Make sure it’s God, then listen.

Jeroboam went up against God and it is not going to go well for him.  The LORD sent a prophet to deliver the bad news to Jeroboam.  The man of God (prophet) delivered the message as instructed by God.

But the man of God said to the king, "Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. For the LORD gave me this command: 'You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.'" So he left Bethel and went home another way. (1 Kings 13:8-10 NLT)

The prophet (man of God) had only three things he was instructed by The LORD to do: 1) deliver the message to Jeroboam, 2) do not stay and eat/drink anything, and 3) do not return the same way you came.  So far, this man of God (prophet) is doing exactly what The LORD commands.

As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. The old prophet asked them, "Which way did he go?" So they showed their father which road the man of God had taken. "Quick, saddle the donkey," the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it. Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" "Yes, I am," he replied. Then he said to the man of God, "Come home with me and eat some food." "No, I cannot," he replied. "I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. For the LORD gave me this command: 'You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.'" But the old prophet answered, "I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the LORD: 'Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.'" But the old man was lying to him. (1 Kings 13:11-18 NLT)

I don’t know about you, but I get uncomfortable when someone says “I have a word from The LORD for you.”  That may have made sense back in the days when God only gave out the Holy Spirit to specific people in specific circumstances.  But now the Holy Spirit has been poured out on “all nations.”  All of us who have come home to the Father through the Son have received the Holy Spirit.  The curtain was torn open and we have been given direct access to the “Most Holy Place.”  God went to great lengths to open up a direct communication line with each of us.  We don’t need prophets to give us messages anymore.  We have direct access to God.

So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet's home. Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the LORD came to the old prophet. He cried out to the man of God from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: You have defied the word of the LORD and have disobeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. You came back to this place and ate and drank where He told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors." (1 Kings 13:19-22 NLT)

I share all these thoughts because we are essentially in the same position that the man of God was in.  We have God’s Word so we know what has been revealed in the past.  We also have the Holy Spirit so God can give us specific wisdom or instruction.  This protects us against lies, whether they come from the world in general, other people specifically, or even demons or Satan himself.  We can recognize the lies because they go against the Truth given to us from God.  That is how we can avoid being deceived and turning against God.

After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. People who passed by saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived. When the prophet heard the report, he said, "It is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD's command. The LORD has fulfilled His word by causing the lion to attack and kill him." (1 Kings 13:23-26 NLT)

This is an important concept for us to understand and follow.  God wants what is best for us.  God wants to help us.  God wants to help us experience a Garden Walk.  That’s why we can trust God, and only God, to lead us into an abundant life in this life and eternal life in the next.

How about you?  Do you know how to let God lead you?  Do you know how to make sure it is God?  Then, do you follow God?

The wisdom of God (Spirit) IS good.

Jeroboam is going up against God over and over again.  A simple reading of the Scriptures of his day told us that.  So, The LORD is going to give Jeroboam one more chance.

At the LORD's command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. Then at the LORD's command, he shouted, "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you." (1 Kings 13:1-2 NLT)

Prophets are simply speakers for God.  They relay messages that The LORD wants them to deliver. Their message will always be consistent with the messages from The LORD that came before them.  In other words, their messages will always be consistent with Scripture (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, "The LORD has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground." When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, "Seize that man!" But instantly the king's hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn't pull it back. At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD.  (1 Kings 13:3-5 NLT)

In addition to consistent messages, a prophet will always offer a sign, miracle, or short term prediction to confirm that the prophet is being sent from God.  This is offered as a sign form God that the person is a true prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-22).  This prophet passed both the tests of prophecy.  He was empowered by God with the Holy Spirit of God.  That is the same Spirit that is offered to all of us today.

"Repent," Peter said to them, "and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39 HCSB)

How about you?  Would you have recognized the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet back then?  Would you have listened to the wisdom of a true prophet?  Have you received the Holy Spirit now?  Do you listen to the wisdom of The LORD through God’s Spirit?

The wisdom of God (Scripture) IS good.

Jeroboam is nervous about being the new king of the north.  He’s afraid that people will travel to Jerusalem, in the south, to worship and stop being loyal to him.  So, he devises a plan.

