Beware Of Old Prophets

It is a common saying that when we fail to learn from history, history will always repeat itself. There are many historical events in the Bible which we should read, digest and learn from.

Also, there are some characters in the Bible whose lives are worth studying because of either what they did or represent. The author of the book of Hebrews made reference to quite a number of them in chapter 11. James also draws our attention to the prophets of old and he puts it this way in James 5:10-11: “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed, we count them blessed who endure. Ye have heard of the perseverance of Job, and seen the end intended by the Lord - that the Lord is very compassionate, and merciful.”

From this perspective then, we shall study both the events and characters in 1Kings 13. Jeroboam, the man of God from Judah, the old prophet in Bethel and the events around them are before us to learn from.

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CHAPTER 1

THE INGRATE JEROBOAM

1Kings 13:1

"... and Jeroboam stood by the altar [OF BAAL] to burn incense" (emphasis added).

The wickedness of king Jeroboam and the people of God in Bethel has reached its peak. What an ingrate was Jeroboam? God gave him about ten tribes of Israel to reign over on a platter of gold. He was not entitled or qualified to be a king. He was a mere servant of Solomon. He was even a runaway criminal. But because of the evils of Solomon, God wanted to take the kingdom completely away from him but He remembered His covenant with David. He left Rehoboam (Solomon's son) with two and half tribes (popularly referred to as the Judah kingdom for a long time), but gave the rest (which is referred to as Israel) to Jeroboam.

Instead of Jeroboam appreciating this great favour of the Lord, he paid God back with evil. He took the whole ten tribes in his care into idolatry - worship of Baal.

There are many Jeroboams in Christendom today. God gave them such wonderful opportunities which they are not worthy of, to lead the people of God into all truth, but they have taken them into various idolatries - worship of man, mediums (mantles, rod, oil, water, etc) and Mammon (money: tithes, first fruits, covenant offering, first born offering, seed-sowing etc).

You can check the background history of nearly all these so called "great men of God" today in Nigeria. Many of them were poverty ridden village boys who went to primary and secondary school barefooted and in tattered clothes. They were able to reach the university level because of free education and scholarships. Jesus revealed Himself to them along their journey in their youthful ages and committed the great ministry of reconciliation with the gospel of truth into their hands. See what they have become today and where they have taken the people of God.

We are saved by the grace and mercy of God. We are not worthy of the opportunities God gave us. The Bible says in 2Corinthians 4:7: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." It also says in 1Corinthians 4:7: "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did receive it, why do you boast, as if you had not received it?"

Ephesians 4:8, 11-12 says: “Therefore he says: “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.” And He Himself gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (emphasis added).

It is important to note that phrase “gave gifts unto men.” We know that gift is not what someone works for. If one worked for it, then it is no more a gift. Jesus gave some of us such wonderful ministry gifts which we did not deserve or work for and instead of using those gifts judiciously and faithfully in order to achieve the purposes for which they were given, we are using them to push and achieve our own selfish agenda.

We are given these gifts for the perfecting of the saints, work of ministry and edification of the entire body of Christ. But what are we using the gifts to do today? We are using them for exploiting and impoverishing the saints. We are using them to enrich ourselves and build our own empires. The giver no longer benefits from His gifts. What wickedness!

This is a powerful description of preachers in Jeroboam’s clothing by Brother Uwemobong Fred:

“Idolatry is the practice,
Christianity, the cover up.
Men of gold they are,
Men of God, the cover up.
Mammon their God,
Ministry, the cover up.
Liberation their message,
incarceration, the result.
Divination their spirit,
the Divine, they oppose.
Earthly kingship their interest,
Kingdom, God's interest.
While they judge others, judgement awaits them.
Beware...!”

I hope you are not also tilting towards becoming another Jeroboam.

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CHAPTER 2

A MAN OF GOD FROM JUDAH

1Kings 13:1

"And behold, A MAN OF GOD WENT FROM JUDAH to Bethel..." (emphasis added).

God, who could not bear with the evil of Jeroboam any longer, sent His servant whom He has well prepared to confront him and the rot in the land. There is an important lesson to learn in this verse.

