1 Kings 13:11-19 ESV
11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons[a] came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.

DECEIVED.
The man of God was very clear about the warning from God. There was no ambiguity. That is, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ Our success over temptation yesterday does not always guarantee the same today. The man of God was able to say no to Jeroboam but not to the old prophet. He wasn’t enticed by the reward Jeroboam had offered to him. However, he was deceived to believe the lie of the old prophet.

Why?

The prophet had tricked him that “an angel spoke to him by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He must have no second thoughts that a co-prophet would bluff him.

Like the old prophet, Satan may look trustworthy. As Paul warned, “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” [2 Cor 11:14] Undoubtedly, he did appeared intentional to his lying, didn’t he? Looks and impressions can be deceiving. How many of us have been deceived to trust a decent looking guy with sweet words?

Should an angel had appeared and spoke differently to the old prophet, he should have asked why the angel did not speak to him directly as previously. Does God channel his revelation to us via a third party? Let us be careful therefore to anybody who impose God’s revelation unto us when we have the same Spirit who lives in us as believers.

Thus today, let’s not substitute the clear word of God with our ‘gut feel’. The gospel [or the revealed word of God as a whole] is the only truth we should rely on. [John 17:17, 2 Tim 3:16,17] Even Paul was very emphatic, saying, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”[Gal 1:8,9]

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