THE PRICE OF A FREE DINNER!

A summary of the biblical account gives us a glimpse of a prophet called the “man of God.” He was used by God to restore King Jeroboam’s hand. God had dried up his hand because the king was using it to give an order to “Lay hold on him” (the “man of God”). This was because the “man of God” spoke out against Jeroboam’s promotion of the worship of idols and statues, as well as the burning of incense. He foretold (prophesied) the destruction that would come to those partaking in the worship of other gods. This prophet also warned that there would be a king born - Josiah (300 years later) who would burn the bones of those who promoted these abhorrent practices - which included the priests. Everything prophesied did come to pass according to the words God had given to this “man of God."   "And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.  Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel." (II Kings 23:16-17)  Consider:  "And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out." 1Kings 13:3)

Notice that the messages proclaimed by the “man of God” wasn’t fortunetelling as many practiced then and do today under the guise of prophesying. "And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD....Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them."
(Ezekiel 13:9,17.) This was the Word of God being proclaimed as revealed by God. Beware of those who are today prophesying in and out of the churches, especially if it’s any kind of “foretelling” that is exogenous to the Word of God. The canon of Scripture is closed. We are not to add to or subtract from God’s Word - the Bible. "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Revelation 22:18,19) This warning of eternal death (damnation) is to those today who practice such.

SATAN HAS MANY COUNTERFEITS WHICH LOOK LIKE GOD'S MIRACLES

The “man of God” also warned Jeroboam: “This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.” ( I Kings 13:3.)  Notice this came to pass in verse four:  "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, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him."  Verse five shows the power of God working through this prophet: “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.” We must be careful in the discerning of false spirits and miracles. Remember, when God was dealing with wicked Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh’s magicians performed MANY of the same marvels that Moses and Aaron did.  However, after several “magical feats” by Pharoah’s magicians, God showed His supernatural control of all things through the rod of Aaron and the swallowing up of the works of the heathen performers.

GOD COMMANDS US TO NOT BE AFRAID OF PEOPLE'S RESPONSES TO WHAT THE WORD SAYS

Today many are often afraid to teach people messages from the written Word of God. We fear that we might lose relationships with friends, family or in the work place. We must remember two things. First, great prophets like Jeremiah felt the same way; however, they went forward and paid the cost, and, more importantly, they received the benefits: “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 1:8) “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.” (Psalm 103:2-5)

This “man of God” (like John the Baptist who was murdered because he told King Herod he was in an adulterous marriage) surely knew the possibility of being murdered when he went to wicked King Jeroboam and warned him to stop the burning of incense and promotion of idol worship: “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, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.” (I Kings 13:4)

Losing a hand would get anyone’s attention as it did this king. He immediately asked the “man of God” to plead with God to restore his hand: “And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.” (I Kings 13:6)

What a miracle!  Think of it. What if your hand were destroyed by some type of accident. You have no hope of it ever being restored, but someone prays and the hand is regenerated. You’d be quite thankful! Under these circumstances, you would think that the king would have bowed his knee to God and turned from ungodly practices. But he didn’t. Instead, he tried to reward the person/vessel (the “man of God”) through whom God used to deliver HIS miracle!

“And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.” (verse 7) The “man of God,” however, had been instructed by God to not “tarry” in this heathen city - Bethel - to neither eat nor drink, but to deliver the message and get out. This was because Bethel had become a very wicked and corrupt city, even though it had once been a sanctuary for holiness and worship of God. One of the important realities of this teaching for us today is to recognize the dangers of having fellowship with “the works of darkness” lest we become infected with the sin.

Unfortunately, many teach that we must accept everyone's lifestyles, their sins: “Don't say anything to them.” “Don't upset them.” “Fellowship with them.” “Be a part of their activities.” Or, as a musical performer shared: “I got a job singing in the bar so that I could witness to those who are not saved.” That is deception. We are to be witnesses - not to set up camp with the enemy! The “man of God” was not lured into the web of deception by accepting man’s system of rewards. He delivered God’s Word and got out of the city.

BEWARE, EVEN THE ELECT FALL AWAY!

“And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 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. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.” (I Kings 13:8-10)

It’s pretty clear that the “man of God” would not compromise the Word of God - even when offered rewards from the king of the land. However, as Christians, no matter how strong we think we stand, we must always be aware that Satan wants to destroy us. He has a package for each person. He knows our weaknesses and will never give up: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Peter 5:8) He is more subtle than any beast of the field. He is a snake which slithers into our lives, who comes in at our weakest moments, including when we have passed some very heavy tests of crises. Even the elect will be deceived - IF we don’t totally rely on what the Word says and reject even ALL appearances of evil. We must be careful to study for ourselves - not relying upon church leadership, friends, relatives, etc. for our theology: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24:24) The “very elect” includes you and me! This is a warning: Beware we CAN fall!

Consider how sly false prophets can be and how those used mightily of God can fall away from the faith as we return to “the man of God”: “Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, 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.”

“Then he [the old prophet] said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he [the “man of God”] said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.” (I Kings:11-17) It’s made clear that the “man of God” KNEW what God said - the Word.

“He [the old prophet from Bethel] said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water ...” (verse 18) The prophet from Bethel told the “man of God” something which went against what God had clearly commanded. Have you heard people today do that? Perhaps this type of blasphemy is manifested when people say, “God does not really mean what the Bible says today ... the Hebrew or Greek really says ... God wouldn’t expect you to ... There’s an older manuscript that doesn’t include this ...” Notice that short little sentence at the end of verse 18: “But he lied unto him.” What would you have done in such a situation? What have you done when in similar situations? What did the “man of God” do?

“So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.” (verse 19) Oh my, why oh why did he listen to man rather than to the Word of God? It’s easy for us sitting on the sidelines to say! But how many times have we done the same? How does God look at such a decision when it is from someone who has served Him, faithfully followed Him and had incredible miracles wrought through him for many years? Was this such a serious transgression - just to have a free dinner?

“And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.” (verses 20-22)

How could this be for such a little thing as going to eat with the “false” prophet? Was the “man of God” not innocently deceived? Recall, however, that Eve was also deceived, but God held her fully accountable for her sin: “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (I Timothy 2:14) God CANNOT lie. What He says, what He warns WILL ALWAYS come to pass. It may take years, sometimes centuries, but God’s warnings are not like the parent who tells a child if he does not stop a behaviour, he will be punished, then doesn’t punish the child. God would be unjust if He would neglect His mercy AND accompanying judgment for disobedience. We, not God, are the ones who bring the judgment upon ourselves when we go against His Word. Thus, we read of the sad ending of this once “man of God.” (Could it be that his apostasy was why his name was not recorded?) “And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.” (verses 24,25)

HOW CAN WE IDENTIFY FALSE LEADERS, TEACHERS OR PREACHERS?

Anyone who says something contrary to the printed Word of God is leading people astray, including those who add footnotes to God’s Holy Scriptures when the footnotes question His Word. God hasn’t made His Word multiple choice. He has promised that He has preserved it for us in a pure state. We must either choose to believe - and follow - man or God’s unchanging Word. “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve ...” (Joshua 24:14)

“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” “He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.” (Psalm 12:6,7; 100:5; 105:8)

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans 16:17,18)

Christianity is exclusive - not inclusive. There is only one way - that is to follow the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus Christ. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (II Corinthians 11:13-15)

None of us is immune to the pull of the web of deception IF we look to any other standard than the written Word of God:  “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (II Peter 2:1-3) May we beware of free lunches! Satan wants to “sift” you and me from the kingdom of God!

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