The Bible does not tell us the name of this man of God. God did not give us the genealogy of this man, but it is not the name or genealogy of any man of God that is as important as what God wants to use him for. God is what is important and not our name or CV.

Hmmmn! Today everyone wants to attach his name to what God is doing. Few want to be anonymous in what God is doing. We want to be known. We seek to be known. We want people to shout with one side of their mouths "the sword of the Lord" and use the other side of the mouth to add “and of Gideon” (Judges 7:18, 20 paraphrased).

It is true that when God does the unusual through us, people will definitely want to attach us to it even when we do not attach ourselves to it. But if we are truly Christlike, we will do like Peter and John who quickly interrupted the people and said in Acts 3:12,16: "So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, AS THOUGH BY OUR OWN POWER OR GODLINESS WE HAD MADE THIS MAN WALK? And his name, through faith in his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all" (emphasis added).

This is one major evil characteristic of denominational system - naming what God is doing after our name. Denominational system will put man at the center of what God is doing.

What saddens my heart most is the subtle creeping in of the same virus into the midst of those who are claiming to know and preach the New Testament ways and patterns.

Some, if not many of us are ambitious to be known and recognized. Many are now writing posts on Facebook that are repackaged repetitions of what some other people have posted. So many are creating groups and streaming live videos on social media now. The writing of books is increasing now. Doctrinal teachers are rising across the land. Many have started to tag themselves with different names now; names like "table shakers," "religion bulldozer," etc.

We must honestly, truthfully and sincerely ask why are we doing what we are doing? Are we truly led of the Holy Spirit to do all we are doing or do we just want our names to be known also? Do we want to count how many different emoticons, likes, comments and shares our posts attract? What is our motive of doing what we are doing?

This is a thoughtful contribution from Brother Uwemobong Fred:

“...As exalted as the “Master” was, he reneged from identity, class and titles.
His disposition should be our example,
but nay, our imposition holds sway.
His humility should be our example,
but nay, our haughtiness hold sway.
His simplicity should be our example,
but nay, our superfluity holds sway.
His love for others should be our example,
but nay, our lust for power holds sway.
His glory should be our purpose.
but nay, our own honour holds sway.
"Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools and exchanged the Creator for the creature in worship..." Rom 1:22(paraphrased).
In Jesus' words: Beware!!!”

Will you be satisfied if you are just addressed as a man of God from Judah without your name and CV attached?

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CHAPTER 3

COMING BY
THE WORD OF THE LORD

1Kings 13:1

"And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel BY THE WORD OF THE LORD..." (emphasis added).

One important thing which cannot be over emphasized for any servant of God or any believer is this: speak nothing but the truth of the word of God.

This man of God from Judah came only by and with the word of God. He did not come with his own "new revelations". He did not come with human philosophy.

The Bible says in 1Peter4:11 KJV: "IF ANY MAN SPEAK, LET HIM SPEAK AS THE ORACLES OF GOD;... that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (emphasis added).

For clarity on how KJV puts it, let us look at the first part in NIV: "If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks THE VERY WORDS OF GOD" (emphasis added).

Today, many so-called people of God do not wait enough to receive correct and accurate messages (words) from Him before they jump out. They teach what they do not really understand. They teach what they have not experienced themselves. Teaching is cheap. James 3:1 says: “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:10-11: "Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, WE SPEAK WHAT WE KNOW AND TESTIFY WHAT WE HAVE SEEN..." (emphasis added).

John the beloved also said: "That which was from the beginning, WHICH WE HAVE HEARD, WHICH WE HAVE SEEN WITH OUR EYES, WHICH WE HAVE LOOKED UPON, AND OUR HANDS HAVE HANDLED, CONCERNING THE WORD OF LIFE" (emphasis added).

Many of today's preachers preach the New Testament church when they are not very clear of its principles, life and practices. They are running without clear-cut messages. They are of the family of Ahimaaz.

