Text -- 1 Kings 13:1-12 (NET)

13:1 Just then a prophet from Judah, sent by the Lord, arrived in Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. 13:2 With the authority of the Lord he cried out against the altar, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” 13:3 That day he also announced a sign, “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined: The altar will be split open and the ashes on it will fall to the ground.” 13:4 When the king heard what the prophet cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand and ordered, “Seize him!” The hand he had extended shriveled up and he could not pull it back. 13:5 The altar split open and the ashes fell from the altar to the ground, in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority. 13:6 The king pled with the prophet, “Seek the favor of the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor and the king’s hand was restored to its former condition. 13:7 The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I’d like to give a present.” 13:8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I could not go with you and eat and drink in this place. 13:9 For the Lord gave me strict orders, ‘Do not eat or drink there and do not go home the way you came.’” 13:10 So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel. 13:11 Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. When his sons came home, they told their father everything the prophet had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king. 13:12 Their father asked them, “Which road did he take?” His sons showed him the road the prophet from Judah had taken.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Ki 13:1

An holy prophet.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:1

By Divine inspiration and command.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:2

And consequently, against all that worship.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:2

He directs his speech to the altar, because the following signs were wrought upon it.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:2

Which being done above three hundred years after this prophecy, plainly shews the absolute certainty of God's providence; and fore - knowledge even in the most contingent things. For this was in itself uncertain, and wholly depended upon man's will, both as to the having of a child, and as to the giving it this name.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:2

rule man's will which way he pleaseth; or else it was possible, that this prediction should have been false; which is blasphemous to imagine.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:2

The bones of the priests, 2Ki 23:15-16, whereby the altar should be defiled. How bold was the man, that durst attack the king in his pride, and interrupt the solemnity he was proud of? Whoever is sent on God's errand, must not fear the faces of men. It was above three hundred and fifty years ere this prophecy was fulfilled. Yet it is spoken of as sure and nigh at hand. For a thousand years are with God as one day.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:3

That is, he then wrought a miracle, to assure them of the truth of his prophecy.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:4

_To point out the man whom he would have the people lay hands on.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:4

Where it was employed in offering something upon it.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:4

Or, withered, the muscles and sinews, the instruments of motion, shrunk up. This God did, to chastise Jeroboam for offering violence to the Lord's prophet: to secure the prophet against farther violence: and, that in this example God might shew, how highly he resents the injuries done to his ministers, for the faithful discharge of their office.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:6

Who hath manifested himself to be thy God and friend, in a singular manner; and therefore will hear thy prayers for me, though he will not regard mine, because I have forsaken him and his worship.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:6

To assure Jeroboam, that what he had said, was not from ill - will to him, and that he heartily desired his reformation, and not his ruin.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:6

Because he repented of that violence, which he intended against that prophet, for which God inflicted it: and that this goodness of God to him, might have led him to repentance; or, if he continued impenitent, leave him without excuse.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:9

_My refusal of thy favour, is not from any contempt, or hatred of thy person; but in obedience to the just command of my God, who hath forbidden me all father converse or communication with thee.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:9

In that place, or with that people. Whereby God declares, how detestable they were in God's eyes; because they were vile apostates from the true God, and embraced this idol - worship, against the light of their own consciences, merely to comply with the king's humour and command.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:9

That by thy avoiding the way that led thee to Beth - el as execrable, although thou wentest by my special command, thou mightest teach all others, how much they should abhor that way, and all thoughts of going to that place, or to such people, upon any unnecessary occasion.

Wesley: 1Ki 13:11

One to whom, and by whom God did sometimes impart his mind; as it is manifest from 1Ki 13:20-21, and one that had a respect to the Lord's holy prophets, and gave credit to their predictions: but whether he was a good man, may be doubted, seeing we find him in a downright lie, 1Ki 13:18. And altho' an holy prophet may possibly have continued in the kingdom of Israel, he would never have gone from his own habitation, to dwell at Beth - el, the chief seat of idolatry, unless with design to preach against it: which it is evident he did not; his sons seem to have been present at, and, and to have joined with others in that idolatrous worship.

JFB: 1Ki 13:1

Who this prophet was cannot be ascertained, He came by divine authority. It could not be either Iddo or Ahijah, for both were alive after the events here related.

JFB: 1Ki 13:1

It was at one of the annual festivals. The king, to give interest to the new ritual, was himself the officiating priest. The altar and its accompaniments would, of course, exhibit all the splendor of a new and gorgeously decorated temple. But the prophet foretold its utter destruction [1Ki 13:3].

JFB: 1Ki 13:2-9

Which is put for the whole system of worship organized in Israel.

JFB: 1Ki 13:2-9

This is one of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Scriptures; and, in its clearness, circumstantial minuteness, and exact prediction of an event that took place three hundred sixty years later, it stands in striking contrast to the obscure and ambiguous oracles of the heathen. Being publicly uttered, it must have been well known to the people; and every Jew who lived at the accomplishment of the event must have been convinced of the truth of a religion connected with such a prophecy as this. A present sign was given of the remote event predicted, in a visible fissure being miraculously made on the altar. Incensed at the man's license of speech, Jeroboam stretched out his hand and ordered his attendants to seize the bold intruder. That moment the king's arm became stiff and motionless, and the altar split asunder, so that the fire and ashes fell on the floor. Overawed by the effects of his impiety, Jeroboam besought the prophet's prayer. His request was acceded to, and the hand was restored to its healthy state. Jeroboam was artful, and invited the prophet to the royal table, not to do him honor or show his gratitude for the restoration of his hand, but to win, by his courtesy and liberal hospitality, a person whom he could not crush by his power. But the prophet informed him of a divine injunction expressly prohibiting him from all social intercourse with any in the place, as well as from returning the same way. The prohibition not to eat or drink in Beth-el was because all the people had become apostates from the true religion, and the reason he was not allowed to return the same way was lest he should be recognized by any whom he had seen in going.

JFB: 1Ki 13:11

If this were a true prophet, he was a bad man.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:1

There came a man of God - Who this was we know not. The Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic call him a prophet. The Vulgate and Septuagint follow the Hebrew, איש אלהים ish elohim means a Divine person, one wholly devoted to God’ s service. Some have thought it was Shemaiah, others Joel, and others Iddo. It could not have been the latter, for he wrote the acts of Jeroboam, 2Ch 9:29, and the prophet was killed before he returned home; but conjecture is idle on such a subject

Clarke: 1Ki 13:1

Jeroboam stood by the altar - Like gods, like priest; he made himself high priest, and he took of the lowest of the people, and made them priests of the high places; they proved themselves to be fools by worshipping calves.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:2

He cried against the altar - He denounced the destruction of this idolatrous system

Clarke: 1Ki 13:2

A child shall be born - Josiah by name - This is one of the most remarkable and most singular prophecies in the Old Testament. It here most circumstantially foretells a fact which took place three hundred and forty years after the prediction; a fact which was attested by the two nations. The Jews, in whose behalf this prophecy was delivered, would guard it most sacredly; and it was the interest of the Israelites, against whom it was levelled, to impugn its authenticity and expose its falsehood, had this been possible. This prediction not only showed the knowledge of God, but his power. He gave, as it were, this warning to idolatry, that it might be on its guard, and defend itself against this Josiah whenever a person of that name should be found sitting on the throne of David; and no doubt it was on the alert, and took all prudent measures for its own defense; but all in vain, for Josiah, in the eighteenth year of his reign, literally accomplished this prophecy, as we may read, 2Ki 23:15-20. And from this latter place we find that the prophecy had three permanent testimonials of its truth

1.    The house of Israel

2.    The house of Judah; and

3.    The tomb of the prophet who delivered this prophecy, who, being slain by a lion, was brought back and buried at Beth-el, the superscription on whose tomb remained till the day on which Josiah destroyed that altar, and burnt dead men’ s bones upon it. See above, 2Ki 23:16-18.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:3

And he gave a sign - A miracle to prove that the prophecy should be fulfilled in its season.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:4

Lay hold on him - No doubt, stretching out his own hand at the same time, through rage, pride, and haste, to execute his own orders

Clarke: 1Ki 13:4

And his hand dried up - The whole arm became suddenly rigid; the nerves no longer communicated their influence, and the muscles ceased to obey the dictates of the will.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:5

The altar was also rent - It split or clave of its own accord; and, as the split parts would decline at the top from the line of their perpendicular, so the ashes and coals would fall off, or be poured out.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:6

Entreat - the face of the Lord thy God - The face of God is his favor, as we see in many parts of the sacred writings. He says, thy God; for Jeroboam knew that he was not his God, for he was now in the very act of acknowledging other gods, and had no portion in the God of Jacob

Clarke: 1Ki 13:6

And the king’ s hand was restored - Both miracles were wrought to show the truth of the Jewish religion, and to convince this bold innovator of his wickedness, and to reclaim him from the folly and ruinous tendency of his idolatry.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:7

Come home with me - and I will give thee a reward - Come and be one of my priests, and I will give thee a proper salary.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:9

For so it was charged me - Eat no bread, etc. - That is, Have no kind of communication with those idolaters. He was charged also not to return by the way that he came; probably lest the account of what was done should have reached the ears of any of the people through whom he had passed, and he suffer inconveniences on the account, either by persecution from the idolaters, or from curious people delaying him, in order to cause him to give an account of the transactions which took place at Beth-el. This is a reason why he should not return by the same way; but what the reason of this part of the charge was, if not the above, is not easy to see.

Clarke: 1Ki 13:11

An old prophet - Probably once a prophet of the Lord, who had fallen from his steadfastness, and yet not so deeply as to lose the knowledge of the true God, and join with Jeroboam in his idolatries. We find he was not at the king’ s sacrifice, though his sons were there; and perhaps even they were there, not as idolaters, but as spectators of what was done.

Defender: 1Ki 13:2

This remarkable prophecy, predicting the deeds and the very name of a king of Judah over 250 years before he was born (2Ki 21:26; 2Ki 23:15, 2Ki 23:16) is strong evidence of divine inspiration; for such distant foresight is only possible for God, who controls the future."

TSK: 1Ki 13:1

there came : 1Ki 12:22; 2Ki 23:17; 2Ch 9:29

by the word : 1Ki 13:5, 1Ki 13:9, 1Ki 13:26, 1Ki 13:32, 1Ki 20:35; Jer 25:3; 1Th 4:15

Jeroboam : 1Ki 12:32, 1Ki 12:33; 2Ch 26:18

burn : or, offer, Num 16:40; Jer 11:12, Jer 32:29; Mal 1:11; Rev 8:3

TSK: 1Ki 13:2

O altar : Deu 32:1; Isa 1:2, Isa 58:1; Jer 22:29; Eze 36:1, Eze 36:4, Eze 38:4; Luk 19:40

Josiah by name : 2Ki 22:1, 2Ki 22:2, 2Ki 23:15-18; 2Ch 34:1, 2Ch 34:4-7; Isa 42:9, Isa 44:26-28, Isa 46:10; Isa 48:5-7

offer : 2Ki 23:15-17

TSK: 1Ki 13:3

Exo 4:3-5, Exo 4:8, Exo 4:9, Exo 7:10; Deu 13:1-3; 1Sa 2:34; 2Ki 20:8; Isa 7:11-14; Isa 38:6-8, Isa 38:22; Jer 44:29; Mat 12:38-40; Joh 2:18; 1Co 1:22

TSK: 1Ki 13:4

Lay hold : 2Ch 16:10, 2Ch 18:25-27, 2Ch 25:15, 2Ch 25:16; Psa 105:15; Jer 20:2-4; Jer 26:8-11, Jer 26:20-23, Jer 38:4-6; Amo 7:10-17; Mat 25:40, Mat 26:57; Mar 14:44-46; Joh 13:20; Act 6:12-14

his hand : Gen 19:11; 2Ki 6:18-20; Jer 20:4-6; Luk 3:19, Luk 3:20, Luk 6:10; Joh 18:6; Act 9:4, Act 9:5, Act 13:8-11; Rev 11:5

TSK: 1Ki 13:5

1Ki 13:3, 1Ki 22:28, 1Ki 22:35; Exo 9:18-25; Num 16:23-35; Deu 18:22; Jer 28:16, Jer 28:17; Mar 16:20; Act 5:1-10

TSK: 1Ki 13:6

now : Exo 8:8, Exo 8:28, Exo 9:28, Exo 10:17, Exo 12:32; Num 21:7; 1Sa 12:19; Jer 37:3, Jer 42:2-4; Act 8:24; Jam 5:16; Rev 3:9

besought : Exo 8:12, Exo 8:13; Num 12:13; 1Sa 12:23; Mat 5:44; Luk 6:27, Luk 6:28, Luk 23:34; Act 7:60; Rom 12:14, Rom 12:21; Jam 5:16-18

Lord : Heb. face of the Lord

TSK: 1Ki 13:7

refresh : Gen 18:5; Jdg 13:15, Jdg 19:21

I will give : As great men in the East make no presents to equals or inferiors when visited, Sir John Chardin thinks that the king intended by this to treat the prophet as his superior. 1Sa 9:7, 1Sa 9:8; 2Ki 5:15; Jer 40:5; Mal 1:10; Act 8:18-20; 1Pe 5:2

TSK: 1Ki 13:8

If : Num 22:18, Num 24:13; Exo 5:3, Exo 5:6, Exo 7:2; Mar 6:23

go : 2Ki 5:16, 2Ki 5:26, 2Ki 5:27; Mar 6:11; 2Co 11:9, 2Co 11:10

TSK: 1Ki 13:9

For : 1Ki 13:1, 1Ki 13:21, 1Ki 13:22; 1Sa 15:22; Job 23:12; Joh 13:17, Joh 15:9, Joh 15:10, Joh 15:14

Eat no bread : Num 16:26; Deu 13:13-18; Psa 141:4; Rom 16:17; 1Co 5:11; Eph 5:11; 2Jo 1:10, 2Jo 1:11; Rev 18:4

TSK: 1Ki 13:11

an old prophet : 1Ki 13:20, 1Ki 13:21; Num 23:4, Num 23:5, Num 24:2; 1Sa 10:11; 2Ki 23:18; Eze 13:2, Eze 13:16; Mat 7:22; 2Pe 2:16

sons : Heb. son

came : 1Ti 3:5

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Ki 13:1

Rather, "in the word of the Lord."The meaning seems to be, not merely that the prophet was bid to come, but that he came in the strength and power of God’ s word, a divinely inspired messenger. (Compare 1Ki 13:2, 1Ki 13:5,1Ki 13:32.)

