“And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ””
I Kings 13:1-2 NKJV
a. A man of God went from Judah to Bethel: Apparently, there were no qualified messengers within the northern kingdom of Israel. This is a sad commentary on the spiritual state of Jeroboam’s kingdom.
i. This anonymous man of God was used in an important way. He demonstrates that one does not need to be famous to be significantly used by God.
b. Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you: This is a remarkable prophecy that would be precisely fulfilled 340 years later. 2 Kings 23:15 documents the fulfillment of this prophecy in the days of Josiah, King of Judah: Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image.
i. This was more than a pronouncement of judgment against the altar; it also announced that the judgment would come through a ruler of Judah (the house of David). This was a special rebuke and source of concern to Jeroboam, who was always aware of the threat from his neighbor to the south (as in 1 Kings 12:27).
ii. We know that this didn’t happen for some 350 years, but Jeroboam didn’t know that in advance. He went to his grave worried about the fulfillment of this prophecy, which was a sort of immediate judgment on Jeroboam. (Guzik)
Significantly used by God!
After we became a Christian, we began to serve Jesus by proclaiming the good word to others. The Holy Spirit equips us with spiritual gifts to serve the kingdom of God, but He also uses the weak to confound the wise!
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”
Ephesians 4:11-12 NKJV
Are you being significantly used by God?
Blessings
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