THE AHIMAAZES OF OUR TIME

There are many Ahimaazes in our own time. It was when Joab killed David's favourite son, Absalom in battle that Ahimaaz wanted to go and deliver the message to the king. But the right news must be given and ordered by Joab the captain to any servant of his choice. Joab refused to send Ahimaaz for reasons best known to him; he preferred to send Cushite.

He sent Cushite, but Ahimaaz was not satisfied. When he insisted he wanted to go, Joab permissively told him to go without any specific message. The Bible says he overran Cushite. It is interesting to read that Cushite had long gone with the right message before Ahimaaz set out, but the one without any correct message was so zealous and fast that he overran the person with the right message.

2Samuel 18:15,17,19-23,29-30 put it thus:“And ten young men who bore Joab's armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him. And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods, and laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent. Then AHIMAAZ THE SON OF ZADOK SAID, "LET ME RUN NOW AND TAKE THE NEWS TO THE KING, how the Lord has avenged him of his enemies." And Joab said to him, "You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But today you shall take no news, because the king's son is dead." Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." So the Cushite bowed himself to Joab and ran. And AHIMAAZ THE SON OF ZADOK SAID AGAIN to Joab, "BUT WHATEVER HAPPENS, PLEASE LET ME ALSO RUN AFTER THE CUSHITE." So Joab said, "WHY WILL YOU RUN, my son, SINCE YOU HAVE NO NEWS READY?" "But WHATEVER HAPPENS," he said, "LET ME RUN." So he said to him, "Run." Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, and outran the Cushite. The king said, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I DID NOT KNOW WHAT IT WAS ABOUT." And the king said, "Turn aside and stand here." So he turned aside and stood still” (emphasis added).

In the end when Ahimaaz arrived and the king asked him information about what happened, he could not deliver the right message and he was asked to step aside for Cushite, the one with the right message.

Let us here how the Bible puts it: “The king said, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I DID NOT KNOW WHAT IT WAS ABOUT." And the king said, "TURN ASIDE AND STAND HERE." So he turned aside and stood still” (emphasis added).

Many of today’s preachers are perfectly captured by Brother Uwemobong Fred as:

“Messengers without message,
Missionaries without mission,
Pastors without pasture,
Reverends without revelation,
Hirelings in shepherd's cloak,
Merchants in ministry garment,
Wolves in sheep's clothing,
Businessmen in Bishop's apparels,
Strangers with saintly outlook...
Making the FATHER's house a house of merchandise - John 2:16.
Hear Paul's admonition:
“For I know that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock...” - Acts 20:29.

Brother Timoy Davis has this to say also:

“Our OWN organizing, with the inherent need to fill the scheduled time, pushes the "preachers" to say SOMETHING even IF the Spirit does NOT give them anything to say. And yet how difficult it is for us to turn away from what we have become so comfortable with, our nicely-scheduled assembling for the weekly lecture so that MOST of our time is free for what most REALLY care about.

What wonders of the Kingdom we would witness IF we would, individually AND together, ASK the Spirit first for His specific guidance, WAIT FOR His answers, and otherwise do NOTHING else UNTIL and UNLESS we DO hear His voice leading us after Jesus!

Jesus promises us STILL that we, his often befuddled and easily side-tracked sheep, CAN hear His voice, that He DOES know us, and that we CAN follow Him. What is required has never changed: faith IN Him.”

Let me announce to you that it is a matter of time. Those who are running without any correct message, songs, prayers etc would be asked by Jesus the king to step aside for those who waited enough on Him to receive the right message.

New set of correct preachers, singers etc are coming on stage very soon and all the motivational nonsense (called gospel messages), self esteem jabs, remixes over and over of ordinary emotional songs (called gospel songs) etc will give way.

The man of God from Judah came with nothing else except the word of God.

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CHAPTER 4

A WELL PREPARED MAN

1Kings 13:2-5

"2 Then he cried out against the altar BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, and said, "O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: 'Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall be burned on you.' "3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign WHICH THE LORD HAS SPOKEN: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out." 4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Arrest him!" Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself. 5 The altar also was split apart, 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" (emphasis added).

