I Kings 12:33-13:34
Dear RTB’ers,
There are times in our readings when the stories or the Psalms or some deep theological truths are more difficult to understand. Today is not one of those. Today’s reading is one long story, about a prophet’s obedience and disobedience and the people with whom he interacts. The fundamental message is straightforward: And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD… (v. 13:2a) Jeroboam needs to back off from all this sacrificing on these altars that he has established! Sign after sign followed the prophet’s message. Sadly, the only message that Jeroboam got was that he wanted his hand restored: “OK, my hand is back to normal; let’s have lunch. I’ll probably rebuild the altar later.” More on Jeroboam tomorrow.
So Prophet #1 does what the Lord has commanded him to do, then he sets off to return to Judah. Unfortunately, Prophet #2 shows up, lies to him, encourages his disobedience, then chastises him for it. What a strange turn of events!!
So I’m wondering what events in my life had caused me to turn off that “narrow path”, encouraging me to veer off what I had believed to be the God’s path for me. I’ll end this while I ponder that. You, too?
Blessings.