1Ki
13:1 And, behold, there came a man of
God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the
altar to burn incense.
by the word of
the Lord -
The meaning seems to be, not merely that the prophet was bid to come, but that
he came in the strength and power of God’s word, a divinely inspired messenger.
The word of the Lord is regarded as a power which comes upon the prophet and
drives him to utter the divine revelation which he has received.
By the altar - “On the altar;”
on the ledge, or platform, halfway up the altar, whereupon the officiating
priest always stood to sacrifice.
Jeroboam stood
by the altar to burn incense — It was at one of the annual festivals.
The king, to give interest to the new ritual, was himself the officiating
priest. The altar and its accompaniments would, of course, exhibit all the
splendor of a new and gorgeously decorated temple. But the prophet foretold its
utter destruction
There came a man
of God – Who
this prophet was cannot be ascertained, He came by divine authority. It seems
that Jeroboam was in the very act of idolatry when this man of God came in the
Lord’s name with this solemn commission.
The
marvelous occurrences in this chapter not only teach how Jeroboam brought about
the overthrow of his dynasty by his thorough hardening against the word of God
(1Ki_13:33, 1Ki_13:34), but they also show how false prophecy rose up from the
very beginning in the kingdom of Israel and set itself against the true
prophets of the Lord, and how it gained a victory, which merely displayed its
own impotence, however, and foreshadowed its eventual and certain overthrow.
1Ki
13:2 And he cried against the altar in
the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a
child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee
shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and
men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
He cried against
the altar -
He denounced the destruction of this idolatrous system. These words are a
prophecy against the form of worship set up in the kingdom of Israel.
in the word of
the Lord -
By His order and command:
A child shall be
born, Josiah by name - This is one of the most remarkable and most
singular prophecies in the Old Testament. It here most circumstantially
foretells a fact which took place three hundred and forty years after the
prediction; a fact which was attested by the two nations. The Jews, in whose
behalf this prophecy was delivered, would guard it most sacredly; and it was
the interest of the Israelites, against whom it was levelled, to impugn its
authenticity and expose its falsehood, had this been possible. This prediction
not only showed the knowledge of God, but His power. He gave, as it were, this
warning to idolatry, that it might be on its guard, and defend itself against
this Josiah whenever a person of that name should be found sitting on the
throne of David; and no doubt it was on the alert, and took all prudent
measures for its own defense; but all in vain, for Josiah, in the eighteenth
year of his reign, literally accomplished this prophecy in 2Ki_23:15-20. The
prophecy had three permanent testimonials of its truth.
1.
The house of Israel;
2.
The house of Judah; and,
3.
The tomb of the prophet who delivered this prophecy, who, being slain by a
lion, was brought back and buried at Beth-el, the superscription on whose tomb
remained till the day on which Josiah destroyed that altar, and burnt dead
men’s bones upon it. 2Ki_23:16-18.
a child shall be
born unto the house of David, Josiah by name - this is a clear
proof of the prescience, predetermination, and providence of God with respect
to future events, contingent ones, such as depend upon the will of men.
and said, O
altar, altar -
addressing himself not to Jeroboam, but the altar, thereby reproving his
stupidity, the altar being as ready to hear as he; and because that was what
moved the indignation of the Lord; and the word is repeated, to show the
vehemency of the prophet's spirit, and his zeal against it.
thus saith the
Lord –
a common phrase uttered before a prophecy from the Lord.
upon thee shall
he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's
bones shall be burnt upon thee - all which was fulfilled by Josiah, 2Ki 23:15-16 Moreover,
the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who
made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned,
reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there
on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them
on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD that the man of
God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. It may be read,
"the bones of a man", which the Jews understand of Jeroboam; but may
only signify that, instead of the bones of beasts, which were burnt on it, the
bones of men should be burnt, and even of the priests themselves; a proof this
of the truth of prophecy, and of divine revelation.
