“Et tu brute?”
This short phrase brings to mind the rumored story of deception and betrayal from a close friend, Brutus, to Julias Caesar. Caesar had always thought Brutus was a beloved friend but when he was being physically attacked by Senators and saw Brutus coming at him with a knife to kill him, he stopped resisting the fight and was willing to die. He supposedly said these words before he died which mean, “You too Brutus?”
The pain of being betrayed was so damaging to Caesar’s heart that he preferred death than to live in a life of hurt. Or at least that’s how Shakespeare let us believe it happened.
There are times when we find ourselves being together with a person that we respect. Maybe it’s a person who has the same interests as us, the same job, the same beliefs, or who we believe to be in the same political party as us. But in the end, they deceive us, we find out that they were not who they professed to be. They have falsely represented what we hold dear to our hearts and have used that representation to hurt us.
In I Kings 13 there is one such man, a great man, a man of God. He was used by God to be a great messenger of His truths. And this man was doing everything according to God’s Words. But he made a mistake. He trusted someone who claimed to be a man of God as well. Unfortunately, this mistake led to his demise.
This is the story of the deceived man of God.
The Backstory
To understand this man’s story we must first understand the time, the setting, and the circumstances to which this man was called. What were the emotions and the depth of the actions shown in the story? Why is this man even important? To find these answers we must look into the history shown to us in I Kings 12.
During this period of time, Rehoboam, Solomon’s Son, was king over Judah. Originally he was king over all of Judah and Israel but because he did wicked things that displeased God, his Israelite kingdom was taken from him. Instead, God gave Israel to Jeroboam, a man whom the Israelites were supposed to have killed many years ago.
Jeroboam was now king over the land, but he was afraid. You see, the people of Israel still went to Judah, quite frequently, to worship the Lord their God in the temple at Jerusalem. He feared that, eventually, the Israelites would turn away from him and choose to follow Rehoboam again because of their faith in God. They would be convicted of their sin. They would be reminded of God’s commands and promises. God would turn their hearts away from him as their king.
So he created a plan. A plan of deception in the form of convenience. Jeroboam had two calves of gold created and an altar to offer sacrifices to these gods. He claimed to the Israelites that it was too hard to travel all the way back to Jerusalem to worship. Instead, they should stay here and worship their God close to home. He had them believe that these calves of gold, symbolized their God in Jerusalem. The God which brought them out of Egypt. He did a great job in making people, who knew the basics of their religion, fall for the falsehoods of his new religion.
Now I’m going to stop the history lesson here because there are already so many red flags.
1st– the people of Israel should have known with surety that these idols could not be their God. God had already made it clear that he was not a god of wood, metal, or stone (Exodus 20:1-6). They had been commanded to not create images of him and worship them. And seriously, they’d already had this exact same problem before (Exodus 32). Even down to the smallest detail of God being represented as a cow. People who do not know God well, are easily deceived.
2nd– They should also have been aware of the requirements of their religion. It was a common fact that sacrifices were only to be offered on the specific altar in the temple at Jerusalem, no other place would do. And not only that but the only people allowed to offer sacrifices to God had to be part of the tribe of Levi. Jeroboam, himself, was offering sacrifices. He clearly was not a Levite. If you don’t know your faith and religion, then how could you possibly practice it correctly?
3rd- The reasons already mentioned should have shown the Israelites that the king they were under was causing them to sin and that maybe, just maybe, they shouldn’t listen to him. But instead of caring about the morality of it all, they enjoyed the convenience. They were willing to overlook the blatant and obvious contradictions to their faith because it made their life easier.
Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11
I cannot stress enough how important it is to know what God’s Word says so we know what is right and wrong. If we don’t know what God says, then how can we obey him? And if we don’t obey him then aren’t we sinning? As someone who loves God, we cannot blindly trust other people’s words, even if they are seen as great leaders in the faith. The Bible says,
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)
It is OUR job to KNOW what the Bible says. Because if you understand what the Bible says, then you can see the deception trying to ensnare you.
