A man of God went from Judah to Bethel in 1 Kings 13, as instructed by the Lord. Part of the commandment from the Lord included, “You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came” (13:17). Pretty simple! However, an old prophet found him and told him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water’” (13:18). The Holy Spirit tells us at the end of the verse, “He was lying to him.”
The younger prophet “went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water” (13:19), and he was punished by the Lord, because he “disobeyed the word of the Lord” (13:21-24).
The young prophet knew what God said, but he allowed someone else to deceive him into believing God said something else. Friend, gather “the sum” of God’s truth (Psa. 119:160), handle it “aright” (2 Tim. 2:15, ASV), and do not be persuaded away from God’s truth by any words of any man.
