Nougat 27

And as we close the curtain on the man of God’s inexplicable death; what are the takeaways from his story? Here’s today’s Holy Nougat

“Afterward the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. For the message the Lord told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.”” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭13:31-32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Wow!

We are left with a few questions I am sure. For this old prophet now seems to be firing from God’s cylinders. Now I am wondering about his true identity. I’m also curious about the old prophet’s conviction about the Man of God’s prophecy. Which leads me to questions about how Our God works.

Was the old Prophet one of God’s?

We each have to work it out with fear and trembling; for there were times when prophets would use ‘deception’ to get a point across. Often, it involved them or someone else disguising their identity to put the point forward (eg the prophet who reprimanded Ahab for saving Israel’s enemy, Ben-Haddad of Aram (see 1Kings 20:31ff)). It sometimes included stories, well parables actually, that then resulted in judgement passed by the hearer, which in turn determined their fate (eg 1 Kings 20 and 2 Samuel 12) .

Moreover, when kings thought they had annihilated every last prophet, we find that a remnant remained in hiding (see 2 Kings 19). And God spoke through them as well as through the official prophets. I wonder, could this old prophet have been part of that remnant? And if so, was the old prophet sent by God? For he grieved the man of God’s death as though they were kin (and in a sense prophets had that kinship tie), nor did he cast blame on himself or the young prophet. Hmm

Why was the old prophet convicted by the prophecy’s veracity?

This seems like a no brainer: because he’d seen and heard him for himself. While that may be part of the answer, we cannot escape the circumstances that surrounded the man of God’s death. He died as a result of disobedience! And, in an era where false prophets abounded, why was he convinced? Could it be the lion who guarded the body (and before answering that, did you see the nuancing of the devil as a counterfeit to The Lion of Judah?) was sent by God? Hard to accept, but God is not to be mocked. Which takes us back to the underlying question –

Do we truly understand the ways of God?

I don’t

Isaiah and Job have the same opinion. In fact, they came to this point through their own prophetic-personal encounters (see Isaiah 55 and Job 40). God is very clear that we each have to come to our own point of accepting God; whether we like the snapshots we see in the Bible or not. Adam messed up, blamed Eve and lived. Moses murdered a man, never seemed to repent and was still given the honor of leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt (though some might argue that that was a heavier sentence!). But he never got to enter the Promised Land with them. And this young prophet died because he stopped to eat and drink – or did he? It was the wage for disobedience from his What.

When God gives us a Word, our task is to obey; not compare with others; nor second guess our What. And we certainly don’t blame another or hide behind alternate realities.

Thanks for journeying with me and please share your questions.

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May all we seek be found in Christ