1 Kings 13:7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. 10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. 11 ¶ Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. 12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. 13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, 14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: 17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. 18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. 19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: 21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, 22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. 23 ¶ And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. 25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
The prophet had God's word telling him what he was supposed to do, but another prophet came along claiming to speak God's words and gave him a message that contradicted what God had told him to do. Instead of sticking to what God had told him, he decided that maybe this other prophet was giving him a more updated message from God. He followed the other prophet's word and it cost him his life.
In modern times, we have God's revealed written word in the Bible. There are many false prophets that come along claiming they have more up to date messages from God and often these messages do not match what God has already said. Many choose to follow these prophets because they are convincing and what they teach strokes their ego. What the false prophet told the man of God in the Scripture reading appealed to his physical need for food and water and comfort. Much of what these modern day prophets teach is not God-centered but man-centered. It appeals to either people's physical needs for comfort or it appeals to their ego. What is sad, is many people follow these prophets instead of what God has already revealed to them in the pages of the Bible and they follow to their ultimate spiritual death.
I need to be careful to always check what I hear from others who claim to speak for God and see if it is in complete agreement with the Bible. This shows how important is is the know the Bible well, so when false teaching comes my way I recognize it.
Dear Father,
Please keep me searching your Word, teaching it to my kids and help us to stay faithful to it and not be led astray by those who would claim to have an updated message from You. Help us to always be comparing the messages we hear with what You have revealed in Your Word, the Bible.
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