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The Man of God and the Old Prophet · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: He said unto him, I am a prophet also, as
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  Speaker 1: thou art. And an angel spake unto me by the
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  Speaker 1: word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee
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  Speaker 1: into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water.
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  Speaker 1: But he lied unto him. 1 Kings 13.18 Dear God,
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  Speaker 1: as the transformation and newness of my life continues to
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  Speaker 1: take place, I stand in a place of gratitude and thankfulness.
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  Speaker 1: that Your Word continues to bring light and illumination to
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  Speaker 1: the different areas of my life. Today, through the reading
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  Speaker 1: of 1 Kings 13, 12-32, I realize the importance of
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  Speaker 1: direct and immediate obedience. And it is because of this
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  Speaker 1: that I ask that if there is anything in my
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  Speaker 1: life where I have not walked in obedience, that You
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  Speaker 1: redirect me and allow me to make it right. I
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  Speaker 1: will not allow the false prophets and deceitful people around
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  Speaker 1: me to derail me from living and executing my life
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  Speaker 1: with critical obedience. I confess that the desire of my
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  Speaker 1: heart is to live in direct harmony with your steps
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  Speaker 1: for me and everything I do. Lying lions will devour
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  Speaker 1: what you've placed in my life simply because of my disobedience.
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, strengthen my spiritual ears. so that I will
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  Speaker 1: recognize and hear your voice when you speak. I'm listening
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  Speaker 1: and obeying, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: praying with me today. Continue listening for an incredible Bible
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  Speaker 1: story brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: THE MAN OF GOD AND THE OLD PROPHET In our
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  Speaker 2: last story, we watched the fragile kingdom of Jeroboam descend
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  Speaker 2: into idolatry and pride. Jeroboam erected altars of golden calves
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  Speaker 2: and established pagan priests. The Lord sent a man from
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  Speaker 2: Judah to rebuke him, but his disobedience did not cease.
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  Speaker 2: Now we learn more about the man of God that
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  Speaker 2: was sent. On his way back from Bethel, he is
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  Speaker 2: greeted by an old prophet and deceived into disobeying God.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, There are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org In our prior episode, we learned how King
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  Speaker 3: Jeroboam was unfaithful to God. He built shrines to pagan
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  Speaker 3: gods and a temple where he called people to worship
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  Speaker 3: golden calves. History was tragically repeating itself, with God's people
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  Speaker 3: being led astray and serving other gods. But God would
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  Speaker 3: not allow his king to lead the people into certain
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  Speaker 3: death and separation from him. So he sent a man
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  Speaker 3: to rebuke Jeroboam and gave him a sign of God's displeasure.
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  Speaker 3: This man did as God instructed, then departed from the king,
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  Speaker 3: not wanting to remain in a place of faithlessness and
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  Speaker 3: disobedience to God. But as we'll hear today, the man
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  Speaker 3: will meet an old prophet who will lead him into
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  Speaker 3: sin and cause him to disobey God. So let's listen
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  Speaker 3: to today's scripture.
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  Speaker 2: God had split the wicked altar of Jeroboam in half.
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  Speaker 2: Ash fell to the floor and floated up into the
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  Speaker 2: air like snowfall. The man of God stood over the
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  Speaker 2: pathetic king and warned him of his demise. The torchlight
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  Speaker 2: shifted and made shadows around the man as he looked
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  Speaker 2: down at Jeroboam. After warning him, he left. Jeroboam had
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  Speaker 2: offered to have him stay and eat, but the Lord
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  Speaker 2: had strictly told him not to partake in any food
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  Speaker 2: or water in the city. He departed from Bethel and
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  Speaker 2: left towards Judah. As he was journeying home, word had
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  Speaker 2: spread of what had happened at the altar. An old
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  Speaker 2: prophet living in Bethel heard of the man of God
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  Speaker 2: and saddled his donkey to go and meet him. The
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  Speaker 2: man had his sons help him up onto the donkey,
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  Speaker 2: and he ventured forth to speak with the man whom
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  Speaker 2: God had just spoken through. The man had walked all
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  Speaker 2: night and stopped in the morning to rest under a
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  Speaker 2: massive tree. The man breathed in the fresh air and
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  Speaker 2: rested his eyes. Since the man had been commanded to
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  Speaker 2: not eat any food while in the land, he was
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  Speaker 2: very hungry and very thirsty. Weakened by his lack of food,
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  Speaker 2: he rested for a long while. The old prophet had
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  Speaker 2: been riding for a few hours until he finally saw
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  Speaker 2: the man resting under the tree. Elated to see the
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  Speaker 2: man had not yet left, he rode fast to meet him.
