No sooner had Jeroboam set up his rival cult than God sent a prophet to denounce his actions. Here then we have the entrance of a very important factor that will now appear with high frequency in the narratives. It is the presence of the voice of God correcting his wayward people through his prophets. At this point the writer of Kings narrates a strange story to underline something about the nature of the prophetic office. There were many who claimed to be prophets in those days, but the true prophet of Yahweh was distinguished by his ability to demonstrate his authority (as the man of God does here) and by his accountability to God. The prophet must be distinguished by strict obedience to the voice of God. The prophetic calling was a high calling and great responsibility went with this. This man of God disobeyed the command of God. He was tricked by a false prophet, but he never inquired of God to discern this. And so, he died. It seems harsh for such a trivial crime, but the author wants to underline what comes with prophetic authority. You should never covet spiritual authority, but only ever take on what you are ready in God to receive. The more responsibility God gives you the more accountability he wants from you. This responsibility is not an onerous, burdensome thing if it is given by God. In fact, it is a great joy to be drawn into such close accountability to God. We should desire this. When you desire accountability, you are in the right place to be entrusted with influence and authority.
Ask God to draw you into closer accountability to him.
Read 1 Kings 13
