1 Kings 13:1-34

13:1-3 | The prophecy of the anonymous man of God was remarkable because it accurately foretold the name and actions of a king who would appear on the scene 290 years hence: Josiah, who reigned from 640 to 609 BC (2 Kgs. 23:15-20).

13:4-6 | When the king’s outstretched hand withered and the altar split apart, everyone knew that the prophecy came from God, who controlled Jeroboam and would judge him. Jeroboam said your God, not “my God,” indicating his idolatry. Entreat the favor of the LORD means literally “appease the face of Yahweh,” a conventional yet striking expression for easing the Lord’s angry countenance through prayer.

13:9 | God told the man of God not to eat or drink in anyone’s house so that he would not be hindered in his mission or influenced by corruption. Disobedience to this command proved to be his undoing.

13:11-19 | By choosing to live in the territory of the apostate king, at the center of the false system of worship (Bethel), the old prophet revealed his complacency concerning idolatry. His motive for riding after the prophet from Judah may have been jealousy, signaling an intent to destroy the younger prophet. The decision to listen to lying voices leads people away from God’s word (1 John 4:1-6) and God’s will.

13:24-28 | The fact that the lion did not eat the body or tear the donkey, as lions normally would , was evidence of the Lord’s doing.