1 Kings 13:20-26

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 lion was standing beside the corpse. (25) And behold men were passing by, and they saw the corpse cast in the way, and the lion standing beside the corpse, and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. (26) When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard, he said, He is the man of God, who rebelled against the word of the LORD; therefore the LORD has given him to the lion, which has torn him and slam him, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke to him.

COMMENTS

The man of God fell for the lie and returned to Bethel to share the hospitality of the old prophet (1 Kings 13:19). How quickly obedience can turn to disobedience when one's guard is down! During the meal the old prophet received a genuine revelation from God (1 Kings 13:20). The Holy Spirit took control of the old prophet and compelled him to cry out against the man of God. He who denounced the sin of Jeroboam is now himself denounced (1 Kings 13:21). Part of the punishment of the old prophet was this revelation, for it forced him to admit to his guest that he had told an untruth. Furthermore, he was forced to pronounce the sentence of doom on the life of a godly man.

The punishment of disobedience is severe. The man of God would experience an ignominious death (indicated by the word carcass) and the disgrace of burial among strangers. Only burial in the family sepulcher was regarded as dignified.[353] The supreme warning in these verses is plain: Disobedience brings punishment irrespective of past faithfulness and service.

[353] Slotki, SBB, p. 101.

The gloomy meal at an end, the Bethel prophet saddled his donkey for the man of God who seems to have been traveling on foot (1 Kings 13:23). The donkey may have been lent or given to the man of God by the false prophet to salve his conscience or as an act of courtesy. The donkey is mentioned specifically at this point because of the role this animal was to play at the end of the story.

As he was making his way south toward Judah, a lion[354] pounced upon the man of God and slew him. That this death was no accident is indicated by the peculiar behavior of the donkey and the lion, both of which simply stood near the corpse of the fallen prophet (1 Kings 13:24). The lion standing guard at the spot is a marvelous picture of perfect obedience to God in contrast to the fallen prophet who has paid the price of disobedience.

[354] Lions of a small breed were known in Palestine and the Near East in Old Testament times (1 Samuel 17:34; Amos 3:12, etc.), and are known to have become extinct only in the twelfth century A.D.

Those who had traveled that highway reported in Bethel what they had seenthe corpse of a man in the way with a lion standing nearby (1 Kings 13:25). Hearing this report, the old prophet knew instantly the identity of that corpse and the reason for this tragedy (1 Kings 13:26).