By the altar - " On the altar;"i, e. on the ledge, or platform, halfway up the altar, whereupon the officiating priest always stood to sacrifice. Compare 1Ki 12:32 note.

Barnes: 1Ki 13:2

A child shall be born ... Josiah by name - Divine predictions so seldom descend to such particularity as this, that doubts are entertained, even by orthodox theologians, with respect to the actual mention of Josiah’ s name by a prophet living in the time of Jeroboam. Only one other instance that can be considered parallel occurs in the whole of Scripture - the mention of Cyrus by Isaiah. Of course no one who believes in the divine foreknowledge can doubt that God could, if He chose, cause events to be foretold minutely by his prophets; but certainly the general law of his Providence is, that He does not do so. If this law is to be at any time broken through, it will not be capriciously. Here it certainly does not appear what great effect was to be produced by the mention of Josiah’ s name so long before his birth; and hence, a doubt arises whether we have in our present copies the true original text. The sense is complete without the words "Josiah by name;"and these words, if originally a marginal note, may easily have crept into the text by the mistake of a copyist. It is remarkable that, where this narrative is again referred to in Kings (marginal reference), there is no allusion to the fact that the man of God had prophesied of Josiah "by name."

Barnes: 1Ki 13:3

He gave a sign - A sign of this kind - an immediate prophecy to prove the divine character of a remote prophecy - had scarcely been given before this. In the later history, however, such signs are not unfrequent (compare 2Ki 19:29; Isa 7:14-16).

The ashes ... shall be poured out - i. e., "The half-burnt remains of the offerings shall be ignominiously spilled upon the ground."

Barnes: 1Ki 13:5

We need not suppose a complete shattering of the altar, but rather the appearance of a crack or fissure in the fabric, which, extending from top to bottom, caused the embers and the fragments of the victims to fall until they reached the ground.

Barnes: 1Ki 13:7

I will give thee a reward - It was customary to honor a prophet with a gift, if he performed any service that was requested at his hands (see the marginal references).

Barnes: 1Ki 13:9

Eat no bread, nor drink water - The reason of the command is evident. The man of God was not to accept the hospitality of any dweller at Bethel, in order to show in a marked way, which men generally could appreciate, God’ s abhorrence of the system which Jeroboam had "devised of his own heart."

Nor turn again by the same way that thou camest - This command seems to have been given simply to test the obedience of the prophet by laying him under a positive as well as a moral obligation.

Barnes: 1Ki 13:11

The truly pious Israelites quitted their homes when Jeroboam made his religious changes, and, proceeding to Jerusalem, strengthened the kingdom of Rehoboam 2Ch 10:16-17. This "old prophet"therefore, who, without being infirm in any way, had remained under Jeroboam, and was even content to dwell at Bethel - the chief seat of the new worship - was devoid of any deep and earnest religious feeling.

Poole: 1Ki 13:1

A man of God a holy prophet. By the word of the Lord by Divine inspiration and command.

Poole: 1Ki 13:2

He cried against the altar and consequently, against all that worship, which is oft signified by the name of the altar . See Isa 19:19 1Co 9:13 Heb 7:13 13:10 . O altar, altar ; he directs his speech to the altar, partly because the following signs were wrought upon it, and partly to signify that Jeroboam would no more regard his words than the altar did, and yet they should take effect.

A child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name which being done above three hundred years after this prophecy, plainly shows the absolute certainty of God’ s providence and foreknowledge, even in the most contingent things. For this was in itself uncertain, and wholly depended upon man’ s will, both as to the having of a child, and as to the giving it this name. Therefore God can certainly and effectually overrule man’ s will which way he pleaseth; or else it was possible that this prediction should have been false, which is blasphemous to imagine.

Upon thee shall he offer the priests synecdoehically, the bones of the priests, 2Ki 23:15,16 , whereby the altar should be defiled.

Poole: 1Ki 13:3

He gave a sign the same day i. e. he then wrought a miracle, to assure them of the truth of his prophecy.

Poole: 1Ki 13:4

He put forth his hand to point out the man whom he would have the people lay hands on, and to stir them up to do so.

From the altar where it was employed in offering something upon it. Dried up , or withered ; the muscles and sinews, the instruments of motion, were shrunk up. This God did, partly, to chastise Jeroboam for offering violence to the Lord’ s prophet; partly, to secure the prophet against further violence; and partly, that in this example God might show how highly he resents the injuries done to his ministers in and for the faithful discharge of their office.

Poole: 1Ki 13:6

The king answered i.e. spoke, as that word is oft used in both Testaments.

Entreat now the face of the Lord thy God who by his zeal for time hath manifested himself to be thy God and Friend in a singular manner; and therefore will hear thy prayers for me, though he will not regard mine, because I have forsaken him and his worship.

The man of God besought the Lord to assure Jeroboam that what he had said was not from ill-will to him, and that he heartily desired his reformation, not his ruin.

The king’ s hand was restored again partly, to assure him that the stroke was from God; partly, because he repented of that violence which he intended against the prophet, for which God inflicted it; and partly, that the goodness of God to him might have led him to repentance; or if he continued impenitent, leave him without all excuse.

Poole: 1Ki 13:7

Horrid stupidity! He desires to requite the instrument, but takes no notice of the chief cause and author of this great and wonderful mercy, which was God.

Poole: 1Ki 13:9

My refusal of thy favour is not from any contempt or hatred of thy person, but in obedience to the just command of my God, who hath forbidden me all further converse or communication with thee.

Eat no bread, nor drink water to wit, in that place, or with that people; whereby God declares how detestable they were in God’ s eyes; not because their idolatry was so bad as that of the heathens, but because they were vile apostates from the true God, and embraced this idolworship against the light of their own consciences, merely to comply with the king’ s humour and command; and because their vicinity and relation to the tribe of Judah made this more dangerous, as to their infection by it.

Nor turn again by the same way that thou camest that by thy avoiding the way that led thee to Beth-el as execrable, although thou wentest by my special command, thou mightest teach all others how much they should abhor that way, and all thoughts of going to that place, or to such people, upon any trivial and unnecessary occasion.

Poole: 1Ki 13:11

An old prophet a prophet of the Lord; one to whom and by whom God did sometimes impart his mind, as is manifest from 1Ki 13:20,21 , and one first had a respect to the Lord’ s holy prophets, and gave credit to their predictions; all which the following relation shows: but whether he was a holy and good man may justly be doubted, seeing all those qualifications might meet in a vicious man, to and by whom he may reveal some part of his mind, as he did to Balaam, Nu 23 , &c., and in such his other qualities are sometimes found; and we find him in a downright and premeditated lie, and that without any great temptation to it, 1Ki 13:18 . And albeit a holy prophet might possibly have continued in the kingdom of Israel, he would never have gone from his own habitation to dwell at Beth-el, the chief seat of idolatry, unless with design to preach against it; which it is evident he did not; his sons seem to have been present at, and to have joined with others in that idolatrous worship, 1Ki 13:11 , and that not without their father’ s connivance. In Beth-el ; for thither he came to dwell, probably expecting some great advantages from Jeroboam; but he came out of Samaria, 2Ki 23:18 , where he either was born, and had lived before; or his usual dwelling was at Beth-el, but had lately been at Samaria, and was now returned to Beth-el.

His sons came who probably were eye and ear witnesses of what had passed.

Haydock: 1Ki 13:1

Way. Every thing promotes the salvation of the just, while the wicked pervert the most gracious designs of Providence to their own ruin. The king concluded that the prediction deserved no regard, ver. 18. (Calmet) ---

Meanest. Chap. xii. 31. Thus he wished to eradicate all sense of religion. (Haydock) ---

His, suam, "own." Any person who brought the oil and the necessary victims, might assume the office of priest. See Exodus xxviii. 41. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ki 13:1

A man. Some suppose his name was Addo, 2 Paralipomenon ix. 29. But this is quite uncertain. ---

Incense, or victims. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 13:2

Altar, in which the prodigy was to take place, for the instruction of all. (Menochius) ---

Name: 340 (Calmet) or 350 years after. (Salien) ---

This prediction proves the truth of the religion; for, though the author of this book might have seen it verified, yet he would undoubtedly insert the very words of the prophet, which were known to all the people, 4 Kings xxiii. 15. In this passage we do not read that Josias destroyed the priests. But ver. 19., and 20., it is clearly insinuated. (Calmet) ---

Who now. He will reduce their bones to ashes upon this altar; or, those who shall imitate these priests, shall be there burnt alive. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ki 13:3

Sign. This would take place immediately, to convince the king that what he had said would be accomplished. So Moses and Achaz were treated, Exodus iii. 2, 12., and Isaias vii. 14, 16. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 13:6

Thy God. He does not say my, being conscious that he had abandoned his service. (Menochius) ---

Before. We may be surprised that God thus heals a man, whose heart was not changed, ver. 33. (Estius) ---

But miracles do not always work a conversion. Pharao, Saul, and Achaz beheld the in vain: only one of the ten lepers returned to give thanks, Luke xvii. 17. This miracle rendered Jeroboam still more inexcusable. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 13:8

With thee. He considers the king as one excommunicated, the he must thus be induced to repent. (Salien)

Haydock: 1Ki 13:10

Bethel, which was defiled, 1 Kings xxi. 5. God would thus caution us to keep at the greatest distance (Tirinus) possible from evil company, (Haydock) and from whatever may lead to sin. (Menochius) ---

Besides the literal sense, Sanchez believes that the prophet was thus admonished to comply exactly with his injunctions, and to leave nothing unfinished; as God says, by the way that he came, he shall return, (Isaias xxxvii. 34.) to denote that Sennacherib's attempts should be frustrated. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 13:11

Bethel, originally (Haydock) from Samaria, 4 Kings xxiii. 18. (Menochius) ---

Josias would have burnt his bones, like those of the false prophets, if they had not be blended with those of the man of God. (Calmet)

Gill: 1Ki 13:1

And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah,.... Whom Josephus ^x calls Jadon, perhaps the same with Iddo, who is by the Jewish writers ^y generally thought to be this man of God, and which may seem to be countenanced by 2Ch 9:29 but cannot be, because this man was quickly slain, whereas Iddo lived after Rehoboam, and wrote his acts, first and last, nay, after Ahijah his son, 2Ch 13:22 and for the same reason Shemaiah cannot be the man of God, 1Ki 12:22, though Tertullian ^z calls him Sameas, and designs Shemaiah: but, whoever he was, he came

by the word of the Lord to Bethel: that is, by his command:

and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense; at the time he came, 1Ki 12:33.

