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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Kings 13:1–10, “And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.”
Even though Jeroboam became known as the man who caused Israel to sin, the Lord still showed him grace. The Lord sent a prophet from Judah to warn Jeroboam that he was leading Israel astray and give him the chance to repent. The Lord remained the same, He was interested in bringing Israel, and Judah, to their knees so that they would submit to Him and He would restore them to their rightful place in the Promised Land, that is, they would be the first among the nations. Jeroboam was already corrupted by his sin and didn’t want to risk his place as the king of Israel. He wasn’t ready to tolerate any criticism, just as Rehoboam wasn’t ready for criticism. He pointed to the prophet and prepared to command his soldiers to take the prophet prisoner. The prophet had been quite specific about his predictions and promised Jeroboam that, one day, someone from David’s dynasty would undo the evil that Jeroboam had done. Immediately Jeroboam’s arm dried up and was left pointing away. The altar that Jeroboam had made split open and the ashes poured out. Jeroboam begged the man to pray that the Lord would restore his arm and the Lord healed Jeroboam. Jeroboam wanted to spend time with the prophet and invited him home for a meal but the prophet refused. The Lord had told that prophet that he should go to Israel make his prophecy and return without even stopping to rest, let alone have a meal.
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