“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.” (1Ki
13:14 AV)
This is the historical event of the young Prophet who the LORD instructed to prophesy against the altar at Bethel. He confronted Jeroboam. The altar was destroyed. Before this young man of God left his home tribe of Judah, he was instructed of the LORD not to return the way he came and not to linger in the while in the territory of the ten northern tribes. Now, Bethel is a border city between Ephraim and Benjamin. The city of Bethel was only ten miles north of Jerusalem. The LORD chose a prophet from Jerusalem because the altar at Bethel was an afront to the true altar at Jerusalem. No other prophet would do. It had to be this young man. As the account unfolds, we hear of an old prophet who desired the company of this young man of God. Particularly because the word of the LORD came to pass immediately after the young prophet spoke the word. This older prophet wanted the company of someone on whom the hand of God rested. The problem was, the LORD specifically told that young man not to tarry in the land of Ephraim. Yet, he trusted the word of this older man of God and disobeyed the word of God when he had no direction from the LORD. He took the word of the older prophet as someone who had been with God and received an updated word from the LORD. We find this young prophet dead by the hand of a lion. Exactly what the LORD told him would happen if he tarried in the land of Ephraim. Now, we often blame the old prophet. This is not without cause. He bears the lion’s share (pun intended) of it. Yet the young man has blame to share as well. He never required the old prophet to speak in the name of the LORD. And he tarried in a place where he shouldn’t have. He was taking a rest under an oak when he was but a few miles from safety. This young man put himself in the position of falling for temptation.
I have used the example of Niagara Falls quite a
bit. I grew up nearby and it is one of
those places that has a great impact on one’s life. I remember many things about ‘The Falls.’ One that I reference over and again is the
safety markers on the Niagara River just above the American Falls. There are buoys in the river about a mile upstream
from the fall’s edge. These markers are
intended to warn boaters once they cross them, they hazard their lives. The current, being extremely strong, could sweep
them over the edge regardless of how powerful a motor they possess. The many times I have visited the falls, I
have noticed something peculiar. Of all the
boats that recreate on that river, whether fishing, water skiing, or simply
puttering about, very few come even close to those mile markers. Almost all stay far enough away that if there
were trouble, there would be plenty of time to get to safety. Every once in awhile there might be a younger
boater who feels the necessity of tempting fate. But most are sensible enough to stay far away
from trouble to not even invite it.
This young man lost his life for the very simple
reason he was somewhere he shouldn’t have been.
He may have had what he considers good reason. Perhaps the journey there and the anxiety
over his ministry tired him out. Perhaps
he felt he needed a nap to refresh himself before he journeyed home. I’ve been there. The Holy Spirit uses you up and all you want
to do is collapse. Perhaps he thought his
usefulness as a prophet was done. He had
done his task. The prophecy had come
true. What was the big rush getting home? After all, there wasn’t a ministry there
waiting for him to continue. Whatever his
reason for resting under the shade of an oak tree, this one choice began the
cascade of successive failures of the will.
He failed to obey the LORD as instructed and it blinded him from the
truth as one choice after another would doom his return. Obedience, performed immediately, is the key to
avoiding disaster.
No comments:
Post a Comment