An old prophet in Beth-el

[rlvaughn]

In 1 Kings 13 the Bible relates the story of the man of God from Judah who came to Beth-el to prophecy against the altar at Beth-el (and thereby also the false worship, false worshippers, and false priests). That story includes an old prophet who dwelt in Beth-el.

What are your thoughts on this old prophet? For example, was he a backslidden prophet of God, a prophet of Baal, a freelance prophet (you get the drift)? Who was he, and why did he lie to the man of God to get him to come to eat at his home?

Thanks!

 

[Reformed]

Matthew Henry writes, "The old prophet's wickedness. I cannot but call him a false prophet and a bad man, it being much easier to believe that from one of such a bad character should be extorted a confirmation of what the man of God said (as we find, v. 32) than that a true prophet, and a good man, should tell such a deliberate lie as he did, and father it upon God. A good tree could never bring forth such corrupt fruit. Perhaps he was trained up among the sons of the prophets, in one of Samuel's colleges not far off, whence he retained the name of a prophet, but, growing worldly and profane, the spirit of prophecy had departed from him. If he had been a good prophet he would have reproved Jeroboam's idolatry, and not have suffered his sons to attend his altars, as, it should seem, they did." This is along my way of understanding this passage.

The old prophet may have once been a genuine prophet who fell into disobedience and irrelevance but still had a longing for those days when he was in service to the LORD. He may have had an unnatural curiosity about the man of God from Judah, wanting to share in borrowed glory. His sinful desire lead to God's judgment upon the man of God from Judah, although nothing of that man's prophecy against Jeroboam was altered.

 

[Deacon]

Prelude: 1 Kgs 11:26–40 Jeroboam received a prophecy from the LORD that he will be made king over 10 tribes of Israel (the northern kingdom) because Solomon was unfaithful.

1 Kings 13 - Prophet #1
1) Traveled from Judah (southern kingdom) to Bethel (northern kingdom) (vs 1)
2) Proclaimed a three-part prophecy

a. "cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord" (vs 2)
b. "the Lord says, ‘A son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’" (vs 2). ["you" = the alter, therefore the alter will be desecrated with the burned sacrifice of priests from the northern kingdom.​

3) “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘The altar will now be ripped apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.’ ” (vs 3)

The meaning understood by Jeroboam is that the northern kingdom has been unfaithful and God will destroy it.
The refusal of hospitality by the prophet reinforces the dire meaning.

(curiously the naming of Josiah 2 1/2 centuries before his birth is similar to the naming of Cyrus 4 centuries before his time in Isaiah 44)​

"I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat food or drink water or go back the way you came.’ ” (vs 9)

Prophet #2 - "an old prophet"
1) ...living in Bethel (vs 10) [northern kingdom]

1 Kings 13:15–18 (CSB)
Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat some food.” But he answered, “I cannot go back with you or accompany you; I will not eat food or drink water with you in this place. For a message came to me by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat food or drink water there or go back by the way you came.’ ” He said to him, “I am also a prophet like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat food and drink water.’ ” [narrator's comment =>] The old prophet deceived him,

[<= narrator's comment]​

​

PROBLEM = conflicting prophecies

[prophet #1 ate]

1 Kings 13:21–22 (CSB)
...and the prophet [#2] cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you [prophet #1] rebelled against the Lord’s command and did not keep the command that the Lord your God commanded you—but you went back and ate food and drank water in the place that he said to you, “Do not eat food and do not drink water”—your corpse will never reach the grave of your fathers.’ ” ​

Prophet #1 listened to bad counsel
Prophet #2 like Balaam [in Numbers 23], could not help but speak the words the LORD gave him.
Prophet #2 knew his fate - he would burn on the alter [die], because of this he had an affinity to Prophet #1

"Basically, 1 Kings 13 continues the book’s emphases on proper worship, the prophetic word, and the slow demise of the covenant people. It also begins to analyze the difference between true and false prophecy."
Paul R. House, 1, 2 Kings, vol. 8, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 187–188.

Why did Prophet #2 lie to Prophet #1 - he was a baaad prophet from a baaad nation.

Rob

 

[Dave G]

What are your thoughts on this old prophet?

He was a false prophet.

 

[rlvaughn]

He was a false prophet.

Based on?

 

[Dave G]

He was a false prophet.

Based on?

Looks like I'll have to re-think it.

The more I read the chapter, the more I regret "pulling the trigger" on that one.
It's a tough one, to be sure.

But, in 1 Kings 13:18 we read, " He said unto him, I [am] a prophet also as thou [art]; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. [But] he lied unto him."

Why would one of the Lord's prophets lie to another, claiming that he was also a prophet and tellnig him that it was OK to eat and to drink on his mission, when the Lord had specifically told him not to?
Granted, the disobedience was on the head of the younger prophet, and he gave in similar to Eve did, in a way.

But the lie was on the head of the old prophet.

Later we read the condemnation:

" And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21 and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee,
22 but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which [the] Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers." ( 1 Kings 13:20-22 ).

Later on, the younger prophet is attacked and killed by a lion for his disobedience, and we read this:

" And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, [saying], Alas, my brother!
31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God [is] buried; lay my bones beside his bones:" ( 1 Kings 13:30-31 ).

So the old prophet mourns the loss of his younger brother, even though he had lied to him and tempted him to eat and to drink.

Very strange, to say the least.

But then to us, the Law is harsh, and both were under the Law of Moses.
The burden of obedience was on the younger prophet, whether or not he was tempted.

