Man of God who meets with King Jeroboam - the prophet was given specific orders from God to speak to the king and he does. The king becomes very angry and order his guard to seize him. Immediately the King's hand dries up and he cannot use his hand. The king pleads with the prophet to intercede for him. The prophet (man of God) entreats the Lord and the king's hand is restored. In appreciation the King invites him to come to his home. But the prophet turns it down because God told him "You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came." The prophet leaves.
At this point it is a good story about a faithful prophet speaking to a bad king. But the story does not end well. The prophet is intercepted by another prophet and invited to his home to eat and drink and he accepts. Suddenly the faithful prophet is now a disobedient prophet and before long is dead on the side of the road because of his unfaithfulness to God's command.
Great care must always be taken after times of faithful obedience. We are not allowed moments of rest from obedience to our Lord. We cannot act faithfully with one and then disobedience with others. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8 - "be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." May God give us grace to be faithful all day long!
Daily Readings - John 5
Jesus speaks about the resurrection of the dead in this chapter. He makes some very simple statements about the final resurrection.
- An hour is coming - He uses this phrase twice (5:25; 5:28)
- Jesus uses hour in John 17:1 - Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son. . .
- "Hour" is even more specific than "day".
- In that hour - all the dead will hear the voice of God
- All who hear will live - resurrection of all the dead
- Dead - all in the tomb (v.28) - will hear his voice
- All who hear - will come forth - both good and evil (v. 29)
- No one is excluded from the resurrection - all are resurrected on the same day - one resurrection.
- Two places to go - resurrection of life and a resurrection of Judgment.
One of the first confessions of Southern Baptist says of the resurrection - The bodies of men after death return to dust, but their spirits return immediately to God-the righteous to rest with Him; the wicked, to be reserved under darkness to the judgment. At the last day, the bodies of all the dead, both just and unjust, will be raised.
Simple truth from scripture but one with profound eternal implication - Question always arises - Do you believe in Jesus Christ? - all who believe will be raised on the last day to eternal life.
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