Gill: 1Ki 13:2

And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord,.... By his order and command:

and said, O altar, altar; addressing himself not to Jeroboam, but the altar, thereby reproving his stupidity, the altar being as ready to hear as he; and because that was what moved the indignation of the Lord; and the word is repeated, to show the vehemency of the prophet's spirit, and his zeal against it; though the Jews commonly say it respects both altars, that at Dan, as well as this at Bethel:

thus saith the Lord, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; who was not born until three hundred years after this, according to the Jewish writers ^a: but it is generally reckoned to be more, even three hundred and fifty or three hundred and sixty years; this is a clear proof of the prescience, predetermination, and providence of God with respect to future events, contingent ones, such as depend upon the will of men; for what more so than giving a name to a child?

upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee; all which was fulfilled by Josiah, 2Ki 23:15, it may be read, "the bones of a man", which the Jews understand of Jeroboam; but may only signify that, instead of the bones of beasts, which were burnt on it, the bones of men should be burnt, and even of the priests themselves; a glaring proof this of the truth of prophecy, and of divine revelation.

Gill: 1Ki 13:3

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, this is the sign which the Lord hath spoken,.... As a confirmation of the truth of what the prophet had said, and for the proof of his being a true prophet of the Lord:

behold, the altar shall be rent; of itself, by an invisible hand, by the power of God:

and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out; signifying it should be entirely demolished, not only shaken but destroyed, so as not to be capable of retaining the ashes on it; this was an emblem of the utter abolition of idolatry here in future times.

Gill: 1Ki 13:4

And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who had cried against the altar in Bethel,.... He was highly provoked: so that he put forth his hand from the altar; on which he was burning incense:

saying, lay hold on him; he put forth his hand, and either shook it at the prophet, threatening what he would do to him; or as beckoning to the people to seize him, and which he also expressed:

and his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him; he could not move it one way nor another, but it remained in the same position, the nerves and muscles being shrunk; which was a further confirmation of the prophet's mission from God, being one of those concerning whom he says, "do my prophets no harm", and a fresh token of the certain performance of what he had said.

Gill: 1Ki 13:5

The altar also was rent,.... Split into two parts perhaps, and one fell one way, and the other another;

and the ashes poured out from the altar; the ashes of the burnt offering, these were spilled on the ground; all which was done without any outward force, or any visible means thereof:

according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord; by his direction and order.

Gill: 1Ki 13:6

And the king answered and said unto the man of God,.... In another tone than when he bid the people lay hold on him; not in a haughty, but humble manner; not as threatening, but supplicating:

entreat now the face of the Lord thy God; he does not say "my God", for he had apostatized from him, and served other gods, but "thy" God, whose prophet he was, and who had an interest in him, as clearly appeared by what he had said and done by him;

and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again; not that the anger of God might be turned away from him, and he enjoy the divine favour, and have an application of pardoning grace made to him, only to have this outward mercy, this temporal favour restored to him, the use of his hand:

and the man of God besought the Lord; not rendering evil for evil; but being of a forgiving spirit, though the king had stretched out his hand against him, he lifted up his hands to heaven for him:

and the king's hand was restored again, and became as it was before; which was another instance of divine power, and a further proof of the prophet's divine mission; from whence it might be concluded, that what he had prophesied of would be fulfilled, and was an instance also of divine goodness to the king, which should have led him to repentance, but did not.

Gill: 1Ki 13:7

And the king said unto the man of God, come home with me, and refresh thyself,.... By eating a meal with him, after such a journey he had taken, and delivered his prophecies, and put up his prayers for the king:

and I will give thee a reward; for his prayers, by means of which his hand was restored to him; but takes no notice of the Lord, the author of this miraculous cure, nor expresses the least degree of thankfulness and gratitude to him.

Gill: 1Ki 13:8

And the man of God said unto the king,.... In answer to his civility to him, to assure him it was not out of contempt to him, or ill will to him, or slight of his favour, but in obedience to the will of God:

if thou wilt give half of thine house; of the riches in it, and even of his kingdom:

I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place; this idolatrous place; the reason follows.

Gill: 1Ki 13:9

For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord,.... The command of the Lord, by which he came to Bethel, and cried against the altar there, 1Ki 13:1.

saying, eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest: signifying that no communion was to be had with idolaters, nor any example to be set and followed; but the way to them, and to their idolatry, was to be shunned and avoided.

Gill: 1Ki 13:10

So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. Neither ate nor drank with the king, though that is not expressed; nor did he go back the same way he came; but in each particular observed the divine command, and was obedient to it.

Gill: 1Ki 13:11

Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel,.... The Targum is, a false prophet, so Josephus ^b; it is hard to say what he was, a good man or a bad man; if a good man, he was guilty of many things which are not in his favour, as dwelling in such an idolatrous place suffering his sons to attend idolatrous worship, and telling the man of God a premeditated lie; and yet there are several things which seem contrary to his being a bad man, and of an ill character, since he is called an old prophet, did not attend idolatrous worship, showed great respect to the man of God, had the word of God sent unto him concerning him, believed that what he had prophesied should come to pass, buried the man of God in his own grave, and desired his sons to bury him with him. In some copies his name is said to be Micah, as Kimchi observes, and other Jewish writers ^c say the same; though some take him to be Amaziah the priest of Bethel, and others Gersom the son of Moses ^d, but without any foundation; though he now dwelt at Bethel, he was originally of Samaria, 2Ki 23:18,

and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; that the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out, as he had said, and that Jeroboam's hand withered, and was restored upon his prayer to God:

the words which he had spoken unto the king; that one should be born of the family of David, Josiah by name, that should offer the idolatrous priests, and burn the bones of men upon that altar, and that that should be rent, and its ashes poured forth, which was done:

them they told also their father; gave him a particular account of his actions and words.

Gill: 1Ki 13:12

And their father said unto them, what way went he?.... Having a strong inclination to see him, and converse with him:

for his sons had seen what way the man of God went which came from Judah; they took notice of it; and, as the Targum, they showed it to their father.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:1

¹ tn Heb “Look.” The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect.

² tn Heb “the man of God.”

³ tn Heb “came by the word of the Lord to Bethel.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:2

¹ tn Heb “by the word of the Lord.”

² sn ‘Look…you.’ For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kgs 23:15-20.

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:3

¹ tn Heb “gave.”

² tn Heb “spoken.”

³ tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן.

⁴ tn Heb “will be poured out.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:4

¹ tn Heb “the man of God.”

² tn Heb “Jeroboam extended his hand from the altar.”

³ tn Heb “saying.”

⁴ tn Heb “dried up” or “withered.” TEV and NLT interpret this as “became paralyzed.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:5

¹ tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן.

² tn Heb “were poured out from the altar.”

³ tn Heb “according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:6

¹ tn Heb “The king answered and said to.”

² tn Heb “the man of God” (a second time later in this verse, and once in v. 7 and v. 8).

³ tn Heb “appease the face of.”

⁴ tn Heb “appeased the face of the Lord.”

⁵ tn Heb “and it was as in the beginning.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:8

¹ tn Heb “house.”

² tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:9

¹ tn Heb “for this he commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying.”

² tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:11

¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

² tn Heb “and his son came and told him.” The MT has the singular here, but several other textual witnesses have the plural, which is more consistent with the second half of the verse and with vv. 12-13.

³ tn Heb “the man of God.”

⁴ tn Heb “all the actions which the man of God performed that day in Bethel, the words which he spoke to the king, and they told them to their father.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 13:12

¹ tn The Hebrew text has “and his sons saw” (וַיִּרְאוּ [vayyir’u], Qal from רָאָה [ra’ah]). In this case the verbal construction (vav consecutive + prefixed verbal form) would have to be understood as pluperfect, “his sons had seen.” Such uses of this construction are rare at best. Consequently many, following the lead of the ancient versions, prefer to emend the verbal form to a Hiphil with pronominal suffix (וַיַּרְאֻהוּ [vayyar’uhu], “and they showed him”).

² tn Heb “the man of God.”

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 13:1

And, behold, there came ^{( a )} a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto ^{( b )} Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

^{( a )} That is, a prophet.

^{( b )} Not that that was called Luz in Benjamin, but another of that name.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 13:3

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This [is] the ^{( c )} sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that [are] upon it shall be poured out.

^{( c )} By this sign you will know that the Lord has sent me.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 13:4

And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, ^{( d )} 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.

^{( d )} The wicked rage against the prophets of God, when they declare God's judgment to them.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 13:6

And the king answered and said unto the man of God, ^{( e )} Intreat 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, and became as [it was] before.

^{( e )} Though the wicked humble themselves for a time when they feel God's judgment, they return to their old malice and declare that they are but vile hypocrites.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 13:9

For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, ^{( f )} Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

^{( f )} Seeing he had the express word of God, he should not have declined from it, neither for the persuasion of man nor angel.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Ki 13:1-34

1 Jeroboam's hand withers,

6 and at the prayer of the prophet is restored.

7 The prophet departs from Beth-el.

11 An old prophet brings him back.

20 He is reproved by God,

23 slain by a lion,

26 buried by the old prophet,

31 who confirms his prophecy.

33 Jeroboam's obstinacy.

MHCC: 1Ki 13:1-10

In threatening the altar, the prophet threatens the founder and worshippers. Idolatrous worship will not continue, but the word of the Lord will endure for ever. The prediction plainly declared that the family of David would continue, and support true religion, when the ten tribes would not be able to resist them. If God, in justice, harden the hearts of sinners, so that the hand they have stretched out in sin they cannot pull in again by repentance, that is a spiritual judgment, represented by this, and much more dreadful. Jeroboam looked for help, not from his calves, but from God only, from his power, and his favour. The time may come when those that hate the preaching, would be glad of the prayers of faithful ministers. Jeroboam does not desire the prophet to pray that his sin might be pardoned, and his heart changed, but only that his hand might be restored. He seemed affected for the present with both the judgment and the mercy, but the impression wore off. God forbade his messenger to eat or drink in Bethel, to show his detestation of their idolatry and apostacy from God, and to teach us not to have fellowship with the works of darkness. Those have not learned self-denial, who cannot forbear one forbidden meal.

MHCC: 1Ki 13:11-22

The old prophet's conduct proves that he was not really a godly man. When the change took place under Jeroboam, he preferred his ease and interest to his religion. He took a very bad method to bring the good prophet back. It was all a lie. Believers are most in danger of being drawn from their duty by plausible pretences of holiness. We may wonder that the wicked prophet went unpunished, while the holy man of God was suddenly and severely punished. What shall we make of this? The judgments of God are beyond our power to fathom; and there is a judgment to come. Nothing can excuse any act of wilful disobedience. This shows what they must expect who hearken to the great deceiver. They that yield to him as a tempter, will be terrified by him as a tormentor. Those whom he now fawns upon, he will afterwards fly upon; and whom he draws into sin, he will try to drive to despair.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 13:1-10

Here is, I. A messenger sent to Jeroboam, to signify to him God's displeasure against his idolatry, 1Ki 13:1. The army of Judah that aimed to ruin him was countermanded, and might not draw a sword against him (1Ki 12:24); but a prophet of Judah is, instead thereof, sent to reclaim him from his evil way, and is sent in time, while he is but dedicating his altar, before his heart is hardened by the deceitfulness of his sin; for God delights not in the death of sinners, but would rather they would burn and live. How bold was the messenger that durst attack the king in his pride and interrupt the solemnity he was proud of! Those that go on God's errand must not fear the face of man; they know who will bear them out. How kind was he that sent him to warn Jeroboam of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against his ungodliness and unrighteousness!

II. The message delivered in God's name, not whispered, but cried with a loud voice, denoting both the prophet's courage, that he was neither afraid nor ashamed to own it, and his earnestness, that he desired to be heard and heeded by all that were present, who were not a few, on this great occasion. It was directed, not to Jeroboam nor to the people, but to the altar, the stones of which would sooner hear and yield than those who were mad upon their idols and deaf to divine calls. Yet, in threatening the altar, God threatened the founder and worshippers, to whom it was as dear as their own souls, and who might conclude, "If God's wrath fasten upon the lifeless guiltless altar, how shall we escape?"That which was foretold concerning the altar (1Ki 13:2) was that, in process of time, a prince of the house of David, Josiah by name, should pollute this altar by sacrificing the idolatrous priests themselves upon it, and burning the bones of dead men. Let Jeroboam know and be sure, 1. That the altar he now consecrated should be desecrated. Idolatrous worship will not continue, but the word of the Lord will endure for ever. 2. That the priests of the high places he now made should themselves be made sacrifices to the justice of God, and the first and only sacrifices upon this altar that would be pleasing to him. If the offering be such as is an abomination to God, it will follow, of course, that the offerers must themselves fall under his wrath, which will abide upon them, since it is not otherwise transmitted. 3. That this should be done by a branch of the house of David. That family which he and his kingdom had despised and treacherously deserted should recover so much power as to demolish that altar which he thought to establish; so that right and truth should at length prevail, both in civil and sacred matters, notwithstanding the present triumphs of those that were given to change the fear both of God and the king. It was about 356 years ere this prediction was fulfilled, yet it was spoken of as sure and nigh at hand, for a thousand years with God are but as one day. Nothing more contingent and arbitrary than the giving of names to persons, yet Josiah was here named above 300 years before he was born. Nothing future is hidden from God. There are names in the book of the divine prescience (Phi 4:3), names written in heaven.

