1 Kings 13:1-10
"13 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lordto Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’”3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lordhas spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” 4 And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7 And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel."
There are several points of interest to note in this story. In the first place, it is significant that the man of God came out of Judah, the southern kingdom, to prophesy against its northern neighbour, Israel. Were there no prophets in Israel then? In tomorrow's reading we shall see that there were, but, evidently, they were silent in face of Jeroboam's idolatries. God has often had to do this in history when the official Church has failed to speak out in His Name, He has raised up someone outside it to bear witness to His truth. In the second place, Jeroboam learned to his cost that it is dangerous to react in anger against the Lord's anointed when he speaks the Lord's word against one's sin. It is generally the servant of God who suffers the brunt of the reaction but the Lord has His own ways of vindicating and protecting him, to the discomfiture and dismay of his enemies. God's warnings often take time for their fulfilment - 'the mills of God grind slowly' - but in this case judgment was swift and sudden, and Jeroboam's arm was paralysed in the moment he reached out in anger against the prophet. We should notice, the third place, however, that this was a 'warning' judgment rather than a final one. It was as if God was showing Jeroboam warningly what He could do to him if he did not mend his ways. He was still willing to bless the erring king, according to his earlier promise (11:38), hence His swift restoration of his hand at the intercession of the prophet. But, if this be so, the warning went unheeded, and we shall see at the end of the chapter that he went deeper and deeper into his sinful ways. This is one of the mysteries of human experience, that men should be so blind in face of the warnings God gives them in the sorrows, sicknesses and other adverse circumstances He sends upon them to turn them to Himself.