23 32<\/strong>. The prophet of Judah is slain. He is buried, and his words confirmed, by the old prophet (Not in Chronicles)<\/p>\n 23<\/strong>. he saddled for him the ass<\/em> ] There has been no mention before of an ass belonging to the prophet of Judah, but as travelling was ordinarily performed in this way, we may suppose that he had ridden from Jerusalem, and had been riding back. Instead of the concluding words of this verse ‘to wit, for &c. the LXX. has ‘and he turned and went away.’<\/p>\n Because the word ‘prophet’ is not used elsewhere in the story for the Judan prophet, who is always called ‘a man of God,’ some have rendered the last part of this verse ‘he saddled for him the ass, the ass belonging to the prophet who had brought him back.’ But it seems far more natural to take the = for<\/em> him, as in close relation to the = for<\/em> the prophet, as they are both introduced by the same preposition.<\/p>\n That he might sooner come to his home, and, if possible, escape the judgment threatened. But it is observable, he doth not accompany him; his guilty conscience making him to expect and fear to be involved in the same judgment with him. <\/P> <\/p>\n And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk<\/strong>,…. That is, had finished the meal; for he had begun to eat and drink before the word came, which came while they were eating and drinking; and it seems this did not hinder their proceeding to make an end of their meal, which one would have thought would have spoiled their appetite:<\/p>\n that he saddled for him the ass, [to wit], for the prophet whom he had brought back<\/strong>; he ordered his sons to get it ready for him, that he might not walk on foot as he had; though it does not appear that either he or any of his servants accompanied him, but the contrary.<\/p>\n After he had eaten he saddled the ass for him, i.e., for the prophet whom he had fetched back, and the latter (the prophet from Judah) departed upon it. On the road a lion met him and slew him; “and his corpse was cast in the road, but the ass stood by it, and the lion stood by the corpse.” The lion, contrary to its nature, had neither consumed the prophet whom it had slain, nor torn in pieces and devoured the ass upon which he rode, but had remained standing by the corpse and by the ass, that the slaying of the prophet might not be regarded as a misfortune that had befallen him by accident, but that the hand of the Lord might be manifest therein, so that passers-by saw this marvel and related it in Bethel.<\/p>\n The Deceived Prophet Slain.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 974.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit,<\/I> for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. 25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it<\/I> in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof,<\/I> he said, It is<\/I> the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD<\/B>: therefore the LORD<\/B> hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD<\/B>, which he spake unto him. 27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.<\/I> 28 And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. 29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying,<\/I> Alas, my brother! 31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is<\/I> buried; lay my bones beside his bones: 32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD<\/B> against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are<\/I> in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. 33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one<\/I> of the priests of the high places. 34 And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it<\/I> off, and to destroy it<\/I> from off the face of the earth.<\/P> Here is, I. The death of the deceived disobedient prophet. The old prophet that had deluded him, as if he would make him some amends for the wrong he had done him or help to prevent the mischief threatened him, furnished him with an ass to ride home on; but by the way a lion set upon him, and killed him, 1Ki 13:23<\/span>; 1Ki 13:24<\/span>. He did but return back to refresh himself when he was hungry, and behold he must die for it; see 1 Sam. xiv. 43<\/span>. But we must consider, 1. That his offence was great, and it would by no means justify him that he was drawn into it by a lie; he could not be so certain of the countermand sent by another as he was of the command given to himself, nor had he any ground to think that the command would be recalled, when the reason of it remained in force, which was that he might testify his detestation of the wickedness of that place. He had great reason to suspect the honesty of this old prophet, who did not himself bear his testimony, nor did God think fit to make use of him as a witness against the idolatry of the city he lived in. However, he should have taken time to beg direction from God, and not have complied so soon. Did he think this old prophet’s house safer to eat in than other houses at Beth-el, when God had forbidden him to eat in any? That was to refine upon the command, and make himself wiser than God. Did he think to excuse himself that he was hungry? Had he never read that man lives not by bread alone?