1 Kings Chapter 13
A Prophet Denounces Jeroboam
1 A man of God went from Judah to Bethel at Yahveh’s command while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. 2 He cried out against the altar by a message from Yahveh,
“Altar, altar, Yahveh says, ‘A son named Josiah will be born among David’s descendants. He’ll sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who burn incense on you. He’ll burn human bones on you.’”
3 He gave a sign the same day,
“Yahveh has given this sign: the altar will open up and ashes pour out.”
4 When the king heard what the man of God said, he reached out from the altar and said, “Arrest him!” But his hand froze, and he couldn’t draw it back. 5 The altar split apart and ashes poured out like the sign had said. 6 The king answered the man of God, “Ask Yahveh your God to restore my hand.”
He asked Yahveh, and the king’s hand became like before. 1 Kg 13:1-6
7 The king said, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I’ll give you a reward.”
8 The man of God told him,
“If you gave me half of what you own, I wouldn’t go with you, eat bread, or drink water here. 9 Yahveh told me not to eat bread, drink water, or come back the way I came.”
10 So he went back a different way. 1 Kg 13:7-10
11 An old prophet was living in Bethel. His sons came and told him what the man of God had done that day in Bethel and what he’d told the king. 12 Their father asked them which way he went. They’d seen which way he’d gone. 13 “Saddle the donkey for me.” They saddled it, and he rode 14 after the man of God and found him sitting under a terebinth tree. “Are you the man of God from Judah?”
“Yes.”
15 “Come home with me and eat bread.”
16 “I can’t return with you, eat bread, or drink water with you here. 17 Yahveh told me not to eat bread, drink water, or go back the way I came.”
18 He told him,
“I’m a prophet like you. An angel from Yahveh told me to bring you back to my house so you can eat bread and drink water.” He was lying.
19 He went back with him and ate bread and drank water. 1 Kg 13:11-19
20 As they were sitting at the table, a message from Yahveh came to the prophet that brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man from Judah, “Yahveh says, ‘Because you’ve disobeyed me, 22 your body won’t go to your ancestors’ grave.’” 23 After he’d eaten bread and drunk water, he saddled the donkey for the prophet. 24 When he’d gone, a lion met him and killed him. It threw his body on the road with the donkey standing beside it. The lion stood by the body too. 25 Some men passed by and saw the body and the lion standing beside it. They went and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. 1 Kg 13:20-25
26 When the prophet heard it, he said,
“It’s the man of God that disobeyed Yahveh; he let the lion tear him apart like his message had said.”
27 Then he told his sons to saddle the donkey for him. 28 He went and found the body on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion hadn’t eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 The old prophet picked up the body and laid it on his donkey. He brought it back to his city 30 and laid it in his own grave. They mourned for him, “Ah, my brother!” 31 He told his sons,
“When I die, bury me where I buried the man of God. Lay my bones beside his. 32 What he cried out by the message from Yahveh against the altar in Bethel and the houses at the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly happen.”
33 Even after all that, Jeroboam kept following his own sinful way. Anybody that volunteered, he ordained as a priest for the high places. 34 What happened became the sin in his family that destroyed it. 1 Kg 13:26-34