In the last chapter, we spoke about getting the right message from God and waiting for His leading before we speak. You will notice three places again in the verses above where it is written: "BY THE WORD OF THE LORD", "WHICH THE LORD HAS SPOKEN" and "BY THE WORD OF THE LORD". They are not mere coincidences; they are for emphasis that the man did not do anything by himself. He did not add or subtract from the word the Lord gave him.

The man was well prepared by the Lord that he was not afraid of the wicked Jeroboam. He must have heard about this king but he was sure of who sent him and the message he was sent. He delivered the messages without fear or favour and when Jeroboam roared like lion, God was there to defend him. The hand that Jeroboam stretched dried up immediately. It was not this man that prayed that Jeroboam's hand should dry; it was God at work.

This is different from what we have today. God says vengeance is His and He will revenge for us. He said we should leave judgement and vengeance to Him, but we are the ones measuring judgements and vengeances upon our assumed enemies. We will tell God the type of judgement He should give them. We will even teach Him how He should do it. We will tell God to rain thunder on some, cause some to sleep and never wake up, let some "run mad", let the whole generation of some perish etc. Have we so learned of Christ this way? Absolutely not!

If we waited for God to prepare us enough, give us messages and allow Him to lead us, we will definitely have His backing. We will not need to fear anyone and we will not need all these fear oriented prayers we are praying today.

The kinds of prayers we pray today need total overhaul. The Bible enjoins us to pray and at the same time be watchful, hence the common Christian slogan "watch and pray".

But in my study of our prayers, especially among Christians in Africa today, I discover most prayers do not have the aura of watchfulness, but tones of suspicion.

Watchfulness simply means being conscious or alert of the danger(s) around or ahead while suspicion according to an online dictionary (paraphrased) is "having or showing A CAUTIOUS DISTRUST OF SOMEONE or something, CAUSING ONE TO HAVE THE IDEA OR IMPRESSION that SOMEONE or something IS QUESTIONABLE, dishonest, OR DANGEROUS (and this, without any proof) (emphasis added).

There is a gulf of difference between watchfulness and suspicion. But a suspicious Christian has taken suspicion for watchfulness and nobody can convince him otherwise. It is not his fault; that is what he hears preached repeatedly by most of our preachers. They preach suspicion in place of watchfulness. They preach about enemies more than about Christ. Remove prayers against their supposed human enemies from their prayer list, then they have nothing to pray about again. They tell us there are enemies in our father's house, mother's house, in-laws' house, place of work, neighbourhood etc. They misinterpret and misapply Matthew 10:36 which says: “And a man's enemies will be those of his own household.” They make us to live in constant fear of enemies and have turned us into suspicious Christians rather than victorious ones.

The prayer content of a truly watchful Christian is totally different from that of a suspicious Christian. The prayer of a truly watchful Christian is "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil", but that of a suspicious Christian is always all about someone or something he thinks is the cause of his setback, retrogression, lack, stagnation, etc. In fact, he suspects himself at times. How? Sometimes he blames his failure to observe some of his rigid routines like fasting on some specific days of the week or waking up at exactly a fixed time midnight to pray etc, as the cause(s) of his ordeal.

A suspicious Christian suspects his family members, people in his place of work, his neighbours and even pets.

Yes, God knows we have both spiritual and human enemies, the devil being the arch-enemy. But He has given us His own solutions to them all.

1. Concerning the devil: The Bible says “Therefore submit to God, RESIST the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7 emphasis added).

2. Concerning the evil spirits (demons): Eph. 6: 12-18 says: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”

3. Concerning human enemies: These could truly be family members, friends or co-workers etc, but the solutions are in two folds:

a. Proverbs16:7: "When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." Let your ways please God and see how He will handle your human enemies.

b. Jesus Himself says in Matthew 5:44: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;..." Paul also by the Holy Spirit says the same thing in Romans 12:20 (KJV): "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." These are God’s own ways of dealing with our enemies.

