Say What?

I have spent almost thirty years in full time paid ministry and you’d think that I would have preached from just about every verse in the Bible. If that’s what you think then unfortunately you’d be wrong. I keep unearthing passages I’ve never preached from and some I’ve never even been tempted to preach from.

This morning as I was reading the texts that were laid out for me in my daily Bible reading regimen, I found myself staring at a passage that I had a lot of difficulty understanding. What I am hoping is that these comments will precipitate is a conversation with someone able to help me make sense of this rather baffling text.

Take a look at it. It’s 1 Kings 13. A very strange story. Jeroboam I, the first king of the newly independent territory called Israel has set up two altars – one in the south and one in the north – to keep his people from traveling to Jerusalem for their regular sacrifices. At this point an unnamed prophet – merely referred to as a man of God (I wouldn’t mind that kind of designation. In fact after I have preached I would be very pleased if no one remembered my name and simply called me “the man of God” but I digress. So let me close the parentheses and move on) – comes north and speaks a word against the altar at Bethel. He pronounced God’s judgment. A future king of Judah named Josiah will sacrifice the bones of the pagan priests on this altar and defile it. In fact God will Himself cleave the altar in two.

On hearing these words Jeroboam points his finger at the “man of God” telling his soldiers to seize him. Now God acts decisively and paralyzes his hand in that position. Sort of reminds me of my mother saying to me when she has seen me crossing my eyes or making a weird face “Now you stop that or your face will freeze that way!” I’d always thought that would have been pretty cool. But enough about my rather warped childhood. Jeroboam’s hand is frozen in a posture of pointing and the altar is split in two.

Do you see it? The king is standing with his arm paralyzed with his forefinger pointing at this prophet and his altar has been smoked by God. “Wow, this guy is good! I want him on my team.” An offer of employment is quickly extended, but the man of God says he has to refuse. In fact he says that even if the king offered him half his kingdom he’d have to take a pass. The Lord has told him that he is to return home by a different way than he came and he is not to have even so much a Ritz cracker or a glass of Diet Coke.

Now here is the odd part. An old prophet hears of this encounter and gets on his donkey to find him. When he catches up with the man of God he says God has had a change of heart. He doesn’t have to leave as quickly after all. He should go back with the old prophet and order a pizza and have a good glass of water.

The man of God hearing these words from an older prophet assumes he’s getting the straight goods and goes back with the prophet for a little lunch. While they’re eating the old prophet gets a special delivery message from God.

“Hey man, why’d you come back with me? God told you to get right back home and you disobeyed now you are going pay.” And pay he does. On his way home he is attacked and killed by a lion who seems to be standing guard over the body along with man’s donkey.

Does anybody else find this story a little odd? Here are some questions – the old prophet obviously had heard the voice of the Lord before. God had spoken with him during the meal. Why didn’t God say something when the old prophet was persuading the man of God to come back for a snack? Wasn’t the punishment a little out of proportion to the crime? An old prophet has told him that God wants him to go back with that same prophet and now he gets killed for believing a lie told in the name of God. Doesn’t it seem a little odd that the old prophet gets away unscathed?

Now there are a lot of people out there that know a lot more about the Bible than I do, so if you fall into that category and have read this take a few moments and straighten me out.