III. A sign is given for the confirming of the truth of this prediction, that the altar should be shaken to pieces by an invisible power and the ashes of the sacrifice scattered (1Ki 13:3), which came to pass immediately, 1Ki 13:5. This was, 1. A proof that the prophet was sent of God, who confirmed the word with this sign following, Mar 16:20. 2. A present indication of God's displeasure against these idolatrous sacrifices. How could the gift be acceptable when the altar that should sanctify it was an abomination? 3. It was a reproach to the people, whose hearts were harder than these stones and rent not under the word of the Lord. 4. It was a specimen of what should be done to it in the accomplishment of this prophecy by Josiah; it was now rent, in token of its being then ruined.

IV. Jeroboam's hand withered, which he stretched out to seize or smite the man of God, 1Ki 13:4. Instead of trembling at the message, as he might well have done, he assaulted him that brought it, in defiance of the wrath of which he was warned and contempt of that grace which sent him the warning. Rebuke a sinner and he will hate thee, and do thee a mischief if he can; yet God's prophets must rather expose themselves than betray their trust: he that employs them will protect them, and restrain the wrath of man, as he did Jeroboam's here by withering his hand, so that he could neither hurt the prophet nor draw it in to help himself. When his hand was stretched out to burn incense to his calves it was not withered; but, when it is stretched out against a prophet, he shall have no use of it till he humble himself. Of all the wickedness of the wicked there is none more provoking to God than their malicious attempts against his prophets, of whom he has said, Touch them not, do them no harm. As this was a punishment of Jeroboam, and answering to the sin, so it was the deliverance of the prophet. God has many ways of disabling the enemies of his church from executing their mischievous purposes. Jeroboam's inability to pull in his hand made him a spectacle to all about him, that they might see and fear. If God, in justice, harden the hearts of sinners, so that the hand they have stretched out in sin they cannot pull in again by repentance, that is a spiritual judgment, represented by this, and much more dreadful.

V. The sudden healing of the hand that was suddenly dried up, upon his submission, 1Ki 13:6. That word of God which should have touched his conscience humbled him not, but this which touched his bone and his flesh brings down his proud spirit. He looks for help now, 1. Not from his calves, but from God only, from his power and his favour. He wounded, and no hand but his can make whole. 2. Not by his own sacrifice or incense, but by the prayer and intercession of the prophet, whom he had just now threatened and aimed to destroy. The time may come when those that hate the preaching would be glad of the prayers of faithful ministers. "Pray to the Lord thy God,"says Jeroboam; "thou hast an interest in him; improve it for me."But observe, He did not desire the prophet to pray that his sin might be pardoned, and his heart changed, only that his hand might be restored; thus Pharaoh would have Moses to pray that God would take away this death only (Exo 10:17), not this sin. The prophet, as became a man of God, renders good for evil, upbraids not Jeroboam with his impotent malice, nor triumphs in his submission, but immediately addresses himself to God for him. Those only are entitled to the blessing Christ pronounced on the persecuted that learn of him to pray for their persecutors, Mat 5:10, Mat 5:44. When the prophet thus honoured God, by showing himself of a forgiving spirit, God put this further honour upon him, that at his word he recalled the judgment and by another miracle healed the withered hand, that by the goodness of God Jeroboam might be led to repentance, and, if he were not broken by the judgment, yet might be melted by the mercy. With both he seemed affected for the present, but the impressions wore off.

VI. The prophet's refusal of Jeroboam's kind invitation, in which observe, 1. That God forbade his messenger to eat or drink in Beth-el (1Ki 13:9), to show his detestation of their execrable idolatry and apostasy from God, and to teach us not to have fellowship with the works of darkness, lest we have infection from them or give encouragement to them. He must not turn back the same way, but deliver his message, as it were, in transitu - as he passes along. He shall not seem to be sent on purpose (they were unworthy such a favour), but as if he only called by the way, his spirit being stirred, like Paul's at Athens, as he passed and saw their devotions. God would, by this command, try his prophet, as he did Ezekiel, whether he would not be rebellious, like that rebellious house, Eze 2:8. 2. That Jeroboam was so affected with the cure of his hand that though we read not of his thanksgivings to God for the mercy, or of his sending an offering to the altar at Jerusalem in acknowledgment of it, yet he was willing to express his gratitude to the prophet and pay him for his prayers, 1Ki 13:7. Favours to the body will make even graceless men seem grateful to good ministers. 3. That the prophet, though hungry and weary, and perhaps poor, in obedience to the divine command refused both the entertainment and the reward proffered him. He might have supposed his acceptance of it would give him an opportunity of discoursing further with the king, in order to his effectual reformation, now that he was convinced; yet he will not think himself wiser than God, but, like a faithful careful messenger, hastens home when he has done his errand. Those have little learned the lessons of self-denial that cannot forbear one forbidden meal.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 13:11-22

The man of God had honestly and resolutely refused the king's invitation, though he promised him a reward; yet he was over-persuaded by an old prophet to come back with him, and dine in Beth-el, contrary to the command given him. Here we find how dearly his dinner cost him. Observe with wonder,

I. The old prophet's wickedness. I cannot but call him a false prophet and a bad man, it being much easier to believe that from one of such a bad character should be extorted a confirmation of what the man of God said (as we find, 1Ki 13:32) than that a true prophet, and a good man, should tell such a deliberate lie as he did, and father it upon God. A good tree could never bring forth such corrupt fruit. Perhaps he was trained up among the sons of the prophets, in one of Samuel's colleges not far off, whence he retained the name of a prophet, but, growing worldly and profane, the spirit of prophecy had departed from him. If he had been a good prophet he would have reproved Jeroboam's idolatry, and not have suffered his sons to attend his altars, as, it should seem, they did. Now, 1. Whether he had any good design in fetching back the man of God is not certain. One may hope that he did it in compassion to him, concluding he wanted refreshment, and out of a desire to be better acquainted with him and more fully to understand his errand than he could from the report of his sons; yet his sons having told him all that passed, and particularly that the prophet was forbidden to eat or drink there, which he had openly told Jeroboam, I suppose it was done with a bad design, to draw him into a snare, and so to expose him; for false prophets have ever been the worst enemies to the true prophets, usually aiming to destroy them, but sometimes, as here, to debauch them and draw them from their duty. Thus they gave the Nazarites wine to drink (Amo 2:12), that they might glory in their fall. But, 2. It is certain that he took a very bad method to bring him back. When the man of God had told him, "I may not, and therefore I will not, return to eat bread with thee"(his resolutions concurring with the divine command, 1Ki 13:16, 1Ki 13:17), he wickedly pretended that he had an order from heaven to fetch him back. He imposed upon him by asserting his quondam character as a prophet: I am a prophet also as thou art; he pretended he had a vision of an angel that sent him on this errand. But it was all a lie; it was a banter upon prophecy, and profane in the highest degree. When this old prophet is spoken of (2Ki 23:18) he is called the prophet that came out of Samaria, whereas there was no such place as Samaria till long after, 1Ki 16:24. Therefore I take it he is so called there, though he was of Beth-el, because he was like those who were afterwards the prophets of Samaria, who caused God's people Israel to err, Jer 23:13.

II. The good prophet's weakness, in suffering himself to be thus imposed upon: He went back with him, 1Ki 13:19. He that had resolution enough to refuse the invitation of the king, who promised him a reward, could not resist the insinuations of one that pretended to be a prophet. God's people are more in danger of being drawn from their duty by the plausible pretences of divinity and sanctity than by external inducements; we have therefore need to beware of false prophets, and not believe every spirit.

III. The proceedings of divine justice hereupon; and here we may well wonder that the wicked prophet, who told the lie and did the mischief, went unpunished, while the holy man of God, that was drawn by him into sin, was suddenly and severely punished for it. What shall we make of this! The judgments of God are unfathomable. The deceived and the deceiver are his, and he giveth not account of any of his matters. Certainly there must be a judgment to come, when these things will be called over again, and when those that sinned most and suffered least, in this world, will receive according to their works. 1. The message delivered to the man of God was strange. His crime is recited, 1Ki 13:21, 1Ki 13:22. It was, in one word, disobedience to an express command. Judgment is given upon it: Thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers, that is, "Thou shalt never reach thy own house, but shalt be a carcase quickly, nor shall thy dead body be brought to the place of thy fathers' sepulchres, to be interred."2. Yet it was more strange that the old prophet himself should be the messenger. Of this we can give no account but that God would have it so, as he spoke to Balaam by his ass and read Saul his doom by the devil in Samuel's likeness. We may think God designed hereby, (1.) To startle the lying prophet, and make him sensible of his sin. The message could not but affect him the more when he himself had the delivering of it, and had so strong an impression made upon his spirit by it that he cried out, as one in an agony, 1Ki 13:21. He had reason to think, if he must die for his disobedience in a small matter who sinned by surprise, of how much sorer punishment he should be thought worthy who had belied an angel of God and cheated a man of God by a deliberate forgery. If this were done to the green tree, what shall be done to the dry? Perhaps it had a good effect upon him. Those who preach God's wrath to others have hard hearts indeed if they fear it not themselves. (2.) To put the greater mortification upon the prophet that was deceived, and to show what those must expect who hearken to the great deceiver. Those that yield to him as a tempter will be terrified by him as a tormentor; whom he now fawns upon he will afterwards fly upon, and whom he now draws into sin he will do what he can to drive to despair.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 13:1-10

A prophet out of Judah announces to Jeroboam the eventual overthrow of the idolatrous worship, and attests his divine mission by miraculous signs upon the altar at Bethel and the hardened king (1Ki 13:1-10); but on the way back he allows himself to be enticed by an old prophet out of Bethel to go into his house, contrary to the express command of the Lord, and while sitting at table with him has to hear from his mouth the divine threat, that on account of his transgression of the command of God he will not come into the sepulchre of his fathers. This threat was fulfilled on his way home; and the marvellous fulfilment made so deep an impression upon the old prophet, that he confirmed the testimony which he had given concerning the worship at the high places (vv. 11-32). These marvellous occurrences not only teach how Jeroboam brought about the overthrow of his dynasty by his thorough hardening against the word of God (1Ki 13:33, 1Ki 13:34), but they also show how false prophecy rose up from the very beginning in the kingdom of Israel and set itself against the true prophets of the Lord, and how it gained a victory, which merely displayed its own impotence, however, and foreshadowed its eventual and certain overthrow.

1Ki 13:1-2

Prophecy against the idolatrous worship at Bethel . - 1Ki 13:1, 1Ki 13:2. Whilst Jeroboam was still occupied in sacrificing by the altar at Bethel, there came a prophet ( אלהים אישׁ ) out of Judah "in the word of Jehovah"to Bethel, and pronounced upon the altar its eventual destruction. יהוה בּדבר does not mean "at the word of Jehovah"here, as it frequently does, but "in the word of Jehovah,"as 1Ki 13:9, 1Ki 13:17 more especially show; so that the word of Jehovah is regarded as a power which comes upon the prophet and drives him to utter the divine revelation which he has received. It is the same in 1Ki 20:35. להקטיר is to be taken as in 1Ki 12:33. - "Behold a son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah; he will offer upon thee (O altar) the priests of the high places, who burn incense (i.e., kindle sacrifices) upon thee, and men's bones will they burn upon thee."According to 2Ki 23:15-20, this prophecy was literally fulfilled. The older theologians found in this an evident proof of the divine inspiration of the prophets; modern theology, on the other hand, which denies the supernatural inspiration of prophecy in accordance with its rationalistic or naturalistic principles, supplies that this prophecy was not more precisely defined till after the event, and adduces in support of this the apparently just argument, that the prediction of particular historical events is without analogy, and generally that the introduction either of particular persons by name or of definite numbers is opposed to the very essence of prophecy, and turns prediction into soothsaying. The distinction between soothsaying and prediction, however, is not that the latter merely utters general ideas concerning the future, whilst the former announces special occurrences beforehand: but soothsaying is the foretelling of all kinds of accidental things; prophecy, on the contrary, the foretelling of the progressive development of the kingdom of God, not merely in general, but in its several details, according to the circumstances and necessities of each particular age, and that in such a manner that the several concrete details of the prophecy rest upon the general idea of the revelation of salvation, and are thereby entirely removed from the sphere of the accidental. It is true that perfectly concrete predictions of particular events, with the introduction of names and statement of times, are much more rare than the predictions of the progressive development of the kingdom of God according to its general features; but they are not altogether wanting, and we meet with them in every case where it was of importance to set before an ungodly generation in the most impressive manner the truth of the divine threatenings of promises. The allusion to Coresh in Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1, is analogous to the announcement before us. But in both cases the names are closely connected with the destination of the persons in the prophecy, and are simply a concrete description of what God will accomplish through these men. Hence the name יאשׁיּהוּ occurs primarily according to its appellative meaning alone, viz., "he whom Jehovah supports,"from אשׁה , to support, and expresses this thought: there will be born a son to the house of David, whom Jehovah will support of establish, so that he shall execute judgment upon the priests of the high places at Bethel. This prophecy was then afterwards so fulfilled by the special arrangement of God, that the king who executed this judgment bore the name of Joshiyahu as his proper name. And so also כּורשׁ was originally an appellative in the sense of sun. The judgment which the prophet pronounced upon the altar was founded upon the jus talionis . On the very same altar on which the priests offer sacrifice to the עגלים shall they themselves be offered, and the altar shall be defiled for ever by the burning of men's bones upon it. אדם עצמות , "men's bones,"does not stand for "their (the priests') bones,"but is simply an epithet used to designate human corpses, which defile the place where they lie (2Ki 23:16).

