Bible Commentaries

And, behold, there came ^a a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto ^b Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

(a) That is, a prophet.

(b) Not that that was called Luz in Benjamin, but another of that name.

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This [is] the ^c sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that [are] upon it shall be poured out.

(c) By this sign you will know that the Lord has sent me.

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, ^d 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.

(d) The wicked rage against the prophets of God, when they declare God's judgment to them.

And the king answered and said unto the man of God, ^e 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.

(e) Though the wicked humble themselves for a time when they feel God's judgment, they return to their old malice and declare that they are but vile hypocrites.

For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, ^f Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

(f) Seeing he had the express word of God, he should not have declined from it, neither for the persuasion of man nor angel.

Then he said unto him, ^g Come home with me, and eat bread.

(g) This he did of a simple mind, thinking it his duty to declare friendship to a prophet.

He said unto him, I [am] a prophet also as thou [art]; and an ^h 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.

(h) His fault is here double, first in that he did not permit the prophet to obey God's express commandment, and next that he pretended to have a revelation to the contrary.

And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, ⁱ Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,

(i) God would reprove his folly by him who caused him to err.

And when he was gone, ^k 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.

(k) By this fearful example, God sets forth how dangerous it is for men to behave coldly, or deceitfully in the charge to which God has called them.

And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had ^l not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.

(l) To declare that this was only the judgment of God: for if the lion had done it for hunger, he would also have devoured the body.

And he laid his carcase in his ^m own grave; and they mourned over him, [saying], Alas, my brother!

(m) Which he had prepared for himself.

After this thing Jeroboam ^u 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.

(u) So the wicked do not profit by God's threatenings, but go backward and become worse and worse, (2 Timothy 3:13).