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  Speaker 2: He waved and yelled to catch his attention.' Hello! Are
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  Speaker 2: you the man of God who came from Judah?' he shouted.
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  Speaker 2: The man opened his eyes and watched as the large
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  Speaker 2: old prophet rode closer to him. He sat up with
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  Speaker 2: his back against the tree. Yes, the man replied, wiping
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  Speaker 2: his eyes and stretching his arms before rising to his feet.
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  Speaker 2: The old prophet smiled and said, Please, you must come
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  Speaker 2: and feast with me and my sons. Sorry, but I cannot,
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  Speaker 2: the man replied. He strapped his pack around his shoulder
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  Speaker 2: and prepared to leave. I am not allowed to eat
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  Speaker 2: or drink anything here. God has commanded it. The old
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  Speaker 2: prophet did not want to miss on an opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: talk to a fellow man of God, for the land
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  Speaker 2: had become blighted with idle worship and wickedness. He decided
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  Speaker 2: to lie. Out of his lonely heart he weaved a
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  Speaker 2: fib that would prove to be detrimental. I am a
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  Speaker 2: prophet too, the man said. An angel of the Lord
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  Speaker 2: told me to bring you home and give you something
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  Speaker 2: to eat. The man of God was famished and weary
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  Speaker 2: from his travels. It did not take much convincing for
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  Speaker 2: him to buy into the lie. So he left with
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  Speaker 2: the old prophet back home. They sat at the table
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  Speaker 2: and ate together. The man of God was grateful to
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  Speaker 2: finally get food in his belly after a few days
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  Speaker 2: of travel. While the two were eating, the Lord spoke
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  Speaker 2: to the man, saying, You have defied my words. You
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  Speaker 2: have come back to this place and ate and drank.
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  Speaker 2: Because of this, your body will not be buried in
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  Speaker 2: the grave of your ancestors. The man of God leaped
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  Speaker 2: from his chair and pushed back his plate. Angered at
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  Speaker 2: the old prophet, he began to pack his bag again
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  Speaker 2: to take off. Feeling guilty, the old prophet saddled a
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  Speaker 2: donkey for him and sent him on his way. The
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  Speaker 2: man of God rode the donkey, sitting in his anger
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  Speaker 2: against the prophet for lying to him. He rode along
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  Speaker 2: the trail, winding up a mountain from Bethel. The man
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  Speaker 2: sighed as he trotted along, not noticing something lurking in
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  Speaker 2: the bushes beside him. Like a flash of lightning, a
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  Speaker 2: lion came out from the bushes and tackled him off
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  Speaker 2: the donkey. The man and beast wrestled in the dirt.
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  Speaker 2: Screams of pain and fear echoed down the canyon below,
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  Speaker 2: but nobody was around to hear them. The lion latched
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  Speaker 2: on to the man's neck and swung its jaws. In
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  Speaker 2: that instant, the man was dead. His body lay on
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  Speaker 2: the road. Both the donkey and the lion stood beside it.
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  Speaker 2: It was an odd sight, for the lion sat beside
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  Speaker 2: the corpse with the donkey not moving next to it.
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  Speaker 2: People passing by the trail stopped in their tracks to
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  Speaker 2: see the lion and donkey standing over the dead body.
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  Speaker 2: Confused and afraid, people brought reports back to the city.
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  Speaker 2: The word came to the old prophet, and he saddled
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  Speaker 2: his donkey immediately to go and see for himself. There
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  Speaker 2: he saw the man of God laying underneath the paw
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  Speaker 2: of a lion, and there, next to him, his old
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  Speaker 2: donkey stood. The man shed a few tears, for he
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  Speaker 2: knew that it was his fault that the man was dead.
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  Speaker 2: He shouted and the lion disappeared back into the bushes.
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  Speaker 2: Then he lifted the man's body onto his donkey and
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  Speaker 2: walked him back to Bethel. Oh, my poor brother, the
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  Speaker 2: prophet cried. He buried the man on his property and
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  Speaker 2: asked that his sons bury him as well when he passed.
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  Speaker 2: Bury me next to this man when I die, he said.
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  Speaker 2: for he was brave in standing up against the altar
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  Speaker 2: in Bethel and against the people with shrines in the city.