A suspicious Christian is never at rest and he cannot enjoy the rest God has provided for us in Christ. He believes his victories, successes, blessings and prosperities are as a result of his continuous spiritual routine prayer activities and that is why he is easily deceived and scammed by false preachers. He believes every vision and dream that anyone says about him. He cannot stop running after prophets. He cannot stop going from one “anointing service” to another “breakthrough programme” and to another “war against your enemies” vigil. We have many of them in Christendom.

Matthew 11:28-29 says: "COME TO ME, all you who labour and are heavy laden, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. [29] TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart: AND YOU WILL FIND REST for your souls" (emphasis added).

True watchfulness will never rob us of our rest in Christ, but suspicion will do. Watch and Pray, but do not suspect and pray.

The man of God from Judah had nothing to be afraid of. God was his defence because he was in total submission to God.

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CHAPTER 5

A MAN AFTER GOD'S HEART

1Kings 13:6

"Then the king answered and said to the man of God, "Please entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me." So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and became as before."

What a Christlike man of God! I imagine if it were to be in this present generation, would our today's men of God pray immediately for the restoration of Jeroboam's hand? I guess no! If at all they will pray for him, they will first do the video recording and snap the pictures of the stiff hand and how the man was begging them for forgiveness in order to make a magazine publication from it. They are likely not to pray for the restoration of the hand. They would want him to serve as deterrent to others who may want to insult "the anointed man of God" or who may want to "touch God's anointed" as they always say.

Our today's men of God make boast of people they place curse upon and died or become barren or lose their job or child etc so as to threaten people around them into shutting up their mouths against them.

They will publicly boast of someone who comes to beg them for forgiveness and to be prayed for because he feels it was because he abused them "behind their back" that's why evil has been befalling him. They will not pray immediately for such like this man of God from Judah without first making a show of it.

This man from Judah had a forgiving spirit. Why would he not forgive when he knew he had no personal issue with Jeroboam. He knew God did not want the death of a sinner but his repentance. He will definitely pray for Jeroboam per adventure that would lead him to repentance. He was not even like James and John when they have not gotten it right in Luke 9:54-56. Jesus came to a city in Samaria but the people did not receive him. "And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, just as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit ye are of. FOR THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO DESTROY MEN'S LIVES, BUT TO SAVE THEM. And they went to another village" (emphasis added).

I keep wondering if our today's preachers do not have Bible or that places like these are not in their own Bible. I wonder how they read and understand their own Bible. I wonder who they claim sent them and whose examples they are following. Jesus our perfect pattern told us to pray for our enemies, bless them and even give them our food and material resources. He did not stop at saying it, He demonstrated it on the cross when He pleaded with the father to forgive those who put Him through such a cruel death. What else do we want Him to do?

What a great lesson to learn from this man from Judah!

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CHAPTER 6

SUBTLETY OF THE DEVIL:
A DANGEROUS BATTLE TO WIN

1Kings 13:7-10

"7 Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."8 But the man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.' "10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel."

It has always been the style of the devil to either attack by roaring or come in subtly like serpent. He does not have more than these two methods, but the later has achieved him more successes than the former.

As usual, the devil discovered he could not win the battle against this man of God by roaring, he introduced his other method. But God be thanked that this man of God overcame both so far so good.

What the devil used to conquer the early church was compromise through rewards by Constantine. He had roared like lion through several Emperors before Constantine, Nero being the most popular in this regard, but he could not conquer her. When he changed his style, then, the story also changed. The same he has used to conquer many great men of God today. Simon the sorcerer tried it for Peter, but he failed.

What took us to where we are today in Christendom is this same thing we are talking about. The truth of the Gospel is compromised because of earthly rewards.

The devil took Jesus to the Pinnacle of the temple and showed Him this world and its glory and promised to give them to Him if He could just bow to him. Jesus overcame, but it is at this point many of us failed.

This man of God from Judah conquered this first phase and went on his return journey victoriously.

Beware of the food, drinks and rewards of Jeroboams. They are real and are out there to either shut your mouth or even kill you.

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CHAPTER 7

HERE COMES THE OLD PROPHET

1Kings 13:11-14

"11 Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" For his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. 13 Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, 14 and went after the man of God,..."

