1 Kings 13

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.