1Kings 13 is a head-scratcher.

A prophet from Judah, “a man of God”, is told to go to Bethel and cry out against the altar, the idolatry, and the man-made religion established there by Jeroboam, king of the northern kingdom, Israel. The prophet does so. And, he does so faithfully and fearlessly. So confident is he that he has acted in obedience to the word of the Lord that he refuses any attempt by the rogue king to compromise him by offering him some hospitality and a taste of the fruits of Bethel’s corrupt culture.

Then the king declared to the man of God, “Come home with me, refresh yourself, and I’ll give you a reward.”

But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your house, I still wouldn’t go with you, and I wouldn’t eat food or drink water in this place, for this is what I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat food or drink water or go back the way you came.’ ” So he went another way; he did not go back by the way he had come to Bethel.

(1Kings 13:7-10 CSB)

So far, so good.

Until a certain old prophet living in Bethel (aka a corrupted citizen of Bethel himself) intercepts the prophet from Judah as he’s leaving and says, “Come to my house for dinner.” The prophet from Judah stands his ground, “No way! God told me to not eat or drink of this place and to leave in a way different from how I came. That’s what I’m doing.” But the old prophet from Bethel deceives God’s man from Judah.

He said to him, “I am also a prophet like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat food and drink water.’ ” The old prophet deceived him, and the man of God went back with him, ate food in his house, and drank water.

(1Kings 13:18-19 CSB)

And here’s where it get’s hard for the reader. As they are eating together at the table, (aka the “smoking gun” is in the prophet from Judah’s hands) the old man really does get a word from the Lord.

. . . and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you rebelled against the Lord’s command and did not keep the command that the Lord your God commanded you ​— ​but you went back and ate food and drank water in the place that he said to you, “Do not eat food and do not drink water” — your corpse will never reach the grave of your ancestors.’ ”

(1 Kings 13:21-22 CSB)

And his corpse didn’t. After leaving the old man’s house, the prophet from Judah is attacked and killed by a lion on his way back to Judah, and his dead body, though divinely protected (aka not eaten by the lion but instead guarded by the lion), is buried in Bethel.

Crazy! How harsh! He was lied to, after all! So, what’s the lesson to be learned (1Cor. 10:6)?

I don’t know exactly. Bottom line though, is that the prophet from Judah did disobey, he did rebel against what the Lord had expressly told him not to do. Yes, he was deceived. Yet, I guess he got what he deserved.

But did the deception only serve to reveal something of his heart’s desire? While he decried Bethel, he still partook of the fruits of Bethel. His was a tale as old as time itself — Bethel was his tree in the garden (Gen. 2:15-16, 3:1-7). While he knew the word of the Lord, he then listened to a deceiver, ate of the fruit, and he died.

Even if you know Bethel is corrupt, even if you stand up and say Bethel is idolatrous, beware the temptation of the hospitality of Bethel. Heed the word of the Lord you have received and stand fast upon it.

And thank God we don’t get what we deserve. Thank God that Jesus paid the price for our desire to dabble in the idolatry and the corruption of Bethel even when we seek to stand against it. Thank God that if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins (1Jn. 1:9).

Only by God’s grace. Always for God’s glory.