DON’T JUST FOLLOW THE PROPHET; AN EXEGESIS OF 1 KINGS 13

 DON’T JUST FOLLOW THE PROPHET; AN EXEGESIS OF 1 KINGS 13

 

The question was asked Alexei, what is the lesson of 1 kings 13? Is it that false prophets will get you killed? The following is his response, and it is suggested to read 1 Kings 13 and 14 before proceeding and ponder the meaning before taking this interpretation to Yahavah.

 

ALEXEI: The chapter in question did not say that any of them were false prophets.

INQUIRER: Yes it does. Well, a lying prophet.

ANSWER: Joseph Smith stated that "A prophet is only a prophet when acting as such." The lesson in this chapter is obedience to God and not man, and the messengers of the Lord are no exception. Where much is given, much is required. We should test everything the prophets say to make sure that it comes from the Lord, and to make sure that we understand correctly.  The parenthetical (in which it says that the Old Prophet lied) may be a later comment added into the text for clarity by a well meaning, but errant scribe. The Old Prophet said that the Lord told him to bring the Man of God home and feed him, and he may not have been lying at all. But the Man of God had already been given other instructions directly from the Lord and should not have departed from them. Had he tested what the prophet said to him, he would not have failed. This passage is cited by some theologians as further proof of the Man of God’s testimony since YHVY standing by every word that he said the Man of God, even making him pay with his life for departing from it, it is further proof that every other part of his prophecy would come to pass.

The prophets are only messengers, and should not speak of themselves. They hold no special rank or privilege with God that would give them such license, and whenever he establishes his church and kingdom and calls them to ruling authority, in other words, an actual position of authority, this is only to administrate according to the Torah and still does not grant them exceptions from obedience. In fact, they suffer the greatest penalties for violation, often paying with their lives. This is a great chapter for Utah Mormons who say, "Follow the prophet; God will never allow him to lead the people astray."

Verse 20 says, “While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back.” The text only calls him the old prophet, not the false prophet, and he was the very one who cried out against the Man of God. This means he was a true prophet, despite what followed. Additionally, if God had not sent him, how did he find the Man of God on the road? And why did he feel the need to go and bring him home and feed him, lie to him and get him killed unless it was all a test from God? If he had lied, as the parenthetical says, why did he escape any punishment? We see how he felt about it afterwards, even though he was only the messenger. He buried the man of God in his own tomb and asked his sons to be buried beside him, and affirmed that the Man of God’s prophecy will come true. As another prophet, he thought, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” And as prophets, priests, teachers and disciples today, we should think the same.

The Man of God had traveled from Judah to Bethel. The "Old Prophet," for lack of a name in the text, must have lived someplace close by in order to hear the story and still be able to saddle a donkey and find him on the road. We should wonder why neither man is named in the text. Surely they had names, and since their tomb was known 300 years later, surely their names were known to somebody. The very next chapter begins with the king sending his wife to the prophet Ahijah in Shiloh. Shiloh is 10 miles from Bethel, part of a day's journey by donkey. Could they be the same prophet? Did an ancient scribe hide that fact by removing the name in the previous chapter due to the man of God trusting his words leading him to sin, costing his life, thinking that lying to another prophet would make the Old Prophet look false?

We must also ask, Does God speak through false prophets or liars? The second word of the Lord through the Old Prophet came true and the Man of God died as he prophesied. The Lord God did not sin by commanding the old Prophet to invite the man of God home and feed him and the old Prophet did not sin if he only repeated the words. The words were a test to see if the Man of God would obey what he heard from God himself or what he was told that God had said from another prophet, and he failed to obey and was punished. The Old Prophet was not punished because he did obey, but he had compassion and grieved for his fellow prophet.

The Man of God's prophecy was not fulfilled completely for 300 years until Josiah destroyed the shrine, leaving only the tomb of the two prophets. This book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel is believed to have been compiled in the seventh century BC, with a supplement added later in the sixth, when a redaction may have taken place. Is this when the names of the prophets were removed by those who did not fully understand the passages and were uncomfortable with the implications of sin or entrapment by either God or his servant? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Kings_13.

This may feel like entrapment, and indeed it would be for any non-All Knowing, All just God, but since God has the authority to test his servants and the ability to recompense with an eternal reward, such as test falls under his purview. It is hardly unfair, for having paid with his life, there is no indication that the Man of God did not receive an eternal reward in Heaven. For evidence we look to the final revelation of Joseph Smith appointing James J. Strang as his successor, in which the Lord tells Joseph that he has sinned and his punishment is very bitter, in which he must offer up his life, but his reward is magnificent in an eternal world where the bands of the oppressor fall off.

It seems like a harsh test, because why shouldn’t the Man of God trust the Old Prophet? Is it inconceivable that the old Prophet had been given a new commandment for the Man of God? Again the harshness is related to the position of trust given to the Man of God. The lesson of the chapter is obedience and discernment. If the man of God had taken the new revelation to the Lord, he may have fulfilled enough of righteousness to be allowed to return and eat with the old Prophet, but this only God could to confirm to him. If he went the extra step and asked, and got no answer at all, he should be obedient to the former commandment he received. God tests his servants to prove their faithfulness, and all his blessings are predicated on obedience. The Lord made of his servant an object lesson for us, and his servant is in His hands.