I hate the misconception people have that they need someone to tell them what the Bible says. That they could never understand it without another person telling them how to think and what the verses mean. Jesus clearly tells us the truth in John 14:26. It says,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
The one God destined to help you understand the Bible is His Spirit, which comes into your soul the moment you get saved. Not the pope, not your pastors, and not even your parents are the final say in God’s laws. God might use them but if they contradict what we see in Scripture then they are wrong and we should follow His Spirit.
The moment you ask Jesus to get rid of your sin and become a part of His family then the Spirit enters your life. That helper will stay with you forever. The spirit is the one who shows you what God’s words mean. He will never deceive you; he will only make you stronger.
Enters the Man of God
In reality, there is very little known about this man. All we are told is that he is from Judah and was doing what God asked him to do. How sad it is that God had to find someone in a different country to be His messenger. He couldn’t find even one man of faith in all of Israel to send. They were all so corrupt with sin and were worshiping, not him, but idols.
We can know with certainty that this man was doing what was right and was told to do it by God based on I Kings 13:1.
I think it is also important to notice that we don’t even know this man’s name. He wasn’t a priest. He wasn’t a prophet. He was just a man who loved God and had a close fellowship with Him. So close that he was willing to do what God asked of him, even if it was dangerous. It just goes to show that God is not looking to use only pastors, deacons, missionaries, or evangelists. He wants anyone that loves Him to do what’s right. We are all called to follow Him. We are to be DOERS of the word and not just HEARERS (James 1:22).
But what happened? What did God call this man to do?
The man of God traveled into Israel and went to the place of false worship, the place where King Jeroboam was acting as the priest and spoke a message. He did not speak to those Israelites around him, those worshiping the idols. He did not speak to Jeroboam, the man creating his own religion for selfish purposes. He spoke to the altar, an inanimate object. He told the altar,
“O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon you shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon you, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon you.”
In this, he was prophesying that God would render the kingdom away from Jeroboam and into the family of David, Rehoboam’s grandfather, again. And not only would the kingdom be gone but people who offered sacrifices to these false idols would have their own bodies burned upon the very altars that they used.
He goes on to prophesy a sign that would happen to cause them to believe in these words. He said that the altar Jeroboam was using would be split in half and the ashes upon it would fall out and onto the ground.
Such a bold thing to say! Can you imagine? I would have been terrified to do this. He is, in a way, going into the lair of the devil, not knowing the future, but having the confidence in his God and the words that were spoken to him that he would be ok. Confidence in God comes from faith in Him. If we are to speak boldly to others and to be used by God in treacherous places then we must have unwavering faith in Him.
But how do we get such an unwavering faith? It’s actually a very easy answer. Don’t doubt is the key.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
James 1:6
Believe with every part of your being that it is truth. And to be frank, if you don’t fully believe God’s Word to be the infallible truth then how can you say you believe it? If it is not the truth then it’s a lie. And if it’s a lie it is rather foolish of you to follow it, wouldn’t you say?
When Jesus was walking on water in Matthew 14 the disciples were scared, except one. Peter wasn’t shocked nor scared, but was more in awe and wanted to do the same. He asked Jesus to allow him to come to him on top of the water and Jesus told him to do so.
Peter heard Jesus’ command, he knew that Christ would be there for him and he went. He acted on his faith. And what happened? Peter walked on water! He saw his savior, he saw the goal, and he believed he could. But once he looked around and saw the waves and the wind and the terrifying storm that they were in, he doubted. He remembered our humanistic reality and what should be happening to him instead of what could be happening through God’s power. And as soon as he began to doubt, he began to sink.
