Fully Obeying God (1 Kings 13:1-32)
1 Kings 13:1-32 (1-6)
Once again the timing of God is absolutely amazing.
When we planned to have this commissioning service,
I assumed I would have to post-pone our study of Kings for a week
In order to preach a “missions type” sermon.
But that is not the case,
For as we are studying through the book of Kings,
What we find here is nothing short of a missionary story.
As you know we are in the middle of studying the Kings,
And last week we began the study of Jeroboam.
We learned that Jeroboam committed a great sin before God,
And one that the nation of Israel never recovered from.
Instead of sending the people to worship God at Jerusalem,
• He created new worship sites in Bethel and in Dan.
• He then made priests of anyone who wanted to be a priest,
• He re-wrote the sacrificial calendar.
WE LEARNED LAST WEEK WHAT JEROBOAM TAUGHT:
God’s requirements are too EXHAUSTING
God’s requirements are too EXCLUSIVE
God’s requirements are too EXPLICIT
He led the people into disobedience
And 209 years later when Israel would be destroyed by Assyria,
It would be this sin of Jeroboam that was given as the reason.
But none the less, we are in the middle of the reign of Jeroboam.
And next week we will finish our study of him.
But this morning, we get a momentary break in the action.
By God’s sovereign will, we have a short narrative story
Inserted into the Biblical record.
God has seen fit to include this one incident
That occurred during the reign of Jeroboam.
The incident that God reveals is
One of the first missionary efforts mentioned in Scripture.
A prophet from the south is about to travel up north
And deliver a message from the Lord.
In the midst of this evil kingdom, God has sent forth a missionary.
And interestingly enough, we have no idea who he is.
His name is not given, but he does have a simple title.
He is called “a man of God”
A title reserved for only 8 men in Scripture:
76 times in the Old Testament only given to 7 men:
Moses, Samuel, David, Shemaiah, Elijah, Elisha, and this man here.
It is only used twice in the New Testament,
Both times it is a title in which Paul gives to Timothy.
It is a title that reveals a person
Whose very identity is bound up in the will of God.
He is not a man of this world,
Nor is he a man who is looking out for his own personal interests.
Instead this man has God’s interests at heart,
And his only concern is that God’s will be accomplished.
And it is this type of man we see here.
We don’t know his name, we don’t know his tribe,
We don’t know if he was wealthy or poor.
All we know is that he is from Judah,
And he has traveled north to Israel in order to fulfill the will of God.
“there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.”
He had God’s will on his mind, and God’s message on his lips.
Who he was did not matter,
What he had to say was of the utmost importance.
And so this morning, as we send off these 5 missionaries
We study this “man of God” who embarked upon a similar journey.
And the main thing we learn is the importance of fully obeying God.
Now this is a very self-preaching passage,
But it is necessary to read it all, in order to grasp the entire story.
6 things
#1 THE SERMON
1 Kings 13:1-2
Now of course you notice that this “man of God” showed up in Bethel.
Which of course is the site of one of Jeroboam’s calves,
and he goes while Jeroboam is there sacrificing.
And this man came with a message from God.
(2) “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.”
It was a short sermon, it was simple sermon
And it was a prophetic sermon.
God was angry about what Jeroboam had done,
And vengeance was coming.
Incidentally about 300 years later, there would be a King named Josiah,
And he would do this very thing.
But we see our missionary traveling to another country
In order to declare the word of God.
It is indeed a missionary effort.
The Sermon
#2 THE SIGN
1 Kings 13:3-6
This of course is a demonstration of the prophet’s authority.
They did not have a copy of the Bible as we do,
And so when a man claimed to be speaking the word of God,
HIS MINISTRY NEEDED SOME VERIFICATION.
That verification came in the form of signs and wonders.
We know they are real because they prophesied a sign that came true.
And this man’s sign was that the altar would break in two
And the ashes would fall to the ground,
Thus negating the effectiveness of the sacrifice.
Now, when Jeroboam heard this,
He was ready to kill the young “man of God”,
But God intervened,
Jeroboam’s hand “dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.”
And then (5) “The altar was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.”
And the point here is clear.
What God has revealed through this prophet is certainly from God,
And will certainly come to pass.
God’s fingerprint is all over this young man.
Not only by his POWER, but also by his MERCY.
In verse 6 Jeroboam asks for healing, and the man of God grants it.
There is no doubt now that his message has come from God,
And that what God has declared will come to pass.
The Sermon, The Sign
#3 THE SPECIFICS
1 Kings 13:7-10
And this is a crucial part of our story.
Now you will notice that Jeroboam has a great idea.
His plan is to draw the young man in and eventually corrupt him.
Jeroboam offers him what we only seek from God and no man.
(7) “Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
Of course “rest” and “reward” come only from God,
But Jeroboam has a plan.
BUT THE YOUNG MAN KNEW BETTER.
(8-9) “But the man of God said to the king, “If you were to give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. “For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.'”
And then the young man leaves, headed for home.
NOW, IF THE STORY WERE TO STOP HERE,
We would have a good old fashion example
Of what a missionary is supposed to do.
Go where God sends you…
Say what God gives you…
Obey what God tells you…
And all will be well.
That is certainly the calling of you who are headed to Ethiopia,
But is also the calling of everyone in this place.
Just be fully obedient to God.
That is the command for this young man,
And up to this point, all is well in the story.
But then something unexpected happens.
