9 For so was it charged H6680 me by the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 Eat H398 no bread, H3899 nor drink H8354 water, H4325 nor turn again H7725 by the same way H1870 that thou camest. H1980
Certain men, H582 the children H1121 of Belial, H1100 are gone out H3318 from among H7130 you, and have withdrawn H5080 the inhabitants H3427 of their city, H5892 saying, H559 Let us go H3212 and serve H5647 other H312 gods, H430 which ye have not known; H3045 Then shalt thou enquire, H1875 and make search, H2713 and ask H7592 diligently; H3190 and, behold, if it be truth, H571 and the thing H1697 certain, H3559 that such H2063 abomination H8441 is wrought H6213 among H7130 you; Thou shalt surely H5221 smite H5221 the inhabitants H3427 of that city H5892 with the edge H6310 of the sword, H2719 destroying it utterly, H2763 and all that is therein, and the cattle H929 thereof, with the edge H6310 of the sword. H2719 And thou shalt gather H6908 all the spoil H7998 of it into the midst H8432 of the street H7339 thereof, and shalt burn H8313 with fire H784 the city, H5892 and all the spoil H7998 thereof every whit, H3632 for the LORD H3068 thy God: H430 and it shall be an heap H8510 for ever; H5769 it shall not be built again. H1129 And there shall cleave H1692 nought H3972 of the cursed thing H2764 to thine hand: H3027 that the LORD H3068 may turn H7725 from the fierceness H2740 of his anger, H639 and shew H5414 thee mercy, H7356 and have compassion H7355 upon thee, and multiply H7235 thee, as he hath sworn H7650 unto thy fathers; H1 When thou shalt hearken H8085 to the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 to keep H8104 all his commandments H4687 which I command H6680 thee this day, H3117 to do H6213 that which is right H3477 in the eyes H5869 of the LORD H3068 thy God. H430
And he cried H7121 unto the man H376 of God H430 that came H935 from Judah, H3063 saying, H559 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Forasmuch as H3282 thou hast disobeyed H4784 the mouth H6310 of the LORD, H3068 and hast not kept H8104 the commandment H4687 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 commanded H6680 thee, But camest back, H7725 and hast eaten H398 bread H3899 and drunk H8354 water H4325 in the place, H4725 of the which the LORD did say H1696 to thee, Eat H398 no bread, H3899 and drink H8354 no water; H4325 thy carcase H5038 shall not come H935 unto the sepulchre H6913 of thy fathers. H1
As G2531 the Father G3962 hath loved G25 me, G3165 so G2504 have G25 I G2504 loved G25 you: G5209 continue ye G3306 in G1722 my G1699 love. G26 If G1437 ye keep G5083 my G3450 commandments, G1785 ye shall abide G3306 in G1722 my G3450 love; G26 even as G2531 I G1473 have kept G5083 my G3450 Father's G3962 commandments, G1785 and G2532 abide G3306 in G1722 his G846 love. G26
If G1536 there come G2064 any G1536 G5100 unto G4314 you, G5209 and G2532 bring G5342 not G3756 this G5026 doctrine, G1322 receive G2983 him G846 not G3361 into G1519 your house, G3614 neither G2532 G3361 bid G3004 him G846 God speed: G5463 For G1063 he that biddeth G3004 him G846 God speed G5463 is partaker G2841 of his G846 evil G4190 deeds. G2041
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Kings 13
Commentary on 1 Kings 13 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 13
1Ki 13:1-22. Jeroboam's Hand Withers.
1. there came a man of God out of Judah—Who this prophet was cannot be ascertained, He came by divine authority. It could not be either Iddo or Ahijah, for both were alive after the events here related.
Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense—It was at one of the annual festivals. The king, to give interest to the new ritual, was himself the officiating priest. The altar and its accompaniments would, of course, exhibit all the splendor of a new and gorgeously decorated temple. But the prophet foretold its utter destruction [1Ki 13:3].
2-9. he cried against the altar—which is put for the whole system of worship organized in Israel.
Behold, a child shall be born … Josiah by name—This is one of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Scriptures; and, in its clearness, circumstantial minuteness, and exact prediction of an event that took place three hundred sixty years later, it stands in striking contrast to the obscure and ambiguous oracles of the heathen. Being publicly uttered, it must have been well known to the people; and every Jew who lived at the accomplishment of the event must have been convinced of the truth of a religion connected with such a prophecy as this. A present sign was given of the remote event predicted, in a visible fissure being miraculously made on the altar. Incensed at the man's license of speech, Jeroboam stretched out his hand and ordered his attendants to seize the bold intruder. That moment the king's arm became stiff and motionless, and the altar split asunder, so that the fire and ashes fell on the floor. Overawed by the effects of his impiety, Jeroboam besought the prophet's prayer. His request was acceded to, and the hand was restored to its healthy state. Jeroboam was artful, and invited the prophet to the royal table, not to do him honor or show his gratitude for the restoration of his hand, but to win, by his courtesy and liberal hospitality, a person whom he could not crush by his power. But the prophet informed him of a divine injunction expressly prohibiting him from all social intercourse with any in the place, as well as from returning the same way. The prohibition not to eat or drink in Beth-el was because all the people had become apostates from the true religion, and the reason he was not allowed to return the same way was lest he should be recognized by any whom he had seen in going.
11. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el—If this were a true prophet, he was a bad man.
18. an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord—This circuitous mode of speaking, instead of simply saying, "the Lord spake to me," was adopted to hide an equivocation, to conceal a double meaning—an inferior sense given to the word "angel"—to offer a seemingly superior authority to persuade the prophet, while really the authority was secretly known to the speaker to be inferior. The "angel," that is, "messenger," was his own sons, who were worshippers, perhaps priests, at Beth-el. As this man was governed by self-interest, and wished to curry favor with the king (whose purpose to adhere to his religious polity, he feared, might be shaken by the portents that had occurred), his hastening after the prophet of Judah, the deception he practised, and the urgent invitation by which, on the ground of a falsehood, he prevailed on the too facile man of God to accompany him back to his house in Beth-el, were to create an impression in the king's mind that he was an impostor, who acted in opposition to his own statement.
21. he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah—rather, "it cried," that is, the word of the Lord.
1Ki 13:23-32. The Disobedient Prophet Slain by a Lion.
24. a lion met him by the way, and slew him—There was a wood near Beth-el infested with lions (2Ki 2:24). This sad catastrophe was a severe but necessary judgment of God, to attest the truth of the message with which the prophet had been charged. All the circumstances of this tragic occurrence (the undevoured carcass, the untouched ass, the passengers unmolested by the lion, though standing there) were calculated to produce an irresistible impression that the hand of God was in it.
31. bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried—His motive in making this request was either that his remains might not be disturbed when the predicted events took place (see 2Ki 23:18), or he had some superstitious hope of being benefited at the resurrection by being in the same cave with a man of God.