He cried out saying, “Lord, save me!” He would not need to have been saved if he had not doubted. If he had kept his belief focused on Jesus he would have made it to his side. Jesus reached out and grabbed Peter’s hand and said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
But if we do have unwavering faith, then Jesus says in Matthew 21:21 we will be able to tell mountains to move and they will do it. Our faith is God’s power through us. How else did the disciples heal the blind and the sick? How else did Moses part the Red Sea? How else did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego not die in the furnace of fire? Because their undoubting faith in God gave them His power. God allowed them to be used to show the world His unnatural wonders with the hopes to open their eyes to His presence.
Reaction To A Calling Out Of Sin
Upon hearing the condemnation of this new religion Jeroboam reached out his hand toward the man of God and commanded he be captured. But the moment he did, God caused his hand’s muscles, skin, and flesh to dry up and be made useless. The sign given was also performed and everyone witnessed the altar breaking in two and the ashes falling to the ground.
The man of God was now seen as someone that had power. The power bestowed upon us by the true God of the world. And not only power but the truth. The words he spoke would come to pass.
Jeroboam knew this too and begged the man to pray to God and have his hand restored. Now the man could have refused, but he didn’t. He showed mercy to the king and prayed to God which caused his hand to be restored.
Now one would think these miracles would have caused the people to ask God to forgive them and repent of their bad deeds. But it did not. Jeroboam did not want to follow God, he wanted to keep following his false religion and keeping the people with him. We will see it more clearly later in the story but it is also shown by him wanting to reward the man of God. He asks him to come to his home and be refreshed and gain riches from him.
I don’t know what Jeroboam’s true intentions for offering this were but I do believe we can speculate. I truly think it was either to kill the man of God, cause him to sin against God and be made useless to Him, or to cause him to be distracted from serving God and have the people forget about him. These are three of the top ways Satan tries to stop believers today and if he’s doing those tricks in our lives, I’m sure he was doing it in their lives too.
But the man of God was smarter than that. He had already been ordered by God to not do 3 things. He was to neither eat, nor drink, nor walk back home from the same way he came. So the man of God refused Jeroboam’s offer and started going back home from another way.
The Sinful Prophet of God
As we continue to read about the man of God in I Kings 13, a new character enters the scene. There is an old prophet whose sons came home and told him all about the things they saw the man of God do and the words he said. The prophet became interested and asked his sons where this man went. The sons had seen which way the man went and that he was on his way to Judah, but they did not have a sure place.
The old prophet got on a donkey and went searching for the man. He ended up finding him sitting under an oak tree. Now the man of God was probably tired, hungry, and thirsty. Who knows how far away he had traveled and who knows how long he’d gone without eating or drinking? I mean that was one of God’s commands. He wasn’t to eat or drink until he got home. I get thirsty after 10 minutes and need a drink. To possibly go an entire day, maybe even two, without water would be torture.
But why would God tell the man of God such a weird command anyway? What was the purpose? If we dive deeper into this story, just by refusing to eat or drink with others, would have saved the man from meeting with people that would hurt him. First, Jeroboam offered him refreshments, we know he was up to no good. And now this old prophet was going to offer him food and water which, in the end, would lead to his downfall.
I also believe it was a trial God placed in the man’s way to teach him to say no to himself and have complete obedience to God. Satan is constantly trying to make us stumble and fall in our faith, but God uses these temptations for good. He allows them so we can be more solid in our relationship with him after it is over.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3)
“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” (James 1:12-13)
The Deception
When the old prophet saw the man of God he asked him right away if he was the man that came from Judah. At this point, I’m sure the news of what he had done was all over Israel. The man said he was. The old prophet proceeded to ask him to come home with him and eat bread. But the man refused just like he did to Jeroboam. He said, with confidence, that he could not return with him because God had commanded he not eat nor drink in Israel. He was faithfully following what God had asked of him.