Upon further consideration, I'll have to admit that it appears that both of them were prophets of the Lord, but one failed to obey and was killed for it by Him.

Why the old prophet lied?
I'm not seeing that explanation...but he did go so far as to tell his sons to bury him with the younger one when the time came.

 

[rlvaughn]

Thanks to you who have commented thus far. I appreciate your ideas.

... the naming of Josiah 2 1/2 centuries before his birth...

Full disclosure, math wasn't my best subject. But by my count, I'd say closer to 3-1/2 centures.

Very strange, to say the least.

Perhaps the most succinct characterization of the incident!

Here are few of my observations from looking back over the text this morning.

The word prophet (Heb. Nabiy') is used for both prophets of the Lord and false prophets (in the books of the Kings, as well as the rest of the Old Testament). Usually the context is clear whether the prophets are false prophets. In 1 Kings 13 the context, in my opinion, is not clear concerning this old prophet at Beth-el.

The old prophet seems to have avoided the feast at Beth-el. If the event of 13:1 is the same as 1 Kings 12:33 – which seems to be how we would read it without the chapter break – then the suggestion of 1 Kings 13:11 is that the sons of the old prophet was present at the feast and the old prophet was not.

The old prophet claims to the man of God, “I am a prophet also as thou art.” However, that might only mean kinship in office, not kinship of being a prophet of the LORD. It might be part of the lie, but that does not seem to be what is referred to as the lie. He is not just self-identified as a prophet, but called a prophet by the author as well.

The old prophet invokes Jehovah’s name, in his lie, in his accurate prophecy to the man of God, in his discussion of the death of the man of God, and in his request to be buried in the tomb with him (1 Kings 13:18; 1 Kings 13:20-21; 1 Kings 13:26; 1 Kings 13:31-32).

The old prophet seems sincerely distraught by the death of his brother prophet (1 Kings 13:29-30).

The old prophet believes the prophecy of the man of God will come to pass. At the least, in death he wants to be identified with the true man of God and not the false prophets. For whatever reason – even if just a self-serving one – he didn’t want his bones burned on the Beth-el altar (1 Kings 13:31-32).

The old prophet is called a prophet in 2 Kings 23:28, without a modifier to suggest false or true.

The above considerations might point to the old prophet as a once-active now-backslidden servant of the Lord. On the other hand, the old prophet was unstable, sorry, and shiftless. As far is known, he never rebuked the false worship of Jeroboam, neither his sons for attending such. Even though he lived right there at Beth-el, God did not send him to bring the prophecy to Jeroboam. He was a liar, a very deliberate one, who was not bothered (at least initially) to lie about receiving a word from God.

 

[tyndale1946]

Thank for posting this Brother Robert, never really examined this story... I agree that the old prophet was a false prophet and deceived the man of God with a lie... I also like the way in Robs post, cut to the meat of the story and showed the deeper meaning of it... Brother Glen

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

Here are few of my observations from looking back over the text this morning.

The word prophet (Heb. Nabiy') is used for both prophets of the Lord and false prophets (in the books of the Kings, as well as the rest of the Old Testament). Usually the context is clear whether the prophets are false prophets. In 1 Kings 13 the context, in my opinion, is not clear concerning this old prophet at Beth-el.

The old prophet seems to have avoided the feast at Beth-el. If the event of 13:1 is the same as 1 Kings 12:33 – which seems to be how we would read it without the chapter break – then the suggestion of 1 Kings 13:11 is that the sons of the old prophet was present at the feast and the old prophet was not.

The old prophet claims to the man of God, “I am a prophet also as thou art.” However, that might only mean kinship in office, not kinship of being a prophet of the LORD. It might be part of the lie, but that does not seem to be what is referred to as the lie. He is not just self-identified as a prophet, but called a prophet by the author as well.

The old prophet invokes Jehovah’s name, in his lie, in his accurate prophecy to the man of God, in his discussion of the death of the man of God, and in his request to be buried in the tomb with him (1 Kings 13:18; 1 Kings 13:20-21; 1 Kings 13:26; 1 Kings 13:31-32).

The old prophet seems sincerely distraught by the death of his brother prophet (1 Kings 13:29-30).

The old prophet believes the prophecy of the man of God will come to pass. At the least, in death he wants to be identified with the true man of God and not the false prophets. For whatever reason – even if just a self-serving one – he didn’t want his bones burned on the Beth-el altar (1 Kings 13:31-32).

The old prophet is called a prophet in 2 Kings 23:28, without a modifier to suggest false or true.

The above considerations might point to the old prophet as a once-active now-backslidden servant of the Lord. On the other hand, the old prophet was unstable, sorry, and shiftless. As far is known, he never rebuked the false worship of Jeroboam, neither his sons for attending such. Even though he lived right there at Beth-el, God did not send him to bring the prophecy to Jeroboam. He was a liar, a very deliberate one, who was not bothered (at least initially) to lie about receiving a word from God.

Given the serious moral failings of so many heroes of the faith, I don't seriously question whether the old prophet really was one. The text says he was, he expertly fooled the young prophet, he uttered a narrow prophecy soon fulfilled, and he was certain the main prophecy would come to pass. I find some of the implications of this chilling.

I do wonder at the old prophet's being so bold in retrieving the body. Why should he think the lion wouldn't at least give him a potentially fatal swipe for lying in the name of the Lord which led to another's death?