1Ki
13:3 And he gave a sign the same day,
saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be
rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
the ashes upon
it will be poured out - is the ashes of the fat of the sacrificial animals.
The pouring out of the sacrificial ashes in consequence of the breaking upon of
the altar was a penal sign, which indicated, along with the destruction of the
altar, the desecration of the sacrificial service performed upon it.
the ashes that
are upon it shall be poured out - signifying it should be entirely
demolished, not only shaken but destroyed, so as not to be capable of retaining
the ashes on it; this was an emblem of the utter abolition of idolatry here in
future times.
He gave a sign -
As
a confirmation of the truth of what the prophet had said, and for the proof of
his being a true prophet of the Lord: A miracle to prove that the prophecy
should be fulfilled in its season. A sign of this kind - an immediate prophecy
to prove the divine character of a remote prophecy - had scarcely been given
before this. In the later history, however, such signs are not unfrequent
(compare 2Ki_19:29; Isa_7:14-16).
behold, the
altar shall be rent -
of itself, by an invisible hand, by the power of God:
1Ki
13:4 And it came to pass, when king
Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar
in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him.
And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull
it in again to him.
Lay hold on him
-
The king, enraged at this announcement, stretched out his hand against the
prophet with the words, “seize him” - and his hand dried up, so that he was not
able to draw it back again.
And his hand
dried up -
The whole arm became suddenly rigid; the nerves no longer communicated their
influence, and the muscles ceased to obey the dictates of the will. Thus
Jeroboam experienced in the limbs of his own body the severity of the
threatened judgment of God. This was a further confirmation of the prophet's
mission from God, being one of those concerning whom He says, "do my
prophets no harm", and a fresh token of the certain performance of what he
had said.
1Ki
13:5 The altar also was rent, and the
ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had
given by the word of the LORD.
1Ki
13:6 And the king answered and said unto
the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that
my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the
king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
Entreat the face
of the Lord thy God -
The face of God is his favor, as we see in many parts of the sacred writings.
He says, thy God not my God, for Jeroboam knew that he was not his God, for he
was now in the very act of acknowledging other gods, and had no portion in the
God of Jacob.
And the king’s
hand was restored -
Both miracles were wrought to show the truth of the Jewish religion, and to
convince this bold innovator of his wickedness, and to reclaim him from the
folly and ruinous tendency of his idolatry.
the king's hand
was restored again -
which was another instance of divine power, and a further proof of the
prophet's divine mission; from whence it might be concluded, that what he had
prophesied of would be fulfilled, and was an instance also of divine goodness
to the king, which should have led him to repentance, but did not.
the king said
unto the man of God -
In another tone than when he bid the people lay hold on him; not in a haughty,
but humble manner; not as threatening, but supplicating:
and pray for me
-
not that the anger of God might be turned away from him, and he enjoy the
divine favor, and have an application of pardoning grace made to him, only to
have this outward mercy, this temporal favor restored to him, the use of his
hand: Jeroboam prays the prophet to intercede for the recovery of his hand, but
not his heart.
and pray for me
-
Jeroboam does not desire the prophet to pray that his sin might be pardoned,
and his heart changed, but only that his hand might be restored. He seemed affected
for the present with both the judgment and the mercy, but the impression wore
off.
the man of God
besought the Lord -
not rendering evil for evil; but being of a forgiving spirit, though the king
had stretched out his hand against him, he lifted up his hands to heaven for
him:
1Ki
13:7 And the king said unto the man of
God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
I will give thee
a reward -
for his prayers, by means of which his hand was restored to him; but takes no
notice of the Lord, the author of this miraculous cure, nor expresses the least
degree of thankfulness and gratitude to him. It was customary to honor a
prophet with a gift, if he performed any service that was requested at his
hands.