<\/I> 2. That his death was for the glory of God; for by this it appeared, (1.) That nothing is more provoking to him than disobedience to an express command, though in a small matter, which makes his proceedings against our first parents, for eating the forbidden fruit, the easier to be accounted for. (2.) That God is displeased at the sins of his own people, and no man shall be protected in disobedience by the sanctity of his profession, the dignity of his office, his nearness to God, or any good services he has done for him. Perhaps God by this intended, in a way of righteous judgment, to harden Jeroboam’s heart, since he was not reformed by the withering of his hand; for he would be apt to make a bad use of it, and to say that the prophet was well enough served for meddling with his altar, he had better have staid at home; any, he would say that Providence had punished him for his insolence, and the lion had done that which his withered hand might not do. However, by this God intended to warn all those whom he employs strictly to observe their orders, at their peril.<\/P> II. The wonderful preservation of his dead body, which was a token of God’s mercy remembered in the midst of wrath. The lion that gently strangled him, or tore him, did not devour his dead body, nor so much as tear the ass, v.<\/I><\/span> 24, 25, 26<\/span>. Nay, what was more, he did not set upon the travellers that passed by and saw it, nor upon the old prophet (who had reason enough to fear it) when he came to take up the corpse. His commission was to kill the prophet; hitherto he should go, but no further. Thus God showed that, though he was angry with him, his anger was turned away, and the punishment went no further than death.<\/I><\/P> III. The care which the old prophet took of his burial. When he heard of this unusual accident, he concluded it was the man of God, who was disobedient<\/I> to his Master (and whose fault was that?), therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion,<\/I> v.<\/span> 26<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. It would well have become him to ask why the lion was not sent against him and his house, rather than against the good man whom he had cheated. He took up the corpse,<\/I> v.<\/span> 29<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. If there by any truth in the vulgar opinion, surely the corpse bled afresh when he touched it, for he was in effect the murderer, and it was but a poor reparation for the injury to inter the dead body. Perhaps when he cheated him into his ruin he intended to laugh at him; yet now his conscience so far relents that he weeps over him, and, like Joab at Abner’s funeral, is compelled to be a mourner for him whom he had been the death of. They said, Alas! my brother,<\/I> v.<\/span> 30<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. The case was indeed very lamentable that so good a man, a prophet so faithful, and so bold in God’s cause, should, for one offence, die as a criminal, while an old lying prophet lives at ease and an idolatrous prince in pomp and power. Thy way, O God! is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters.<\/I> We cannot judge of men by their sufferings, nor of sins by their present punishments; with some the flesh is destroyed that the spirit may be saved, while with others the flesh is pampered that the soul may ripen for hell.<\/P> IV. The charge which the old prophet gave his sons concerning his own burial, that they should be sure to bury him in the same grave where the man of God was buried (v.<\/I><\/span> 31<\/span>): “Lay my bones beside his bones,<\/I> close by them, as near as may be, so that my dust may mingle with his.” Though he was a lying prophet, yet he desired to die the death of a<\/I> true prophet. “Gather not my soul with the sinners of Beth-el, but with the man of God.” The reason he gives is because what he cried against the altar of Beth-el,<\/I> that men’s bones should be burnt upon it, shall surely come to pass,<\/I> v.<\/span> 32<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Thus, 1. He ratifies the prediction, that out of the mouth of two witnesses<\/I> (and one of them such a one as St. Paul quotes, Titus i. 12<\/span>, one of themselves, even a prophet of their own<\/I>) the word might be established,<\/I> if possible to convince and reclaim Jeroboam. 2. He does honour to the deceased prophet, as one whose word<\/I> would not fall to the ground, though he<\/I> did. Ministers die, die prematurely it may be; but the word of the Lord endures for ever, and does not die with them. 3. He consults his own interest. It was foretold that men’s bones should be burnt upon Jeroboam’s altar: “Lay mine (says he) close to his, and then they will not be disturbed;” and it was, accordingly, their security, as we find, 2 Kings xxiii. 18<\/span>. Sleeping and waking, living and dying, it is safe being in good company. No mention is made here of the inscription on the prophet’s tomb; but it is spoken of 2 Kings xxiii. 17<\/span>, where Josiah asks, What title is that?<\/I> and is told, It is the sepulchre of the man of God that came from Judah, who proclaimed these things which thou hast done;<\/I> so that the epitaph upon the prophet’s grave preserved the remembrance of his prophecy, and was a standing testimony against the idolatries of Beth-el, which it would not have been so remarkably if he had died and been buried elsewhere. The cities of Israel are here called cities of Samaria,<\/I> though that name was not yet known; for, however the old prophet spoke, the inspired historian wrote in the language of his own time.<\/P> V. The obstinacy of Jeroboam in his idolatry (v.<\/I><\/span> 33<\/span>): He returned not from his evil way;<\/I> some hand was found that durst repair the altar God had rent, and then Jeroboam offered sacrifice on it again, and the more boldly because the prophet who disturbed him before was in his grave (Rev. xi. 10<\/span>) and because the prophecy was for a great while to come. Various methods had been used to reclaim him, but neither threats nor signs, neither judgments nor mercies, wrought upon him, so strangely was he wedded to his calves. He did not reform, no, not his priesthood, but whoever would, he filled his hand, and made him priest, though ever so illiterate or immoral, and of what tribe soever; and this became sin,<\/I> that is, a snare first, and then a ruin, to Jeroboam’s house, to cut if off,<\/I> v.<\/span> 34<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Note, The diminution, disquiet, and desolation of families, are the fruit of sin; he promised himself that the calves would secure the crown to his family, but it proved they lost it, and sunk his family. Those betray themselves that think by any sin to support themselves.<\/P><\/p>\n 23<\/strong>. <\/strong> To wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back <\/strong> Here is a mistake of our translators. is not in apposition with , but is rather used in the sense of a genitive of possession. The verse should be translated thus: He <\/em> (the man of God from Judah) saddled for himself the ass of the prophet who had brought him back. <\/em> It seems that the man of God from Judah had no beast at all, but had pursued all his journey thus far on foot. Now, however, a fearful sense of coming judgment comes over his spirit, and, unhindered, he takes the ass belonging to the old prophet who had been instrumental in his ruin, and sets out to meet his fate.<\/p>\n 1Ki 13:23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, [to wit], for the prophet whom he had brought back.<\/p>\n Ver. 23. That he saddled for him the ass.<\/strong> ] So courteous he was and officious now to him; whom before he had betrayed into the hands of divine justice: so thinking to make him some amends. But why did he not go back with him, whom he had fetched back? Surely for fear he should taste of the same whip with him. Thus the mischievous guides of wickedness leave a man when they have led him to his bane; as familiar devils forsake their witches, when they have brought them once into fetters. a<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n a<\/em> Dr Hall.<\/p>\n to wit = that is to say. <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 1Ki 13:20 – the word of the Lord 2Ki 4:24 – Then she<\/p>\n 1Ki 13:23-24. He saddled for him the ass But it is observable, he does not accompany him: his guilty conscience making him fear to be involved in the same judgment with him. A lion met him by the way, and slew him There was a wood not far from Bethel, out of which the two she-bears came, mentioned 2Ki 2:24; and, it is not unlikely, that out of the same wood came the lion that slew this prophet. His carcass was cast in the way His dead body fell to the ground, and lay in the place where the soul left it. The lion also stood by the carcass Which plainly showed that he was sent by God to execute only what God had threatened, and not to move one step beyond that commission, otherwise, agreeable to his nature and fierceness, he would certainly have devoured the carcass and torn the ass. Some have thought, says Dr. Dodd, that this prophets was a small offence to have met with so severe a punishment: but the true state of the case is this: the prophet from Judah had sufficient evidence of the truth of his own revelation; had sufficient cause to suspect some corrupt ends in the prophet who came to recall him; and had sufficient reason to expect, an interposition of the same power that gave him the injunction to repeal it; and, therefore, his crime was an easy credulity, a complying with an offer merely to gratify a petulant appetite, which he knew was repugnant to a divine command. It argued a great levity, if not infidelity, of his own revelation, to listen to the pretended one of another man. It must be acknowledged, however, to be strange, that the lying prophet should escape, while he, who, notwithstanding this error, was truly a man of God, is so severely punished. But judgment must begin at the house of God: God must correct his own children first. And there is a judgment to come, when these things shall be called over again, and when those who sinned most and suffered least in this world, will receive according to their works. This punishment of the prophet was a very striking admonition to Jeroboam of what he might expect, since God spared not a less guilty offender. And we may all learn from Gods severity, in this instance, 1st, Not to suffer our faith to be perverted by any suggestions made against a revelation of uncontested divine authority; and, 2d, Always to pay a strict regard and obedience to all the known commands of God.<\/p>\n And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, [to wit], for the prophet whom he had brought back. 23 32. The prophet of Judah is slain. He is buried, and his words confirmed, by the old prophet (Not in Chronicles) 23. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 13:23”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9219\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"