Paul said the things that happened in the Old Testament were “our examples” (verse 6) and written for our admonition so that we might learn from them not to sin “as some of them”.
There are many stories in the Old Testament that teach wonderful lessons for us and are supported by scriptures in the New Testament as well. One such story is in 1 Kings 13. The Bible never gives this man a name, except to call him “a man of God.” The story goes like this:
God told “a man” from Judah to go to the city of Bethel to “cry out” against the altar there. The King there was Jeroboam. He had set up altars with golden calves and the people of God were worshipping them. Notice that the scripture says in verse 2, BY THE WORD OF THE LORD he was told this . God gave him instructions of what to say and what to do. He was to go to Bethel one way and come back to Judah a different way. He was not to “eat bread nor drink water” in that place.
At least 7 times in this one chapter it says, “BY THE WORD OF THE LORD.” There is no mistaking that God is behind this and involved in this and that God has given him definite, specific, clear, detailed instructions about this. Now, on with our story.
The man of God does exactly what God tells him to do. He goes to Bethel, he cries out against the altar, delivering the message that God has given him. (There are some interesting miracles that take place at the altar, but I will leave that for you to read if you are interested.) King Jeroboam invites the man of God to come home with him and “refresh himself” and even offered him a reward. But the man said no and even REPEATED what God had told him.
“if you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you, nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it was commanded me BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, saying, You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.”
And he even starts for Judah going back a different way—just as God said. BUT, there is an old prophet whose sons were there that day at the altar. They heard the message that the man of God gave, and saw the miracles that happened there. They told their father “all the works that the man of God had done and the words which he had spoken to the king. Their father asked, “which way did he go?” When they told him, he went after the man of God on his donkey. He found him sitting under an Oak ( perhaps his first mistake.) The old prophet invites him to go home with him to eat bread. The man repeats , AGAIN, exactly what God told him, refusing the old man’s offer. But the old prophet tells him, “I, too, am a prophet as you are, and an ANGEL spoke to me by the word of the Lotd, saying bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.” But he was LYING to him. So the man of God went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water. And as they were sitting at the table, God spoke through the old prophet and said, “Thus says the Lotd, because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you,…your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.”
“So it was” on his way back to Judah, a lion met him and killed him on the road. The rest of the story is very interesting also, but for the sake of time and space we will not finish it here. I encourage you to read it in its entirety. There are other lessons we can draw from this story.
Here is the point for us today. He took the word of a man and an angel OVER the word of God. God says something about this in the New Testament as well. Galations 1:6-“ I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you…to a DIFFERENT Gospel…some…want to PERVERT the gospel of Christ. But even if we (men) or an ANGEL FROM HEAVEN preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. And then he repeats that warning a second time.
We are not to accept the words of men or ANGELS OVER what God has said. God’s word is sacred, holy and true. He is all powerful and He will punish all who disobey or disrespect His word.
Anyone know of a whole denomination of people whose church is based on the things told them by an angel?
There are many stories in the Old Testament that teach wonderful lessons for us and are supported by scriptures in the New Testament as well. One such story is in 1 Kings 13. The Bible never gives this man a name, except to call him “a man of God.” The story goes like this:
God told “a man” from Judah to go to the city of Bethel to “cry out” against the altar there. The King there was Jeroboam. He had set up altars with golden calves and the people of God were worshipping them. Notice that the scripture says in verse 2, BY THE WORD OF THE LORD he was told this . God gave him instructions of what to say and what to do. He was to go to Bethel one way and come back to Judah a different way. He was not to “eat bread nor drink water” in that place.
At least 7 times in this one chapter it says, “BY THE WORD OF THE LORD.” There is no mistaking that God is behind this and involved in this and that God has given him definite, specific, clear, detailed instructions about this. Now, on with our story.
The man of God does exactly what God tells him to do. He goes to Bethel, he cries out against the altar, delivering the message that God has given him. (There are some interesting miracles that take place at the altar, but I will leave that for you to read if you are interested.) King Jeroboam invites the man of God to come home with him and “refresh himself” and even offered him a reward. But the man said no and even REPEATED what God had told him.
“if you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you, nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it was commanded me BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, saying, You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.”
And he even starts for Judah going back a different way—just as God said. BUT, there is an old prophet whose sons were there that day at the altar. They heard the message that the man of God gave, and saw the miracles that happened there. They told their father “all the works that the man of God had done and the words which he had spoken to the king. Their father asked, “which way did he go?” When they told him, he went after the man of God on his donkey. He found him sitting under an Oak ( perhaps his first mistake.) The old prophet invites him to go home with him to eat bread. The man repeats , AGAIN, exactly what God told him, refusing the old man’s offer. But the old prophet tells him, “I, too, am a prophet as you are, and an ANGEL spoke to me by the word of the Lotd, saying bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.” But he was LYING to him. So the man of God went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water. And as they were sitting at the table, God spoke through the old prophet and said, “Thus says the Lotd, because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you,…your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.”
“So it was” on his way back to Judah, a lion met him and killed him on the road. The rest of the story is very interesting also, but for the sake of time and space we will not finish it here. I encourage you to read it in its entirety. There are other lessons we can draw from this story.
Here is the point for us today. He took the word of a man and an angel OVER the word of God. God says something about this in the New Testament as well. Galations 1:6-“ I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you…to a DIFFERENT Gospel…some…want to PERVERT the gospel of Christ. But even if we (men) or an ANGEL FROM HEAVEN preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. And then he repeats that warning a second time.
We are not to accept the words of men or ANGELS OVER what God has said. God’s word is sacred, holy and true. He is all powerful and He will punish all who disobey or disrespect His word.
Anyone know of a whole denomination of people whose church is based on the things told them by an angel?
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