The Prophet That Disobeyed God

1. The sin of Jeroboam and of Israel (12:25-33).

Jeroboam made two golden calves for Israel to worship:

He made the golden calves to keep the people from going to Jerusalem each year to worship the true God.

His sin was after the similitude of Aaron’s sin in the book of Exodus 32, which was so successful among the Israelites that they sat down and did eat and drink, and rose up to play, and committed all manner of whoredom before the golden calf. Idolatry tends to promote many other immoralities.

No doubt Jeroboam learned this idolatry from the Egyptians who worshipped calves, when he lived there. Beloved, God’s people are to learn not the way of the heathen.

He made two golden calves for convenience to make it easy for the Israelites to worship at his altars. He set one of the golden calves in Bethel, which was the house of God.

By this idolatry Jeroboam taught another way of salvation. He said “behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt”. Deliverance from Egypt was a type of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, but Jeroboam attributed their salvation to idol gods of gold!

This was another gospel, you might say, that was preached throughout Israel, that the Israelites were saved by golden calves and not Jehovah God.

There worship services took place on the same day that the true worship of God. In this way Jeroboam not only mimicked the worship of the true God, but he prevented the Israelites from attending the true worship in Jerusalem.

Beloved, this idolatry was a grievous sin to Israel, and God Hated it.

2. The prophet of God cried against Jeroboam’s altar (13:1-6).

May God help us to cry against idolatry, and all who preach another gospel.

The prophet predicted the destruction of Jeroboam’s altar’s by Josiah. This prophecy was fulfilled in 2 Kings 23 exactly as it was prophesied, approximately 360 years in the future. Beloved, our God is the omnipotent and omniscient God, who calls those things that have not yet been as though they were already done! Beloved, one day God is going to bring destruction upon every false religion, and that will happen in the second half of the great tribulation period (Revelation 17-18).

Jeroboam was angry at the prophet of God for preaching against his altar. So do men of man-made religions today become angry when we preach against their altars.

God upheld His prophet when he preached against Israel’s idolatry. God will also uphold His ministers today who will stand for the truth, and stand against every false way.

3. The prophet was forbidden to fellowship with idolatry (13:7-10).

Eating and drinking is representative of fellowship. By eating and drinking with idolaters, the prophet would show approval for their idolatrous practices. Therefore by not eating and drinking with them was to show God’s disapproval upon their sin of idolatry.

Beloved, we need to be careful with whom we eat and drink, and fellowship, especially in church capacity. What gospel do they preach for salvation. If it is not the gospel of the grace of God, then it is idolatry. What do they believe about the Word of God and the Lord’s Church. Be careful that we don’t show approval for those who preach error.

To return by a different way was to condemn the very road to the place of idol worship, and to be an example to others so that they would not be tempted to go there to worship.

4. The prophet was deceived by a prophet (13:11-19).

Personally, I don’t believe everyone who says that the Lord has spoke unto them. I am even more cautious when people say “the Lord told me to tell you”.

Many modern day prophets would like to take this Baptist preacher to their ecumenical council meetings, and prayer meetings, and so on. They so desire to break down all the walls that separate our fellowship. They desire for us to throw out our doctrines and our beliefs from the Word of God so that we can “get along”. But beloved God said “don’t go with them!”

We must be careful what we do even in the name of Christianity, and who’s advice we take, and who we have fellowship with under the umbrella of Christendom.

Beloved, this prophet was deceived by a prophet, against the plain revealed will and command of God to Him. This ought to be a warning to all of us about who we hear and who we follow in the name of Christianity.

5. The prophet was slain for his disobedience to the Lord (13:20-24).

Beloved, God takes His Word and His commands to His people seriously! We need to be careful how we hear His Word, and how we obey it.

When the prophet knows the Word of the Lord, but he can be convinced otherwise, even by another “prophet”, then he is in for trouble with the Lord! Changing our spiritual direction in life to go contrary to what the Lord has already shown us is a serious matter. We need to be careful!

It is dangerous for the preacher to compromise his convictions of the Lord, no matter what he is told by whom. Change can be good and needful, but it should be well tried and proven by the Spirit of God and the Word of God.

This has been the downfall of many good preachers. Many have been deceived against the revealed will of God and their better judgment to disobey the Lord. The result has been ruined ministries.

Let this warning be to all of us, and not just preachers. We all are capable of ruining our ministries and our testimonies for the Lord.

This preacher even lost his life because he disobeyed the Lord. He didn’t lose his salvation, but for the sake of the Lord’s testimony, God killed him.

Conclusion:

I want to exhort you to uphold the truth that we preach, as the pastor of this church.

I want to exhort you to uphold our stand against idolatry and false religions, and against false doctrine, and against other gospels that are being preached in our community.

I want to exhort you to be careful what fellowship you have with false religions and false churches that preach another gospel.

Remember, by fellowshipping with them we are supporting their errors, and encouraging others to do likewise.

That is why God killed His prophet, because he had fellowship with an idolatrous people in an idolatrous land.

I know I may sound a little hard in this matter of spiritual separation. But beloved, I believe that God would have us to be as His pastor and church.

I do not hate people. On the contrary, I love their souls. I want to see people saved if they are lost. I want to see them come to the knowledge of the truth if they are saved. I try to treat people of other faiths with love and compassion. I don’t believe in arguing and debating with people who disagree with my convictions, to try and make myself look wise and pius.

But beloved, there are boundaries of fellowship that we are not to cross. There are convictions that are more important than friends and family, and even life itself. Sometimes our faith and our stand for the truth will bring a sword and a division Jesus said, even among our own flesh and blood.

May we stand up for Jesus and His truth, and at the same time love others with a godly love. But may our love for Jesus be first, and our love for His Word and for His Church be more important than everyone and everything else in this world.