1 Kings 13:1

GOD DEMONSTRATED DISAPPROVAL OF JEROBOAM'S IDOLATRY;

GOD'S PROPHET SPEAKS AGAINST BETHEL

"And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of Jehovah unto Bethel: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam 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 draw it back again to him. The altar 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 Jehovah. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the favor of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God entreated Jehovah, and the king's hand was restored him again, and it became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread, nor drink water in this place; for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel."

If there had been any doubt whether or not Jeroboam had sinned against God in his erection of pagan altars in Israel, the event recorded here would have removed it. This cursing of the altar in Bethel by a man of God was backed up and revealed as valid by the most startling signs coming from God Himself.

"There came a man of God out of Judah" (1 Kings 13:1). "Josephus said his name was Jadon; Tertullian supposed he was Shemaiah; and some have thought he might have been Iddo the seer (2 Chronicles 13:22). But these are all untenable guesses."[1] We do not know his name.

The close connection of this narrative with the preceding chapter, "Shows that it is the fifteenth day of the eighth month that is here described,"[2] namely, the very first day of that false Feast of Tabernacles ordained by Jeroboam.

What a magnificent and comprehensive prophecy this was! "A future son of the house of David (which Jeroboam hated) would stand in exactly the same place where Jeroboam was standing, with all of Jeroboam's successors either extinct or powerless to prevent it, and he would cover this pagan cultus with the shame and contempt which it deserved."[3]

"Josiah by name" (1 Kings 13:2). This writer deplores the current tendency of so-called Christian commentators to delete, compromise, or in some other manner deny the validity of predictive prophecy, especially anything as definite as this is. Our view is that the prophecy is valid, just as it was in the case of Isaiah's naming of Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28; 45:2). "The definite nature of this prophecy would not necessarily render it impossible any more than the mention of Cyrus, nearly two centuries before his birth (Isaiah 44:26)."[4]

"If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee" (1 Kings 13:8). "The refusal of hospitality was an extreme action in the east and represented God's complete rejection of Jeroboam and Bethel."[5]

The purpose of the author of Kings in recording this event, "Was to show that Jeroboam received adequate warning, and that Judeans should avoid all relations with northerners."[6]