© 2007 The Flaming Torch, All rights reserved.
". . . ALAS, MY BROTHER!"
(1 Kings 13:30)
An unusual Old Testament irony negates the catchy tune, which some of the brethren are singing. It also illustrates the principle, which is found in an excellent old tract entitled, "OTHERS MAY, BUT YOU CANNOT." Battle casualties result when bad principles are embraced and when good principles are ignored.
THE MAN OF GOD
". . . there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel (house of God) . . . And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD . . . upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places . . . And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God . . . that he 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 pull it in again to him. The altar also 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 the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again . . ." (1 Kings 13:1-6)
Our story begins with the "man of God" crying out against wicked, state endorsed religion, prophesying against it "in the word of the LORD," declaring the fate of the priests of Baal. The wicked king intervenes and points to the man of God, demanding that he be taken captive.
The king's hand dries up and he begs for the man of God to entreat the LORD thy God (not "my" God) to restore his hand. The man of God beseeches the LORD and it is done. If these great deeds and service of the man of God were all there was to it, it would be very inspirational, but then, what about the rest of the story?
THE TEMPTATION TO COMPROMISE
"And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. (1 Kings 13:7)
Three temptations are involved here. First there is the temptation to fellowship righteousness with unrighteousness. Second there is the temptation to take reward from wicked state or king. Third there is the temptation to go against the word of the LORD.
THE MAN OF GOD PASSES THE TEST (this time)
"And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine 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 the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel." (1 Kings 13:7-10)
The prophet stands up to the ungodly king and refuses his reward, proclaiming a higher authority, the word of the LORD. So far so good! But then, there is this propensity for some prophets to stand up against the state and the top religion of the time, only to cave in to or be intimidated by the influential sons of the prophets, Christian politicians.
THE DENOMINATIONAL MAHARAJAH-HOO-HOO
"Now there dwelt an old Prophet in Bethel; and his sons (of the prophets) came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father . . . And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddle him the ass: and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am." (1 Kings 13:14)
Many old prophets tend to try to run things. To do so, they must surround themselves with their spiritual descendants. (It is hard to skate on water that has since passed under the bridge.)
The sons of the prophets affectionately scout for the older prophets, bringing them the latest news and gossip. In this case, the older prophet's sons bring back news of the courage, words, deeds, and mighty ministry of the man of God.
Well, this looks like a fellow we could "use" in our program. He might help revitalize our cold, lifeless, stale, political, carnal, unseparated denomination. Now, the man of God was doing well without the old prophet, the sons of the prophets, and the denominational machine, having "only" (tongue in cheek) the word of the LORD.
The old prophet saddled his denominational ass (or political fellowship) and when after (which is always the case) the young upstart, who was causing such a stir. Casually, the old prophet tells the man of God, "I've heard about you, boy," and it is something for me to come to you. I know that you must of heard of me and the sons of the prophets. You should feel honored and flattered by my presence.
A MORE SUBTLE TEMPTATION TO COMPROMISE
". . . Come home with me, and eat bread." (1 Kings 13:15)
Man, that was a pretty good job you did over in Judah. If you'll come home with me, we could talk about you getting a top position in our denomination. You could do so much more with our glorious movement behind you. You need to forget this business of being an independent Independent. You could preach at our national meeting. No one tells me what to do; I'm my own man; I run by own show.
THE MAN OF GOD PASSES THE TEST, OR DOES HE?
"And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread or drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest." (1 Kings 13:16-17)
Sir, I thank you for your offer, and I respect your former accomplishments and what you fellows have done, but "No, Sir," I have a charge by the word of the LORD not to go that direction nor to go in with you fellows.
THE PARTY LINE
"He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house . . . BUT HE LIED unto him. So he went back with him . . ." (1 Kings 13:18-19)
Look, boy, I am a prophet of the LORD too. I am not like those prophets of Baal. I believe just like you do. We have to stick together or will hang separately! God told me (Charismatic Baptist) to bring you back with me (NIV or NKJV). Sounds good, but he lied! The man of God falls for it and is sidetracked; he joins the denominational machine.
THE BIBLE CORRECTOR PROPHECIES HIS FATE
"And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy fathers." (1 Kings 13:19-22)
Are we so naive to believe that men of God have not been used after doing wrong? Are we also so naive to believe that men can't change their minds for the better (if not all the way)? Well, this old prophet must have found him a trusty musty old 1611 word of the Lord. Man, you've disobeyed the word of the Lord; you shouldn't have come here; you've had it . . . boy! The Lord is going to chastise you; your as good as dead. You know, I thought I had the right Bible, but . . .
THE CROOKED PROPHET PROPHECIES HIS FATE
"And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way . . . And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him." (1 King 13:23-29)
Well, the crooked old prophet prophesies correctly the man of God's fate. Sure enough, his new found true and accurate word of the LORD comes true. The man of God goes out to meet his fate, still riding the denominational ass.
The Lord delivered the man of God to the lion (who seeks whom he may devour), who slew the man of God. The old prophet relates the disobedience of the man of God (not mentioning his part in it . . . of course).
Both the lion and the denominational ass stood by his carcase, alive and well. Hungry as he might be, the lion "could not" eat the man of God. The devil can destroy the saint but can not get all of him. Hungry as the lion was, he "would not" kill or eat or injure the denominational ass.
The lion/devil may still use the ass to bring him yet other prophets. The old prophet sets out to retrieve the man of God's carcase. There is till some mileage that can be gotten out of dead carcasses, i.e. John Birch, J. Frank Norris, Bob Jones senior, etc.
So, the old prophet and the sons of the prophets saddle the denominational ass and bring the carcase back to denominational headquarters.
THE MEMORIAL
"And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulcher wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: For the saying 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, shall surely come to pass." (1 Kings 13:30-34)
Often, the real reason for the destruction of a denominational hero is forgotten, smoothed over, or covered up. Actuating the positive and playing down the negative often castes an erring man of God as a denominational. The double-mindedness of this old prophet is evident.
First, he self righteously blames the man of God's disobedience, but later, he seizes the opportunity to create a memorial for the deceased prophet and himself. He knows and declares that the prophecy will come true and manages to make himself a part of it.
He sticks with his denomination, but at least, he learns to put his confidence in the true word of the LORD, rather than in a perversion.
What did the man of God learn in all this? "Others May, But You Cannot!" He also learned that there are times when it is better to hang separately than to stick together.
(Some concerning faith have made shipwreck, putting away holding faith and good conscience, becoming battle casualties, who must be delivered to Satan [1 Timothy 1:19-20]. They become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin [Hebrews 3:13]. Only repentance will recover them out of the snare of the devil [2 Timothy 2:25-26]. More important the weapons of Ephesians 4:13-18) will keep us from Satan's fiery darts and keep us from becoming battle casualties.) †
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© 2007 The Flaming Torch, All rights reserved.
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