1Ki 13:3

In confirmation of his word the prophet added a miracle ( מופת , τέρας , portentum , see at Exo 4:21): "this is the sign that the Lord hath spoken (through me): behold the altar will be rent in pieces, and the ashes upon it will be poured out." דּשׁן is the ashes of the fat of the sacrificial animals. The pouring out of the sacrificial ashes in consequence of the breaking upon of the altar was a penal sign, which indicated, along with the destruction of the altar, the desecration of the sacrificial service performed upon it.

1Ki 13:4

The king, enraged at this announcement, stretched out his hand against the prophet with the words, "seize him"- and his hand dried up, so that he was not able to draw it back again. יבשׁ , to dry up, i.e., toe become rigid in consequence of a miraculous withdrawal of the vital energy. Thus Jeroboam experienced in the limbs of his own body the severity of the threatened judgment of God.

1Ki 13:5-6

The penal miracle announced in the word of Jehovah, i.e., in the strength of the Lord, also took effect immediately upon the altar; and the defiant king was now obliged to entreat the man of God, saying, "Soften, I pray, the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may return to me,"i.e., that I may be able to draw it back again, to move it once more. And this also took place at once at the intercession of the prophet. יי את־פּני חלּה , lit., to stroke the face of God, i.e., to render it soft by intercession (see at Exo 32:11).

1Ki 13:7

As Jeroboam could do nothing by force against the prophet, he endeavoured to gain him over to his side by friendliness, that at least he might render his threat harmless in the eyes of the people. For this purpose, and not to do him honour or to make him some acknowledgment for the restoration of his hand, he invited him to his house, to strengthen himself with food ( סעד as in Gen 18:5; Jdg 9:5; for the form סעדה , see Ewald, § 41, c .) and receive from him a present.

1Ki 13:8-10

But this design was also frustrated, and the rejection of his worship on the part of God was still more strongly declared. "If thou gavest me,"the man of God replied, "the half of thy house, I shall not go in with thee, nor eat bread and drink water in this place; for thus hath Jehovah commanded me,"etc. The subject, Jehovah , is easily supplied to צוּה from the context (vid., Ewald, §294, b .). God had forbidden the prophet to eat and drink "to manifest His detestation of idolatry, and to show by that fact that the Bethelites were so detestable, and as it were excommunicated by God, that He wished none of the faithful to join with them in eating and drinking"(C. a Lap.). He was not to return by the way by which he came, that no one might look out for him, and force him to a delay which was irreconcilable with his commission, or "lest by chance being brought back by Jeroboam, he should do anything to please him which was unworthy of a prophet, or from which it might be inferred that idolaters might hope for some favour from the Deity"(Budd.).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 13:11-19

Seduction of the man of God by an old prophet, and his consequent punishment . - 1Ki 13:11-19. The man of God had resisted the invitations of Jeroboam, and set out by a different road to return to Judah. An old prophet at Bethel heard from his sons what had taken place (the singular בנו יבוא as compared with the plural ויספּרוּם may be explained on the supposition that first of all one son related the matter to his father, and that then the other sons supported the account given by the first); had his ass saddled; hurried after him, and found him sitting under the terebinth (the tree well known from that event); invited him to come into his house and eat with him; and when the latter appealed to the divine prohibition, said to him (1Ki 13:18), "I am a prophet also as thou art, and an angel has said to me in the word of the Lord: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat and drink,"and lied to him ( לו כּחשׁ without a copula , because it is inserted as it were parenthetically, simply as an explanation) - then he went back with him, and ate and drank in his house.

Constable: 1Ki 12:25--14:21

2. Jeroboam's evil reign in Israel 12:25-14:20

Jeroboam was the first of 20 kings who ruled the Northern Kingdom during its 209 year history. He reigned for 22 years (931-910 B.C.). Not one of the kings of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, turned the people to a serious recommitment to the Mosaic Covenant. Consequently the writer judged all of them evil.

Constable: 1Ki 13:1-32

The prophecy of judgment on Jeroboam's religious system 13:1-32

God sent a young Judahite prophet to Bethel to announce a prophecy that God would judge Jeroboam for his apostasy. When he arrived, the king was exercising his priestly function at the Bethel altar (v. 1). The prophet predicted Josiah by name 290 years before he became king of Judah (v. 2; cf. Isa. 44:28; 45:1). God fulfilled this prophecy when Josiah destroyed Jeroboam's religious system (2 Kings 23:15-20).

The sign God gave was a miracle designed to prove the truthfulness of the prophecy to those who heard it (v. 3). According to the Mosaic Law the priests were to carry the ashes from the altar away carefully to a clean place for disposal (Lev. 1:16; 4:12; 6:10-11). The pouring out of them there, along with the destruction of this altar, symbolized God's rejection of this sacrificial system. Jeroboam stretched out his hand in a gesture of authority (v. 4). By incapacitating his hand, a symbol of power, God showed He had greater authority than the king and was sovereign over him (v. 4).

We can see that Jeroboam had no regard for Yahweh when he called the Lord the prophet's God rather than his own God (v. 6). By offering the prophet a reward, Jeroboam was seeking to compromise him. If the prophet had accepted the reward, there would have been a question in the minds of onlookers concerning whether he was really in Yahweh's service or in Jeroboam's (v. 7). The young man wisely declined even to eat with the king, which in that culture implied mutual affection and protection (v. 8).

The old prophet living in Bethel was a compromiser, as verses 11-32 make clear. If he had been faithful to Yahweh, he probably would have left Bethel and Israel when Jeroboam brought his nation under a humanly devised system of worship. Many of the faithful in Israel did this (v. 11; cf. 2 Chron. 11:13-17). He, too, tried to turn the young prophet away from what God had told him to do (v. 15). He lied about God's revelation to him (v. 18). Like Jeroboam (12:28), the young man listened to bad counsel rather than obeying a direct word from the Lord.

However the old prophet did receive some revelations from God (v. 20). He predicted that because he had not been completely faithful to God the young prophet would have a dishonorable burial (v. 22). A person's burial made a statement about whether his life was honorable or not in the ancient Near East. Since the lion did not eat the prophet or maul his donkey it was clear that this was an unusual slaying. God had sent the lion to judge the young prophet (v. 24).

"Lions were attested in Palestine until at least the thirteenth century AD."¹⁴⁴

If God had not judged His own prophet for his disobedience, there might have been some doubt about whether God would judge Jeroboam for his.

In spite of his own unfaithfulness, the old prophet admired his young friend and gave him as honorable a burial as was possible (v. 30).

"Whatever his motives, and it is impossible to know them for sure, the old man is a mixture of curiosity, dishonesty, accuracy, and conviction."¹⁴⁵

This incident illustrates the importance of complete obedience to God's Word. God used it to impress this truth on Jeroboam, the Israelites, and all who heard about it, as well as us.

"From beginning to end, the story dwells on a single theme--the fulfillment of the word of the Lord in its due time, having transcended the weakness of its bearer and converted its violators into its confirmants."¹⁴⁶

Guzik: 1Ki 13:1-34

1 Kings 13 - The Man of God from Judah

A. A prophecy from a man of God.

1. (1-2) The coming destruction of the altar in Bethel.

And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall be burned on you.' "

a. A man of God went from Judah to Bethel: Apparently, there were no qualified messengers within the northern kingdom of Israel. This is a sad commentary on the spiritual state of Jeroboam's kingdom.

i. This anonymous man of God was used in an important way. He demonstrates that one does not need to be famous to be significantly used by God.

b. Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you: This is a remarkable prophecy that would be precisely fulfilled 340 years later. 2 Kings 23:15 documents the fulfillment of this prophecy in the days of Josiah, King of Judah: Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image.

i. This was more than a pronouncement of judgment against the altar; it also announced that the judgment would come through a ruler of Judah (the house of David). This was a special rebuke and source of concern to Jeroboam, who was always aware of the threat from his neighbor to the south (as in 1 Kings 12:27).

ii. We know that this didn't happen for some 350 years, but Jeroboam didn't know that in advance. He went to his grave worried about the fulfillment of this prophecy, which was a sort of immediate judgment on Jeroboam.

2. (3-5) Signs to confirm the prophet's words.

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out." So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Arrest him!" Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself. The altar also was split apart, 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.

a. He gave a sign the same day: The prophecy of the man of God would not be fulfilled for hundreds of years, so an immediate sign was given to confirm the word to the present-day hearers.

b. Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out: This would be a convincing sign, and a direct rebuke to the idolatrous worship at that altar.

c. Arrest him! Jeroboam's reaction was immediate - he sought to silence the messenger rather than respond to the message. The prophecy from the man of God was like most every message of coming judgment - an implicit invitation to repentance. Jeroboam obviously did not accept this invitation.

i. "If Jeroboam would not have Jehovah's priests, God sends His prophet into his land." (Knapp)

d. His hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself: God confirmed His word of judgment in two ways. First, He judged the disobedient king at the precise point of his most glaring sin (the outstretched hand against the man of God). Second, He fulfilled the immediate word against the altar (the altar also was split apart).

i. "This God did, partly, to chastise Jeroboam for offering violence to the Lord's prophet; partly, to secure the prophet against further violence; and partly, that in this example God might show how highly he resents the injuries done to his ministers in and for the faithful discharge of their office." (Poole)

3. (6) Jeroboam's plea.

Then the king answered and said to the man of God, "Please entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me." So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him, and became as before.

a. Please entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored: Under the evident judgment of God, Jeroboam had no use for golden calves or their altars. He knew that his only hope was in the LORD and in His representative.

i. As the subsequent chapters will show, Jeroboam didn't really repent here; or if he did, it was only for a moment. Wanting to receive something from God is not the same as repentance.

b. So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him: To his credit, the man of God showed great grace to Jeroboam. He quickly moved from being under arrest to being an intercessor for his persecutor. This was great mercy from the man of God, and especially from God - who answered his prayer.

i. God did this, "Partly, to assure him that the stroke was from God; partly, because he repented of that violence which he intended against the prophet, for which God inflicted it; and partly, that the goodness of God to him might have led him to repentance; or if he continued impenitent, leave him without all excuse." (Poole)

4. (7-10) The man of God declines Jeroboam's invitation.

Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward." But the man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.'" So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

a. I will give you a reward: Jeroboam quickly - and naturally, given the circumstances - embraced the man of God as a friend. He wanted to refresh and reward him, without any repentance from the sin the man of God denounced.

b. If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place: The man of God refused the invitation, based on a prior warning from God. To accept Jeroboam's invitation would demonstrate fellowship with his idolatry.

B. The man of God's disobedience and death.

1. (11-17) An old prophet in Bethel invites the man of God to dinner.

Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. And their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" For his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" And he said, "I am." Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread." And he said, "I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. For I have been told by the word of the LORD, 'You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.' "

a. Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel: It seems that this was a faithful prophet to the LORD. This demonstrates that not every godly person left Israel for Judah; some still remained behind.

i. "Probably once a prophet of the Lord, who had fallen from his steadfastness, and yet not so deeply as to lose the knowledge of the true God, and join with Jeroboam with his idolatries." (Clarke)

b. Come home with me and eat bread: This prophet from Bethel invited the unnamed man of God to his home, as Jeroboam had invited him. The man of God refused, under the same reason he refused Jeroboam - that God had specifically told him to return to Judah without accepting hospitality, and to return a different way (also in 1 Kings 13:10).

