Misplaced Faith

 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. And 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, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel. (1 Kings 13:1-10 ESV).

 

I know our reading today is a bit longer than my normal writing; however, the prophet speaks far-reaching words of judgment that aren't fulfilled until about 300 years have passed (cf. 2 Kings 23:15-20). But a miraculous sign of the split altar shows that he is speaking the words of the Lord. Seeing his hand shriveled, Jeroboam quickly morphs from wanting to kill this prophet to wanting to be friends with him. Amazingly, Jeroboam feels inclined to pray for healing. Suddenly he decides that it might be good to be friendly to the holy man. Dinner! A present! Maybe the prophet will forget that "Seize him!" command. It reminds me of a quote from a very wealthy businessman who once wrote, "If you can buy your way out of a problem, you don't have a problem!" Jeroboam apparently had a good grasp on that principle.

 

It happens a lot. People love their church because they love their pastor. People leave their church because they hate their pastor. People love their political party and follow their elected leader without question. People reject their political party because they hate they elected leader. These are all just sinners like you and I. We are not capable of trust eternally.  We must make sure our heart is attached to the living God. He will not fail us!