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  Speaker 3: As we begin today's passage, the man of God who
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  Speaker 3: had gone to deliver a message and assign to King
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  Speaker 3: Jeroboam is returning from Bethel to Judah. He had left
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  Speaker 3: the king refusing to eat or drink with him, obeying
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  Speaker 3: God's orders to not partake of anything while in this
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  Speaker 3: sinful land. But his journey home is long and he
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  Speaker 3: grows weary and in need of rest. There was in
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  Speaker 3: Bethel an old prophet whose sons told him that this
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  Speaker 3: man of God had come to give King Jeroboam a word.
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  Speaker 3: So the prophet went out to meet the man. When
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  Speaker 3: he found him road-weary and very hungry, the old prophet
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  Speaker 3: told him to come with him to his home where
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  Speaker 3: he would feed him and give him water. The man
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  Speaker 3: of God, still wanting to obey the Lord, refused his offer,
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  Speaker 3: saying that God had given him clear instructions to not
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  Speaker 3: eat or drink anything there. it required great trust in
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  Speaker 3: the lord's provision to turn down such an offer but
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  Speaker 3: he understood that god's commands are not to be taken
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  Speaker 3: lightly so he obeyed but then the old man said
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  Speaker 3: something that changed things He told the man that he
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  Speaker 3: also was a prophet and that an angel of the
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  Speaker 3: Lord had spoken to him to say that the man
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  Speaker 3: could in fact go home with him to eat and drink. Now,
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  Speaker 3: this man was indeed a prophet, but as the man
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  Speaker 3: will soon learn, not all prophets are truly trusting God
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  Speaker 3: or speaking the truth. This man told him a half-truth,
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  Speaker 3: which is really a whole lie in disguise. He was
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  Speaker 3: a prophet, but there was no message from God to
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  Speaker 3: overrule the command to not eat or drink in the land.
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  Speaker 3: But with this new information, the man accepted the offer
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  Speaker 3: and returned to the old man's home where he ate
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  Speaker 3: and drank. Whether it was because he was tired or
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  Speaker 3: because he was hungry or simply because he wanted to
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  Speaker 3: hear something different than what he knew to be true,
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  Speaker 3: the man believed the lie that he had heard. It
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  Speaker 3: was a costly error. God spoke this time through the
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  Speaker 3: old prophet, delivering a message that was as true as
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  Speaker 3: it was tragic for the man of God. In 1
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  Speaker 3: Kings 13, 21 and 22, we read, Thus says the Lord,
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  Speaker 3: because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and
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  Speaker 3: have not kept the command that the Lord your God
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  Speaker 3: commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread
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  Speaker 3: and drunk water in the place of which he said
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  Speaker 3: to you, eat no bread or drink no water, your
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  Speaker 3: body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.
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  Speaker 3: The man of God left angry at the old man
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  Speaker 3: for lying to him. You have to believe that he
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  Speaker 3: was also angry at himself for falling for such a lie.
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  Speaker 3: He of all people should have known that God isn't
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  Speaker 3: to be tested, but rather is to be trusted. As
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  Speaker 3: this man traveled along the road, the tragedy indeed happened.
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  Speaker 3: He was killed by a lion. The old prophet was
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  Speaker 3: told of this man's fate and went to find his body.
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  Speaker 3: He brought it back to his home and laid it
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  Speaker 3: in a grave on his own property. He was deeply grieved.
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  Speaker 3: at the judgment that fell upon this man and his
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  Speaker 3: part played in it, and he asked his sons to
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  Speaker 3: bury him beside the man of God when he died.
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  Speaker 3: Today's passage reminds us that we must always seek what
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  Speaker 3: is truly from God and what is not. There are
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  Speaker 3: false prophets in the world. There is truth and there
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  Speaker 3: is error, and many preach lies and live lies rather
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  Speaker 3: than preach and live the truth. We must always beware
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  Speaker 3: of those who deny the word of God and turn
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  Speaker 3: from God's truth. In a generation which many fall to
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  Speaker 3: the lies of the culture and society and that of
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  Speaker 3: Satan himself, we must always be ready to stand with
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  Speaker 3: the truth. Dear God, thank you for today's lessons and
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  Speaker 3: what it means to know and to do your will
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  Speaker 3: and always to obey your truth. Help us to seek
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  Speaker 3: you above all things and not other things, to rely
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  Speaker 3: upon you and rest in you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would love to
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: every single day. So visit jackgraham.org to sign up for
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's jackgraham.org. dot org.