«To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them» (Isaiah 8:20).
WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW HIS NAME. All we know about him is that he was a «man of God,» a prophet with a message from God who arrived in Bethel just as King Jeroboam was preparing to burn incense on an idolatrous altar.
Without wasting any time, the prophet communicated to the king the divine message: the altar would be destroyed and the ashes on it would be poured out (see 1 King 13:2, 3). The sign was fulfilled to the letter: «The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar» (v. 5), but by that time, King Jeroboam’s anger had reached its boiling point. Extending his hand, the king commanded that the prophet be imprisoned, but «his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself» (v. 4).
Then the king asked the prophet to pray for him: «So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before» (v. 6). When the king invited him home so they could eat together, the prophet refused the offer on the grounds that he had precise orders from the Lord: while fulfilling his mission, he must not eat bread, drink water, or return on the same path.
But then the strangest thing happened. When the prophet traveled back to Judah, he was intercepted along the way by an old man from Bethel who invited him to his home. The prophet refused the offer, but the man insisted, «I too am a prophet as you are, 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’ » (v. 18). It was a lie, but it served to deceive the «man of God»: «So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water» (v. 19). As they ate, God spoke through the false prophet, «Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you . . .your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers» (vv. 21, 22).
The prediction was fulfilled: «When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him» (v, 24). Any lessons for us? Today’s text as well as the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary indicate the following: «God has revealed Himself in His Word. Whatever men may speak that is not in harmony with that Word has ‘no light.’” In other words, in matters in which God has revealed His will, let us not allow others— not even an angel!—to turn us away from a clear «thus saith the Lord. »
Holy Father, please show me the path of obedience and enable me to walk in it no matter what happens. May Your will be fulfilled in my life today and forever.
#AdultsDevotional
#RadioJovenAdventista
#MeditacionesDiarias
Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2022
“GREAT IS OUR GOD!”
From: FERNANDO ZABALA
Collaborators: Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate
