1 Kings 13:3

3 Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, "¹This is the sign which the LORD has spoken, 'Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.' "

1 Kings 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 13:3

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, this is the sign
which the Lord hath spoken
As a confirmation of the truth of what the prophet had said, and for the proof of his being a true prophet of the Lord:

behold, the altar shall be rent;
of itself, by an invisible hand, by the power of God:

and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out;
signifying it should be entirely demolished, not only shaken but destroyed, so as not to be capable of retaining the ashes on it; this was an emblem of the utter abolition of idolatry here in future times.

1 Kings 13:3 In-Context

1 Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD , while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.

2 He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD , and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the LORD , 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.' "

3 Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the LORD has spoken, 'Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.' "

4 Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him." But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.

5 The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD .

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 4:1-5; Judges 6:17; Isaiah 38:7; John 2:18; 1 Corinthians 1:22

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "wonder"
• [b]. Lit "wonder"
• [c]. Lit "ashes of fat"