Why this story matters

(commentary on 1 Kings 13)

(Page 2 of 3)

God speaks to the old prophet

While they're eating, Yahweh telepathically contacts the old prophet: “While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back” (13:20). Sounding like an angry parent, Yahweh, through the voice of the old prophet, reminds the man of the rule he has just broken: “You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink" (13:21-22). Then old prophet tells him that, as punishment, he will not be buried with his family in Judah. What the  old prophet means by this is that he will not make it back to his home land. Yahweh didn't specifically mention the part about a lion coming to maul him, so the man finished his meal seemingly unaware of his imminent demise: “When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him.” The old prophet then bids his new friend farewell, apparently ignorant of the fact that he will soon have to go and pick up his friend’s mutilated carcass off the road.

Mauling

Have you ever seen someone getting mauled by a lion? It’s very violent, very bloody, and very horrible. Most people wouldn't even be unable to watch. Imagine what it would be like to be the one being mauled. There can be no doubt that Yahweh sent the lion and that it mauled the man to death because the Bible says so: “The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him" (13:26). Not only is this disturbing by itself, but the punishment exceeds the crime by such an extent as to leave any fair minded person dumfounded. What would be the point of having him killed in such a horrific way? Christian apologists will tell you that there was a valuable lesson to be learned, which is that God's laws must be obeyed. But would people not have gotten this impression if Yahweh had simply made him ill for a while or just killed him in a less painful way? Why does there need to be such a spectacular show of revenge?

But there's more to it than just excessively cruel punishment. According to the text, this is a good man. He has clearly been a good man all his life. This is his only crime. Adam Clarke willingly admits this: “In this, and in this alone, lay the sinfulness of the act of the man of God, who came out of Judah.” Are we to believe that Yahweh is so petty and ruthless that one mistake is all that's needed to inflict appalling suffering on his otherwise faithful followers? That's hardly the picture of a compassionate, merciful, and loving deity.

But it actually gets worse. We've seen what happened to the man from Judah, but how about the sinful Jeroboam and the lying old prophet? What punishment did they receive?


 

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