But the old prophet deceived him. He told the man of God that he was a prophet just like him, implying that he was a prophet of God. Could he be? Maybe. I honestly believe that this prophet really thought he was of God. But the Bible never once calls him that, meaning that God did not see him that way. He is just called a prophet. I don’t believe he was a prophet of Jeroboam’s religion but I do believe he did not follow God’s commands but in name only. He might have been at one time but had slowly fallen away from God’s commands and now also had a religion different from what God had and thus made it a false one.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:22-23
This old prophet not only deceived the man in who he was but also deceived the man of God’s Words. He told the man of God that an angel had spoken to him from the Lord and that he was to bring this man back to his home and give him food and water.
Many people see this verse and wonder if Satan took the form of an angel and deceived the old prophet into believing he was getting a message from God. I, however, do not believe the narrative of that belief. Why? Because I Kings 13:18 says right after the old prophet said those words, “But he lied unto him.”
Just based on these words it leads me to believe the old prophet did not see that revelation, nor heard those words. He was selfishly trying to get the man to come to his home for whatever reason. And the only way he knew he could do that was to pretend it was God who told him to do so. Because when a person lies they know what they are saying is false. If an angel had told him, even a dark angel, then he would have believed in the revelation.
Now the man of God did not know this man at all. He had known him for only a couple of minutes so it was easy for him to be deceived. The man claimed to be just like him, a man of God. Thus he believed that old prophet loved God just as him and followed his commands. And if he believed that is who the old prophet was then it only makes sense he would believe the revelation the man claimed to have. It wasn’t unusual for God to speak through angels to other people so that wouldn’t have stopped him. And people of God were not supposed to lie but only tell the truth.
The Downfall
So the man of God listened to the prophet and went back to his home with him and ate his food and drank his water. While these two were sitting at the table conversing, God used the old prophet to speak to the man of God. He didn’t give the old prophet a revelation on what to speak but instead stole his voice and body to talk directly to the man of God.
“And he (the old prophet) cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” I Kings 13:21-22
God was telling the man of God that since he disobeyed his commands then he will be met with death. Seems rather harsh for just drinking water and eating bread, doesn’t it? And why such a fierce punishment for a man who was harmless compared to the old prophet that lied and deceived the man? Why doesn’t God kill him?
- First, It’s because God punishes those who know his words more harshly than those who do not.
“And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”
God shows the example of a servant and master in Luke 12. If a servant did not follow his master’s will and did not do what he was asked to do purposefully then it makes sense he would be punished. But if a servant did the same thing but did not realize what he was supposed to do then he should have less of a punishment.
The man of God was asked to do a great thing. God expected a lot out of him and the man was willing to do it. But he disobeyed God’s will knowingly. Yes, he was deceived. But the man could have consulted with God first. He should have at least been suspicious of the person trying to get him to disobey the command God clearly gave him.
- Secondly, God punishes and rebukes his children more than those who are not.
And I believe this is another reason to believe the old prophet was not truly of God, nor part of his family. Because, in the end, God does not punish him. God doesn’t give him the time of day. He doesn’t even talk to this old prophet in rebuke as he did the man. God knew this old prophet would get a proper punishment. He already knew his future of torment in hell, not of His will, but the old prophet’s choosing. That would be punishment enough.
For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. (Hebrews 12:4-11)
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:17)
Does God chasten you when you do wrong? If not, then I suggest you have an honest conversation with yourself as to why that might be. Maybe you are not as close to Him as you thought.
After the man of God finished eating and drinking he got on a donkey from the old prophet and left. I’m sure the meal he was eating did not taste as refreshing as it had before. And I’m sure the conversation he and the old prophet had was not as joyful. And now he was no longer in God’s good favor and he had no idea what would happen. All he knew was that his life was going to come to an end soon. What a sad and depressing time this must have been for him.
While the man of God was heading home he met a lion along the way and the lion killed him. People might say this was just a coincidence and not God’s doing, but I beg to differ. Verse 24 continues to say that the man of God’s carcass was cast to the side and the donkey stayed by it, and not only the donkey but also the lion.
