1st Kings 13:15 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.
This passage of scripture delineates the sad history of one of God's servants, who succumbed to the fatal sophistries of a false prophet, and lost his life prematurely in the process, because he was deceived into placing the word of the false prophet, in higher esteem than the plainest commands of God. Having just recently been granted a stunning victory over the enemies of righteousness, satan determined to take down the man of God, by sending a false prophet with a message that was in direct opposition to what The Lord had said.
Thus, one of the most important lessons we can take away from this sad experience, is that the word of God is to be held in supreme regard at all times, and if for any reason there might be messages or teachings to the contrary, these must be promptly surrendered in favor of the explicit commands of God. Let's read:
1st Kings 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel".... 2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. 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.
So far, so good, for the man of God refused to be swayed by the entreaties of king Jeroboam, for as he himself stated, God had forbidden him to eat or drink in that place. But God will have us understand that we are battling a relentless foe, and if he cannot succeed in tempting us to depart from God's will in one way, he will keep on trying different ways and methods, if by any means he may cause us to change course midstream. Thus to accomplish his goal, he enlisted the services of a false prophet, which he often does, someone with seniority in years, and one who was given a message entirely contrary to that given by God, with the additional mention of an angel being used to certify his claims.
This is one of the more serious lessons we need to learn from this experience, for whenever The Lord has given us a direct command in His word, no mortal man, or even angels should be permitted to countermand what The Lord has specifically stated, for to do so will put us at great odds with our Savior, and if cherished and not repented of, will ultimately cost us our eternal salvation, as was the case with the man of God. Let's read:
1st Kings 13:11 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"... 15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 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"... "saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord"... 22"Thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. 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.
In our day, the very same experience of the disobedient prophet is being duplicated in the lives of many Christians, for there are those of us who deliberately choose to take orders from the mouths of false prophets, even though God's word clearly points us in the opposite direction. The word of God clearly states that marriage is only to be recognized as being between one man and one "Female" woman, but there are a multitude of false prophets who dare to say otherwise, and because of their seniority in some instances, the plainest teachings of The Bible are surrendered in favor of what these professed religious authorities may say on the matter.
But just as the disobedient prophet perished because of his deliberate choice, just so we may be at risk of losing our souls, if like him, we too were to indulge the habit of giving the false prophets' words more weight than a plain "Thus saith The Lord". In all of our choices therefore, let us be certain to stand upon the sure foundation of "It is written", lest through the smooth talking of false prophets and teachers, we too be inadvertently swept away in a maze of false teachings and philosophies, which do not bear the signet of heaven.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which warns us about the deceptive work of the false prophets in our day, and it is absolutely the will of God, that every sincere and honest- hearted Christian be found living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God alone. Let's read:
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits"... 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!