1 Kings 13:1

1 At the Lord's command a prophet from Judah went to Bethel and arrived there as Jeroboam stood at the altar to offer the sacrifice.

1 Kings 13:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 13:1

And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah
Whom Josephus ^F24 calls Jadon, perhaps the same with Iddo, who is by the Jewish writers ^F25 generally thought to be this man of God, and which may seem to be countenanced by ( 2 Chronicles 9:29 ) but cannot be, because this man was quickly slain, whereas Iddo lived after Rehoboam, and wrote his acts, first and last, nay, after Ahijah his son, ( 2 Chronicles 13:22 ) and for the same reason Shemaiah cannot be the man of God, ( 1 Kings 12:22 ) , though Tertullian ^F26 calls him Sameas, and designs Shemaiah: but, whoever he was, he came

by the word of the Lord to Bethel:
that is, by his command:

and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense;
at the time he came, ( 1 Kings 12:33 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 8. sect. 3.)
F25 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 11. 1. Jarch & Kimchi in loc.
F26 De Jejuniis, c. 16.

1 Kings 13:1 In-Context

1 At the Lord's command a prophet from Judah went to Bethel and arrived there as Jeroboam stood at the altar to offer the sacrifice.

2 Following the Lord's command, the prophet denounced the altar: "O altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: A child, whose name will be Josiah, will be born to the family of David. He will slaughter on you the priests serving at the pagan altars who offer sacrifices on you, and he will burn human bones on you."

3 And the prophet went on to say, "This altar will fall apart, and the ashes on it will be scattered. Then you will know that the Lord has spoken through me."

4 When King Jeroboam heard this, he pointed at him and ordered, "Seize that man!" At once the king's arm became paralyzed so that he couldn't pull it back.

5 The altar suddenly fell apart and the ashes spilled to the ground, as the prophet had predicted in the name of the Lord.