The Message of the Man of God

Bible Passage: 1 Kings 13

Being vigilant as a Christian means engaging in a constant activity of reflecting on what is good in God’s eyes and acting upon them. This is akin to driving. In reflecting, we discern and sharpen our sensitivities toward evil. In driving, we require a high level of alertness and develop an acute awareness of the surrounding road conditions. We must maintain this vigilance for life. Driving long distances requires even larger amounts of concentration and focus. ‘Switching-off’ for even a split second may lead to a lifetime of suffering or precious lives lost.

It is good to relax, to ‘chill’ and enjoy the fruits of our labour. But it is also a good idea that we pause for a moment to think about what it is that we are so ‘chill’ about or so accustomed to that we do not make an effort to consider if it glorifies God and edifies men anymore. Are we enjoying the sinful stuff? We wander onto the fearsome path of God’s anger if we do not have God’s words in our hearts and simply pander on.

God’s anger took the form of a withered hand and a lion in today’s reading.

Both King Jeroboam and the Man of God received instructions from God earlier:

Through prophet Ahijah, King Jeroboam received instructions from God

“Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.”

~ 1 Kings 11:38

The Lord’s commandment to the Man of God

“For so it was command me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’”

~ 1 Kings 13:9

Both were not vigilant and acted contrary to God’s clear instructions to them, resulting in tragic endings:

“…Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes, but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back – therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam …” “And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin.”

~ 1 Kings 14:7-16

“It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.”

~ 1 Kings 13:26

Had they been more alert, they would not have intentionally or unintentionally gone back on the word of God.

When God’s hand is with us, it is not in our place to bask in the glory of God’s favour and blessings upon us. God’s blessing is His grace for us to strive harder and more vigilantly for His heavenly kingdom. The beatitudes record of blessings to a selected few not in material or monetary sense, but that the blessed shall obtain mercy, be comforted and filled, are allowed in the kingdom of heaven, be called sons of God and shall see God (Matt 5:3-10).

Let us be mindful of the words of God and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18).