So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!" He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan--at either end of his kingdom. (1 Kings 12:28-29 NLT)

There is a problem with this approach though.  He seems to be completely forgetting two things: 1) The LORD gave him the northern kingdom and 2) The LORD promised that he would keep the northern kingdom as long as he walked with The LORD.

But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there. Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people--those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. (1 Kings 12:29-31 NLT)

Had he remembered this, Jeroboam would have been more interested in walking with The LORD than in devising and executing his own plan.  He needed to remember one more thing: Scripture.

And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel...in imitation of the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah...and he went up to the altar to burn incense. (1 Kings 12:32-33 NLT)

You see, some people, when reading this account, just roll their eyes, shake their heads, or cringe as they are reading it.  That’s because this story reminds them of earlier Bible stories where God commanded the Israelites to do things in certain ways.

Golden Calf (Exodus 32), Priests from the Tribe of Levi (Numbers 3:1-39 et al), Festival of Shelters (Leviticus 23:33-44)

Jeroboam either didn’t know these Scriptures or he didn’t care.  Either way, he didn’t follow them.  Because of this  rebellion against God’s clear instructions in Scripture, things will not go well for Jeroboam.  He will become a rather famous failure in Israelite history.

How about you?  Would you have known not to do these three things?  Did you know that they were in conflict with God’s instructions in earlier Scriptures?  How often do you read God’s Word in Scripture?  Do you believe that the wisdom of God in Scripture IS good?

The wisdom of the world SOUNDS good.

Jeroboam is in charge of the northern tribes of Israel now.  The LORD split the kingdom because of Solomon’s disobedience and gave the north to Jeroboam.  Rehoboam, the king of the southern tribes, was ready to attack the north until The LORD sent a prophet to stop him.

So they obeyed the message of the LORD and went home, as the LORD had commanded. Jeroboam then built up the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he went and built up the town of Peniel. (1 Kings 12:24b-25 NLT)

Each kingdom has it’s own headquarters now.  The south is ruled from Jerusalem and the north is ruled from Shechem.  Now, each king needs to decide how to “set up shop.”

Jeroboam thought to himself, "Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the LORD, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead." (1 Kings 12:26-27 NLT)

Jeroboam gets nervous from the very beginning.  He’s worried that the split won’t “hold” and that the tribes of the north will abandon him and return to Jerusalem-based rule.  This sounds logical, but only if we forget one key piece: The LORD gave him the kingdom.  The LORD split the kingdoms.  The LORD set Jeroboam up as king.  The LORD promised to keep Jeroboam, and his descendants, as kings as long as they are faithful to The LORD.  When Jeroboam worried, he was following the wisdom of the world.

How about you?  Do you worry about things that The LORD already said was handled?  Do you get caught up in worrying about things The LORD never intends you to worry about?  Do you get caught up in the wisdom of the world?

Stop it or I’ll turn this car around!

When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam's return from Egypt, they called an assembly and made him king over all Israel. So only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David. (1 Kings 12:20 NLT)

This kingdom of Israel is now split, just as The LORD had said.  The king and people of the south were not pleased with this decision, though. So, they decided to take things into their own hands.

When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin--180,000 select troops--to fight against the men of Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself. (1 Kings 12:21 NLT)

God has a plan.  In this case, the plan includes removing most of the kingdom from Solomon’s descendants because of Solomon’s sin, offering the northern tribes to another king, and offering both kings the opportunity to follow, and lead their kingdoms to follow, The LORD.  The southern kingdom was about to fight that plan by going to war with the north.  God is about to tell them to “Stop it!”

But God said to Shemaiah, the man of God, "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the people of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not fight against your relatives, the Israelites. Go back home, for what has happened is My doing!'" (1 Kings 12:22-24a NLT)

How about you?  Have you ever been in the back seat of a car bothering the driver with the question, “Are we there yet?”  Have you ever fought with a brother or sister or friend in that back seat until the driver finally says, “Stop it or I’ll turn this car around!”  Have you ever done that to God?