Jeroboam was one of the most wicked and idolatrous kings of Israel. Instead of looking to the God of Israel for help and protection and deliverance, he looked to the foreign gods. Often when subsequent kings of Israel also engaged in idolatry, they were said to have “….followed the sins of Jeroboam…” (see II Kings 13:2 etc.). God being very displeased with King Jeroboam sent a man of God or prophet to declare His displeasure and judgment while Jeroboam was in the very act of idolatrous worship. This prophet also was to prophesy of a coming king (Josiah) who would worship God only and who thus would be used by God to bring about much needed purifying and restoration. “Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. He cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you. Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken, ‘Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.” (vs. 1-3). (See II Kings 23:15,16 for the fulfillment of this prophecy regarding King Josiah some 290 years later).
Jeroboam upon hearing this should have repented, but instead he lashed out at the man of God. God defended the man of God and punished Jeroboam by paralyzing the hand he stretched out towards the man of God with. As if that wasn’t enough to cause all of the onlookers to tremble in their boots, then the altar according to prophecy was also split in two. “Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.” (vs. 4,5). These were not every day occurrences for King Jeroboam and those around him.
The king knew God was against him and for and with the man of God, so he pled with the man of God to ask his God to heal him, which the man of God did, and God mercifully responded to the man of God’s prayer and healed Jeroboam’s hand. The king at this point should have doubly repented and worshipped God. But he didn’t. Instead he sought to gain favor with the man of God by inviting him to his home with the promise of rewards. The man of God’s response speaks volumes about why the Holy Spirit inspired the author of I Kings to call him a “man of God.” “The king said to the man of God, “Please entreat 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 it became as it was before. 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 with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.’” So he went another way and did not return by the way which he came to Bethel.”
Many of us after receiving such an invitation with such a person of influence would have seen this as a golden opportunity to perhaps be used by God to help a person of great influence and standing to come to God. We also would have been enamored by the promised financial reward as most servants of the Lord are not overflowing with funds; and after all God did use us to heal the person’s body. And we traveled there on our own dime!
One of the ways men and women of God, prophets and prophetesses in the days of revival and awakening yet to come will be known and recognized as the called of God servants they are is by not only their boldness and obedience and authority to bring judgment and healing, but also by their supernatural ability to be absolutely unfazed by the glitz and glamour and potential financial gain of being around people of influence.
So what does all of this have to do with fathering? Lots! Let’s continue with the story.
God knew when He sent the man of God that while his mission was to declare the word of the Lord to King Jeroboam, others would witness this whole encounter. Some of those there that day were in league with this wicked king. Others were perhaps merely servants and vendors – perhaps there to provide needed wood or incense or possibly animals (see I Kings 12:32,33) for Jeroboam’s idolatrous worship at the altar.
Two or more of those onlookers were sons of an old prophet, all who lived in Bethel. When they returned home they reported on all that they had seen and heard, “Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father.” (vs. 11). They seemed to be greatly affected by both the deeds and the words of this man of God. Ideally at that point their father would have helped his sons see the significance of those deeds and words and they all would have evaluated their lives in response. It was a great opportunity to help them personally respond to such an event and encounter with the living God.
But their father was unfazed by the reported deeds and words and instead was lit up by the excitement of being able to fraternize with a fellow prophet, who unlike him, was still being used mightily of God. The message sadly had no impact on him. He was enthralled with the messenger, not the message. “Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it.” (vs. 12,13). Who knows perhaps he, like Simon the magician in Acts 8, thought he might be able to purchase some of this man’s authority? Who know maybe this is one reason at least why this old prophet was on the sidelines instead of still in the game?
So the old prophet and father of at least two sons went out in pursuit of the man of God - finding him in a vulnerable state - both because he was alone, and because he was most likely emotionally and physically exhausted from what he just had to do to King Jeroboam.
“So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” (vs. 14).