neither will I
eat bread nor drink water in this place - God forbade His messenger to eat
or drink in Bethel, to show His detestation of their idolatry and apostacy from
God, and to teach us not to have fellowship with the works of darkness. Those
have not learned self-denial, who cannot forbear one forbidden meal. No doubt,
this part of the Lord’s command to the prophet was to testify His abhorrence of
idols. And it became a test of his fidelity. Compare to 1Co 5:11 and 2Jn 1:9
-10. 1Co 5:11 But
now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of
brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater,
reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 2Jn
1:9-10 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not
abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the
teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not
bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any
greeting,
1Ki
13:8 And the man of God said unto the
king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee,
neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
And the man of
God said unto the king - In answer to to him, to assure him it was in obedience
to the will of God:
if thou wilt
give half of thine house - of the riches in it, and even of his kingdom:
I will not go in
with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place - this idolatrous
place. God had forbidden the prophet to eat and drink to manifest His
detestation of idolatry, and to show by that fact that the Bethelites were so
detestable, and as it were excommunicated by God, that He wished none of the
faithful to join with them in eating and drinking. He was not to return by the
way by which he came, that no one might look out for him, and force him to a
delay which was irreconcilable with his commission, or lest by chance being
brought back by Jeroboam, he should do anything to please him which was
unworthy of a prophet, or from which it might be inferred that idolaters might
hope for some favor from the Lord.
1Ki
13:9 For so was it charged me by the
word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the
same way that thou camest.
Eat no bread,
nor drink water -
The reason of the command is evident. The man of God was not to accept the
hospitality of any dweller at Bethel, in order to show in a marked way, which
men generally could appreciate, God’s abhorrence of the system which Jeroboam
had “devised of his own heart.”
For so it was
charged me -
That is, have no kind of communication with those idolaters, signifying that no
fellowship was to be had with idolaters, but to shun and avoid them, and their
idolatry. God would teach His servants not to have fellowship with the works of
darkness, lest they fall under their contagion and give them encouragement. The
devil always has his snares ready to entrap one who bears Christ’s message.
Nor turn again
by the same way that thou camest - He was charged also not to return by
the way that he came; probably lest the account of what was done should have
reached the ears of any of the people through whom he had passed, and he suffer
inconveniences on the account, either by persecution from the idolaters, or
from curious people delaying him, in order to cause him to give an account of
the transactions which took place at Beth-el. This is a reason why he should
not return by the same way; but what the reason of this part of the charge was,
if not the above, is not easy to see.
1Ki
13:10 So he went another way, and
returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
1Ki
13:11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in
Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had
done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they
told also to their father.
An old prophet - Probably once a
prophet of the Lord, who had fallen from his steadfastness, and yet not so
deeply as to lose the knowledge of the true God, and join with Jeroboam in his
idolatries. We find he was not at the king’s sacrifice, though his sons were
there; and perhaps even they were there, not as idolaters, but as spectators of
what was done.
Now there dwelt
an old prophet in Bethel - a false prophet, so Josephus and old Jewish
scholars say; it is hard to say what he was, a good man or a bad man; if a good
man, he was guilty of many things which are not in his favor, as dwelling in
such an idolatrous place, allowing his sons to attend idolatrous worship, and
telling the man of God a premeditated lie; and yet there are several things
which seem contrary to his being a bad man, and of an ill character, since he
is called an old prophet, did not attend idolatrous worship, showed great
respect to the man of God, had the word of God sent unto him concerning him,
believed that what he had prophesied should come to pass, buried the man of God
in his own grave, and desired his sons to bury him with him.
Now there dwelt
an old prophet in Bethel - The character of this man is not far to fetch. Had
he been a true prophet of the Lord how could he live in Beth-el, and be witness
to Jeroboam’s continued iniquity, without reproving him? Hence, therefore, in
the very opening of his history it is easy to discover that he was of the false
prophets.
his sons came
and told him all the works that the man of God had done - that the altar
was rent, and the ashes poured out, as he had said, and that Jeroboam's hand
withered, and was restored upon his prayer to God:
the words which
he had spoken unto the king - that one should be born of the family
of David, Josiah by name, that should offer the idolatrous priests, and burn
the bones of men upon that altar, and that that should be rent, and its ashes
poured forth, which was done:
1Ki
13:12 And their father said unto them,
What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which
came from Judah.
