1A man of God out of Judah prophesieth against the altar in Beth-el. 4Jeroboam's hand, which he put forth against him, withereth, but at the prayer of the prophet is restored. 7The prophet refuseth the king's offered entertainment, and departeth from Beth-el. 11He is seduced and brought back by an old prophet, 20who denounceth God's judgment against him for his disobedience to the divine command. 23A lion killeth him on his way home. 26The old prophet bringeth his carcase back, burieth it, and confirmeth his prophecy. 33Jeroboam still persisteth in his evil courses.
1AND, behold, there came 1a man of God out of Judah 2by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar 3to burn incense.
1 See of this appellation Judges 13:6.
2 That is, by the command of the Lord; so in the following verse. Or, with the word of the Lord, that is, with a certain charge, which he was to deliver unto king Jeroboam.
3 Compare 1 Kings 12:32, 33 and the annotations thereon. Likewise below, verse 4.
2And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, 4O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold,a a child shall be 5born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall 6he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
4 He speaks to the altar, because the king hearkened not to this, and the like exhortations. In the mean while the whole outward idol-worship is threatened by the word altar, which is sometimes taken for the whole outward divine worship, as Isa. 19:19; 1 Cor. 9:13.
a 2 Kings 23:15, 16, 17, etc.
5 Namely, about three hundred thirty years after this time.
6 Whereby the altar would be polluted, and the priests who offered thereon be punished. See the fulfillment hereof, 2 Kings 23:15, etc.
3And he 7gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be 8rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
7 That is, he declared that straightway a miracle would happen, for confirmation of that which he foretold. Also verse 5, and so does Moses speak also, Deut. 13:1.
8 That is, of its own accord, no man laying a hand thereon.
4And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his 9hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against 10him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
9 Wherewith he was busy upon and about the altar, in offering and burning incense.
10 He meant the man of God, who had threatened the altar.
5The altar also was rent, 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.
6And the king 11answered and said unto the man of God, Intreatb now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
11 To answer signifies here to begin a speech, or discourse. See Judges 18 on verse 14.
b Exod. 8:8; 9:28; 10:17; Num. 21:7; Acts 8:24.
7And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and 12refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
12 The Hebrew word rendered here signifies properly support, which here is as much as to bring new strength to the body by the use of food and drink. Compare Gen. 18:5; Judges 19:5, 8; Psalm 104:15.
8And the man of God said unto the king, Ifc thou 13wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat 14bread nor drink water 15in this place:
c Num. 22:18.
13 Balaam uses the similar phrase Num. 22:18, but not with an upright heart.
14 That is, use no food, nor drink. Also verses 9, 16, 17, etc. Compare 1 Sam. 30:11; 2 Kings 6:22, 23.
15 That is, here at Bethel; also verse 16.
9For 16so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, 17Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
16 Hebr. so he charged me by the word of the LORD; that is, so He, namely, the Lord, charged me by His Word. See the like phrase, Gen. 1:27; 5:1 and the annotation.
17 Namely, at Bethel. Compare the last foregoing verse. For this prohibition, as it was personal, so was it likewise to be understood in regard of the place unto which he was sent, and doubtless also of the time of this sending forth.
10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.
11¶Now there dwelt an 18old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them 19they told also to their father.
18 In days, and perhaps in office also, but herein not always honest and faithful, for though he had the gift of prophecy, and some fear of God before his eyes, and he seems to have been a lover of the true prophets, as may appear by that which is related hereafter, verses 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, yet here he is found in a lie and falsehood, verse 18, whereby he deceived the true prophet, and brought him into suffering, verse 24.
19 Namely, the aforementioned son with his brothers, who confirmed his account with their assent.
12And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had 20seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
20 That is, they had observed or taken notice into which way he was gone, when he departed from Bethel, and told their father of it.
13And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an 21oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
21 The prophet seems to have rested himself here through weariness, concurring with hunger.
15Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in 22this place:
22 Namely, Bethel; as verse 8.
17For 23it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
23 That is, a command and charge was given me by the Lord’s speaking to me.
18He said unto him, Idam a prophet also as 24thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
d Gal. 1:8.
24 This old prophet sins in three ways: 1. Because he sets God against Himself. 2. Because he suffers not the prophet of Judah to perform the command given him of God. 3. Because he alleges a false revelation, or communication.
19So 25he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
25 Here this prophet sins likewise, forsaking the true word of God, of which he was sure, and embracing the false one, which he could not be sure of.