2. (18-19) The prophet from Bethel lies to the man of God from Judah.

He said to him, "I too am a prophet as you are, 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.' " (He was lying to him.) So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

a. He was lying to him: The prophet from Bethel gave a false word from God, trying to persuade the man of God from Judah to change his course from doing exactly what God told him.

i. "As he found the man of God sitting under an oak, probably faint with fatigue and fasting, for he had no refreshment, his humanity might have led him to practise this deception, in order to persuade him to take some refreshment." (Clarke)

ii. "But his sin was great; for he did not only tell a premeditated lie, but also made God a liar, and to contradict himself, and all this without any pretence of necessity, or benefit to himself." (Poole)

b. An angel spoke to me: Perhaps this was true, and perhaps it was a deceiving angel. Satan and his messengers can appear as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

c. So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water: The man of God from Judah listened to the lie from the prophet of Bethel. He did this for several reasons:

· The prophet from Bethel was probably older (an old prophet, 1 Kings 13:11) and had the respect of the man of God.

· The prophet from Bethel identified with the man of God (I too am a prophet as you are).

· The prophet from Bethel claimed a spectacular experience (an angel spoke to me).

· The prophet from Bethel claimed to speak for the LORD (by the word of the LORD).

· The prophet from Bethel did not seem to be an idolater who should be shunned (Bring him back with you to your house).

· The prophet from Bethel offered no reward, other than simple food (he may eat bread and drink water).

i. No matter how natural and seductive this enticement was, it was the duty of the man of God to resist it. He had a word from God to guide his actions, and should receive no other word accept through dramatic and direct confirmation by God's Spirit. His failure at this point ended his usefulness as a man of God.

ii. "When we have received a direct command fresh from the lips of Christ, we must act on it, and not be turned aside by a different suggestion, made to us through the lips of professing Christians . . . Deal with God at first-hand." (Meyer)

iii. "God never contradicts Himself in His dealings with His servants. Let us be true to His commands, refusing to be deflected from the path of obedience, even by an angel from heaven." (Morgan)

3. (20-22) The prophet from Bethel prophesies the doom of the man of God.

Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back; and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says the LORD: 'Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the Lord said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water," your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.' "

a. The word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back: This prophet from Bethel spoke a lie in the name of the LORD in 1 Kings 13:18. Now he received a true prophecy while the man of God from Judah ate at his table.

b. Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD: God promised great judgment against the man of God from Judah for his disobedience. This was a hard test, but he failed it. He should have kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded, no matter how subtle and innocent the temptation was to disobey.

c. Your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers: God judged the man of God from Judah far more strictly than He judged Jeroboam or the prophet from Bethel. It would seem that they were guilty of worse sins (leading national idolatry and a deliberate lying prophecy), yet the man of God received worse judgment.

i. "For a body to lie unburied was a curse, hence the emphasis on detail of the place of burial. It was a disgrace to be buried away from the family among strangers." (Wiseman)

ii. This is an example of an important principle of the way God works. We think that strict judgment should begin among the most ungodly, but often God begins strict judgment among His own people (1 Peter 4:17). Usually this is because God knows that the world will not be reached when His people are compromising and disobedient.

iii. "By permitting himself to be seduced by the old prophet, when he should have acted only on the expressly declared counsel of God, he committed the sin unto death [1 John 5:16-17]; that is, such a sin as God will punish with the death of the body, while he extends mercy to his soul." (Clarke)

4. (23-25a) The word of the prophet from Bethel is fulfilled.

So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse.

a. A lion met him on the road and killed him: The word - the second word - of the prophet from Bethel was fulfilled. He didn't say that the man of God would perish by a lion, but that he would not be buried in the tomb of his fathers.

i. "Lions were attested in Palestine until at least the thirteenth century A.D." (Wiseman)

b. And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse: This demonstrates that this was no mere accident, but something unique from God. The lion did not attack the donkey (the donkey stood by it), nor did he attack the men who passed by. This lion was on a special mission of judgment from God, and seems to be more obedient than the man of God from Judah was.

5. (25b-32) The man of God is given a decent burial and the prophet from Bethel testifies to his prophecy.

Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, "It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him." And he spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled it. Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!" So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, "When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the saying which he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the shrines on the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely come to pass."

a. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him: The old prophet from Bethel was sympathetic to the man of God from Judah, even in his disobedience and resulting judgment. The prophet from Bethel was not a particularly righteous man or good prophet, having used a lying prophecy to lead the man of God into sin and judgment. He recognized the common weakness of this fellows servant of God.

i. How strange it was for the old prophet to look upon the carcass of the dead prophet, and to realize: "My sin is worse than his." The ways of God's judgment are sometimes past finding out, and only understandable from eternity.

b. He laid the corpse in his own tomb: Not in the tomb of the man of God from Judah's fathers, in fulfillment of the previous prophecy.

c. When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: Though he lied to him, led him into sin, and prophesied judgment against him, the prophet from Bethel still respected the man of God from Judah. Perhaps he understood that the word he spoke against the Jeroboam required a courage he did not have; therefore he confirmed the word of the man of God against Jeroboam and the altar at Bethel.

6. (33-34) No repentance from Jeroboam.

After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.

a. After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way: He should have turned, but he did not. God's dealing with the man of God from Judah was warning enough to Jeroboam, but it was a warning he ignored.

i. "All these wonderful accidents, as God's hammers, did but beat upon cold iron." (Trapp)

b. He became one of the priests of the high places: In ancient Israel, God commanded a strict separation between the office of king and priest. Jeroboam blurred this separation and this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam.

i. Jeroboam had great opportunity, especially in light of the promise of God through Ahijah recorded in 1 Kings 11:38: Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. Jeroboam did not obey God and honor His commandments, and he never fulfilled his potential or promise.

ii. The same principle works in servants of God today. We are not called because of obedience, or used out of merit; but our disobedience hinders our potential for full use. Paul put it this way in 2 Timothy 2:21: Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter [works of dishonor], he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. God uses vessels of honor, separation, usefulness, and preparation to their fullest potential.

iii. In his failure, Jeroboam became the prototype of the disobedient kings of Israel. The phrase He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin was used of many subsequent kings of Israel. These include:

· Baasha (1 Kings 15:33-34)

· Omri (1 Kings 16:25-26)

· Ahaziah (1 Kings 22:51-52)

· Jehoram (2 Kings 3:1-3)

· Jehu (2 Kings 10:29-31)

· Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:1-2)

· Jehoash (2 Kings 13:10-11)

· Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23-24)

· Zechariah (2 Kings 15:8-9)

· Menahim (2 Kings 15:17-18)

· Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:23-24)

· Pekah (2 Kings 15:27-28).

iv. One curious exception was Ahab, who was noted as worse than Jeroboam (1 Kings 16:30-31).

v. Jeroboam had great opportunity, but instead became a great curse to every generation of the northern kingdom after that. Even at the end of the Kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam's sin was remembered: For He tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them commit a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day. (2 Kings 17:21-23)

vi. All in all, Jeroboam is an example of sinful failure.

· He failed despite great blessing and favor from God.

· He failed for the sake of mere political advantage.

· He failed and led an entire nation into idolatry.

· He failed despite specific warnings to repent.

· He failed despite specific judgment and deliverance from that judgment.

· He failed despite a clear message and example of integrity.

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 1 Kings (Outline)

• ABISHAG CHERISHES DAVID IN HIS EXTREME AGE. (1Ki 1:1-4)
• ADONIJAH USURPS THE KINGDOM. (1Ki. 1:5-31)
• SOLOMON, BY DAVID'S APPOINTMENT, IS ANOINTED KING. (1Ki. 1:32-49)
• ADONIJAH, FLEEING TO THE HORNS OF THE ALTAR, IS DISMISSED BY SOLOMON. (1Ki 1:50-53)
• DAVID DIES. (1Ki 2:1-11)
• SOLOMON SUCCEEDS HIM. (1Ki 2:12-24)
• JOAB SLAIN. (1Ki. 2:28-45)
• SHIMEI PUT TO DEATH. (1Ki 2:34-46)
• SOLOMON MARRIES PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER. (1Ki 3:1)
• HIGH PLACES BEING IN USE, HE SACRIFICES AT GIBEON. (1Ki 3:2-5)
• HE CHOOSES WISDOM. (1Ki 3:6-15)
• HIS JUDGMENT BETWEEN TWO HARLOTS. (1Ki 3:16-28)
• SOLOMON'S PRINCES. (1Ki 4:1-6)
• HIS TWELVE OFFICERS. (1Ki 4:7-21)
• HIS WISDOM. (1Ki 4:29-34)
• HIRAM SENDS TO CONGRATULATE SOLOMON. (1Ki 5:1-6)
• FURNISHES TIMBER TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (1Ki 5:7-12)
• SOLOMON'S WORKMEN AND LABORERS. (1Ki 5:13-18)
• THE BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. (1Ki 6:1-4)
• THE CHAMBERS THEREOF. (1Ki 6:5-10)
• GOD'S PROMISES UNTO IT. (1Ki 6:11-14)
• THE CEILING AND ADORNING OF IT. (1Ki 6:15-22)
• THE TIME TAKEN TO BUILD IT. (1Ki 6:37-38)
• BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S HOUSE. (1Ki 7:1)
• OF THE HOUSE OF LEBANON. (1Ki 7:2-7)
• HIRAM'S WORKS. (1Ki. 7:13-51)
• THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. (1Ki 8:1-12)
• SOLOMON'S BLESSING. (1Ki 8:12-21)
• HIS PRAYER. (1Ki. 8:22-61)
• HIS SACRIFICE OF PEACE OFFERING. (1Ki 8:62-64)
• THE PEOPLE JOYFUL. (1Ki 8:65)
• GOD'S COVENANT IN A SECOND VISION WITH SOLOMON. (1Ki 9:1-9)
• THE MUTUAL PRESENTS OF SOLOMON AND HIRAM. (1Ki 9:10-23)
• SOLOMON'S YEARLY SACRIFICES. (1Ki 9:24-28)
• THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ADMIRES THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. (1Ki 10:1-13)
• HIS RICHES. (1Ki. 10:14-29)
• SOLOMON'S WIVES AND CONCUBINES IN HIS OLD AGE. (1Ki 11:1-8)
• GOD THREATENS HIM. (1Ki 11:9-13)
• REFUSING THE OLD MEN'S COUNSEL. (1Ki 12:1-5)
• JEROBOAM MADE KING OVER THEM. (1Ki 12:20-33)
• JEROBOAM'S HAND WITHERS. (1Ki. 13:1-22)
• THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET SLAIN BY A LION. (1Ki 13:23-32)
• AHIJAH DENOUNCES GOD'S JUDGMENTS AGAINST JEROBOAM. (1Ki. 14:1-20)
• REHOBOAM'S WICKED REIGN. (1Ki 14:21-24)
• SHISHAK SPOILS JERUSALEM. (1Ki 14:25-31)
• ABIJAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (1Ki 15:1-8)
• ASA'S GOOD REIGN. (1Ki 15:9-22)
• NADAB'S WICKED REIGN. (1Ki 15:25-34)
• JEHU'S PROPHECY AGAINST BAASHA. (1Ki 16:1-8)
• ZIMRI'S CONSPIRACY. (1Ki 16:9-22)
• OMRI BUILDS SAMARIA. (1Ki 16:23-28)
• JOSHUA'S CURSE FULFILLED UPON HIEL THE BUILDER OF JERICHO. (1Ki 16:34)
• ELIJAH, PROPHESYING AGAINST AHAB, IS SENT TO CHERITH. (1Ki 17:1-7)
• HE IS SENT TO A WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH. (1Ki 17:8-16)
• HE RAISES HER SON TO LIFE. (1Ki 17:17-24)
• ELIJAH MEETS OBADIAH. (1Ki. 18:1-16)
• ELIJAH, BY PRAYER, OBTAINS RAIN. (1Ki 18:41-46)
• ELIJAH FLEES TO BEER-SHEBA. (1Ki 19:1-3)
• ELISHA FOLLOWS ELIJAH. (1Ki 19:19-21)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (1Ki 20:1-12)
• THE SYRIANS ARE SLAIN. (1Ki 20:13-20)
• A PROPHET REPROVES HIM. (1Ki 20:35-42)
• NABOTH REFUSES AHAB HIS VINEYARD. (1Ki 21:1-4)
• JEZEBEL CAUSES NABOTH TO BE STONED. (1Ki 21:5-16)
• ELIJAH DENOUNCES JUDGMENTS AGAINST AHAB AND JEZEBEL. (1Ki 21:17-29)
• AHAB SLAIN AT RAMOTH-GILEAD. (1Ki. 22:1-36)

TSK: 1 Kings 13 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Ki 13:1, Jeroboam’s hand withers, 1Ki 13:6, and at the prayer of the prophet is restored; 1Ki 13:7, The prophet departs from Beth-el; 1Ki 13:11, An old prophet brings him back; 1Ki 13:20, He is reproved by God, 1Ki 13:23, slain by a lion, 1Ki 13:26, buried by the old prophet, 1Ki 13:31, who confirms his prophecy; 1Ki 13:33, Jeroboam’s obstinacy.