1Ki
13:13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle
me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
1Ki
13:14 And went after the man of God, and
found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God
that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
Under an oak - literally,
“under the oak,” or “the terebinth-tree.” There was a single well-known tree of
the kind, standing by itself in the vicinity of Bethel, which the author
supposed his readers to be acquainted with. To shelter him from the heat, and
being faint, hungry, and thirsty; so the ancients of old made use of oaks for a
covering, before houses were invented; thus Abraham pitched his tent in the
plain, or under the oak, of Mamre, Gen_13:18.
1Ki
13:15 Then he said unto him, Come home
with me, and eat bread.
Then said he
unto him -
In which invitation no doubt he was hearty, and might have no ill design in it,
only to have some conversation with him, as being a good man, and a prophet of
the Lord, especially upon the subject of his prophecies at Bethel.
1Ki
13:16 And he said, I may not return with
thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee
in this place:
neither will I
eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place - he was resolute
and determined to abide by the commandment of the Lord, though there is reason
to believe that he was now both hungry and thirsty.
1Ki
13:17 For 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.
1Ki
13:18 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.
An angel spake
unto me -
That he lied unto him is here expressly asserted, and is amply proved by the
event. But why should he deceive him? The simple principle of curiosity to know
all about this prediction, and the strange facts which had taken place, of
which he had heard at second hand by means of his sons, was sufficient to
induce such a person to get the intelligence he wished by any means. We may add
to this, that, as he found the man of God sitting under an oak, probably faint
with fatigue and fasting, for he had had no refreshment, his humanity might
have led him to practice this deception, in order to persuade him to take some
refreshment. Having fallen from God, as is supposed, his own tenderness of
conscience was gone; and he would not scruple to do a moral evil.
I am a prophet
also as thou art -
meaning, that he was a prophet of the true God, and not of any idol deity; that
he not only believed in Him, and was a worshipper of Him, but had revelations
from Him, and of the same things this man of God had, and that he believed that
what he had prophesied of would certainly come to pass:
But he lied unto
him -
no messenger nor message being sent to him by the Lord, but was wholly a device
and stratagem of his own to persuade the man of God to return with him, that he
might have his company and conversation. It is always to be remembered that the
prophetic gift might co-exist with various degrees of moral imperfection in the
person possessing it. Note especially the case of Balaam.
an angel spake
unto me by the word of the Lord — This circuitous mode of speaking,
instead of simply saying, “the Lord spake to me,” was adopted to hide an
equivocation, to conceal a double meaning - an inferior sense given to the word
“angel” - to offer a seemingly superior authority to persuade the prophet,
while really the authority was secretly known to the speaker to be inferior. To
falsely speak in the name of the Lord was an offense punishable by death. Deu 18:20 But
the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded
him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall
die.'
1Ki
13:19 So he went back with him, and did
eat bread in his house, and drank water.
So he went back
with him -
He permitted himself to be imposed on; he might have thought, as he had
accomplished every purpose for which God sent him, and had actually begun to
return by another way, God, who had given him the charge, had authority to change
His requirements. However he should not have taken a step back, till he had
remission of the clause from the same authority which gave him the general
message. He should have had it from the word of the Lord to himself, in both
cases; and not taken an apparent contradiction of what was before delivered
unto him, from the mouth of a stranger, who only professed to have it from an
angel, who pretended to speak unto him by the word of the Lord. In this, and in
this alone, lay the sinfulness of the act of the man of God, who came out of
Judah.
So he went back
with him - In
which he sinned; for as he had most certainly the command of God not to eat and
drink in that place, he ought to have had the countermand from the Lord, and
not trusted to another person.
and did eat
bread in his house, and drink water - contrary to the express command of God.
