Spiritual Lessons
There are some Bible students who say that the "internal evidence" in the three stories in 1 Kings 13 & 14 indicates that they did not really happen; they were written only to teach a spiritual lesson.
The three stories are:
- Jeroboams withered hand,
- The prophets unfortunate demise,
- Jeroboam's son dies.
And the king answered and said to the man of God, Seek now the face of Jehovah your God, and pray for me, and my hand may be given back to me again. When Jeroboam wanted to worship, the gods of Egypt seemed sufficient to him, but when he needed a medical miracle he turned to Jehovah, the God of the prophet. And the man of God prayed to Jehovah, and the king's hand was given back to him again, and became as at the beginning. 13:1-6.
After his hand was healed the king said to the man of God, Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward. And the man of God said to the king, Even if you will give me half your house. I will not go in with you, nor will I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so was it commanded me by the Word of Jehovah, saying, Eat no bread nor drink water. Some people just cannot be tempted with riches and comforts; for the sake of their beliefs, they are willing to go without. 13:7-9. The man of God stands true to his convictions.
2. Now an old prophet lived in Bethel, and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. ... He (the old prophet) went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. ... Then he said to him, (the man of God), “Come home with me, and eat bread.” He, (the man of God), said, “I may not return with you, nor go in with you. I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 13:11-16.
He said to him, I am a prophet also as you are. ... But he lied to him. So (the man of God), went back with him and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
How easily some people, even Christians, will follow anyone who says he is a prophet. We have more than enough false prophets, with a Bible in their hand, on our TV.s and in our churches.
And it happened as they sat at the table, the Word of Jehovah came to the prophet who ... "Because you have not obeyed the mouth of Jehovah and have not kept the command which Jehovah your God commanded you, but came back and have eaten bread and have drunk water in the place which He said to you, You shall not eat bread nor drink water, your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers (or, in other words, you will die before you reach your homeland)."
And he, the prophet from Bethel, left, and a lion met him by the way and killed him. And his dead body was thrown in the highway, and the donkey stood by it, and the lion also stood by the body. ... When the prophet ... heard about the death, he said, "It is the man of God who did not obey the Word of Jehovah." ... And he went and found his body thrown in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body nor torn the donkey. 1 Ki 13:18-28.
How easily some people, even Christians, will follow anyone who says he is a prophet. We have more than enough false prophets, with a Bible in their hand, on our TV.s and in our churches.
And it happened as they sat at the table, the Word of Jehovah came to the prophet who ... "Because you have not obeyed the mouth of Jehovah and have not kept the command which Jehovah your God commanded you, but came back and have eaten bread and have drunk water in the place which He said to you, You shall not eat bread nor drink water, your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers (or, in other words, you will die before you reach your homeland)."
And he, the prophet from Bethel, left, and a lion met him by the way and killed him. And his dead body was thrown in the highway, and the donkey stood by it, and the lion also stood by the body. ... When the prophet ... heard about the death, he said, "It is the man of God who did not obey the Word of Jehovah." ... And he went and found his body thrown in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body nor torn the donkey. 1 Ki 13:18-28.
The next morning when people walked by they saw the lion and the donkey standing side by side, beside the road, looking at the carcass of the prophet. Really, would the donkey have waited there to become the lions next lunch? Would the lion have remained beside the road, politely standing beside the donkey, until the next day when more people walked by? Surely, we must acknowledge that historical accuracy is not the point of this story. The writer must have been painting a moral or spiritual lesson only, certainly not a historical one.
Mr Livingston writes, The first fifteen centuries of Christianity were a dark and empty void in human awareness of nature. Evolution of objective thought and honest reflection were largely chocked off by the medieval church. The literate minority of people was mostly preoccupied with dogmatic interpretations, often erroneous.
Admittedly, Mr Livingston is writing about an "awareness of nature", but his statement also fits the religious teaching during those centuries. It is from those times that modern Bible students have inherited their narrow views of what we may allow the Bible to teach us. We have greatly cramped the spiritual impact that the Bible would have on The Church if we were not so dogmatic about how the whole Bible must fit together.
Doctrinal Errors in Protestant Churches.
Mr Livingston writes, The first fifteen centuries of Christianity were a dark and empty void in human awareness of nature. Evolution of objective thought and honest reflection were largely chocked off by the medieval church. The literate minority of people was mostly preoccupied with dogmatic interpretations, often erroneous.
Admittedly, Mr Livingston is writing about an "awareness of nature", but his statement also fits the religious teaching during those centuries. It is from those times that modern Bible students have inherited their narrow views of what we may allow the Bible to teach us. We have greatly cramped the spiritual impact that the Bible would have on The Church if we were not so dogmatic about how the whole Bible must fit together.
Doctrinal Errors in Protestant Churches.
3. At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, ... go to Shiloh. Behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me about being king over this people. After the initial introductions, Ahijah said to the woman, I have some very bad news for you. Go tell Jeroboam, "So says Jehovah, because you have done evil above all who were before you, for you have gone and made yourself other gods, and molded images, to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back; therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam." Now, arise, get down to your own house. When your feet enter into the city, the boy shall die. 1 Kings 14:1-12.
That must have been a long, dreary ride home. Perhaps she was hoping that the prophet was wrong about the death of her son. But, then again, the prophet had been right about Jeroboam becoming a king. Now he had said, when your feet enter your hometown your son will die. But maybe, just maybe, this time Ahijah would be wrong. How she dreaded the idea of arriving at home; but she must. When she came to the doorsill the boy died. 14:18. And they buried him, everyone in Israel mourned at his funeral. But he was the last one from Jeroboam's family to receive a proper burial, because he was the only one (of Jeroboam's family whom) the LORD God of Israel was pleased with. 1 Kings 14:13 CEV
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