There was a prophet whom God assigned to deliver a message to a particular region. God told him that after he delivers the message, he should not turn into anyone’s house to eat or drink, and he should not leave the town where he prophesied God’s oracle the same way he came into it. The prophet received the instruction and went on to fulfill his mandate.
After declaring God’s Word over the place, the town’s king who was present when he was giving his prophesy asked him to come to his house to eat and drink. The prophet refused. The prophet told the king that God instructed him not to go into anyone’s house to wine and dine, nor should he leave the vicinity the way he came into it. So, the prophet departed the place using another route.
Later on, an “old prophet” caught up with the man that God sent to the town. The old prophet asked the younger prophet to come to his house to have some repast. The young prophet turned down the offer and gave the older prophet the same spiel he gave the king. But the older prophet told the young man that he was a prophet, too. He said that God sent an angel to him to tell the young prophet that it was okay for the young man to come to the old prophet’s house and get his grub on. The young prophet then changed his mind and went to the older prophet’s house to eat and drink.
After eating in the old prophet’s house, while seated at the table with his host, God spoke through the old prophet to the young man. He told the young prophet that because he disobeyed God’s command, his body would not make to his ancestor’s tomb.
After the young man left the old prophet’s house, he encountered a lion on the way, and the animal killed him (1 Kings 13).
Whoa! Perhaps, like me, you have a question mark in your head. For the life of me, I don’t know how to explain why God spoke judgment on the young prophet through the same old prophet that deceived the young man. That is a puzzle that has still left me puzzled.
When I first read this story I was ticked off! I was partly upset because I could relate with the young man. Perhaps you do, too. It was likely that the young man complied with the old prophet’s request out of respect for him, and he probably rationalized that the older man was more experienced and knew more of the things of God. He probably also thought that the old prophet was telling the truth when he said that God had sent an angel to let him know that he could fellowship with the old prophet. But it was a lie. The young man paid dearly for not rejecting what the older prophet said.
That is part of what I meant when I said that we should reject anything or anyone that would cause us to get of God’s will. My heart goes out to all the people that have lost their lives, marriages, ministries, businesses, contracts, friendships, relationships, promotions and other great opportunities because contrary to their better judgment, they adhered to the wrong advice given by those they thought were more experienced in what they where trying to achieve.
Have you ever asked someone you considered a mentor, leader or expert about something, and they gave you their advice on what to do? And despite something in you that dissuaded you from heeding their suggestion, you decided to adhere to their “two cents” because you felt that the person had more experience about the situation? But what you were trying to accomplish blew up in your face and devastated you; and, to add insult upon injury, the very person who advised you to do what you did denigrated you for carrying it out. You’re further heartbroken when the individual denies that he or she gave you advice about the situation or claimed that you should have known better than to apply his or her opinion.
That was what that young prophet went through. Unfortunately, he lost his life. By adhering to the old prophet’s instruction, he disobeyed God’s directives. Unbeknownst to him, he rejected God. In a sense, by hearkening to the older prophet, the young man was trying to be like him. He chose another man’s opinion instead of what he knew as truth in himself. As a result he got out of God’s will, and he ruined his destiny. Did you see the pattern?
When we try to be like others by listening and adhering to their opinions in the expense of what God has placed in our hearts, we get out of God’s will and ruin our destiny. When we get out of God’s will, we also get out of His jurisdiction. And when we’re out of His jurisdiction, we’re out of His protection, and, hence, we’re exposed to the enemy—the devil. Remember? He’s like a roaring lion looking for whom to devourer ( 1 Peter 5:8). I believe the prophet being devoured by the lion was symbolic of being destroyed by the devil. Had he refused the old prophet, the young man would’ve been in God’s will and would’ve been protected by the Lion of the tribe of Judah—Jesus.
With that in mind, may I give a suggestion? Don’t accept anyone’s two cents if it’s going to cost you a million dollars.
- O. J. Toks, Rejected for a Purpose (Paoli, PA: Elevator Group Faith, 2010), 246-248.
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