1Ki
13:20 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:
The word of the
Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back - that the word of
the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back; that is, to the old
prophet, who was the means of bringing back the man of God; the word did not
come to him who had transgressed the command of the Lord, but to him who was
the occasion of it;
1Ki
13:21 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,
Forasmuch as
thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord - It was his duty not to be
persuaded. He should have felt that his obedience was being tried, and should
have required, ere he considered himself released, “the same, or as strong,
evidence,” as that on which he had received the obligation. Disobedience to
certain positive commands of God, was one which it was at this time very
important to punish, since it was exactly the sin of Jeroboam and his
adherents.
saying, thus
saith the Lord -
being obliged to deliver, in the name of the Lord, what was said unto him:
hast not kept
the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee - not to eat nor
drink in Bethel.
1Ki
13:22 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.
Thy carcass
shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers - signifying that
he should die before he came to the land of Judah, and he should be buried in
another place, but did not specify by what means.
On
the anxiety of the Hebrews to be buried with their fathers, see these examples:
Gen 47:30 but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and
bury me in their burying place." He answered, "I will do as you have
said."
Gen 49:29 Then he commanded them and said to them, "I am to be
gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field
of Ephron the Hittite,
2Sa 19:37 Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own
city near the grave of my father and my mother. But here is your servant
Chimham. Let him go over with my lord the king, and do for him whatever seems
good to you."
1Ki
13:23 And it came to pass, after he had
eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit,
for the prophet whom he had brought back.
And it came to
pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk - That is, had
finished the meal; for he had begun to eat and drink before the word came,
which came while they were eating and drinking; and it seems this did not
hinder their proceeding to make an end of their meal, which one would have
thought would have spoiled their appetite:
1Ki
13:24 And when he was gone, a lion met
him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass
stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
A lion met him
and slew him -
By permitting himself to be seduced by the old prophet, when he should have
acted only on the expressly declared counsel of God, he committed the sin unto
death; that is, such a sin as God will punish with the death of the body, while
He extends mercy to the soul.
a lion met him
by the way, and slew him — This sad catastrophe was a severe but necessary
judgment of God, to attest the truth of the message with which the prophet had
been charged. All the circumstances of this tragic occurrence were calculated
to produce an irresistible impression that the hand of God was in it.
his carcass was
cast in the way -
in the high road, where it seems the lion seized him, and he fell:
and the ass
stood by it -
disregarded and unhurt by the lion, though the prophet was pulled off of the
back of him:
the lion also
stood by the carcass - not offering to tear it in pieces and devour it,
but rather, as if he was the guard of it, to keep off all others from meddling
with it; these circumstances are very surprising and against the nature of the
lion. This shows the thing to be of God; for when the lion had done what he had
a commission to do, which was to kill the prophet, he was to do no more.
From
the instance here related, we see, as in various other cases, that often
judgment begins at the house of God. The true prophet, for receiving that as a
revelation from God which was opposed to the revelation which himself had
received, and which was confirmed by so many miracles, is slain by a lion, and
his body deprived of the burial of his fathers; while the wicked king, and the
old fallen prophet, are both permitted to live. If this was severity to the man
of God, it was mercy to the others, neither of whom was prepared to meet his
judge.
1Ki
13:25 And, behold, men passed by, and
saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they
came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
And, behold, men
passed by -
Travellers on the road; nor did the lion offer to seize on them, nor desert the
carcass upon their approach:
1Ki
13:26 And when the prophet that brought
him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was
disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him
unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the
LORD, which he spake unto him.
he said, it is
the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord - but does not mention
his own sin in deceiving him; though one would think his own conscience must
smite him for it:
1Ki
13:27 And he spake to his sons, saying,
Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
1Ki
13:28 And he went and found his carcase
cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had
not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
The lion had not
eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass - These strange circumstances were of a
nature to call men’s attention to the matter, and cause the whole story to be spread
abroad. By these means an incident, which Jeroboam would have wished hushed up,
became no doubt the common talk of the whole people.
