1 Kings 13:1
By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering.
My husband recently browsed through Discovery Channel’s World Ward 2 series in full color. He said it was amusing to watch war documentaries like it happened just a few years past. I sat down with him one night, and although I prefer war dramas than the narrative clips, I’d say they did a good job in making this part of our history come alive. What caught my thoughts was the sight of so many soldiers, lined up, marching, and ready to receive orders - - difficult orders. Whether forcibly recruited or at will, the call was towards all dangers and even death. They were soldiers of their nation. ‘Twas their identity, not their names nor their faces. And once dropped in the field, there was no turning back.
A man of God was called from out of Judah to deliver a hard message to Israel’s king up north. It was a difficult, dangerous call. Possibly on foot, he traveled towards the high place in Bethel. Add to the perilous journey was the order to not eat or drink anything while he’s there. As if on cue, he arrives while Jeroboam, not a priest, was burning incense at the altar. If it was me, I think this part was the most difficult. Shall I do a bit of coughing at least, or look around for an easy face for some rapport? This is the king and this is his homecourt! But the man was direct. And God merciful. The message of destruction was for the altar. The sin. God was opening a door for Israel to repent of this idolatry. Next scenes were action-packed: Jeroboam stretched out his hand with orders to seize the man; instantly his hand became paralyzed in that position; he asked the man to intercede for his healing; the man prayed; the hand was restored; the king invited the man to eat with him; the man refused and left. Just in case you missed two difficult struggles there, let me zoom in again: (1) praying for someone who seconds ago threatened to harm him, and (2) saying No to dining with the king when his tummy was shouting a big YES. That forgiveness was not mentioned in his sign up sheet. Food looks trivial compared to the big message already delivered. But the man of God faithfully kept his call, even exceeded his JD. At least up to verse 10. We don’t know his name, but we know who he works for. He was a good soldier.
It’s a delight reading verses about love, blessings, joy, promise, hope, rewards. It makes life sun shiny-ish and warm and singable. I have a good friend who recently asked for prayers in deciding whether or not to accept a humongous job. God gave her Isaiah 51:3 ‘The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD..’ Comfort, compassion, Eden and garden all looks appealing. But note that achieving those means working alongside words like ruins, deserts, wastelands. Quite a call for second thoughts right? Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Peter, Paul - - big names with big achievements for God. But we’re they called for comfortable tasks? Was the end goal for their comforts either? Life is hard because we’re against the world’s high walls of sin. Doing right means going against that flow. That’s our call. To stand up for what is God’s, even if it means standing up alone. Our identity now is in Christ, not our names nor you faces. We’re His soldiers now.
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