The old prophet very likely did not find his value and identity in his relationship with God. Rather it appears he found it in who he connected with and whom he had in his home. Since his sons had relayed to him “the words which he had spoken to the king” he should have known the man of God clearly stated that God had told him he was not to “..eat ..bread, nor drink water..” (vs. 9). But he ignored all of that. He had little concern for the man of God. His focus and passion was his own opportunity with this fellow prophet. “Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” (vs. 15).
The man of God initially responded rightly, but his defenses were weak. “He said, “I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. For a command came to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.” (vs. 16,17).
The old unscrupulous prophet responded, “…I also am a prophet like you, 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.” But he lied to him. (vs. 18). The great thing about prophets is they know God speaks through a variety of means including other prophets, angels, visions and dreams, etc. The danger for prophets is sometimes these means need to be tested and confirmed before believed. We have an enemy who is quite sinister – even “disguising himself as an angel of light” (II Cor. 11:14). He knows our language and how to exploit our weaknesses.
The man of God’s response is a sobering example of how God can use us powerfully one moment, and then our whole ministry can be brought to a sudden and tragic end the next.
“So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.” (vs. 19).
God can speak through whomever and whatever He wants. The fact that at a given moment He might even speak through us does not mean in any way that He is pleased with our life. “Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the command of the Lord, and have not observed the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.’” (vs. 20-22).
Why did God choose to speak through such a liar? Well not in any way to validate this old prophet. Rather so that all of those who were gathered in that home and any of us who heard about what happens next would know that God orchestrated it all, and that He means what He says, and that sin always has serious consequences. “It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. Now when he had gone, a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.” (vs. 23-25). Please note, they didn’t go tell the old prophet because he was not one that people respected or sought out at that time of his life. But he eventually heard about it, and here is how he responded,” Now when the prophet who brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God, who disobeyed the command of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” (vs. 26). Somehow old prophets or old ministers, even though they are walking in disobedience and no longer have God’s favor on their lives, can still recognize an act of God when they see it. They can accurately describe it, and yet not be touched by it – at least in a way that leads to repentance.
Again learning of the man of God’s punishment was a great opportunity for the old prophet to repent of his sins and to help his sons learn from the man of God’s disobedience right after his great obedience. But he was somehow oblivious to all of this and continued to have an ungodly soul tie or fascination with the messenger as seen in the following: “Then he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. He went and found his body thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor torn the donkey. So the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, “when I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the thing shall surely come to pass which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria.” (vs. 27-32).
So what do you make of all of this craziness?
Well first of all please know that in the kingdom of God or better the church world, there are people whom God might sometimes use, but who are not in any way pleasing to Him nor reflective of Him. He can do whatever He wants through whomever He wants. But we need to be more discerning of what kind of person and life truly pleases Him.
Second, some of you had a parent or parents who were in the church world, might even have been gifted by the Holy Spirit, might have been used by God at some point, but whose focus was more on themselves and their advancement or their connections or perhaps on prophetic experiences than on knowing and walking with God in humility and holiness. They were often enamored with church leaders and personalities, far more focused on the messenger than on the message. They might have invited such folk to your home, not to learn from them and be equipped by them to fulfill your own ministry, but rather to have the experience of having them in your home. If that was your experience, you will need to identify it for what is or was and ask God to break that sin pattern in you and cleanse you of any vestiges of it.
Third, if you are a father of children or even children who are now adults, please know they need you to be focused on the right things. Many people in the church world are not. Your children (regardless of their age) need you to obey Paul’s command to “…cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” as a lifestyle (II Cor. 7:1). They don’t need you to be experts – chief acting critics of the leaders of Christ’s church (especially those who have fallen) (whether in your community or those you only know of via T.V. or the internet). They don’t need you to evaluate the sermon – comparing it to others you have heard – assessing it on a scale of 1 to 10. They need you to find some way to put some part of it into practice. They need you to be those whom God says He will look to/pour out His favor and blessing upon/be intimate with because they are “….humble, contrite of spirit, and tremble at His word.” (Isa. 66:2).
May the Head of the Church purify us all and may we fathers not waste God provided opportunities to help our children learn how to respond to all of the things we observe or hear about in the greater church world these days.
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