It is a surprise that a prophet of God was in Bethel when God had to send another prophet from Judah. What was he doing while the evils and rots of the land grew to this level? The Bible did not say he was a prophet of Baal. He said himself to the prophet from Judah when he met him on the way where he was resting that he was a prophet of God like him in verse 18: "He said to him, "I too am a prophet as you are,.." But what went wrong with him? Something serious must have gone wrong with him.

Well, one thing we must realise is that no one is indispensable before God. If anyone compromised or turned back from Him, He has several replacements. When Elijah thought he was the only one left as God’s servant in 1Kings 19:14: “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword; and I ALONE, AM LEFT; and they seek to take my life” (emphasis added). God replied him and said in verse 18: “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Some servants of God are just marking time. God is giving them their last opportunity to repent. And if they refused to repent, their lamp stand would be removed. We must be very careful.

The adjective "OLD" is telling us that this prophet has been there for many years and probably, he is older than the one from Judah. We can logically say that the man of God from Judah was likely to be a much younger prophet.

Since the Bible did not tell us what went wrong with this old prophet, your guesses are as good as mine.

I can first see that this old prophet has been conquered by Jeroboam. It is most likely that Jeroboam tried the same styles he used to conquer him for the man from Judah. If the old prophet has not been conquered, I wonder what his sons were doing at the "idolatry worship service" of Jeroboam. The Bible makes us to understand that it was the children of the old prophet that told him what happened during the service that day; he was not there. His sons were there and they saw all that took place and how the power of God greatly manifested in the life of the man from Judah.

When he was told what happened, he prepared his donkey and started to chase the man of God from Judah in anger and jealousy. Why the chase?

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CHAPTER 8

BEWARE OF THE OLD PROPHET 1:
HE IS CHASING YOU,
WATCH YOUR BACK

1Kings 13:13-18

“13 Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, 14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" And he said, "I am." 15 Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread." 16 And he said, "I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. 17 For I have been told by the word of the Lord, 'You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.' "18 He said to him, "I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.' "(He was lying to him.)”

The old prophet, having heard what happened chased the prophet from Judah on his return trip to Judah. He met him where he was resting, deceived him to return and eat and drink contrary to God's instructions for him. This eventually led to his death and the death of such a wonderful ministry God gave him.

How did he succeed in deceiving him? He cooked up a vision through an angel that was delivered to him. In 1Kings13:18: "He said to him, I TOO AM A PROPHET AS YOU ARE, AND AN ANGEL SPOKE TO ME BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, saying, 'Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.' "HE WAS LYING TO HIM" (emphasis added).

Beloved, it is quite unfortunate that this man of God died "wastefully". Have you also wondered why God did not deliver him from the deception of the old prophet? This man gave in to the temptation.

God is faithful; He will not allow us to be tempted more than we are able to bear. He is a present help in times of trouble. If anyone falls, it is not God's fault; something else must hve gone wrong with the person which God cannot help. I believe the man was not tempted above what he could bear. His total obedience was put to test, but he failed woefully even to his own death.

These are my suspicions about the prophet from Judah:

1. Maybe this man of God from Judah should not have rested when he did. Maybe if he had not sat down to rest when and where he rested, the old prophet would not have met him. He would have probably gotten back to Judah and all the chase of the old prophet would have been in vain. Resting at the wrong time may be disastrous.

Consider Gideon's case in Judges 8:4:

"When Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three hundred men who were with him and crossed over, EXHAUSTED, BUT STILL IN PURSUIT" (emphasis added). They were not ordinarily tired, but exhausted (a very high degree of tiredness), yet pursuing because they have not finished their assignment (course).

2. Maybe this man was not tired from trekking, but tired in his spirit. Maybe he resolved to self pity looking at his suffering for the truth and the beautiful offer of Jeroboam. Maybe he had given up inside. Backsliding begins in the heart.

Beloved, why do you pity yourself? Is the path of truth you are following not by CHOICE? Didn't you know from the start that sufferings and hardships are the asphalt used for constructing the path of truth you chose? Self pity is dangerous and it kills faster than you think. We must be careful of self pity.

