18 He said H559 unto him, I am a prophet H5030 also as thou art; and an angel H4397 spake H1696 unto me by the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 Bring him back H7725 with thee into thine house, H1004 that he may eat H398 bread H3899 and drink H8354 water. H4325 But he lied H3584 unto him.
And mine hand H3027 shall be upon the prophets H5030 that see H2374 vanity, H7723 and that divine H7080 lies: H3577 they shall not be in the assembly H5475 of my people, H5971 neither shall they be written H3789 in the writing H3791 of the house H1004 of Israel, H3478 neither shall they enter H935 into the land H127 of Israel; H3478 and ye shall know H3045 that I am the Lord H136 GOD. H3069 Because, even because they have seduced H2937 my people, H5971 saying, H559 Peace; H7965 and there was no peace; H7965 and one built up H1129 a wall, H2434 and, lo, H2009 others daubed H2902 it with untempered H8602 morter:
For G1063 such G5108 are false apostles, G5570 deceitful G1386 workers, G2040 transforming themselves G3345 into G1519 the apostles G652 of Christ. G5547 And G2532 no G3756 marvel; G2298 for G1063 Satan G4567 himself G846 is transformed G3345 into G1519 an angel G32 of light. G5457 Therefore G3767 it is no G3756 great thing G3173 if G1499 his G846 ministers G1249 also G1499 be transformed G3345 as G5613 the ministers G1249 of righteousness; G1343 whose G3739 end G5056 shall be G2071 according G2596 to their G846 works. G2041
Then said H559 the prophet H5030 Jeremiah H3414 unto Hananiah H2608 the prophet, H5030 Hear H8085 now, Hananiah; H2608 The LORD H3068 hath not sent H7971 thee; but thou makest this people H5971 to trust H982 in a lie. H8267 Therefore thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Behold, I will cast H7971 thee from off the face H6440 of the earth: H127 this year H8141 thou shalt die, H4191 because thou hast taught H1696 rebellion H5627 against the LORD. H3068
And there came H935 an angel H4397 of the LORD, H3068 and sat H3427 under an oak H424 which was in Ophrah, H6084 that pertained unto Joash H3101 the Abiezrite: H33 and his son H1121 Gideon H1439 threshed H2251 wheat H2406 by the winepress, H1660 to hide H5127 it from H6440 the Midianites. H4080 And the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 appeared H7200 unto him, and said H559 unto him, The LORD H3068 is with thee, thou mighty H1368 man of valour. H2428
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Kings 13
Commentary on 1 Kings 13 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 13
1Ki 13:1-22. Jeroboam's Hand Withers.
1. there came a man of God out of Judah—Who this prophet was cannot be ascertained, He came by divine authority. It could not be either Iddo or Ahijah, for both were alive after the events here related.
Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense—It was at one of the annual festivals. The king, to give interest to the new ritual, was himself the officiating priest. The altar and its accompaniments would, of course, exhibit all the splendor of a new and gorgeously decorated temple. But the prophet foretold its utter destruction [1Ki 13:3].
2-9. he cried against the altar—which is put for the whole system of worship organized in Israel.
Behold, a child shall be born … Josiah by name—This is one of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Scriptures; and, in its clearness, circumstantial minuteness, and exact prediction of an event that took place three hundred sixty years later, it stands in striking contrast to the obscure and ambiguous oracles of the heathen. Being publicly uttered, it must have been well known to the people; and every Jew who lived at the accomplishment of the event must have been convinced of the truth of a religion connected with such a prophecy as this. A present sign was given of the remote event predicted, in a visible fissure being miraculously made on the altar. Incensed at the man's license of speech, Jeroboam stretched out his hand and ordered his attendants to seize the bold intruder. That moment the king's arm became stiff and motionless, and the altar split asunder, so that the fire and ashes fell on the floor. Overawed by the effects of his impiety, Jeroboam besought the prophet's prayer. His request was acceded to, and the hand was restored to its healthy state. Jeroboam was artful, and invited the prophet to the royal table, not to do him honor or show his gratitude for the restoration of his hand, but to win, by his courtesy and liberal hospitality, a person whom he could not crush by his power. But the prophet informed him of a divine injunction expressly prohibiting him from all social intercourse with any in the place, as well as from returning the same way. The prohibition not to eat or drink in Beth-el was because all the people had become apostates from the true religion, and the reason he was not allowed to return the same way was lest he should be recognized by any whom he had seen in going.
11. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el—If this were a true prophet, he was a bad man.
18. an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord—This circuitous mode of speaking, instead of simply saying, "the Lord spake to me," was adopted to hide an equivocation, to conceal a double meaning—an inferior sense given to the word "angel"—to offer a seemingly superior authority to persuade the prophet, while really the authority was secretly known to the speaker to be inferior. The "angel," that is, "messenger," was his own sons, who were worshippers, perhaps priests, at Beth-el. As this man was governed by self-interest, and wished to curry favor with the king (whose purpose to adhere to his religious polity, he feared, might be shaken by the portents that had occurred), his hastening after the prophet of Judah, the deception he practised, and the urgent invitation by which, on the ground of a falsehood, he prevailed on the too facile man of God to accompany him back to his house in Beth-el, were to create an impression in the king's mind that he was an impostor, who acted in opposition to his own statement.
21. he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah—rather, "it cried," that is, the word of the Lord.
1Ki 13:23-32. The Disobedient Prophet Slain by a Lion.
24. a lion met him by the way, and slew him—There was a wood near Beth-el infested with lions (2Ki 2:24). This sad catastrophe was a severe but necessary judgment of God, to attest the truth of the message with which the prophet had been charged. All the circumstances of this tragic occurrence (the undevoured carcass, the untouched ass, the passengers unmolested by the lion, though standing there) were calculated to produce an irresistible impression that the hand of God was in it.
31. bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried—His motive in making this request was either that his remains might not be disturbed when the predicted events took place (see 2Ki 23:18), or he had some superstitious hope of being benefited at the resurrection by being in the same cave with a man of God.