consequence when we need it…a power that forgives and restores when we seek it…and finally a power that instructs us…teaching us how to live lives full of righteousness and holiness all while being in obedience to God’s word…a word that contains a power like no other because it comes from God Himself.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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