I was having coffee with a great friend & got to discussing the happenings of 1Kings 13… (IMOSHO: You should really click on the 1Kings 13 link to get familiarized with the story.)
Specifically, its how one prophet (referred to as “the man of God” or MOG) was told, by God (big part of the story,) to go & communicate God’s judgment (!) on Jeroboam, King of Judah because of idolatry. Additionally, the MOG was told, by God, not to eat or drink anything, under any circumstances, until he had returned to his own home after passing on the judgment of God on Jeroboam.
After the passing of judgment, upon God’s bidding, the MOG headed home. Before he got there, an old prophet (the Old Man Of God or OMOG) heard what had happened & for some reason went to meet/confront/interact with the MOG. The OMOG told the MOG that he should come to his house & eat & drink with him. The MOG said, “No way, God told me not to eat or drink til I get home.” The OMOG then lied to the MOG, saying, “Au contraire. God told ME that it was ok for you to come to my house for dinner.” The MOG, for some reason, (seniority?) believed the OMOG & went to his home, ate & drank.
The Spirit of God came upon the OMOG for reals – & the OMOG prophesied that the MOG was going to die because of disobeying the instruction God had given him. On the way home, the MOG was killed by a lion. The OMOG went & recoved the MOG’s body, buried him in his own (the OMOG’s) burial plot, & grieved for him.
Why did the OMOG lie to the MOG? Why did the MOG believe the OMOG? Why did the OMOG use God’s name in vain? Why didn’t the OMOG get punished, & only the MOG was killed by the lion? What state of mind was the OMOG in? Had he stopped hearing from God so long ago that he was jealous of the MOG & was used by the dark one to mislead the MOG? It makes one wonder… & makes this MOG want to listen to the One above all else & above all others. No matter what.
IMOSHO = In My Oh So Humble Opinion. I did it in the spirit of the post…
You gave Moby away?
this is an odd story. it’s one of those i stew on occasionally. it seems random, unfair, and a bit vindictive.
it also doesn’t seem to have nice, neat answer like the 2 kings 2 bear mauling fiasco.