If the lion was just hungry he would have eaten the carcuss and possibly even the donkey. If it was a bad lion that killed everything it saw then why did it leave the donkey alive? And why stay with the dead man? I believe God left the lion there to protect the man’s body. If the old prophet knew the man’s story and could figure out who he was by a glance then so could everyone else in Israel.
I’m sure the man of God had many enemies now because of what he had said about their form of worship and the rebuke he had given. Now would be the time when people could seek their revenge and display his body to the rest of Israel and use it to proclaim he was wrong and his God couldn’t save him from theirs. They could have further destroyed his body and maimed him till he was unrecognizable.
But God still loved this man, even in his death. The man of God was now in heaven so it really didn’t matter what happened to his body. But it mattered to God that his servant’s body would be taken care of to show respect for the good he had done. Even in his punishments, God is merciful.
But everyone walking down this road could see such a spectacle and I’m sure it made tongues wag. The news eventually came to the old prophet and he knew that it was the man of God he had brought home. The old prophet understood that the man had disobeyed God and he heard the words that God had come out of his mouth in rebuke to this man. He knew that the prophecy had come true.
The old prophet saddled his donkey again and went to where the donkey and lion still stood by the carcuss. The old prophet, without fear, knowing this was God’s doing, picked up the man of God’s body and put it on his donkey. It’s almost as if this was God’s calling for the old prophet, to care for the man that he had helped hurt. He brought the body back to his home and mourned his death with his sons. He cried out in anguish, “Alas, my brother!”
Now I think this is all rather significant. It almost seems as if the old prophet realized that his sin of lying had caused this man of God to die. And although it was not his fault because the man should have obeyed God’s command, he was used of Satan to hurt a fellow believer. I wonder if this is when his faith in God became real and when he actually started to change into one of God’s children.
The old prophet then buried the dead body in his own grave. He told his sons that when he died he wished to be buried next to the man. He continued to tell his sons that surely all that the man of God had said at the altar would come to pass. This man was truly a man of God. Although he did not honor the man of God during his life, he did the best he could to give him a proper burial, one worthy for the great deeds he had done for God. It makes me wonder if there was repentance in the old prophet.
Lessons to Learn
This story of one man is full of so many lessons. So many that it has caused me to write an extremely long blog post! But they are all so important I can’t just skip one.
Many of the lessons I have already mentioned but let me condense them all one more time.
- We should not have physical idols to replace or be a substitute for God.
- We need to be alert to the signs that someone is leading us astray from God’s Word and will.
- We are to completely obey God’s commands and only believe the words directed from him to us.
- We should know what God’s Word is so we can obey him properly.
- We should be careful not to steer those who love God away from him, nor cause them to sin.
- We should not call ourselves children of God if we are not.
- We should repent of our sins and turn away from our evil deeds.
Please let me warn you.
If you are not a Christian and are living in your sin or is someone willing to only do what is convenient for them be careful. God will not spare you from his punishment and, at some point, you will not be able to repent of it. Just as Jeroboam did not learn from this experience and kept doing evil, causing all of Israel to sin.
If you claim to be a Christan and have not asked Jesus to get rid of the sin in your heart, but yet claim you know God and what his word says, beware. Satan is using you to hurt God’s real children and those who are searching for faith. God does not know you, nor will you be allowed into his kingdom when you die. Your punishment will be just the same as an unbeliever because, in reality, God does not see you as his child because he can see your heart. You are a fake Christian. Just as the old prophet and just as the Israelites.
If you are a Christian be careful who you listen to. Many claim to be from God and sound godly but they are not of Him. Hear what the Lord tells you in the Bible, this is the way He communicates with us today. At times we can even hear His still, small voice through His Spirit. Do not be led astray by those who don’t know God’s commands for you.
Do not be deceived as this man of God was. Oh, how I wish we could have seen him do more great things for God! If only he had obeyed completely.
