Jeroboam Vs Man of God

John Aquila

Jeroboam built high places for calve worship, created his own priests, created his own sacred day of worship, and was just all around a Bad Man. 1 Kings chapter 12

Man of God did not engage in false worship, did not have tons of money, did not have a harem of beautiful women, and did not have the power of a Kingdom. He probably never married because he was a pioneer in his time seeking the Kingdom first. (Doesn’t mean he couldn’t dream about Ab′i·shag the Shu′nam·mite) Especially on lonely nights!

1 Kings 13 This Man of God was ordered to go condemn Jeroboam for introducing false worship to 10 tribes of Israel. This he did and it made Jeroboam furious. Jeroboam give the command;

(1 Kings 13:4) “YOU men, grab hold of him!” Immediately his hand that he had thrust out against him became dried up, and he was not able to draw it back to himself.

Jeroboam cries to the man of the [true] God and this is what happens:

1 kings 13:6 At this the man of the [true] God softened the face of Jehovah, so that the king’s hand was restored to him.

Jeroboam is so grateful that he invites the Man of God to have a meal with him, but the Man of God declines because Jehovah told him not to EAT BREAD OR DRINK WATER and take a different route.

The Man of God was tricked by another prophet;

(1 Kings 13:18) “I too am a prophet like you, and an angel himself spoke to me by the word of Jehovah, saying, ‘Have him come back with you to your house that he may eat BREAD and drink WATER.’” (He deceived him.)

Final outcome for Man of God who served God all his life and sacrificed everything:

(1 Kings 13:21, 22) “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘For the reason that you rebelled against the order of Jehovah, but you went back that you might eat BREAD and drink WATER in the place.. (DEATH TO YOU BABY) And he got on his way. Later a lion found him on the road and put him to death.

The Man of God was DESTROYED for EATING BREAD and DRINKING WATER.

Final outcome for Jeroboam

(1 Kings 13:33) Jer·o·bo′am did not turn back from his bad way,

The Watchtower always used examples like this to emphasize how important it is to be obedient to every single detail coming from the Governing Body.

And I fell for it.

But now I see it differently

Man of the God sacrifices a normal life and serves God all his life but gets slaughter for being tricked into eating Bread and drinking Water?

Jeroboam does not serve God and lives possibly 50-70 years and is King of Israel with lots of women, power, money and your own altars of calves? Plus you can always ask a Man of God to restore you shriveled hand and it will be restored. But you will never be destroyed for eating BREAD and DRINKING WATER.

brandnew

Twisted

Crazyguy

Another one is Josiah I believe the son of Hezikiah. Hezikiah introduces reforms to stop worshipping false God's and after his death his son I believe does the same. Yet even though he is a true sevent of the one true God when he goes out to battle Necro Pharoah of Egypt which is invading his lands, the servant of God gets killed. Where was Jehovah?

Doug Mason

To understand the story, which I have not studied, approach it for what it was originally intended - propaganda produced at the time of the neo-Babylonian exile. 1 Kings is part of the series of writings they produced, starting with Deuteronomy.

The people who wrote these accounts decided what and who was "good" or "bad" according to their own religious political views. Thus a king was "bad" (such as those of the Northern kingdom of Israel) when he did not support the political ambitions of the priests who wanted Jerusalem to be the centre of worship.

So if this is a parable, it needs to be understood in the light of the times, where barely anyone could read and even fewer could write, normally the scribes, so a shrivelled hand could easily have had a meaning to them in that context. Who knows? I am only guessing.

Doug

Village Idiot

God, Moses and some firewood:

32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses. Numbers 15:32-36 New International Version

StarTrekAngel

From another angle, if you are trying to wake up a loved one, the story that John Aquila relates, is a good one to put along with others, and proof that blind faith is not healthy. That the man of God should have asked for a sign when he saw such contradicting and opposing views coming from, allegedly, the same God.

CrazyGuy... there is more spice to the story of Josiah. Where was Jehovah? How about he was with Nekoh? Check 2 Chronicles 20-22. I think it is clear to me that Josiah disobeyed Jehovah when he got word from Nekoh that this battle was not with him and that God had told Nekoh to go to battle against another house. Josiah still battles and loses... but wait? How is it that Jehovah blessed another nation and not Israel?