Poole: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF KINGS COMMONLY CALLED

THE THIRD BOOK OF THE KINGS

THE ARGUMENT

THESE two Books called Of the Kings, because they treat of the kings of Judah and Israel, were written by the prophets, or holy men of God, living in or near their several times, and by some one of them digested into this order. But whoever was the penman, that these are a part of those Holy Scriptures which were Divinely inspired is sufficiently evident first,

From the concurring testimony of the whole Jewish church in all ages, to whom were committed the oracles of God, Rom 3:2 , who also did faithfully discharge their duty in preserving and delivering them entirely and truly to their posterity from time to time, as plainly appears, because Christ and his apostles, who reproved them freely for their several sins, never taxed them with this fault, of depraving the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. Secondly, Because this is manifest concerning divers parcels of them which were taken out of the records of the prophets Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo, 2Ch 9:29 , and out of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah; and the rest doubtless were of the same nature.

Thirdly, From the approbation of these books by the New Testament, both generally, as 2Ti 3:16 , All Scripture is given by inspiration from God, &c., which is affirmed concerning all those Holy Scriptures which Timothy had known, from a child, 2Ti 3:15 , and therefore must necessarily be meant of all the books of the Old Testament, which the Jews owned for canonical Scripture; and particularly Rom 11:2,3 , &c., where a passage out of these books is quoted and owned as a part of the Holy Scripture, called the Scripture by way of eminency.

Poole: 1 Kings 13 (Chapter Introduction)

KINGS CHAPTER 13

A prophet of Judah prophesieth against the altar at Beth-el: Jeroboam offering him violence, his hand withereth; and, at the prayer of the prophet, is restored, 1Ki 13:1-6 . He refusing the king’ s entertainment, departeth from Beth-el, 1Ki 13:7-10 . An old prophet seducing him, bringeth him back, 1Ki 13:11-19 . He is for it reproved of God by the old prophet; and is slain by a lion; and buried by the old prophet; who confirmeth his prophecy, 1Ki 13:20-32 . Jeroboam’ s obstinacy, 1Ki 13:33,34 .

MHCC: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

The history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for it is a sacred history. It is earlier as to time, teaches much more, and is more interesting than any common histories.

MHCC: 1 Kings 13 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Ki 13:1-10) Jeroboam's sin reproved.

(1Ki 13:11-22) The prophet deceived.

(1Ki 13:23-34) The disobedient prophet is slain, Jeroboam's obstinacy.

Matthew Henry: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Kings

Many histories are books of kings and their reigns, to which the affairs of their kingdoms are reduced; this is a piece of honour that has commonly been paid to crowned heads. The holy Scripture is the history of the kingdom of God among men, under the several administrations of it; but there the King is one and his name one. The particular history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for still it is a sacred history, much more instructive and not less entertaining than any of the histories of the kings of the earth, to which (those of them that are of any certainty) it is prior in time; for though there were kings in Edom before there was any king in Israel, Gen 36:31 (foreigners, in that point of state, got the precedency), yet the history of the kings of Israel lives, and will live, in holy Writ, to the end of the world, whereas that of the kings of Edom is long since buried in oblivion; for the honour that comes from God is durable, while the honour of the world is like a mushroom, which comes up in a night and perishes in a night. - The Bible began with the story of patriarchs, and prophets, and judges, men whose converse with heaven was more immediate, the record of which strengthens our faith, but is not so easily accommodated to our case, now that we expect not visions, as the subsequent history of affairs like ours under the direction of common providence; and here also we find, though not many types and figures of the Messiah, yet great expectations of him; for not only prophets, but kings, desired to see the great mysteries of the gospel, Luk 10:24 - The two books of Samuel are introductions to the books of the Kings, as they relate the origin of the royal government in Saul and of the royal family in David. These two books give us an account of David's successor, Solomon, the division of his kingdom, and the succession of the several kings both of Judah and Israel, with an abstract of their history down to the captivity. And as from the book of Genesis we may collect excellent rules of economics, for the good governing of families, so from these books we may collect rules of politics, for the directing of public affairs. There is in these books special regard had to the house and lineage of David, from which Christ came. Some of his sons trod in his steps, and others did not. The characters of the kings of Judah may be thus briefly given: - David the devout, Solomon the wise, Rehoboam the simple, Abijah the valiant, Asa the upright, Jehoshaphat the religious, Jehoram the wicked, Ahaziah the profane, Joash the backslider, Amaziah the rash, Uzziah the mighty, Jotham the peaceable, Ahaz the idolater, Hezekiah the reformer, Manasseh the penitent, Amon the obscure, Josiah the tender-hearted, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, all wicked, and such as brought ruin quickly on themselves and their kingdom. The number of the good and bad is nearly equal, but the reigns of the good were generally long and those of the bad short, the consideration of which will make the state of Israel not altogether so bad in this period as at first it seems. In this first book we have, I. The death of David, ch. 1 and 2. II. The glorious reign of Solomon, and his building the temple (ch. 3-10), but the cloud his sun set under, ch. 11. III. The division of the kingdoms in Rehoboam, and his reign and Jeroboam's, ch. 12-14. IV. The reigns of Abijah and Asa over Judah, Baasha and Omri over Israel, ch. 15 and 16. V. Elijah's miracles, ch. 17-19. VI. Ahab's success against Benhadad, his wickedness and fall, ch. 20-22. And in all this history it appears that kings, though gods to us, are men to God, mortal and accountable.

Matthew Henry: 1 Kings 13 (Chapter Introduction)

In the close of the foregoing chapter we left Jeroboam attending his altar at Beth-el, and there we find him in the beginning of this, when he received a testimony from God against his idolatry and apostasy. This was sent to him by a prophet, a man of God that lived in Judah, who is the principal subject of the story of this chapter, where we are told, I. What passed between him and the new king. 1. The prophet threatened Jeroboam's altar (1Ki 13:1, 1Ki 13:2), and gave him a sign (1Ki 13:3), which immediately came to pass (1Ki 13:5). 2. The king threatened the prophet, and was himself made another sign, by the withering of his hand (1Ki 13:4), and the restoring of it upon his submission and the prophet's intercession (1Ki 13:6). 3. The prophet refused the kindness offered him thereupon (1Ki 13:7-10). II. What passed between him and the old prophet. 1. The old prophet fetched him back by a lie, and gave him entertainment (1Ki 13:11-19). 2. He, for accepting it, in disobedience to the divine command, is threatened with death (1Ki 13:20-22). And, 3. The threatening is executed, for he is slain by a lion (1Ki 13:23, 1Ki 13:24), and buried at Beth-el (1Ki 13:25-32). 4. Jeroboam is hardened in his idolatry (1Ki 13:33, 1Ki 13:34). " Thy judgments, Lord, are a great deep."

Constable: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The Books of 1 and 2 Kings received their names because they document the reigns of the 40 kings of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah following David.¹

In the Hebrew Bible 1 and 2 Kings were one book until the sixteenth century. The ancients regarded them as the continuation of the narrative begun in Samuel. The Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Hebrew text, dating from about 250 B.C., was the first to divide Kings into two books. That division has continued to the present day. The Septuagint translators, however, called these two books 3 and 4 Kingdoms. First and 2 Kingdoms were our 1 and 2 Samuel. Jerome's Vulgate (Latin) translation, which dates about A.D. 400, changed the name from Kingdoms to Kings.

"The English Bible presents the books primarily as historical accounts. Their placement next to 1, 2 Chronicles demonstrates the collectors' interest in detailing all the events of Israel's history. In contrast, the Hebrew Bible places Joshua-Kings with the prophets, which highlights their common viewpoints. This decision implies that 1, 2 Kings are being treated as proclamation and history."²

Writer and Date

Most Old Testament scholars today believe several different individuals wrote and edited Kings because of theories concerning textual transmission that have gained popularity in the last 150 years. However, many conservatives have continued to follow the older tradition of the church that one individual probably put Kings together.³ This view finds support in the stylistic and linguistic features that run through the whole work and make it read like the product of a single writer. Some of these features are the way the writer described and summarized each king's reign, the consistent basis on which he evaluated all the kings, and recurring phrases and terms.

The identity of the writer is unknown today and has been for centuries. Ancient Jewish tradition suggested Ezra or Ezekiel as possible writers since both of these men were biblical writers who lived after the Babylonian exile. The record of King Jehoiachin's release from Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 25:27-30) points to a date of final composition sometime after that event. Jeremiah has traditional Talmudic support as well though he never went to Babylon but died in Egypt. Of course, someone else may have written Kings. Scholars have suggested these men only because they were famous writers who lived when Kings reached its final form.

Most non-conservatives date Kings considerably later than the sixth or fifth centuries.⁴

Scope

The historical period Kings covers totals about 413 years. The events that frame this period were Solomon's coronation as co-regent with David (973 B.C.) and Jehoiachin's release from Babylonian exile (560 B.C.).

However, most of Kings deals with the period that spans Solomon's coronation and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., a period of 387 years. In terms of the temple, at the beginning we see the temple built and at the end the temple burnt.

". . . 1, 2 Kings present Israel's history as a series of events that describe how and why the nation fell from the heights of national prosperity to the depths of conquest and exile."⁵

"More specifically, 1, 2 Kings explain how and why Israel lost the land it fought so hard to win in Joshua and worked so hard to organize in Judges and 1, 2 Samuel."⁶

"Plot relates the causes and effects in a story. Thus, the story line in 1, 2 Kings may be that Israel went into exile, but the plot is Israel went into exile because of its unfaithfulness to God. To make cause and effect unfold, plots normally have at least two basic aspects: conflict and resolution. A plot's conflict is the tension in a story that makes it an interesting account, while a plot's resolution is the way the conflict is settled. How the author develops these two components usually decides the shape and effectiveness of the plot."⁷

This historical period is more than twice that of the one the Books of Samuel covered, which was about 150 years in length. The Book of Judges covers about 300 years of Israel's history.

The dates of the kings of Israel and Judah that I have used in the following notes are those of Edwin Thiele.⁸ He has worked out the many problems regarding these dates more satisfactorily than anyone else in the opinion of most scholars.⁹

Message¹⁰

The fact that this book opens and closes with death should be a clue as to its message.

It opens with David's death, and it closes with Ahab's death. The intervening period of about a century and a half is a story of national decline, disruption, disintegration, and disaster. Israel and Judah passed from affluence and influence to poverty and paralysis.

There is an emphasis in this book on thrones.

Obviously there were the thrones of Judah and Israel on earth with their kings who succeeded one another. However there is also the throne in heaven with its one King. Rehoboam and Jeroboam had their successors, the kings who replaced one another. Yahweh also in a sense had His successors, the prophets who replaced one another as His messengers to the people. While the kings remind us of the thrones on earth, the prophets remind us of the throne in heaven.

The thrones on earth present a story of disruption, disintegration, and disaster in both kingdoms, Judah and Israel. This trend continued despite changes in the methods the various rulers employed to govern their people.

Solomon's method of government was oppression. He taxed the people greatly and conscripted them into government service. The result was material magnificence. He multiplied riches and manifested great displays in the temple, the palace, and throughout his kingdom. He increased the military strength of the nation. Nevertheless in the process he ground down the people. The state became more important than the people. The testimony to this appears in 12:4. The result was dissatisfaction with Solomon's method of government.

In reaction to this method Rehoboam chose a new method of government: autocracy. He decided to tighten his grip on the people so he could control them (12:14). He believed the people should trust in their rulers, but he did not trust in God. Consequently he failed. Autocracy led to revolution (12:16).

Jeroboam chose a third method of government: democracy. He let the people determine how they would live. While this resulted in more pleasant conditions for the people, it also resulted in ultimate disaster for his nation. Notice what democracy produced in Jeroboam's day: 12:27-29. People cannot rule themselves effectively. We need God to govern us. Jeroboam believed rulers should trust in the people, but he did not trust in God. Consequently he failed. He made religion convenient, and the people became corrupt (12:30-31).

Rehoboam's successors in Judah chose a method of government we could call government by policy. That is, they chose to follow precedent, the pattern of their predecessors, rather than getting and following God's direction for their nation. There were some exceptions to this approach, but on the whole this was Judah's method of government.

