Jeroboam, the young prophet and the old prophet of Bethel (P4): death

Simone-Christelle NgoMakon
Jun 17
5 min read

Updated: Jun 28

Tungjatjeta sent! Asham testimony ! Live and fulfill your destiny. You are GOD's answer to a generation.

(Jeremiah 17:5-8, NIV) :" 5 This is what the LORD says: Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who makes flesh his strength, and whose heart departs from the LORD ! 6 He is like a juniper tree in the plain, which sees no good coming; he dwells in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land without inhabitant. 7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and puts his hope in him! 8 He is like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the streams; it does not perceive when the heat comes, yet its leaves remain green . In a year of drought it will not fear, nor will it cease to bear fruit."

As I wrote in previous articles, 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."

4. Death (1 Kings 13:20-34)

❖ (1 Kings 13:20-23, NIV) : 20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 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. 22 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.’ ”23 When the man of GOD had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him.

As we saw earlier, GOD's servant returned to Bethel with the old prophet. While they were eating, the Lord rebuked his servant. But the latter did not repent. He continued to eat and drink, as if nothing had happened.

Didn't this man of GOD have the fear of the LORD? That same day, GOD used him to warn Jeroboam and the prophets of the pagan deities. GOD had paralyzed Jeroboam's hand before his eyes (1 Kings 13:4). He had prayed that GOD would restore Jeroboam's hand (1 Kings 13:6). I wonder:

Why did he continue to drink and eat?
Did he think that an angel would suddenly appear and say the opposite of what GOD had just said?
Why did the old prophet serve him food and drink?
Did the young prophet's life matter so little to him?
What did they think they would gain by tempting GOD?
Why did none of them repent?

GOD had told the young prophet not to take anything. But even this recommendation was not respected . He returned, he drank, he ate and he accepted a donkey (the old prophet's donkey). I am sure that he also disobeyed the last recommendation. He surely returned by the same way he had taken.

❖ (1 Kings 13:24-25, Segond 21) : 24 The man of GOD set out again and on the way he met a lion which killed him. His body remained lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion beside him. 25 Some travelers saw the body lying on the road, with the lion beside it, and they reported it when they arrived in the city where the old prophet lived.

What a deplorable ending. May this never happen to us! Let us learn from this story. We certainly go from surprise to surprise. Here's another one. The lion is a carnivorous animal. It killed the prophet but did not attack the donkey. Is that simple? No, obviously not. Demons manipulated this lion.

❖ (1 Kings 13:26-32, Segond 21) : "26 When the prophet who had turned back the man of GOD heard about it, he said to himself, " This is the man of GOD who has rebelled against the commandment of the LORD! The LORD has given him over to the lion, which has torn him to pieces and killed him, just as the LORD had spoken to him ." 27 Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they did, 28 and he left. He found the body lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion beside it. The lion had not devoured the body or torn the donkey to pieces . 29 The old prophet lifted the body of the man of GOD, placed it on his donkey, and brought it back. He returned to his city to mourn and bury him. 30 He laid his body in his own tomb, and people mourned over him, saying, “Woe to me, my brother!” 31 After he had buried him, the old prophet said to his sons, “When I die, you will bury me in the tomb where the man of GOD is buried; you will place my bones beside his bones. 32 For the word that he cried out against the altar in Bethel and against all the high places in the cities of Samaria will be fulfilled, according to the commandment of the LORD.

What a deplorable end! The one who led the young prophet to sin is the one who takes advantage of his death to make himself known. Not only does this old prophet not repent, he adds a lie to the story and calls the servant of GOD his brother. It is clearly written in verses 24 and 28 that the lion neither devoured the servant of GOD, nor devoured the donkey. But the old prophet tells people that the lion tore the young prophet to pieces. Some people have the very bad habit of taking advantage of the misfortune of others to gain publicity.

❖ (1 Kings 13:33-34, Segond 21) : " 33 Even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way. He continued to appoint priests of the high places from among the people. Whoever desired to be appointed priest of the high places, he appointed them. 34 This was a cause of sin for the family of Jeroboam, and for this reason they were exterminated and destroyed from the face of the earth ."

What a deplorable end! Unsurprisingly, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. His family was exterminated. GOD's servant was killed by a lion. He was buried far from his family. The old prophet continued to lie.

I'm sure some people from the Northern Kingdom stayed and returned to the LORD. Regardless, this story is told in the Bible so we can learn from it.

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