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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
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Commentary & Explanation
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Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
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CHAPTER 13
Jeroboam is smitten and then healed by a prophet from Judah—The
prophet delivers his message, is led astray by a prophet from Beht-el, and
is slain by a lion for his disobedience—Jeroboam continues false
worship in Israel.
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The great righteous King Josiah is prophesied by name over 300 years
before his birth—A prophet of Judah smites the pagan worshipping King
Jeroboam and then heals him in testament to the day of Josaih, the King of
Lehi—Later, led astray by a prophet of Bethel, this prophet is slain by
a lion for his disobeience (this from the Jewish perspective)—Israel
under Jeroboam continues their false worship.
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1 And, behold, there came a man of
Goda out of Judah by the word of
the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the
LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be
born unto the house of David,
a Josiah by
namea; and upon thee shall
he offer the priests of the ahigh places that burn incense
upon thee, and men's bones shall be bburnt upon thee.
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This
is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be
arent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be
poured out.
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1a there came a man of God
This somewhat obscure prophet is given the name of Jadon (Ant. Book 8, Chap.
8 par. 5) by Josehpus who likely had in his day access to a greater volume of
records and informational resources than just the cannonized books of the
Old Testament.
2a Josiah by name The Lord
knows all things and by their names before their times thereof. King Josiah
would be the most righteous King who ever lived of the tribes of Israel. He
it would be who was Lehi's king during the formative years of Lehi's youth
and marriage. That this prophet prophesied of him over 300 years before his
birth that he would be King and attempt to carry out the words of
commandments given by Moses in tearing down the altars of idolatry points
to the fact that Josiah was specifically placed at that precise juncture in
time at which time he would be the mentoring King of the Book of Mormon
prophet Lehi.
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2a
2 Kgs 22-24;
2 Chr. 34-35
a
2 Kgs 23:20 (16-20)
b
2 Chr. 34:5
3a
OR torn down
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4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
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5a
1 Kgs 9:2
b
1 Kgs 11:9;
2 Chr. 1:7 (7-12)
D&C 110:8 (7-8)
c
TG
Dreams
7a
1 Chr. 22:5;
1 Chr. 29:1
3 Ne. 9:22;
3 Ne. 11:37-38;
8a
2 Sam. 7:23
b
Gen. 13:16;
Abr. 3;14
9a
TG
Understanding
b
TG
Heart
c
TG
Discernment, Spiritual
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6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home
with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
9 For so was it charged me by the word of the
LORDa, saying, Eat no bread, nor
drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.
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9a so was it charged me by the word of
the LORD Sometime our own actions leaves no other choice for the
LORD than to punish us. Jadon was clearly commanded to carry forth his
commission in a particular solemn fashion of fasting and travel. He stated
as much before the king Jeroboam in his refusal to eat with the king and
linger in his presence. The reasons why the LORD had so commanded Jadon to
so proceed can be variously speculated upon but are of little consequence to
the present consideration. Jadon had stated to the king that he was
commanded of God to behave in a certain manner and if Jadon's behavor were
to deviate from that which he proclaimed, what whould that imply concerning
the prophecies of God which he had just proclaimed? They would have been
esteemed as naught and false prophecies. Therefore when Jadon did so
deviate from the commanded fast and avenue of prescribed direct travel, it
left the LORD no alternative than to show forth his punishment upon Jadon
in order to maintain the integity of the word of prophecy of GOD. |
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11 ¶ Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
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15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
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18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as
thou art; and an aangel spake unto me by the word of
the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat
bread and bdrink water. But he lied unto
hima.
19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his
house, and drank water.
Doctrine and Covenants Section 3
Was it such a great sin that it warranted death for Jadon? Joseph Smith
and Martin Harris fell into the same entrapment as did Jadon. They put the
persuasion of man ahead of the command and counsel of God. Martin feared
his wife more than obedience to God's direction and command when he
persistently entreat Joseph to show the pages of translation to others.
And Joseph did inquire of the Lord persistently despite the Lord's word to
him that he should not give the translation to Martin to take it forth to
be shown to Martin's wife and others. Perhaps the difference betwen Jadon
and Martin and Joseph is that while Martin and Joseph did persist in their
request, it was not until the Lord granted the occasion due to man's free
agency to Joseph and Martin and Jadon never did stop to inquire of the Lord,
but was 'flattered' by mutual acceptance of being a prophet of God into
returning with the false prophet without even so asking, Still Joseph and
also eventually also Martin, paid great consequences for their persistence
in not readily conforming to God's command without question.
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18a he lied unto him How easy
is the deception of Satan pored out. An angel had not appeared unto this
other man who claimed to be a Prophet of God. The truth was not in him, he
lied. Yet Jadon for some reason believed him. How like this is to our every
day life. Satan pores out his lies and deceptions continually before us and
how easily many do follow after them into paths of disobedience before God.
Jadon's course, as ours must continually be, is to further inquire of the
LORD and his quiding spirit rather than to trust in man and the arm of flesh.
A moments prayerful inquiry of God would have conveyed to Jadon that the
truth was not in the man. Yet perhaps Jadon's own human weakness was to
desire more to believe the man and the likely flattery of his lie which
seemed to recognize Jadon as well as himself as God's prophets and return
with him against the command of God. Man cannot change or modify a command
from God. Only God has power over his word.
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20 ¶ And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from
Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast
adisobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the
commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
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.
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 in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
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
agrave; and they mourned over him, saying, 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 buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are 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 of the priests of the high places.
34 And this thing became asin unto
the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it
from off the face of the earth.
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