The lion had not
eaten the carcass, nor torn the ass - All here was preternatural. The lion,
though he had killed the man, does not devour him; the ass stands quietly by,
not fearing the lion; and the lion does not attempt to tear the ass: both stand
as guardians of the fallen prophet. How evident is the hand of God in all!
1Ki
13:29 And the prophet took up the
carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and
the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
And the prophet
took up the carcass of the man of God - The lion perhaps made off as soon as he
came, or, if he stayed, the prophet was not afraid of him, seeing he did not
attempt to devour the carcass, nor touch the ass, nor do any hurt to those that
passed by:
the old prophet
came to the city to mourn, and to bury him - to perform the funeral rites,
according to the custom of the place.
1Ki
13:30 And he laid his carcase in his own
grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
He laid his
carcase in his own grave - As Joseph of Arimathaea did the body of our Lord
Mat_27:60. The possession of rock-hewn tombs by families, or individuals, was
common among the Jews. A sepulchre usually consisted of an underground
apartment, into which opened a number of long, narrow “loculi,” or cells,
placed side by side, each adapted to receive one body. The cells were 6 or 7
feet long, 2 feet wide, and 3 feet high. They were commonly closed by a stone
placed at the end of each.
Alas, my
brothers -
which was an usual form of lamentation at funerals in later times, see
Jer_22:18. This lamentation is very simple, very short, and very pathetic.
Perhaps the old prophet said it as much in reference to himself, who had been
the cause of his untimely death, as in reference to the man of God, whose
corpse he now committed to the tomb. But the words may be no more than the
burden of each line of the lamentation which was used on this occasion.
And he laid his
carcass in his own grave - Which he had prepared for himself; this was showing
all the respect, and doing all the honor to him.
And he laid his
carcass in his own grave - Which he had prepared for himself; for, as he came
from Samaria 2Ki 23:18, it could not be the sepulchre of his fathers; and this
was showing all the respect, and doing all the honor to him that he could:
1Ki
13:31 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:
Lay my bones
beside his bones -
This argues a strong conviction in the mind of the old prophet, that the
deceased was a good and holy man of God; and he is willing to have place with
him in the general resurrection.
lay my bones
beside his bones –
perhaps he had the view that when Josiah came to burn the bones of the priests,
he would spare the bones of this man of God; and so his, lying by them, and
mingled with them, would be spared also, and so it proved, 2Ki 23:17-18 Then he said, "What is
that monument that I see?" And the men of the city told him, "It is
the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that
you have done against the altar at Bethel." And he said, "Let him be;
let no man move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones of
the prophet who came out of Samaria.
bury me in the
sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried — His motive in making this
request was either that his remains might not be disturbed when the predicted
events took place, or he had some superstitious hope of being benefited at the
resurrection by being in the same cave with a man of God. The former seems more
likely as it appears in the following verse.
1Ki
13:32 For the saying which he cried by
the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of
the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
Against all the
houses of the high places - more than the two high places at Dan and Bethel.
There were many lesser high places in the land, several of which would be
likely to be in Israel 1Ki_3:4.
against all the
houses of the high places which are in Samaria -by which it
appears that there were temples, and high places, and altars built in other
parts of the kingdom besides Dan and Bethel, of the destruction of which the
man of God prophesied, though not before mentioned; all which the old prophet
gave credit to, and firmly believed would be accomplished. The kingdom of
Israel, in later times, had the name of Samaria, from the chief city of it,
Isa_7:9, here spoken of by anticipation, for as yet it was not in being, see
1Ki_16:24 and either it has its name here by way of prophecy, or else given by
the writer of this book, as what it went by in his time.
In the cities of
Samaria -
The word Samaria cannot have been employed by the old prophet, in whose days
Samaria did not exist 1Ki 16:24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents
of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he
built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill. The
writer of Kings has substituted for the term used by him that whereby the
country was known in his own day.