The Sermon, The Sign, The Specifics
#4 THE SEDUCTION
1 Kings 13:11-19
Now it is obvious that we have an old carnal prophet in our midst.
The fact that he is living in Bethel and is silent about what is going on
Is obvious that this old prophet has fallen far into complacency.
And when he hears that another prophet has come and done his job,
He is intrigued, and wants to know where he went.
No one really knows why.
But whatever the reason, he goes after him, and invites him home.
But, the young prophet has clear commands from God.
(16-17) “He said, “I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. “For a command came to me by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.'”
This young “man of God” is sticking to the commands of God.
And then comes the seduction.
(18-19) “He said to him, “I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'” But he lied to him. So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.”
This old prophet showed up
And played the classic role of a false prophet.
He invented his own story,
And even claimed that it came from God by way of an angel.
That is just like the false prophets of old.
Jeremiah 23:16 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD.”
Ezekiel 13:6-7 “They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, ‘The LORD declares,’ when the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word. “Did you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said, ‘The LORD declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”‘”
That is precisely what this old prophet did.
And that is not surprising, we can all expect to have false prophets
Tell us things that they claim to be truth.
Heresy and deception are promised through the Bible.
We overcome such heresy by relying not on what they say,
But on what we know that God has said.
It is called DISCERNMENT
We take what others tell us and run it through the filter of the word of God.
Paul told the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
God had told his people this very thing through Moses.
Deuteronomy 13:1-4 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.”
Don’t get caught up in smoke and mirrors of deception.
When God speaks, and we know it is God, listen to it.
But do not get duped by someone who claims to speak from God,
Especially if their message contradicts the word of God.
It would have been good if that young prophet
Would have headed those warnings.
BUT FAILED TO USE DISCERNMENT
And “he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.”
NOW LOOK, HE’S NOT A CARNAL MAN.
If he were, he would have taken Jeroboam’s offer of a reward.
He’s not carnal, he’s naïve.
It is like he didn’t think deception was real.
Deception is real,
That is why we have to make sure we know the word of God.
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
Learn the word of God
So you won’t be seduced by the devil’s messenger.
The Sermon The Sign The Specifics The Seduction
#5 THE SENTENCING
1 Kings 13:20-25
Now, we see God shows up.
All of a sudden the old prophet is no longer quoting angels,
God actually delivers a message through Him.
(God did the same through the lying prophet Balaam)
And the message is because you disobeyed,
You will “not come to the grave of your fathers.”
And certainly he did not,
For God commanded a lion to kill him on the way home.
We know this is of God, for the donkey and lion are both acting very peculiar. The donkey is running and the lion isn’t eating.
God poured out divine judgment on this “man of God”
If it sounds a little harsh, that is because it most definitely is.
This man had become a public icon.
His message was nationwide,
And his sin was detrimental to the message he preached.
When God sends a public messenger
He is concerned about more than just the message he preaches.
All aspects of faithfulness are expected.
And when public spokesmen sin, they are judged publicly.
This man forsook discernment, believed a lie, disobeyed God
And found himself in the midst of God’s judgment.
The Sermon The Sign The Specifics The Seduction The Sentencing
#6 THE SUMMARY
1 Kings 13:26-32
Now you will notice as soon as the traveling men show up with the story
The old prophet immediately knows who it is.
And he goes to get the young man’s body and buries him,
Instructing his sons to bury him next to the prophet when he dies.
Possibly he felt guilty.
But one thing is for certain,
Since God judged this young prophet’s disobedience,
The old prophet is certain that the message he spoke
Was directly from God.
(32) “For the thing shall surely come to pass which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria.”
And there we see that God will get His point across,
Either by you or in spite of you.
AND SO HERE WE ARE TODAY
We are about to send 5 missionaries to Africa on mission.
If I could drive home any point to you this morning it would be this.
OBEY GOD FULLY
Certainly when you preach to others
You will tell them to fully obey God.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
We know you are going to tell them to obey.
THE COMMAND IS THE SAME FOR YOU.
• Be obedient to go.
• Be obedient to proclaim the gospel.
• And be obedient to the gospel that you preach.
You may have heard it put differently in our modern terms.
“If you are going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk.”
“Practice what you preach”
God is not only concerned about you proclaiming His message,
God is also concerned with you obeying His message.
When you go to this foreign country,
God expects nothing less of you than faithfulness.
CHRISTIANS KILL THEIR MINISTRY
BECAUSE THEY DO NOT OBEY THE MESSAGE THEY PREACH.
Our world is literally overcome with empty confessors.
Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
What this world is desperate to see is a Christian
That preaches truth and follows Christ.
BE THAT TYPE OF CHRISTIAN IN ETHIOPIA.
BUT I ALSO THIS MORNING WANT TO PREACH TO US ALL.
We may not all be going to Ethiopia,
But we are all called on mission.
And this morning, I want to encourage you
To learn from this young prophet as well.
HALF-WAY OBEDIENCE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.
You cannot preach the message of truth to others
If you will not obey it in your own life.
You can’t tell people to repent – if you won’t.
You can’t tell people to submit – if you won’t
You can’t tell people to trust – if you don’t
YOUR OBEDIENCE MATTERS JUST AS MUCH AS YOUR MESSAGE.
If you don’t believe me, ask this “man of God”
THESE FIVE ARE FORCED TO COMMIT TO TOTAL OBEDIENCE.
This morning will you stand beside them
And commit to obey God unconditionally as well?
Every command has a purpose, and every command matters.
James 1:22-25 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
