Don't Bargain on the Way
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
I was reading from 1 Kings 13 about the Prophet's Disobedience. Do you know that passage?
A young prophet from Judah is sent to confront Jeroboam (the king of Israel) in his wickedness. There is another man of God in this story, who was now an older prophet and lived in Bethel. It seems to me like he was feeling downcast to see all of what was happening to his people, who had walked astray from God. When he hears the news on the young prophet, he gets excited. It must have felt good to know he wasn't alone. So he became determined to have this fellow over his place. Funny thing is, the young prophet had been given one specific instruction from the Lord: not to eat or drink or go back by the way he came.
King Jeroboam recognized truth in the young prophet's word when he was rebuked. But instead of repenting, he tries to keep him there and gain his favour by giving him some sort of reward. The young prophet fiercely refuses, and gets o his way (not the same he had come).
So the young prophet makes a stop to rest under a tree, a pause under the shade. The older prophet finds him there and tries to convince him to come and stay with him. Whenever he realizes the younger prophet is not coming, he pulls out the worst kind of card he possibly could, so many of us Christians have sadly used over the years: “But the Lord told me you need to come”. Mmm… That wasn't the truth.
At the end of the chapter the younger prophet dies, and the older prophet lives with a deep regret of his action. From what I understand, the last time he is used by God is to tell the younger prophet the truth and to break the news to him that he had been disobedient. Ouch!
The Obvious Mistake
Many times when the Lord uses you to rebuke someone, or someone to rebuke you, we are led by the Spirit to recognize something really was wrong. But instead of working on turning around and getting right, we let our human instinc take place and try to bargain. This kind of bargain is also somewhat easy to resist or overcome (doesn't matter if you are the one barnaning or being offered the bargain) at times, because it's obvious to us, and everyone else, that there is something wrong.
The Hidden Mistake
Friends, there is a calling from God that is many times hidden from our eyes though, one where He gives us instructions that seem so difficult and specific, that we allow ourselves to question. We then hardly believe the outcome is going to be successful, and we start listening to anything that looks like good advice.
I don’t know this for a fact, but I have a feeling that young prophet was feeling quite lonely in his calling, and that is why it was so difficult to refuse when someone came, in the name of the Lord, offering something the Lord had said no to beforehand. It wasn’t obvious to him, or everyone else, what was wrong. But I still believe deep down in his heart he could tell something was going on. Something that soon would come to light.
At times, when we are feeling tired and weary from following a lonely calling - where we are not able to visualize accomplishments yet, we need to be careful with what we hear. Our ears will yearn to receive a word that leads us through an easier and broader path, and sometimes we settle for shallow advice. We are pleased to be told we can stop at the shade, that there is no need to push through any further. But there is…
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matt 7:14 ESV
So here is my prayer for you and I this week: that we may recognize our good Shepard's voice in the mist of all the noise this loud and deafening world around us is making. May his instructions matter more. May we find strength to wisely choose to walk away from the hidden mistakes, trusting his Way first. Because when we do that, we are choosing never again to come back the way we came.
