Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Kings 13:1 - 13:10
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Jeroboam Reproved for his Sin
v. 1. And, behold, there came a man of God, a prophet, out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel, like a power which drove and compelled him to make known the Lord's will; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense, presuming upon a right which was not his.
v. 2. And he, the prophet, cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, his addressing the altar making his words all the more significant and emphatic, 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 burned upon thee, the greatest possible desecration which could come to an altar, Num_19:16. The prophecy was literally fulfilled, as history relates, 2Ki_23:15-20.
v. 3. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, utterly destroyed, torn to pieces, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out, the fat of the sacrifices being mixed with the ashes, to indicate that the entire worship was unclean.
v. 4. And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, in an angry and threatening gesture, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he put forth against him dried up, paralyzed or stiffened in a peculiar manner, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The miracle had the effect of terrifying the king's attendants and keeping them from executing his orders.
v. 5. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord, all of which served to substantiate the prophet's words and to terrify the king, at least for the time being.
v. 6. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the Lord, thy God, literally, "Soften His face," which was now turned against him in hardness and anger, beseeching Him so earnestly that He cannot refuse, and pray for me that my hand may be restored me again, so that he would again have its full use. And the man of God besought the Lord, he succeeded in softening Jehovah's hard face by the fervor of his intercession, and the king's hand was restored him again and became as it was before, he once more had control of it.
v. 7. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward, a present, or gift, to win him over to his side, and to weaken or remove the impression made by the awful threat; for Jeroboam was by no means repentant.
v. 8. And the man of God said unto the king, refusing the hand of fellowship extended by an idolater, if thou wilt give me half thine house, half of all that he possessed, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;
v. 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, lest some one, knowing of his passing, might detain him.
v. 10. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. It is God's will, most emphatically expressed, that His servants should not fellowship with such as teach, or adhere to, false doctrine.