Joel M Bradshaw

1By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’ ” 3That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

4When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.–1 Kings 13

1. Jeroboam had just gone out to worship at one of his fake altars that mocked the things precious to God.
2. And so God sent a prophet from down south in Judah to deliver a word against those very altars.
3. When the kingdom divided after Solomon, the only good and godly leaders were going to come from Judah. No good kings will be up north in Israel. We are therefore not surprised that a king would one day rise in Judah (“house of David”) and that the prophet of God that day with Jeroboam came from Judah.
4. This is 1 Kings 13. Josiah would fulfill this prophecy in 2 Kings 23. A good way off and many generations later.
5. We learn two things here: God pays attention to what you prioritize. Jeroboam prioritized politics over biblical faithfulness. God especially pays attention to how you treat the things He prioritizes. Jeroboam “poked God in the eye” regarding worship at those altars and God wasn’t having it.
6. Does what you prioritize go against God? Do you care about the things that God prioritizes?
7. Use 1 Corinthians 10:31 as your standard. All of your life should be lived for the glory of God. What parts are not? Take this seriously. Josiah wasn’t going to come for many generations against the things of Jeroboam, but God still would bring him!–JMB