Skip to main content

THE STORY OF THE YOUNG PROPHET (1 Kings 13:1-34)

Once upon a time, in the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel, there lived a man in the land of Judah, Israel. He was a young prophet called by God to denounce the king in the land of Bethel. And he received an instruction from God not to eat or drink anything in Bethel till he returned to Judah.


The young prophet obeyed and travelled the distance and delivered God's word to the king at Bethel. The king heard the message and tried to have him killed, but his hand was paralyzed as he pointed at the young prophet. Seeing this, he begged the prophet to pray to God for him, and his hand was restored whole again. At this, he invited the prophet to come eat with him, but the prophet refused and went on his way, even passing a different way from where he came.


In the land of Bethel also lived an old prophet, and his sons told him all that the young prophet did, so he mounted his donkey and travelled to catch him, which he did, and invited the young prophet home for a meal with him. The young prophet refused his offer because of God's warning to him, but the old prophet told him that God's angel told him to bring the young prophet home, which was a lie.


He went with the old prophet and ate with him, and as they ate, God spoke spoke through the old prophet to the young prophet, and decreed he was going to die before he got home. That he was going to be killed by a lion because he didn't listen to God's word, and stayed to eat a meal in the land of Bethel.


All happened as God said, and the old prophet heard of the young prophet's death and ran to him and mourned bitterly over his dead body and buried him beside his home, and asked that his body be buried next to the young prophet when be died.


It is indeed a harsh story that sends the chills up my spine, makes me wonder about my life indeed. But perhaps, the message is simple, that God never fails to confirm his promise and word to us, that we should believe his own words to us, not the contradiction of another man. The young prophet avoided the common enemy, but fell into the trap of the familiar friend, even passed by a different route, but alas...


It's a call for us to know God personally, and not allow those 'more mature' in the faith, or even any sphere of life to lead us astray in the name of knowing better or being more spiritual. 


This speaks to me in a lot of ways, and scares me completely in more than one. May God give us the strength to stand strong and do his will for us, rather than what another man thinks is best for us.


The old prophet, in his wisdom, tried to feed an hungry man by any means possible, even lying to him, but unfortunately cost the young man his entire life. May God keep us safe, and help us listen and steer clear of the guile of 'wiser' men. Amen.



Tokede Opeyemi Iyanuoluwa

Labels:

Comments

  1. Kolawole TokedeAugust 7, 2021 at 3:07 AM

    "The young prophet avoided the common enemy, but fell into the trap of the familiar friend."

    May we not fall into the hands of unfriendly friends.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WITH GOD, WE'LL RUN THROUGH A TROOP

Like Humpty Dumpty in a house of cards Your house fell down like the walls of Jericho [And it's hard to pick up the spare parts] Every spring of idea became a dying plant (God forbid!) Something of colour ends up in monochrome  Look before you leap, are words of wisdom But what if faith is leaping before you look? Or is faith leaping before you look? And where then does that place our reasoning? Is it still faith if it breaks like a broom? And what if this leap doesn't pay as due? Should our faith in God make everything (exactly) possible? However, base your plans on something solid Not something that could go up in smoke Do not be too hasty to strike gold Neither delay too long a decisive blow  Be confident in your ability to win the race But don't jump the gun and think it's going to be okay (it's not!) Have faith in God, believe he can do all things But don't back yourself into a corner and put your God to test... Like refusing to serve in a tennis game Then ...
Post a Comment
Read more

TO KNOW I GOT YOU (WONDER WOMAN)

Omo, you dey make my heart dey beat Thinking of you, my mind dey sweet Like Chike I wan dey run to you Dem say life na suru But for you I be Eran Nuru I still smile when I think of you Revisit talks I had with you I dey bless God because of you Like which material he use make you? Not perfect but we need to be In case you're wondering, same applies for me But I know enough to not judge me Like I wouldn't want to judge me You're like a dream come true Everyday I wanna shout out to you You remind me of Queen Esther You're one great queen, remember! That mercy and dear compassion You are my friend, my dear companion Relating don't have to be romantic Forgive me my dear antics But it's good to know I've got you Someone brave and down-earth humble You no dey do gra gra, you no dey fumble See how freely I speak with you? Means the world to me, true! You're a woman but you are my bro And I respect you kindly, aburo.. ©el-iyanu, 7th of November, 2021. For a very...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE ROAD IS NEVER ALONE

I Spoke to King Solomon yesterday, Told him I was sad and lonely, yeah; He looked at me and deeply smiled, Showed me a god-forsaken road, Then said: Listen carefully and watch, my child— The road is never alone! Listen, he said, the road is never alone! Your joy is yours, and so is sadness, Listen carefully, he said, my child— The road is never alone, And so you never walk alone! The path is lonely, and the lane is dark, Your mind is filled With a lot of things you can't track, Still, you never walk alone. Dark skies like a blacked-out picture, Blowing like garments without cincture, Tripping your feet chasing the future, Bad news that keeps the soul injured; At times, happiness becomes a decoy, Deflecting attention like a wind-up toy, But sadness remains behind the smile, Mind shattering like a broken tile… But I spoke to King Solomon yesterday, Told him I was sad and lonely, yeah; He looked at me and deeply smiled, Showed me a god-forsaken road, Then said: Listen carefully and wa...
2 comments
Read more