1 Kings 13:23

_AND IT CAME TO PASS, AFTER HE HAD EATEN BREAD, AND AFTER HE HAD DRUNK, THAT HE SADDLED FOR HIM THE ASS, TO WIT, FOR THE PROPHET WHOM HE HAD BROUGHT BACK._ No JFB commentary on this verse....

23-34 God is displeased at the sins of his own people; and no man shall be protected in disobedience, by his office, his nearness to God, or any services he has done for him. God warns all whom he employs, strictly to observe their orders. We cannot judge of men by their sufferings, nor of sins by present punishments; with some, the flesh is destroyed, that the spirit may be saved; with others, the flesh is pampered, that the soul may ripen for hell. Jeroboam returned not from his evil way. He promised himself that the calves would secure the crown to his family, but they lost it, and sunk his family. Those betray themselves who think to support themselves by any sin whatever. Let us dread prospering in sinful ways; pray to be kept from every delusion and temptation, and to be enabled to walk with self-denying perseverance in the way of God's commands....

EXPOSITION THE DISOBEDIENCE AND DEATH OF THE MAN OF GOD.—The seduction of the man of God, who has borne such fearless witness against Jeroboam's ecclesiastical policy, and his tragical end, are now narrated, partly because of the deep impression the story made at the time, but principally because these events were in themselves an eloquent testimony against the worship of the calves and the whole ecclesiastical policy of Jeroboam, and a solemn warning for all time against any, the slightest, departure from the commandments of God. The very unfaithfulness of this accredited messenger of the Most High, and the instant punishment it provoked, became part of the Divine protest against the new _regime, _against the unfaithfulness of Israel; whilst the remarkable manner in which these occurrences were recalle

AND IT CAME TO PASS, AFTER HE HAD EATEN BREAD, AND AFTER HE HAD DRUNK,.... That is, had finished the meal; for he had begun to eat and drink before the word came, which came while they were eating and drinking; and it seems this did not hinder their proceeding to make an end of their meal, which one would have thought would have spoiled their appetite: THAT HE SADDLED FOR HIM THE ASS, [TO WIT], FOR THE PROPHET WHOM HE HAD BROUGHT BACK; he ordered his sons to get it ready for him, that he might not walk on foot as he had; though it does not appear that either he or any of his servants accompanied him, but the contrary....

2. JEROBOAM AND REHOBOAM AND THEIR REIGN CHAPTER 13 The Man of God from Judah _ 1. The man of God and Jeroboam (1 Kings 13:1)_ 2. The temptation and lying message (1 Kings 13:11) 3. Judgment announced (1 Kings 13:20) 4. The fate of the man of Judah (1 Kings 13:23) 5. Jeroboam's impenitence (1 Kings 13:33) A dramatic scene opens this chapter. The idolatrous King is engaged in his religious ceremony when an unnamed man of God interrupted him. He did not rebuke Jeroboam, but addressed

1 Kings 12:25 to 1 Kings 13:34. THE SIN OF JEROBOAM. THE PROPHET AT BETHEL. The sources cannot be exactly determined. Some (see Cent.B) may belong to the annals of the northern kingdom, but the tone is decidedly Deuteronomic. The prophet's message to Jeroboam is certainly late. Jeroboam's first act as recorded was to build or fortify Shechem (1 Kings 12:25). Then for some reason he transferred his seat of government to the E. of Jordan to Penuel. Possibly he was hard pressed by his former patron Shishak, who invaded Israel in his reign (1 Kings 14:25). There is no proof of this; but Abner after Saul's death set up Ishbosh

TO WIT. that is to say....

The prophet of Judah is slain. He is buried, and his words confirmed, by the old prophet (Not in Chronicles) 23. _he saddled for him the ass_ There has been no mention before of an ass belonging to the prophet of Judah, but as travelling was ordinarily performed in this way, we may suppose that he had ridden from Jerusalem, and had been riding back. Instead of the concluding words of this verse -to wit, for &c. the LXX. has -and he turned and went away." Because the word -prophet" נביא is not used elsewhere in the story for the Judæan prophet, who is always called -a man of God," some have rendered the last part of this verse -he saddled for him the ass, the ass belonging to the prophet who had brought him back." But it seems far more natural to take the לו = _for_him, as in close relation to the לנביא = _for_the prophet, as they are both introduced by the same preposition....

C. THE CONDEMNATION OF THE MAN OF GOD 13:20-26 TRANSLATION (20) And it came to pass as they were sitting at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet who brought him back; (21) and he cried unto the man of God which came from Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD, Because you rebelled against the word of the LORD, and did not keep the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, (22) but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He spoke unto you, Do not eat bread and do not drink water, your corpse shall not come unto the grave of your fathers. (23) And it came to pass after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him a donkey, for the prophet which he had brought back. (24) And when he had gone, a lion found him in the way and slew him, and his corpse was cast in the way, with the donkey standing beside it; also the l...

THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET 2. Josiah] for the fulfilment see 2 Kings 23:15. Some 300 years separated the prediction from the event, and the mention by name of the king destined to accomplish it is unlike the methods of Hebrew prophecy in general. It is possible that the records upon which the present account is based were less precise, and that Josiah's name was introduced by the compiler of the book of Kings, who lived after Josiah's time and was familiar with what he had done. OFFER] better, 'slaughter.' They would not be offered in sacrifice....