Talk Tuesday-The Voice of The Deceiver

This week I was talking to someone who shared a testimony of how her obedience brought the blessing and faithfulness of GOD in her life. Her parting words were, “The only things that matter are obedience and faith.” I began to ponder this and wondered, “Why do we disobey God when we know what He requires of us?”

In the book of 1 Kings, chapters 12 & 13, we meet a broken Israelite kingdom after the death of King Solomon. Ten tribes went with Jeroboam son of Nebat, while Judah and Benjamin remained with Rehoboam, Solomon's son. Jeroboam believed that if the people went to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple, their allegiance would revert to Solomon's son so he built altars of idolatry in Bethel and Dan, placing golden calves upon them telling the people, “Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt,” 1 Kings 12:28. The LORD sent a prophet, 'a man of God', to Bethel to speak against this altar of idolatry. The prophet was given strict instructions by God not to accept the hospitality of anyone from the town, but to prophesy and leave. When the 'man of God' had finished his task, King Jeroboam invited him into his home and offered him a gift. He replied, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came,’” 1 Kings 13:8-9.

“Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day,” 1 Kings 13:11. This old prophet went in search of the prophet. “He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, 'Are you the man of God who came from Judah?' 'I am,' he replied. So the prophet said to him, 'Come home with me and eat.' The man of God said, 'I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place.'” 1 Kings 13:14-16. The old prophet responded, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.' (But he was lying to him.) So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house,” 1 Kings 13:18-19. “While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, 'This is what the Lord says: You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors,’” 1 Kings 13:20-22.

Why did the first prophet-'the man of God'-reject God's instruction? What caused him to change his mind even after he declined the King's offer? What causes us to disobey God, even after He has directed our paths in the way in which we should walk? Please click on the comments link below to share your thoughts with us at BGO. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for walking with us! Let us encourage each other in Christ!