Brethren and fellow labourers for the truth of the Gospel, we cannot afford to rest at this time. We cannot afford to quit. We have gone too far to quit please. The old prophets are chasing hard after us. They must not meet us resting at the wrong time and in the wrong place. Whether we are aware or not, the old prophets are chasing hard after us, we must be watchful and prayerful.

Christian, seek not yet repose,
Hear thy gracious Saviour say,
Thou art in the midst of foes,
Watch and pray.

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Chapter 9

BEWARE OF THE OLD PROPHET 2

1Kings 13:18-32

“18 He said to him, "I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.' "(He was lying to him.) 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. 20 Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the Lord said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water," your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.' "23 So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. 25 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, "It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him." 27 And he spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. 30 Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!" 31 So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, "When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the shrines on the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely come to pass.”

The old prophet told the prophet from Judah that "...AN ANGEL SPOKE TO ME by word of the Lord... BUT HE LIED TO HIM" (emphasis added).

Today, we hear too many new revelations from many preachers and when these revelations are placed alongside the word of God, they hold no water.

It is disheartening to hear some so called men of God saying the early Apostles such as Peter, John, James, Paul etc did not have all the revelations about the gospel and the church and they are now receiving new revelations about them.

On the other hand, many have put the Bible aside and based their Christian lives on dreams, visions and seeing angels. They will tell you many things they have received through dreams and angels, but when these are checked against the Word of God, they are incoherent.

Some will tell you they are of the prophetic. When they prophesy to you it must come to pass. And because their prophecies and dreams come to pass, you fall for them. Do not forget what God told the children of Israel in Deut. 13:1-4 NLT “Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, “Come, let us worship other gods” – gods you have not known before – do not listen to them. The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.”

One odd and sobering thing about the Bible passage above is God Himself allows prophecies and dreams to come to pass at times in order to test people’s heart. God said we should not base our judgement on the prophecies and dreams that come to pass, but on what the person is preaching; what he is asking us to do after the prophecies and dreams whether they are in accordance with the word and will of God.

God told the Israelites that if someone prophesies and it comes to pass but ask them to follow other gods, they should not follow him. Today, preachers prophesy and it comes to pass but they ask people to follow gods – Mammon, mantles, oil etc. They twist the word of God, yet they point people to their prophecies and dreams that come to pass.

Some have claimed they died and came back to life. They claim while they were out of their bodies, the angels took them round heaven, told and showed them many things. But what they claimed were told and shown them by the angels were in clear contrast to the word of God.

Galatians1:8 says: "But even we, or AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN, preach ANY OTHER gospel unto you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed" (emphasis added).

This man of God from Judah should have prayed to God to find out if truly He was the one speaking through the old prophet when he discovered that the old prophet was saying something different from what God told him. The Bible says we should test all spirits whether they are of God. But he presumed that since the man was also a prophet like him, he must have heard from the angel. Maybe he felt he was older both in age and ministry than he and more experienced as well; he must have truly received the message from the angel. What a wrong assumption. But we do the same today. We judge the word of God by the age, experience and status of the preacher and we have been deceived for long.

Mind you, I said in the last part that the heart condition of the prophet from Judah at this time must have had a problem. His tiredness was not as a result of trekking, but came from within. Ah! What a pity!

Beloved, the devil came with his subtle weapon the second time to the prophet from Judah, but this time, through a prophet of God, and he succeeded. What the devil could not achieve through Jeroboam, he achieved through a prophet. This was the end of the man of God from Judah. VERY PATHETIC! VERY TRAGIC!

What saddens my heart most is that this man of God from Judah wasted all the investment God has made into his life. He died after just only one ministerial assignment. No record of his ministry before and after, just this only one. How can the devil be so tricky to have ended such a glorious and wonderful ministry in a flash? Imagine if this man of God from Judah did not die foolishly like that, what God could have achieved through his life. Whenever I read his story in the Bible, I am always sad and I always pray seriously to God to help me whenever I get to my own crossroads.

