Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense…. 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. 1 Kings 13:1-5.
When Jeroboam [king of ten tribes of Israel after Solomon] saw the altar rent and the ashes from it poured out on the ground, he cried out in wrath, “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.” In alarm he said to the prophet, “Entreat 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 … 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 … 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.”
The prophet refused to receive anything from Jeroboam, but he fell under the temptation of an aged prophet living at Bethel…. To him he said, “Come home with me, and eat bread.” But the man of God answered him as he had answered Jeroboam…. The old prophet then lied to him, saying, “I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water.” He declared that the Lord had spoken through him, when He had not….
The man of God had been fearless in delivering his message of rebuke. He had not hesitated to denounce the king’s false system of worship. And he had refused Jeroboam’s invitation, even though promised a reward. But he allowed himself to be overpersuaded by the one who claimed to have a message from heaven.
When the Lord gives a person a command such as He gave this messenger, He Himself must countermand the order. Upon those who turn from the voice of God to listen to counterorders, the threatened evil will come. Because this messenger obeyed false orders, God permitted him to be destroyed….
The rent altar, the palsied arm, the fearful result of the prophet’s disobedience—these were evidences that should have led the king to turn from his evil ways and serve the Lord. But we read, “After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way.”—Manuscript 1, 1912.
Christ Triumphant p. 161
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—-update–Richard lost his battle with cancer. Please pray for Sarah Jane and the boys. Rose
—-I have bad vertigo Please pray for me Sylvia
—-Please pray for Ilene who had a mini stroke this week. Rose
—-update—Mike was able to walk the square today around the unit he is staying on!! He is getting stronger. He is even able to sit in a chair and eat meals without being dizzy! Mike remains hooked up to the impella machine but everything is stable. We are still waiting. The call could come at any time so we remain ready…please continue praying for the right heart! Also, we have made friends with the family of an elderly gentleman who is recovering from an aortic valve replacement. We promised we’d ask our friends for prayer so please pray for Mahlon and that he is able to get stronger so he can go back home to Iowa to be with his wife. His son has been faithfully visiting him everyday. Roberta
—-Please pray for my daughter, April. She’s been sick with nausea and other gastric problems off and on for several days. Pray for clear cause and treatment to clear it up. Ann
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
Ronnie Jay has always loved animals of all kinds. Now that he is married and lives about one-thousand miles away, he has chickens, ducks, and turkeys. When he lived at home, he had dogs, gerbils, hamsters, and fish. I remember one time some years ago, when his pregnant female hamster had escaped from her cage. We hunted and hunted but could not find her. Then two more hamsters had disappeared.
We finally caught one, but the female and the other (a half-grown one from the last litter) eluded us. A few days later Ron and I were awakened by something gnawing on our bed! Ron grabbed the flashlight and looked but all he could see was a pile of wood shavings. The female had obviously made a nest by demolishing part of our bed frame.
Our mornings were very busy getting ready for work, so we decided to worry about catching Mrs. Hamster until we got home from work.
How often we treat the sin that is gnawing away at our life in the same way. We want to deal with it and be rid of it, but we put off doing anything about it. “Later, later, there’s always later” seems to be our motto. How dangerous this procrastination is! If it is continued, we will one day exclaim with weeping, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jer 8:20
“Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Luke 13:23-28
Why is it that many will seek to enter in but shall not be able? Because they did not give diligence to make their calling and election sure. (2 Peter 1;10) They have lived as if tomorrow were a more convenient time to make things right between them and their Master. The trouble is, later never comes.
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Cor 6:2
Rose