The ‘man of God’ faithfully discharged his God-given mission at Bethel. (i) He received his instructions directly from God Himself, ‘There came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel’, v. 1. (ii) He discharged his responsibility in crying ‘against the altar’ at Bethel. His message was uncompromising, vv. 2-3. (iii) He was preserved when Jeroboam ‘put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him’, v. 4. (iv) He was willing to intercede for the stricken Jeroboam, and God answered in mercy, v. 6. The ‘man of God’ was no hard-hearted preacher. (v) He refused to associate himself with the idolatrous king, or to accept his favours, vv. 7-9. Thus far, everything is commendable. We must note the lessons.
But things went terribly wrong on the return journey. At first, he resisted pressure from the ‘old prophet’ from Bethel to return there with him; ‘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’, vv. 16-17. But he succumbed to pressure when the ‘old prophet’ falsely told him that God had changed His mind, v. 18. The ‘man of God’ then discovered to his cost that God had not changed His mind, and that he was quite wrong to think that God could go back on His word, vv. 21-23.
Here is the main lesson of the story. God does not change His mind. The original message stands. Paul highlights the lesson, ‘But though we, or an angel from heaven (the ‘old prophet’ said, ‘angel spake unto me’), preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed’, Gal. 1. 8-9. Remember that in the word of God, we have ‘the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’, Jude 3 RV. People claim that ‘we have moved on since New Testament times, but God’s word has not altered and cannot be altered.
It was a disgrace in Bible times not to be buried; see Ecclesiastes 6. 3. God therefore overrode the natural instincts of the lion to ensure that His servant, who was certainly not an apostate, and who, in spite of his lapse, had been faithful in many ways, should have an honourable burial, vv. 24-31. He was not subject to the ultimate humiliation.
