CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
1 Kings 13
Chapter 13 of 22
Chapter Overview
What happens in 1 Kings 13
A man of God from Judah delivers a powerful prophecy against Jeroboam's altar at Bethel. But the prophet later disobeys God's command and pays for it with his life. Despite these warnings, Jeroboam continues in his sin.
Scripture
1 Kings 13
A Prophet Confronts Jeroboam
Study note
A prophet from Judah arrived at Bethel while Jeroboam stood at the altar. He prophesied that a future king named Josiah would burn the bones of false priests on this very altar. As a sign, the altar split apart. When Jeroboam pointed at the prophet and ordered his arrest, the king's hand shriveled and became useless. Jeroboam begged the prophet to pray for him, and God healed his hand. The prophet refused Jeroboam's invitation to eat, because God had told him not to eat or drink in that place.
1 While Jeroboam stood at the altar in Bethel burning incense, a man of God arrived from Judah. The Lord had sent him. And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 The man cried out against the altar with a message from the Lord: "Altar, altar! The Lord declares: A descendant of David named Josiah will be born. He will sacrifice the hilltop priests who burn incense on you, and he will burn human bones on your surface." 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.
3 He gave proof that same day, saying, "Here is the sign from the Lord: this altar will crack open, and the ashes on it will spill out." 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.
4 When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speak against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at the man and shouted, "Grab him!" Instantly, the hand he had stretched out shriveled up and he could not pull it back. And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, 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.
5 The altar also split apart and the ashes poured out. This was the exact sign the man of God had given by the Lord's power. 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.
6 The king pleaded with the man of God, "Please pray to the Lord your God to heal my hand!" The man of God prayed, and the king's hand was restored to normal. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat 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.
7 The king invited him, "Come to my home for a meal, and I will give you a reward." And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
8 The man of God said no. "Even if you gave me half your palace, I would not come with you. I will not eat or drink anything in this place." 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:
9 "The Lord gave me strict orders: 'Do not eat food, do not drink water, and do not go back the same way you came.'" 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.
10 He took a different road home, avoiding the path he had traveled to Bethel. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.
The Old Prophet's Deception
Study note
An old prophet living in Bethel heard about what had happened. He found the man of God resting under a tree and invited him to eat. The man refused, explaining God's command. But the old prophet lied, saying an angel had told him to bring the man back. The man of God believed the lie and went back to eat. While they were eating, the old prophet received a genuine word from the Lord: because the man of God had disobeyed, he would not be buried with his ancestors.
11 An old prophet lived in Bethel. His sons came home and described everything the man of God had done and said to the king that day. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
12 Their father asked, "Which direction did he go?" The sons had watched which road the man from Judah took. 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.
13 The old prophet told his sons, "Get my donkey ready." They saddled it and he climbed on. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14 He caught up with the man of God, who was resting under an oak tree. "Are you the man of God from Judah?" he asked. "I am," the man replied. 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.
15 The old prophet invited him, "Come home with me and have something to eat." Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 The man of God declined: "I cannot go back with you or share a meal or drink in this area." 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:
17 "The Lord told me clearly, 'Do not eat or drink anything there, and do not return by the route you came.'" 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.
18 The old prophet lied to him: "I am also a prophet, just like you. An angel gave me a message from the Lord: 'Bring him home with you so he can eat and drink.'" 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.
19 So the man of God went back with him, ate a meal at his house, and drank water. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 While they were at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet. 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:
21 He called out to the man from Judah: "The Lord says this: 'You did not obey the Lord's direct command. You did not follow the directions the Lord your God gave you.'" 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,
22 "'You came back. You ate food and drank water in the place he told you not to. So your body will not rest in your family's tomb.'" 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.
The Man of God Is Killed
Study note
After eating, the man of God left and was killed by a lion on the road. Remarkably, the lion did not eat the body or harm the donkey but stood beside them. The old prophet retrieved the body, buried it, and mourned, saying his prophecy against Bethel would surely come true.
23 After the man of God finished his meal, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him to ride home. 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.
24 Along the way, a lion attacked the man of God and killed him. His body lay on the road with the donkey standing on one side and the lion on the other. 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.
25 Travelers passing by saw the body on the road with the lion standing calmly beside it. They went into town and reported what they had seen. 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.
26 When the old prophet heard about it, he said, "That must be the man of God who defied the Lord's command. The Lord sent the lion to kill him, just as the Lord had warned." 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.
27 He told his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." They did. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
28 He rode out and found the body lying on the road. The donkey and lion stood quietly on either side. Remarkably, the lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey. 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.
29 The old prophet lifted the body onto the donkey and brought it back to his own city. He cried over the man and then buried him. 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.
30 He laid the body in his own family tomb, and they wept over him, saying, "Farewell, my brother!" And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
31 After the burial, the old prophet told his sons, "When I die, bury me in the same tomb, right beside the man of God. Lay my bones next to his." 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:
32 "All he said by the Lord's word will come true. This means what he said against Bethel's altar. It also means what he said against the hilltop shrines in Samaria." For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
Jeroboam Refuses to Change
Study note
Even after these dramatic events, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to appoint anyone he pleased as priests for the hilltop shrines. This became the sin that led to the downfall and destruction of his entire family.
33 Even after all this, Jeroboam did not change course. He kept appointing anyone who wanted the job as a priest for the hilltop shrines. 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.
34 This practice became the sin that would one day destroy Jeroboam's whole family. It would wipe them off the earth. 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.
Key Themes
Themes in 1 Kings 13
The authority and responsibility of God's wordObedience cannot be set aside, even by other believersThe danger of being deceived by those who claim to speak for GodGod's prophetic word will always be fulfilled
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
1 Kings 1-3 1 Corinthians 1:19
The prophet's bold confrontation of false worship at Bethel, naming Josiah by name 300 years before his birth, demonstrates God's sovereign knowledge of the future. Paul writes that God's wisdom confounds the wise — the altar that seemed permanent was destined for destruction.
Apply This Today
Living 1 Kings 13
The man of God received clear instructions from the Lord but was deceived by another prophet into disobeying. Just because someone claims to have a word from God does not mean we should abandon what God has already told us clearly. We must test every message against what we know to be true.
Go Deeper
Study 1 Kings in Covenant Path
Read every chapter with study aids, bookmarks, and daily reading plans — free in the app.