CONCLUSION:

We have been confronting the evils of religious Jeroboams and the rots in Christendom; we should be on the alert of the old prophets. The old prophets have been approaching us and they will not stop. They are claiming to be ministers of the gospel like us and they have received new revelations from the "Lord" but they are liars. We should not fall for their lies.

They are telling us we are only causing further division in the body of Christ with our posts on Facebook, books and messages. They are telling us we should not wash the dirty linens of our "big brothers" outside. They are telling us that we are allowing the unbelievers especially the Muslims to mock Christianity with the exposure of errors we are doing. They are asking us to follow them back to cool off. They are telling us to follow them to eat, drink and refresh ourselves. They are telling us we are missing a lot of enjoyment in the path we have chosen. They are old prophets who want us to either become like them or be destroyed.

This is how Brother Uwemobong Fred describes old prophets:

“Old Prophets...
Charismatic without character,
Sophisticated without Holy Spirit,
Endowed without endurance.

They run Churches:
With Business principles; not with Bible principles.
On dreams and visions; not on Truth and revelation.
On denominational dogmas; not on Apostles' doctrines.

They tell us...
What they see and hear, but not what is written.
What they do and have, but not what will quicken.
Where they go and stay, but not where we'll end up.
How they live and enjoy, but not how to endure.

Their messages...
Intoxicate us, never inspire us.
Entertain us, never awaken us.
Excite us, never expose us.

They are...
Signposts to error,
Pathway to sorrow and
Links to lies.
Angels now replace Holy Spirit,
G.Os now displace God,
Wonders now exchanged for the Word.
"Awake thou that sleepest
Rest not while the journey tarries
Though tried be not tired
Beaten, yet not forsaken
'Till His throne our heads will bow
To exchange our cross for the crowns."

Jesus' words:

"Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourself, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in" (Matt 23:13).
Many they are, though few we may be...
Watch and pray!”

The days ahead are full of challenges and we must be ready to fight to the end. The greatest challenges Jesus faced came from those who claimed to be serving God - the Pharisees, Saducees, Scribes and the Jews in general. We should also prepare for such. We should not think we would conquer the existing denominational system, rather, we should expect more persecutions from the system.

Beloved, BEWARE OF OLD PROPHETS!

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OTHER BOOKS

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

The books below are from the same author and are available for free download in different formats from an online RESORATION LIBRARY at http://usr.helps7.com/RL/index.html. Each one can be accessed directly from the URL address under it.

1. ONE BODY MANY CHURCHES: The Evils of Denominationalism (2019)
https://usr.helps7.com/DayoStephen/DS001/index.html

2. THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST (2018)
https://usr.helps7.com/DayoStephen/DS002/index.html

3. ANOTHER JESUS, ANOTHER SPIRIT, ANOTHER GOSPEL – A Classic Critique of Popular Preachers in Nigeria (2017)
https://usr.helps7.com/DayoStephen/DS003/index.html

4. TRUTH STUMBLES IN THE STREETS (2020)
https://usr.helps7.com/DayoStephen/DS004/index.html

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ABOUT

ABOUT THE BOOK

One of the riskiest things to do is to want to learn from one’s mistake, because one may not live to tell the story. It is safe and wise to learn from others’ mistakes.

There are many people in the bible that we can learn from. This book is all about learning from the mistakes of some Bible characters.

Therefore, before the same mistakes are repeated, let us learn from Jeroboam, the man of God from Judah and the old prophet; all from 1Kings 13.

To. Table of CONTENTS

COPYRIGHT

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

1Kings 13:1

CHAPTER 2

1Kings 13:1

CHAPTER 3

1Kings 13:1

CHAPTER 4

1Kings 13:2-5

CHAPTER 5

1Kings 13:6

CHAPTER 6

1Kings 13:7-10

CHAPTER 7

1Kings 13:11-14

CHAPTER 8

1Kings 13:13-18

Chapter 9

1Kings 13:18-32

OTHER BOOKS

ABOUT

The End