Book 2 of Musings A Certain Old Prophet

The young man or woman to whom God has spoken ought always to respect the advice of the elders.

Yet care must be taken to make sure we always are hearing from the Lord, because the elders can discourage us from doing the Lord's will if they themselves are not in daily interaction with Christ.

You may know the story. God sent a man of God from Judah to Bethel to warn King Jeroboam of his sins. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand toward the prophet, his hand shriveled up. The man of God prayed for Jeroboam and his hand was restored.

Jeroboam wanted to bring the man of God home with him and reward him. But God had commanded the man of God not to eat bread or drink water but to return to Judah by a different way.

There was an old prophet in Bethel whose sons told him what had happened to King Jeroboam. The old prophet got on his donkey and rode off to find the man of God who had confronted King Jeroboam.

When the old prophet found the man, he invited him to his home. The man of God told the old prophet he was not to eat bread or drink water or return to Judah the way he came.

The old prophet lied to the man of God, telling him the Lord said he was to return to the home of the old prophet and eat bread and drink water there.

No doubt this was a temptation, because the man of God from Judah probably was hungry and thirsty by this time.

The old prophet evidently had been used by the Lord in time past. What was motivating him that he would set out after the man of God from Judah and lie to him?

It was bad enough that the old prophet was not hearing from the Lord himself; but then to deliberately lie to the man of God so he would disobey the Lord! Probably the old prophet was so accustomed to being disobedient himself that he didn't think too much about it.

I have read or heard of several accounts in which a man served as pastor for a while, and then went out a took a job that made more money. I guess this was the case with the old prophet living in Bethel. Evidently he was out of touch with the Lord, because God had to use someone else to speak to King Jeroboam.

The Bible refers to him as a prophet. But evidently as he grew older he lost touch with the Lord.

Why do I say this? Because he lied to the younger man.

The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.'" (But he was lying to him. (1 Kings 13:8)

Now, why did he go out of his way to bring the younger man to his home and lie to him?

It seems to me that he wanted once again to feel the presence of the Lord, to be involved in the prophetic word.

This is the way it is today, and probably always has been. God speaks to man and women when they are young. They respond to the call and enter the ministry or become strong workers in their church.

As time goes by they prosper and make a comfortable niche for themselves. They lose the burning passion for Christ they had in the beginning.

As they grow older, at least in America, they begin to think about retirement and vacation trailers. Perhaps they have invested their money wisely and own apartments or condominiums.

They now are useless to God. They are not able to hear and respond to the current prophetic word, although they may not realize this.

God then speaks to younger, inexperienced people. The anointing rests on them and they declare the Word of the Lord.

The older ministers see this. They want to experience the Glory once again, just as Satan goes from church to church, hoping for a touch of the Glory he had known when he was a cherub guarding the Throne of God in Heaven.

The older ministers will involve themselves however they can. In this present instance, the old prophet tempted the man of God with food and rest, with material comfort. He had indulged himself, and was uncomfortable with the stern obedience exhibited by the man of God from Judah.

The man of God succumbed and went home with the old prophet. The Spirit of God came on the old prophet and he rebuked the man of God for his disobedience. Then the man of God was killed by a lion on his way back to Judah.

The old prophet was grieved over this, but the damage had been done. The old prophet was not a wicked person, just a prophet who had grown soft, who had lost the Presence of God from his life.

It appears that this cycle repeats itself in every generation. People, or churches, that start off in the fiery Presence of God, lose their intensity after a generation or two. We see this, don't we, in today's denominations.

Then God raises up young people who challenge the existing institutions. The institutions are uncomfortable with this and respond in negative ways. I have never heard of an established religious institution changing its ways when God raised up new witnesses of His will.

The young person is in a difficult situation. Because he lacks experience he must take heed to older ministers who try to keep him from deception. Sometimes the younger person will listen. Sometimes not, and then God has to "take him around the mountain a few times" until he learns manners.

There are occasions, as in the story from the Book of First Kings that we are recounting, when the young person loses his commission from God, because of listening to older people and taking his eyes off the Lord.

There are other occasions, as in the case of King Rehoboam, when the young person does not heed the elders and brings destruction on himself.

What, then, is the younger person to do? He cannot charge off by himself, ignoring the counsel of more experienced people. On the other hand, he cannot let them take his crown.

He must pray, pray, pray, asking God to guide him. He must recognize that younger people have a tendency to be rash, to launch out according to their own pride and ambitions rather than by the Spirit of the Lord.

He must wait on the Lord night and day, praying that God will send people to him who will help him stay on the right path.

I do not mean by this that he should go into a closet and fast and pray. Such an approach to finding God's will is seldom profitable for a young person. God does not like to be forced to speak. Pray and commit your way to the Lord. Then take a small step in the direction you think you should go, and watch to see if God is blessing. God cannot steer you, ordinarily, until you make a decision and begin to move.

Remember the story of the man of God and the old prophet. Don't be too quick to listen to older ministers, especially if they are telling you to disobey what you feel certain is God's will.

Pray much, keep a good attitude, and God will help you be respectful toward the old prophets without being drawn down into their lukewarm ways. You finally will be acknowledged as being of God, if you truly are.

After burying him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the message he declared by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true." (1 Kings 13:31-32)