In the cities of
Samaria -
It is most certain that Samaria, or as it is called in Hebrew Shomeron, was not
built at this time. We are expressly told that Omri, king of Israel, founded
this city on the hill which he bought for two talents of silver, from a person
of the name of Shemer, after whom he called the city Samaria or Shomeron;
(1Ki_16:24); and this was fifty years after the death of Jeroboam. How then
could the old prophet speak of Samaria, not then in existence, unless he did it
by the spirit of prophecy, calling things that are not as though they were; as
the man of God called Josiah by name three hundred years before he was born?
Some suppose that the historian adds these words because Samaria existed in his
time, and he well knew that it did not exist in the time of the old prophet;
for himself, in the sixteenth chapter, gives us the account of its foundation
by Omri. After all, it is possible that God might have given this revelation to
the old prophet; and thus by anticipation which is the language of prophecy,
spoke of Samaria as then existing.
For the saying
which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel - That the
priests should be offered on it, and men's bones be burnt upon it; for as for
its being rent, and the ashes of it poured out, that had been done already:
1Ki
13:33 After this thing Jeroboam returned
not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of
the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the
priests of the high places.
Whosoever would,
he consecrated him -
he exercised no discretion, but allowed anyone to become a priest, without
regard to birth, character, or social position. Jeroboam did impose one
limitation, which would have excluded the very poorest class. The candidate for
consecration was obliged to make an offering consisting of one young bullock
and seven rams 2Ch 13:9 Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons
of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of
other lands? Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams
becomes a priest of what are no gods.
Jeroboam
returned not from his evil way - There is something exceedingly
obstinate and perverse, as well as blinding and infatuating, in idolatry. The
prediction lately delivered at Bethel, and the miracles wrought in confirmation
of it, were surely sufficient to have affected and alarmed any heart, not
wholly and incorrigibly hardened; and yet they had no effect on Jeroboam.
After this thing
Jeroboam returned not from his evil way - From the idolatrous practices he
had started, and was establishing; though he had seen his altar rent, and the
ashes poured out as the man of God predicted, his own hand withered, and that
restored again upon the prayer of the prophet; and though he had heard of the
death he died for his disobedience to the command of God, and the several
marvelous things that attended it; these were so far from reforming him, that
he seemed to be the more hardened thereby:
Made the lowest
of the people priests - So hardy was this bad man in his idolatry that he
did not even attempt to form anything according to the model of God’s true
worship: he would have nothing like God and truth. In the formation of his
priesthood, he seems to have gone aside from all models. Amongst the worst of
heathens, the priesthood was filled with respectable men; but Jeroboam took of
the lowest of the people, and put them in that office.
Whosoever would,
he consecrated him -
He made no discrimination: anyone that offered was accepted even of those who
had no character.
Made the lowest
of the people priests - and
officiated there, and indeed those of the tribe of Levi would not serve there,
and therefore were expelled their cities; 2Ch
11:14 For the Levites left their common lands and
their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons
cast them out from serving as priests of the LORD,
1Ki
13:34 And this thing became sin unto the
house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of
the earth.
And this thing
became sin -
This persistence in wrong, after the warning given him, brought a judgment, not
only on Jeroboam himself, but on his family. Jeroboam’s departure from the path
of right forfeited the crown 1Ki 11:38 And if you will listen to all that I command you, and
will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes
and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build
you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. and
in that forfeiture was involved naturally the destruction of his family, for
when one dynasty supplants another, the ordinary practice is for the new king
to destroy all the males belonging to the house of his predecessor. 1Ki 15:29 And
as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the
house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according
to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.
And this thing
became sin -
These abominations were too glaring, and too insulting to the Lord, to be
permitted to last; therefore his house was cut off, and destroyed from the face
of the earth.
And this thing
became sin unto the house of Jeroboam - All the above things were sins in
themselves, as building high places, and putting priests in them, whoever
would; but the sense is, that these were the causes of punishment, or of evil
things being inflicted on Jeroboam's family.
even to cut it
off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth - so that it
become utterly extinct; and the next thing we hear of is the sickness and death
of his son.
