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