20¶And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD 26came unto the 27prophet that 28brought 29him back:
26 Namely, inwardly by revelation unto his mind.
27 Understand the old prophet, who dwelt at Bethel. And hence one may gather, that God used this man also as a prophet.
28 Namely, from the place where he had found him on the way, unto the city of Bethel.
29 Namely, the prophet of Judah.
21And he 30cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuche as thou hast disobeyed the 31mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
30 That is, he spoke unto him with a loud, clear, and most audible voice.
e as, since, because, seeing that*
31 That is, the command of the LORD, expressed here before in verses 9, 17 and again repeated in verse 22.
22But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; 32thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
32 Which was held to be a judgment: not as if the place of burial could any wise either benefit or prejudice the party deceased, but because those who cannot attain to the ordinary place of their burial, have commonly more trouble before they die, and less civil honor when they are buried, and some of them have done some public and noted evil in their life time. See 1 Kings 14:13; Isa. 14:19, 20; Jer. 22:19; 26:23.
23¶And it came to pass, after 33he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that 34he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
33 Namely, the man of God, who came from Judah.
34 Namely, the old prophet of Bethel; which he did, either by his sons or by himself, to show by this officiousness (as some perceive) the sorrow and grief that he had for the evil that he had done to the prophet of Judah, wishing to be permitted to remain still in his friendship.
24And when he was gone, af lion 35met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass 36stood by it, the lion also 37stood by the carcase.
f 1 Kings 20:36.
35 Or, found him.
36 As being stayed there by the hand of God’s Providence to carry the dead body to be buried.
37 Not as a beast of prey, to devour it; but as a guard to keep it for burial.
25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto 38the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he 39spake unto him.
38 See on verse 21.
39 Namely, by me. See verse 22.
27And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
28And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, 40nor torn the ass.
40 That is, nor broken, nor done him any hurt to devour him.
29And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to 41mourn and to bury him.
41 See of the manner and custom of mourning over the dead, Gen. 23 on verse 2.
30And he laid his carcase 42in his own grave; and 43they mourned over him, saying, 44Alas, my brother!
42 Or, in his grave, which he had there in the land of Israel. And hereby the prediction of God was fulfilled, mentioned in verse 22, for the body of the dead prophet did not come into the grave of his fathers, but into the grave of a stranger, namely, of the old prophet Bethel.
43 Namely, not only the old prophet, but also his household, yea (as some perceive) many of the city likewise.
44 The opinion of some is that these were the first words of a funeral song that was sung about him.
31And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; 45lay my bones beside his bones:
45 Some perceive that he expressly gave this in charge, in order that his bones after his death would not get among the bones mentioned in verse 2.
32For the saying whichg he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses 46of the high places which are in the cities of 47Samaria, shall 48surely come to pass.
g 2 Chron. 23:16.
46 What kind of places the high places were, see Lev. 26 on verse 30.
47 Hebr. Shomerone. It is a region here so called by anticipation, because it afterward first obtained this name from the royal city Shomerone (otherwise called Samaria) situated in it, and from a mountain of the same name, upon which king Omri built that city. Others understand this of the mountain itself, that, by reason of its largeness and greatness, may have had many little towns or cities upon it. Compare with the annotation at 1 Kings 16 on verse 24.
48 Hebr. coming to pass come to pass, or, being be.
33¶After 49this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, buth made 50again of the 51lowest of the people priests of the high places: 52whosoever would, he 53consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
49 Namely, after the miracles which God had wrought on Jeroboam’s hand, which suddenly withered and was restored sound and healthy again; on the altar, which of itself, without the hand or help of man, split and rent in twain; on the prophet of Judah, who according to God’s prediction came not into the sepulchre of his fathers.
h 1 Kings 12:31, 32.
50 See 1 Kings 12:31, 32.
51 See 1 Kings 12 on verse 31.
52 Other, whom he would, etc.
53 That is, whom he made a priest: see Exod. 28:41; Lev. 7 on verse 37.
34And 54this thing became 55sin 56unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
54 That is, by Jeroboam. Other, And this became, etc.
55 That is, by this action of his he was the cause, that his posterity fell into abomination and idolatry, and that God’s punishment came upon them, whereby they were utterly destroyed; as in the following chapters is described.
56 That is, unto his own house. See 1 Kings 2 on verse 19.