I Kings 13

  1. Introduction
  1. Time frame:

1. Solomon dies.

  • Jeroboam and Israel request that Rehoboam lighten load of Israel.
  • Rehoboam - Would not lighten work load of Israel.

2. Kingdom Divides

  • Jeroboam rules over Israel
  • Rehoboam rules over Judah
  1. Never again would the two kingdoms be ruled by a single king of their choosing (lineage) until Jesus Christ established the church.

II. Text of I Kings 13: 1-10

A. Verses 1-3

  1. Prophet was told by God to go and cry against the altar.
  • Altar was being used for idolatrous sacrifices. (12:32)
  • The people were supposed to be going up to the temple for sacrifices. (12:26-28)
  • Jeroboam the king of Israel was at the altar.
  • Prophet prophecies the destruction of the altar and the name of a future king of Judah. (340 yrs before).

B. Verses 4-6

  1. Jeroboam’s speaks against God’s Will
  2. Jeroboam’s arm frozen
  3. Jeroboam requests restoration. (Hezekiah request of Isaiah – seige of Jerusalem – 2 Kings 19)
  4. Prophets prayer – Jeroboam’s arm restored.

C. Verses 7-10

  1. Invitation to kings home
  2. Prophet refuses.
  3. Prophet was told by God to not to:
  • Eat, Drink, Return in the way he went on this journey.
  1. Following God’s Commands
  1. God’s Commands Plain and Understandable -No Great Thought to Follow the Plan of God.
  1. John 7:17 - If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself.
  2. Eph. 3:3-4 - …how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;
  3. Eph. 5:17 - Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Ex. Man Hired to Paint Lines on middle of Road…. Followed directions. Not told to pick up bucket.

  1. God’s Commands to be Strictly applied
  1. Adam and Eve. - Gen. 2
  2. Lot’s Wife – Gen. 19
  3. Naaman – II Kings 5
  4. Corinthians – I Cor. 4:6 – Worry about only what the Lord says.
  5. II John 9 – Don’t go beyond God’s teaching
  6. I Pet. 4:11 - When one speaks, rely upon the Word’s of God.
  1. Sin cannot be Successfully Committed –Gal. 6:7-8– Reap/Sow
  1. Num. 32:23 – “…be sure your sin will find you out.”
  2. Adam and Eve, Gahazi (Elisha, given leprosy), Ahab (not killing king Ben Hadad of Syria).

Text of I Kings 13: 11-34

A.Verses 11-19

  1. Old Prophet deceives man of God.
  1. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
  1. Man of God decides to accept that deception.
  • James 2:13-14 - Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man: but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.

B.Verses 20-25

  1. Man of God Killed by a Lion
  2. Belief of Lie condemns
  1. John 8:32 - and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
  2. II Thess. 2:10-12 - and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

C.Verses 26-34– God’s Will Cannot Be Thwarted.

  1. Non-life Prophecy of Altar destruction came true
  2. Single-life Prophecy of man of Godhas come true regarding grave
  3. Kingdom Prophecy concerning Josiah came true.
  • Old prophet, remorseful, must deal w/consequences. Also, Man of God must deal w/consequences.
  1. Making Sense of I Kings 13 and Our Lives in Two Points

A.All God’s commands Important

  1. Matt. 23:23 - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.
  2. Mat. 28:19-20 - Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
  3. Acts 10:33 - Forthwith therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all things that have been commanded thee of the Lord.
  1. Consequence of Disobedience of God’s Will
  1. Matt. 25:41 - Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels:
  2. II Thess. 1:7-9 - and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
  3. Rom. 2:8-9 - but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek;
  1. Conclusion
  1. Graphic of Man of God’s Life. / Our Life
  1. Started out in God
  2. His life was a jagged path.
  3. He was Supposed to Return Home, but Not By the Way He Got to Bethel
  4. He did not follow the Path of the Lord– Will We?
  5. He Never Made Home –No Full Circle– Will We Make it Home and Be Pleasing to the Lord?