Monday, May 15, 2023

"Don't Believe Everything You Hear No Matter How Credible the Source"

1st Kings 13.17-19 NLT

“For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, ...’ 

“But the old prophet answered, ‘I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: “Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.”’


But the old man was lying to him. “So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet's home.”

Did you know that God can speak to you? You must listen and discover His word. Once you’ve heard God’s word do not forsake it. Don’t trust anyone who gives you a message contrary to what you heard, not even someone who claims to hear from God. The prophet from Judah heard from God: “You must not eat or drink anything while you are there” in Bethel of Israel. Another man persuaded the prophet to violate the command of the Lord. How could that happen?
  1. The man was older. The younger man deferred to his elder.

  2. The older man was a prophet. The man asserted, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are.”

  3. The older prophet claimed to hear from an angel. The young prophet decided an angelic revelation trumped his personal beliefs. 
The man from Bethel was older, he was a prophet, and he heard from angels. The younger prophet weighed the apparent facts and made a decision, the wrong one! He had not banked on one important piece of undisclosed information which cost him his life: The older prophet who spoke with angels was a liar!

The young prophet from Judah failed to trust the word of the Lord in his heart. Paul warned us against false reliance and blind faith one thousand years later:

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other
than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”
Galatians 1.8 NIV

Don’t let anyone talk you out of what Jesus told you is true.

1 comment:

Kelly L said...

I like this because it's a good lesson...to always listen to God..another example would be..
If my child's teacher is giving her opinion of something and stating it as a fact.. my child needs to come to me first before taking the word of her teacher...
One teacher told my child that there will be no marriages after the the rapture....and my daughter was very upset... I have never read that in the Bible (did I miss it) I told my daughter that God created marriages so man will not be alone so I find it very hard to believe that He would take away marriages...
Just as God wants us to go to Him to get the facts..
Thank you
Kelly