Jeroboam, the young prophet and the old prophet of Bethel (P2): the warning, the sign and the false repentance.

Merhaba, daughter of GOD! GOD redeemed by Grace! May GOD keep you. If you have fallen, may GOD help you get back up. If you are lifted up, may GOD give you discernment. If you are in trial, may GOD be with you.

" Surely, if you do good, you will rise again. But if you do evil, sin lies at the door, and its desire is for you, but you shall rule over it . (Genesis 4:7, NIV)

As I wrote in the previous article , the one who is called " a man of GOD " is called "a young prophet" in several translations of the Bible . In the original Hebrew texts and in the French Jewish Bible it is written " a man of GOD " and "not a young prophet ".

2. The Warning, the Sign, and False Repentance (1 Kings 13:1-5)

❖ (1 Kings 13: 1-2, KJV) : “ 1 And, behold, there came a man of GOD out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee."

🙂 GOD sent one of his servants to warn Jeroboam. This prophet declared GOD's judgment against Jeroboam, the idolatrous priests, and their places of worship. He told Jeroboam that from the descendants of David, a son will be born who will be king. His name will be Josiah. He will destroy the satanic altars and the bones of the priests on these altars.

This prophecy was fulfilled between 340 and 360 years later. Some historians say 340 years, others say 360 years. In any case, the fulfillment of this prophecy is recounted in the Bible in chapters 22 and 23 of the second book of Kings. The fulfillment is confirmed in verses 2 Kings 23:16-20. Josiah did what the prophet had foretold in both kingdoms: Judah and Samaria .

🙂 I strongly encourage you to read chapters 22 and 23 of the second book of Kings. These chapters clearly show us what we must do with objects of idolatry and pagan worship. => Repent , remove them from our premises and destroy them. Are there objects to destroy in your house ? If so, do it promptly. On behalf of the LORD, I insist. Remove these objects from your home, from your office and destroy them promptly. If there are objects to destroy in your church, question the leaders of your church. Ask for explanations. Do not return to this church until these objects have been removed and the leaders have repented.

There is no excuse for idolatry. This means, for example, that it is not justifiable to use demonically inspired images to preach the Gospel, create a poster for a Christian event, a Christian movie, the cover photo of a book, a prayer meeting, or instrumental prayer music. I say a firm and irrevocable NO to the so-called images of angels, Mary, and any other person mentioned in the Bible. Either you read the Bible or you don't. Either you honor GOD or you don't. It's as simple as that.

❖ (1 Kings 13:3-5, KJV) : " 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of GOD, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. 5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of GOD had given by the word of the LORD."

Jeroboam's first reaction should have been to wonder if this prophet was truly speaking on behalf of GOD. His second reaction should have been to repent. There is no doubt that this prophet was speaking on behalf of GOD. Jeroboam knew this. At that time, there were not as many false prophets as there are today. It was through a prophet that GOD announced to Jeroboam that he would be king, and it was through a prophet that he announced to him that he had been judged. Therefore, GOD was also speaking to the people of the Northern Kingdom. Jeroboam was not ignorant.

He was so proud that he wanted to tempt GOD. I don't know if he was young, but I think the prophet who warned him was not a famous prophet. He was not necessarily young. He could have been a prophet established above other prophets. Jeroboam surely thought that GOD would not confirm the word of this man.

❖ (1 Kings 13:6-10, Segond 21) : " 6 Then the king spoke and said to the man of GOD, " Call upon the LORD your GOD and pray for me, that I may withdraw my hand. " The man of GOD called upon the LORD, and the king was able to withdraw his hand, and it returned to its former state. 7 The king said to the man of GOD, " Come with me into my palace. You will eat, and I will give you a gift ." 8 The man of GOD answered the king, " Even if you were to give me half your palace, I would not go with you. I will neither eat nor drink anything there , 9 for this is what the word of the LORD has commanded me: 'You shall neither eat nor drink anything, nor return by the same way that you came in.' " 10 So he turned back by another way; he did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

GOD confirmed the sign he had given. But Jeroboam had no intention of repenting . He asked the prophet to pray to GOD for him. He said to the prophet, "the LORD your GOD." In case you hadn't noticed, he said "your GOD ." So to speak, GOD is only the GOD of this prophet. Even when GOD exposes and publicly strikes him, he refuses to admit repentance. This scene took place in public. The idolatrous priests were present. They should have understood that GOD was warning them. Like Jeroboam, these idolatrous priests were not ignorant. They were not men who did not know what GOD disapproves of. Like Jeroboam, they did not repent.

Jeroboam did not ask the prophet to pray for his sin to be forgiven. What mattered to him was that his hand be restored. Now that his hand was restored, he wanted to keep up appearances. He wanted to use the credibility, the reputation, the integrity of the prophet to seduce the people. This is a strategy of the devil. The false rub shoulders with the real ones to have an audience, so that people judge them by their associations and not by their fruits (attitudes, character, words, actions). Jeroboam wanted to give the expression to others that he and the prophet are friends. And so if he is friends with the prophet, who is friends with GOD, then it is he who is Jeroboam who is friends with GOD.

🙂 There are people you should not eat with, take pictures with, or sit at your table with. Dear entrepreneur, there are people and companies you should not do business with. Dear servant of GOD, there are people and ministries you should not collaborate with. There are people who rely on your reputation or are waiting for your elevation, so they can make a name for themselves.

The prophet refused Jeroboam's offer. He said, " Even if you gave me half of your palace, I would not go with you. I will eat nothing and drink nothing in that place ..." The prophet refused to give in to the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the temptation of the flesh . The prophet said, I will not go with you and take nothing from that place. Taking nothing from that place meant taking nothing from Jeroboam, the idolatrous priests, Jeroboam's advisors, and the people of the Northern Kingdom. I trust you remember the article Don't Accept Every Gift.

Jeroboam had dedicated all that he possessed to idols and had declared himself a priest of these idols.

GOD had pronounced judgment on Jeroboam, and he hadn't repented. The prophet had been sent to pronounce judgment. Nothing more, nothing less. There was no valid reason to receive anything. You can't bribe GOD. Maybe if he had stopped, his food and drink would have been poisoned. Maybe someone would have set a trap for him. Maybe someone would have tried to kill him. I don't know, but GOD knows.

Questions

• How can we know if a word is addressed to us from GOD?

• How should we behave when GOD warns us?

• What is real repentance?

• How should we behave towards people like Jeroboam?

• What should we do and how should we pray so as not to become like Jeroboam?

** Merhaba = good morning in Turkish

** Goeie môre = good morning in Afrikaans (South Africa)