Jeroboam's successors in Israel, however, chose a different method of government: selfishness. The kings of Israel cared little for the people of Israel. What concerned them primarily was what they could get out of being king for themselves. That is why the story of the kingdom of Israel is a story of intrigue, assassinations, and much bloodshed.

In summary, every form of human government results in disastrous failure if people do not acknowledge God's sovereignty. People cannot govern themselves effectively. The result is always decline, disruption, and disintegration. This is one of the great revelations of 1 Kings.

However there is another throne in view in this book: the throne in heaven. Whereas 1 Kings reveals that human government always fails, it also reveals that God's government never fails. There are two ways God exercised His kingship over His people during Israel's monarchy.

First, He broke in on human life with messages that the prophets delivered. Ahijah announced the division of the kingdom (11:26-39). Later he announced the death of Jeroboam's son (14:4-16). Shemaiah directed Rehoboam not to fight against Jeroboam (12:21-24). An unnamed prophet announced the fate of Jeroboam's altar (13:1-10). Jehu announced Baasha's doom (16:1-4). Elijah vindicated Yahweh in the days of Ahab's apostasy (chs. 17-21). Another unnamed prophet rebuked Ahab for allowing Ben-Hadad to escape (20:35-43). Micaiah foretold Israel's scattering (22:8-28). These are all evidences that God was governing His people independently of the kings when they forgot Him. The heavenly throne ruled in spite of the earthly thrones.

The second way God exercised His rule, in addition to sending messages by the prophets, was by directly and indirectly intervening in the lives of His people. He appeared and spoke directly to Solomon, which resulted in the building of the temple. He raised up an adversary to Solomon, namely Jeroboam. He slew Abijah. He withheld rain and brought famine. He sent fire from heaven on Mt. Carmel. He sent rain. He appeared to Elijah in an earthquake. He enticed Ahab into battle through the mouths of lying prophets.

In short, God ruled by exercising direct and indirect influence over people, by directly intervening and by controlling circumstances occasionally. He manipulated history. God sits in perfect control and continuity over all the human chaos that peoples' failure to rule themselves causes.

The message of the book, therefore, is that when people exclude God, every method of human government will fail; but even so God is still on His throne and is in control.

If people exclude God, every method of government ends in disaster. Even though in Solomon's reign the king emphasized religious forms and ceremonies, internal development, foreign treaties, and intellectual attainment, his oppression did not bring stability and peace. Autocracy will end in revolution eventually. Democracy that locks God out can result in the most terrible consequences for the people whose interests it professes to advocate. Government by policy can only deteriorate. Selfish rulers will only rape their nations.

Man cannot govern himself because he does not know himself apart from God's Word. How can he govern others about whom he knows even less? If people do not submit to the throne in heaven, no matter what method of government they choose, they will fail. As Christians, we must remember who is in control. We must look beyond our government to our God.

First Kings also reveals God's method in the midst of human failures.

First, when a throne on earth rebels against the throne in heaven God abandons that throne on earth. He separated Himself from it. He allowed the evil choices of the rulers to work themselves out to their inevitable consequences. Departure leads to disaster. Apostasy results in awful consequences (cf. Rom. 1).

Second, God keeps some consciousness of Himself and His government alive in the hearts and minds of a remnant. The prophets spoke. All Christians exercise that ministry today. We should speak for God to our generation.

Third, God maintains ultimate control. He controls history directly and indirectly so His purposes get accomplished. The Christian never needs to panic. God has revealed His plan for history. Knowledge of the Word should give us stability in uncertain times.

What I have said is true on the national scale is also true on the individual level. If a person excludes God from his or her life, no matter how the person may live, he or she will fail. We can resist God's authority, but we cannot overcome it. People only break themselves by refusing to submit to the throne in heaven. People need reminding of the throne in heaven. These principles have worked out throughout history. God's plan moves ahead.

Constable: 1 Kings (Outline)

Outline

I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11

A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:12

1. David's declining health 1:1-4

2. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-53

3. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-9

4. David's death 2:10-12

B. The foundation of Solomon's reign 2:13-4:34

1. Solomon's purges 2:13-46

2. Solomon's wisdom from God ch. 3

3. Solomon's political strength ch. 4

C. Solomon's greatest contribution chs. 5-8

1. Preparations for building ch. 5

2. Temple construction ch. 6

3. Solomon's palace 7:1-12

4. The temple furnishings 7:13-51

5. The temple dedication ch. 8

D. The fruits of Solomon's reign chs. 9-11

1. God's covenant with Solomon 9:1-9

2. Further evidences of God's blessing 9:10-28

3. Solomon's greatness ch. 10

4. Solomon's apostasy ch. 11

II. The divided kingdom -1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17

A. The first period of antagonism 12:1-16:28

1. The division of the kingdom ch. 12

2. Jeroboam's evil reign in Israel 12:25-14:20

3. Rehoboam's evil reign in Judah 14:21-31

4. Abijam's evil reign in Judah 15:1-8

5. Asa's good reign in Judah 15:9-24

6. Nadab's evil reign in Israel 15:25-32

7. Baasha's evil reign in Israel 15:33-16:7

8. Elah's evil reign in Israel 16:8-14

9. Zimri's evil reign in Israel 16:15-20

10. Omri's evil reign in Israel 16:21-28

B. The period of alliance -1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 9:29

1. Ahab's evil reign in Israel 16:29-22:40

2. Jehoshaphat's good reign in Judah 22:41-50

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

(Continued in notes on 2 Kings)

One writer observed that a chiastic structure marks the Books of Kings.¹¹

A Solomon/United Monarchy -- 1 Kings 1:1-11:25

B Jeroboam/Rehoboam; the division of the kingdom -- 1 Kings 11:26-14:31

C Kings of Judah/Israel -- 1 Kings 15:1-16:22

D The Omride dynasty; the rise and fall of the Baal cult in Israel and Judah -- -1 Kings 16:23-2 Kings 12

C' Kings of Judah/Israel -- 2 Kings 13-16

B' The fall of the Northern Kingdom -- 2 Kings 17

A' The Kingdom of Judah -- 2 Kings 18-25.

Constable: 1 Kings

1 Kings

Bibliography

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Archer, Gleason L., Jr. "Old Testament History and Recent Archaeology From Solomon to Zedekiah." Bibliotheca Sacra 127:507 (July-September 1970):195-211.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE THIRD BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This and the following Book are called by the holy Fathers, The Third and Fourth Book of Kings; but by the Hebrews, the First and Second. They contain the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Juda, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon to the captivity. As to the writer of these books, it seem most probable they were not written by one man, nor at one time; but as there was all along a succession of prophets in Israel, who recorded, by divine inspiration, the most remarkable things that happened in their days, these books seem to have been written by these prophets. See 2 Paralipomenon, alias 2 Chronicles ix. 29., xii. 15., xiii. 22., xx. 34., xxvi. 22., and xxxii. 32. (Challoner) --- This book informs us of the death of David, chap. ii. 11, where some Greek copies concluded the second book "of the reigns or kingdoms," as they style all the four books. Theodoret and Diodorus follow this division. The point is of no consequence; and the Hebrew editions have often varied. Origen observes, that the Jews denoted these two books from the first words, "Ouammelech David." (Eusebius, Hist. vi. 25.) (Haydock) --- In St. Jerome's time, the four books made only two. The present book details the actions of Solomon, (Calmet) till the end of the 12th chapter. Then we behold the division of the kingdom: Roboam, Abias, Asa, and Josaphat, reign over Juda; Jeroboam, &c., over Israel; while the prophets Abias, Elias, Eliseus, appear in the remaining eleven chapters. (Worthington) --- Though the memoirs seem to have been left by contemporary authors, (Haydock) one, and most probably Esdras, made the compilation, after the captivity, inserting frequently the very words of his authors, yet so as to make some additional reflections. (Calmet) --- The Rabbins generally attribute the work to Jeremias. (Haydock) --- He is more attentive to the house of David, and to display the rewards of the piety, and the punishment of vice, as well as the glory of the temple and of religion, than to describe the military exploits, which occupy so much of the profane history. (Calmet)

Gill: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS

This, and the following book, properly are but one book, divided into two parts, and went with the Jews under the common name of Kings. This, in the Syriac version, is called the Book of Kings; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Solomon, the Son of David the Prophet, because it begins with his reign upon the death of his father; and, in the Vulgate Latin version, the Third Book of Kings, the two preceding books of Samuel being sometimes called the First and Second Books of Kings, they containing the reigns of Saul and David; and in the Septuagint version both this and the following book are called Kingdoms, because they treat of the kingdom of Israel and Judah, after the division in the times of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and of the several kings of them; as of Solomon before the division, so afterwards of the kings of Judah; Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah or Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah; and of the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the son of Joash, Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea; so that these books may, with great propriety, be called the books or histories of the kings in the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel: who they were written by, is not easy to say; some think they were written by piecemeal by the prophets that lived in the several reigns successively, as Nathan, Ahijah the Shilonite, Iddo, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and afterwards put together by an inspired writer. The Jews commonly say ^a, that Jeremiah wrote the book of the Kings, by which they mean this, and the following book; though very probably they were written by Ezra, since the history in them is carried down to the liberty granted to Jehoiachin in Babylon; but that Ezra was the writer of all the preceding historical books, and even of the Pentateuch, cannot be admitted, which is the conceit of Spinosa ^b; part of whose tract is just now republished by somebody, word for word, under a title as in the margin ^c; but that Ezra was not the writer of the Pentateuch is clear, since he refers to it as written by Moses, and as the rule of religion and worship in his times, Ezr 3:2; and it is certain these writings were in being in the times of Josiah, Amaziah, Joash, yea, of David, and even of Joshua, 2Ch 34:14; and as for the book of Joshua, that also was written long before Ezra's time; it must be written long before the times of David, before the Jebusites were expelled from Jerusalem, since the writer of it says, that they dwelt there in his days, Jos 15:63; the book of Judges must be written before the times of Samuel and David, since the former refers to the annals of it, 1Sa 12:9; and the latter alludes to some passages in it, Psa 68:7; see Jdg 5:4; and a speech of Joab's, 2Sa 11:21, shows it to be an history then extant: to which may be added, that in it Jerusalem is called Jebus, Jdg 19:10; which it never was, after it was taken by David out of the hands of the Jebusites, 2Sa 5:6; the book of Ruth very probably was written by Samuel; had it been of a later date, or written by Ezra, the genealogy with which it concludes, would doubtless have been carried further than to David: the Book of Samuel, and particularly the song of Hannah in it, were written in all probability before the penning of the hundred thirteenth psalm, Psa 113:1, in which some expressions seem to be taken from it wherefore, though the two books of Kings may be allowed to be written or compiled by Ezra, the ten preceding ones cannot be assigned to him: however, there is no room to doubt of the divine authority of these two books, when the honour our Lord has done them is observed, by quoting or referring to several histories in them; as to the account of the queen of Sheba coming to hear the wisdom of Solomon; of the famine in the times of Elijah; and of that prophet being sent to the widow of Sarepta, and of the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian in the times of Elisha, Mat 12:42 from 1Ki 17:1 2Ki 5:10; to which may be added, the quotations and references made by the apostles to passages in them, as by the Apostle Paul in Rom 11:2 from 1Ki 19:14 where this book is expressly called the Scripture; and by the Apostle James, Jam 5:17; who manifestly refers to 1Ki 17:1; and there are various things in this part of Scripture, which are confirmed by the testimonies of Heathen writers, as will be observed in the exposition of it. The use of these books is to carry on the history of the Jewish nation, to show the state of the church of God in those times, and his providential care of it amidst all the changes and vicissitudes in the state; and, above all, to transmit to us the true genealogy of the Messiah, which serves to confirm the Evangelist Matthew's account of it.

Gill: 1 Kings 13 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 13

In this chapter is an account of a man of God being sent to exclaim against Jeroboam's altar, and threaten its destruction, of which he gave a sign, which was accomplished, and with it the withering of the king's hand, which was healed upon the prophet's prayer for him, 1Ki 13:1, who would have entertained him at his house, but he refused the offer, and departed, 1Ki 13:8, but an old prophet in Bethel hearing of him, rode after him, and fetched him back to eat bread with him, through a lie he told him, 1Ki 13:11 upon which the word came to the old prophet, threatening the man of God with death for disobeying his command, and which was accordingly executed by a lion that met him in the way, and slew him, 1Ki 13:20, of which the old prophet being informed, went and took up his carcass, and buried it in his own sepulchre, where he charged his sons to bury him also when dead, believing that all the man of God had said would be fulfilled, 1Ki 13:25 and the chapter is closed with observing the continuance of Jeroboam in his idolatry, 1Ki 13:33.