In Psalm 146:3, we read: Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. In Jeremiah 17:5-9, we read: Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord; For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is, for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

QUESTION: But Peter was told to kill and eat, which differed from prior law. Why is God so difficult to obey? We have the Book of the Law, but what part of it survives the New Covenant in Christ's blood?

ANSWER: In Matthew 5: 17-20, we read the Savior’s profession: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish [do away with, set aside or abrogate] them but to fulfill them [completely obey them]. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear [as long as the earth stands and there are mortals to comprehend the Torah], not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone [from this day as long as the earth stand, not from this day until three years when I am resurrected] who sets aside one of the least of these commands, and teaches others accordingly, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Even modern pharisees or church leaders and pastors are notorious for setting aside any commandments they personally do not wish to obey and claiming this is part of what Christ did away with, while vehemently emphasizing any commandment or interpretation of a commandment they have no natural inclination to break, thus accentuating their righteousness.

QUESTION: So what of grace and circumcision?

ANSWER: Grace is not permission to break commandments. Circumcision is of the heart. The scriptures say to be circumcised of heart, and this shall always be in effect. Peter did not receive a revelation that gives license to break the Law. He received a vision with symbolic imagery. Various foods represent different cultures, because every culture has different food practices, and people  consider other people's foods foreign, and sometimes strange or even taboo. In Peter's day,  Jews would not allow themselves to touch non-Jews because they were considered unclean. Peter's vision taught him to no longer see Gentiles as unclean because they are being sanctified and brought under the covenant.

"On the other hand, both the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the United Church of God argue that Peter's statement in Acts 10:28 indicates that the divine disclosure reflected only a teaching about people, and not one about food. The United Church of God argues that this is an "often-misunderstood section of the Bible", and that "the puzzling vision could not be annulling God's instructions." As such, Adventists and followers of the UCG traditionally observe the Old Testament dietary restrictions, which, like the still upheld Jewish dietary laws, forbid the consumption of pork, shellfish (including shrimps and lobsters), any carnivores, any herbivores that are not ruminants, and any ruminants that do not have split hooves, among others. Peter's triple refusal described in Acts 10:16 echoes the denial of Peter described in the Synoptic Gospels."

This would be a good example of the written Law from God through Moses telling us one thing, and the traditions of various churches telling us another. Who are we to believe, God or church leaders who tell us we no longer need to heed portions of the Law? Considering what happened to the Man of God who trusted the prophet over God himself, we should be careful of how we discern these matters.

QUESTION: Is the book of the law only for Israelites?

ANSWER: The Law is exists from all eternity to all eternity. It is for every child of God, because it is the eternal principle in which God abides. Those who covenant to be the children of God and live by his Law become Israelites.

QUESTION: But are we to keep the sabbath and stone bad children?

ANSWER: Look to Jesus's life and teachings to interpret the Law. We need to get back to Jesus, for He is the cornerstone of our faith.

I have said many times, so I do not know if you have not understood. The Old Testament was corrupted prior to the time of Christ, so there are false commandments recorded there. Jeremiah 8:8 says the scribes dealt treacherously with it. It is like the True Law is written in blue and the lies of Satan are written in red. Christ is the red lens that allows us to see the blue ink when it is held over the text. His life and his teachings are the lens through which to see the truth of the Torah. If it is not ratified by him, or aligned with his life and teachings, it is most likely a corruption. The book says to stone sinners, but Christ taught by his actions to forgive them, therefore the True Law that Moses received from the pre-mortal Christ, Yahavah, did not say to stone them, which means that was an addition from the scribes who were inspired by Satan.

“The letter of the Law kills, but the Spirit of the Law gives life.” To adhere to and trust the letter of the law as it was handed down to us is to trust the same church leaders who tell us how to interpret it and which portions to obey and which to disregard. It is nonetheless leaning on the arm of flesh. The only way to pass the test that the Man of God failed is to take both the scripture texts and the traditions and interpretations of men and study them in your mind and in your heart, diligently compare them with the acts and sayings of Christ, who is God, and ask God the Father in faith for the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of all things. If you listen to the devil or to your ego and carnal desires, it is just as much leaning on the arm of flesh and disobeying God as it is to follow and obey church leaders who do the same, even if the tradition goes a thousand years back to the first leaders who did the same; so be sure to be sincere and wait on God for the answer. Some will speak truth to you by the power of the Holy Spirit, and some will speak falsely by the power of the devil, but the way to discern is the same and it is plain. As we saw in the story of the Man of God and the Old Prophet, the enticing notwithstanding, we will all be accountable for our disobedience. Jesus said of the errant church leaders of his day that the blind lead the blind into the pit. Many who say "Lord, Lord, we did many mighty works in your name" will be cast off by Jesus who will say, "I never recognized you. Depart from me, you workers of inequity."

Joseph Smith said, “Many of the things we think of as sin are not sin; I have come to break down superstition, and I will break it down,” but he did not write us out a list of what is and is not sin, nor should we, for then we would lean on the arm of flesh. Instead, after revealing all the revelations and the Book of Mormon and teaching Moroni’s charge, to go to the Lord yourself to obtain the answer, having removed the training wheels of scriptural interpretation and commandments, we are now responsible for the truth we receive. May we empty our vessel so that He may fill us. Amen.