December 6, 2021
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in 1 Kings? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Kings 13 (NIV)
The Man of God From Judah
1 By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’ ” 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”........Continue Reading
Today I read Chronicles 2 chapter 7 were Solomon dedicated the Temple he built and the Lord appeared to him accepting it, with the conditions of maintaining obedience from him and his followers.
“if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 GNTD
https://bible.com/bible/69/2ch.7.14.GNTD
Once again God reveals Himself to Jeroboam. He provides a prophet, a shriveled hand, the hand healed, and an altar split in two. What lengths God goes to to pursue us and we are wise to heed His call. God recognizes how important Jeroboam is in leading the Northern tribes astray, so I believe He goes to these extra lengths to draw him back for that sake. And it is unfortunate that this prophet maintains his conviction about God’s message to him before the king, but then is able to be persuaded by this old prophet. The old prophet should have been suspect in the man of God’s mind because this Old prophet tolerated the evil in Israel. And yet how evil this old prophet was to lie to him about what God said. And the old prophet never admits his role in deceiving the man from God and being partly responsible for his death. But even the lion and the donkey being together is a testimony to God’s hand being in the midst of it. Once again it is a lesson about who we listen to and who we trust.
1 Kings
God certainly makes several attempts in this chapter to get through to Jeroboam! He shows him that He is a God of His word and will do what He says He will but unfortunately Jeroboam continues to put idols before God…so sad!
1 Kings 13
That the Prophet is deceived by the Old Prophet and is punished for it, bothers me.
What I learn from this is: know and obey the word of the Lord over the word of any man. Ignorance of God’s word is no excuse. In the last days Jesus said that there will be such a powerful deception that it could deceive even the elect (I believe this will be the marked 144,00 Jews), IF it were possible. I don’t think it will be possible, that’s why they are the elect.
“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” – Matthew 24:24