Nougat 13

The Hebrew Scripture is replete with stories of prophets; some God’s genuine spokespersons, others not. We spend some time learning about the unnamed prophet of 1 Kings 13. Here’s today’s Holy Nougat

“At the Lord’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense.” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭13:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The unnamed prophet is introduced as one sent by God and almost everything he does is worth noting.

Firstly, he went to visit Israel, the 10-tribe Northern Kingdom, ruled by one outside of the Davidic dynasty. This happened under Jeroboam’s reign, placing the event within the emergent years of the Divided Kingdom. He was from the South, ie Judah, under Davidic rule. In other words, the man of God left his home country and crossed the (invisible, political) border to visit Jeroboam.

In 1 Kings 11, Jeroboam was promised a dynasty by the prophet Ahijah, provided he followed God’s precepts. This visit was then an indication that something was amiss.

And it was.

For, Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. This sounds so innocuous as we recall that Jeroboam was God’s choice. Except that the ‘main’ temple was in Jerusalem, not the Northern Kingdom. I suspect that even if his motives were initially pure, that Jeroboam was about to burn his own incense suggests there were no priests of God there to provide that service. Whether that was the case or not, the temple at Bethel, significant and strategically located as it was, was not The Jerusalem Temple. Jeroboam might have been involved in idolatry.

That was the background of this prophet’s visit. He was sent by God, into territory that might have been hostile, to speak to a king who’d challenged his own. That’s a recipe for incontinence!

But there are two things to be considered

A) he arrived at a time when Jeroboam was likely to be at peace. Jeroboam was in the temple, and one hopes that he’d be somewhat calm when in the temple/at the altar. the prophet was sent by God. He was convicted that his mission had divine approval; and so, he was ready for whatever came his way.

How are we with obedience? If we were that certain prophet would we have left the comfort and safety of our home or country to deliver a Word from the Lord in potentially hostile territory? Do we set conditions to our service to God? Is there a task that we’ve overlooked because the conditions didn’t seem ‘right’?

Chew prayerfully as you ponder.

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May all we seek be found in Christ