1Ki 13:18    He said unto him, I [am] a prophet also as thou [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.
1Ki 13:19    So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
1Ki 13:20    And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
1Ki 13:21    And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
1Ki 13:22    But 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; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
1Ki 13:23    And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, [to wit], for the prophet whom he had brought back.

I’m just going to note a few things I see in this story. First of all, ain’t it just like the devil to slam one of us with an attack immediately following a great victory?

The man of God had fulfilled his commission to go and prophesy against that evil king, and foretell of the coming of Josiah. We never hear of this prophet again, so I have to conclude that his mission was fulfilled.

Since he was a lesser known prophet, I have to wonder if this was his first and only commission from God. We never heard of this guy before this incident, and we never hear of him afterwards.

Secondly, look at the enemy’s attack. First, he uses an old, alleged prophet; one that apparently had fallen by the wayside. His age alone might garner some measure of respect from the younger, and obviously more inexperienced prophet.

The fact that this person stated that he too was a “prophet,” like the man of God, gave them a kinship that the younger more inexperienced one would also associate with.

However, regardless of any such associations, one must always check the fruit. Furthermore, if you have been given a command or commission from God and someone else, even a prophet, pastor, or other elder in the church tells you to do something that contradicts or disobeys it, you should seek God first, but ultimately, you should trust in the word that God gave you.

This man of God apparently trusted more in the “association” with this alleged prophet, than he did in the word that God had given him, and I believe that is why he was slain.

“His offence was great, and it would by no means justify him that he was drawn into it by a lie; he could not be so certain of the countermand sent by another as he was of the command given to himself, nor had he any ground to think that the command would be recalled, when the reason of it remained in force, which was that he might testify his detestation of the wickedness of that place.” (commentary of Matthew Henry)

Additionally, remember that the man of God had stated to the king that he could not eat or drink in that land; in Bethel, where the king was, yet at this alleged prophet’s invitation, he disobeyed the words he had spoken. This put Gods word into question and His integrity as well, and God will not abide his integrity being violated or thrown into question.

“He had great reason to suspect the honesty of this old prophet, who did not himself bear his testimony, nor did God think fit to make use of him as a witness against the idolatry of the city he lived in. However, he should have taken time to beg direction from God, and not have complied so soon. Did he think this old prophet’s house safer to eat in than other houses at Beth-el, when God had forbidden him to eat in any? That was to refine upon the command, and make himself wiser than God. Did he think to excuse himself that he was hungry? Had he never read that man lives not by bread alone?”  (commentary of Matthew Henry)

What I wonder is what did this man of God think, once he realized he was deceived? There is no evidence that he said anything. In fact, it seems like he kept on eating, with no response. I mean, in a moment like that, you gotta wonder what’s goin’ through the guy’s mind.

Now, all of these things that Josiah did was prophesied during the reign of another king, an evil predecessor.

1Ki 13:1  And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
1Ki 13:2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
1Ki 13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This [is] the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that [are] upon it shall be poured out.
1Ki 13:4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
1Ki 13:5 The 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.
1Ki 13:6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat 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.
1Ki 13:7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
1Ki 13:8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
1Ki 13:9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
1Ki 13:10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

The prophet that made this prophesy is a little known prophet named Jadon. Josiah was prophesied by name to be born, and that he would specifically to do this:

2Ki 23:20  And he slew all the priests of the high places that [were] there upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.

Again, when Josiah found out (I will discuss later) about the sin still in the camp, he didn’t monkey around. He got right down to business immediately, in obedience to the Lord, and he cleaned up his people’s act by completely eliminating any trace of those things which had caused them to sin. Not only did he complete get rid of all the idols, but also the temples of those gods, their alters, sepulchers…every thing that represented them in any way.

However, something else happened in light of this prophetic word from this prophet. You see, God requires complete obedience. Even his highest or most revered servants can be cut down for disobeying a direct order or charge from the Lord, because the integrity of His word is involved.

1Ki 13:10     So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
1Ki 13:11    Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
1Ki 13:12    And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
1Ki 13:13    And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
1Ki 13:14    And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, [Art] thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I [am].
1Ki 13:15    Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
1Ki 13:16    And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
1Ki 13:17    For it 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.