1 Kings13

A man of God from Judah prophesies against Jeroboam's altar in Bethel, foretelling its destruction by Josiah. When Jeroboam attempts to seize him, his hand withers, but is later restored through the man of God's prayer. Despite a divine command not to eat or drink in Bethel, the man of God is deceived by an old prophet and disobeys, leading to his death by a lion as divine judgment. Jeroboam, however, persists in his idolatrous practices.

The Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

1
Behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the LORD’s word to Beth El: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. ​
2
He cried against the altar by the LORD’s word, and said, “Altar, altar, thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name. On you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men’s bones on you.’” ​
3
He gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.” ​
4
When the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” His hand, which he put out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to himself. ​
5
The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the LORD’s word.
6
The king answered the man of God, “Now entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again.” The man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
7
The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
8
The man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of your house, I would not go in with you, neither would I eat bread nor drink water in this place; ​
9
for so was it commanded me by the LORD’s word, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.’”
10
So he went another way, and didn’t return by the way that he came to Bethel.

The Deception of the Old Prophet

11
Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. ​
12
Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.
13
He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it.
14
He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” He said, “I am.”
15
Then he said to him, “Come home with me, and eat bread.”
16
He said, “I may not return with you, nor go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place.
17
For it was said to me by the LORD’s word, ‘You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came.’”
18
He said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the LORD’s word, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him. ​
19
So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. ​
20
As they sat at the table, the LORD’s word came to the prophet who brought him back;
21
and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have been disobedient to the mouth of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,
22
but came back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread, and drink no water”; your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” ​

Judgment and Burial of the Man of God

23
After he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24
When he had gone, a lion met him by the way and killed him. His body was cast on the path, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the body. ​
25
Behold, men passed by, and saw the body thrown on the path, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26
When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the mouth of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has mauled him and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke to him.”
27
He spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” They saddled it.
28
He went and found his body thrown on the path, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body, nor mauled the donkey.
29
The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. He came to the city of the old prophet to mourn, and to bury him.
30
He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!”
31
After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones.
32
For the saying which he cried by the LORD’s word against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely happen.” ​

Jeroboam’s Continued Rebellion

33
After this thing Jeroboam didn’t return from his evil way, but again made priests of the high places from among all the people. Whoever wanted to, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places. ​
34
This thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the surface of the earth. ​

Study Notes for 1 Kings 13

Verse 1

The anonymous 'man of God' from Judah acts as a divine challenge to Jeroboam’s new cult center at Bethel. Jeroboam was personally presiding over the unauthorized worship, underscoring his deep involvement in the schism.

Verse 2

This remarkable prophecy names Josiah, who would reign over Judah approximately 300 years later (2 Kings 23:15-20). The prophecy legitimizes the House of David and condemns the Northern Kingdom’s foundational sin (the golden calves).

Verse 3

A sign (a miracle performed immediately) is given to authenticate the long-term, predictive prophecy regarding Josiah. This confirms the prophet’s authority and the immediate necessity of the message.

Verse 4

Jeroboam attempts to use his royal power to silence the divine message. The immediate withering of his hand serves as a graphic demonstration that God’s authority supersedes the king’s.

Verse 8

The prophet’s refusal of food, drink, or reward signifies his absolute separation from the spiritually polluted land of Israel and its apostate king. Eating implied fellowship and acceptance.

Verse 11

This 'old prophet' lives in Bethel, suggesting he may have compromised with Jeroboam’s regime or was a prophet in name only. His motivation for seeking out the man of God is complex, perhaps jealousy or a desire to test him.

Verse 18

The old prophet lies, claiming a contradictory revelation from an angel. This tests the man of God’s primary commitment: obedience to his original, direct divine command (v. 9) over a secondary, unverified claim.

Verse 19

The man of God’s failure was not succumbing to physical threat, but to the temptation of a seeming 'higher' revelation or peer pressure from a fellow prophet, prioritizing fellowship over strict obedience.

Verse 22

The punishment is the denial of burial in the ancestral tomb, a severe disgrace in ancient Israel, emphasizing that strict obedience to God’s explicit commands is paramount, regardless of the cause of the transgression.

Verse 24

The judgment is carried out by a lion, yet the scene described (lion and ass standing peacefully by the unconsumed body) shows this was a divinely controlled execution of justice, not a random act of nature.

Verse 32

The old prophet affirms the truth of the prophecy against Jeroboam's altar, indicating that the death of the man of God confirmed the seriousness of the divine word rather than nullifying it.

Verse 33

Despite witnessing the miraculous sign, the healing, and the swift judgment upon the messenger, Jeroboam stubbornly refused to repent or dismantle the idolatrous high places, sealing the fate of his house.

Verse 34

The sin of setting up an alternative priesthood and cultic centers became the defining wickedness of the Northern Kingdom, leading directly to the ultimate destruction of Jeroboam’s dynasty.

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate
Settings

Reading Style

Typeface

Font Size 19px

Reading Width 45 chars

Options