Small Petty Gains
Sometimes we are able to avoid great temptations of big monetary
rewards, but not able to resist the traps of small petty gains. The greater
spiritual warfare is always not outside but inside our hearts!
In 1 Kings chapters 12 and 13, Jeroboam became the king of Israel.
As he was not a descendant of David, he built the city of Shechem in
the hill country of Ephraim. And it became his capital. Later, he
also built Penuel.
Jeroboam thought, “Unless I’m careful, the people will want a
descendant of David as their king. When they go to Jerusalem to
offer sacrifices at the Temple, they will become friendly with Rehoboam
the king of Judah. Then they will kill me and ask him to be their king
instead.”
Therefore, on the advice of his counsellors, the king had two golden
calf idols made and told the people, “It’s too much trouble to go to
Jerusalem to worship. From now on, these will be your gods. They
rescued you from your captivity in Egypt!”
One of these calf idols was placed in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
This was of course a great sin before the Lord. And the people of
Israel worshipped them. The idolatrous king also made shrines on the
hills, and ordained priests who were not even from the priestly
tribe of Levi.
Jeroboam also made offerings on the altar which he had made at
Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. He changed the
Biblical dates of the Feast of Tabernacles to suit his own desires
that he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a different feast for
the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar at
Bethel, and burned incense. And it was there at Bethel that he
ordained the ungodly priests for the shrines on the hills.
As Jeroboam approached the altar to burn incense to the golden calf
idol at Bethel, a prophet of the Lord from Judah walked up to him.
Then, as the Lord had spoken, the prophet shouted, “O altar, the
Lord says that a child named Josiah shall be born into the family
line of David. And he shall sacrifice upon this altar the priests
from the shrines on the hills who come here to burn incense. The
bones of these men shall be burned upon this altar.”
Then the man of God gave this proof that his message was from the
Lord: “This altar will split apart, and the ashes on it will spill
to the ground.”
Jeroboam the king was very angry with the prophet for saying
this. He shouted to his guards, “Arrest that man!” and shook his
fist at him. Instantly, the king’s arm became paralyzed in that
position. He couldn’t pull it back again!
At the same moment, a wide crack appeared in the altar, spilling out
the ashes, just as the prophet had said would happen. For this was
the divine proof that God had spoken through the prophet.
“Oh, please, please,” the king cried out to the prophet, “please
plead with the Lord your God to restore my arm again.”
The prophet prayed to the Lord, and the king’s arm became normal
again.
Then the king said to the prophet, “Come to the palace with me and
rest awhile and have some food. And I’ll give you a handsome reward
because you healed my arm.”
But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you gave me half your
palace, I wouldn’t go into it; nor would I eat or drink even water
in this place! For the Lord has given me strict orders not to eat
anything or drink any water while I’m here, and not to return to
Judah by the road I came on.” Then the prophet went back in another
route.
As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel. His sons
went home and told him what the prophet from Judah had done and what
he had said to the king.
“Which way did he go?” the old prophet asked. So, they told him.
“Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. And when they had
saddled the donkey for him, he rode after the prophet and found him
sitting under an oak tree.
“Are you the prophet who came from Judah?” he asked him.
“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”
Then the old man said to the prophet, “Come home with me and eat.”
“No,” he replied, “I cannot because I am not allowed to eat anything
or to drink any water at Bethel. The Lord strictly warned me against
it. And He also told me not to return home by the same road I came.”
But the old man said, “I am a prophet too, just as you are. And an
angel gave me a message from the Lord. I am to take you home with
me, and give you food and water.” But the old prophet was lying to
the younger prophet.
Then they went back together. And the prophet ate some food and
drank some water at the old man’s home.
Then, suddenly, while they were sitting at the table, a message from
the Lord came to the old man, and he shouted at the prophet from
Judah, “The Lord says that because you have been disobedient to His
clear command and have come here, and have eaten and drunk water in
the place He told you not to, therefore your body shall not be
buried in the grave of your fathers.”
After finishing the meal, the old man saddled the prophet’s donkey,
and the prophet started off again. But as he was traveling along the
road, a lion came out and killed him.
The body of the prophet was laying there on the road, while the
donkey and the lion were standing beside it. Those, who came by and
saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing quietly beside
it, reported it in Bethel where the old prophet lived.
When the old prophet heard what had happened, he exclaimed, “It is
the prophet who disobeyed the Lord’s command. The Lord fulfilled His
warning by causing the lion to kill him.”
Then he said to his sons, “Saddle my donkey!” And they did.
He found the prophet’s body lying in the road. The donkey and lion
were still standing there beside it. Interestingly, the lion had not
eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. So the prophet laid the body
upon the donkey, and took it back to the city to mourn over it and
bury it.
The old prophet laid the body of the younger prophet in a grave that
he had prepared for himself. And at the grave, he exclaimed, “Alas,
my brother!”
Afterwards he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave
where the prophet is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. For the
Lord told him to shout against the altar in Bethel, and his curse
against the shrines in the cities of Samaria shall surely be
fulfilled.”
Despite the prophet’s warning, Jeroboam did not turn away from his
evil ways. Instead, he made more priests than ever but selected from
the common people, to offer sacrifices to idols in the shrines on
the hills. Anyone who wanted to could be a priest. This was a great
sin that eventually resulted in the destruction of Jeroboam’s
kingdom, and the death of all of his family.
The young prophet was able to resist the temptation of dining in the
palace, and receiving a great reward. But he was not able to resist
the lying words of the old prophet. And he drank and ate with the
old prophet.
The young prophet delivered a true word of the Lord to the
idolatrous king, but he was unable to discern the lies of the old
prophet. The old prophet, being a man of God, could tell lies, even
though at times he did deliver a true word of the Lord! Therefore,
spiritual discernment is essential. Prophesying without discernment
can be erroneous!
1 Corinthians 12:10
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning
of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues.
Philippians 1:9
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in
knowledge and all discernment,
Why did the old prophet lie in order to invite the young prophet
to his home? Probably because he wanted to ride on the back of the
new-found fame and success of this prophet. He wanted to be seen to
have associations with this prophet, and to have acknowledgements
that this prophet had come and dined with him personally. This would
add to his credentials and identifications. Even back in ancient
times, networking with successful and famous people, and forming
strategic alliances and partnerships were deemed to be necessary for
building credibility and success, and obtaining mutual benefits! For these small petty gains, the
old prophet lied!
Dining, eating and fellowshipping with prophetic pastors
and people can sometimes be a dangerous occasion or event. Often, prophetic words were
given without any restrictions or self-control. And people can
easily move into a prophetic frenzy, thinking that everything they
speak is from the Lord!
1 Samuel 19:18-24
18 So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told
him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed
in Naioth.
19 Now it was told Saul, saying, “Take note, David is at Naioth in
Ramah!”
20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they
saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing
as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of
Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they
prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time,
and they prophesied also.
22 Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at
Sechu. So he asked, and said, “Where are Samuel and David?”
And someone said, “Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah.”
23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was
upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until
he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied
before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that
day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also
among the prophets?”
As David was fleeing from King Saul, he came to Naioth at Ramah.
And the king sent men to capture him there. But they met a group of
prophets prophesying.
Samuel was leading this group, and was standing there. The Spirit of
God entered Saul’s men, and they also prophesied.
Saul heard the news. So, he sent other men, but they also
prophesied. Then he sent men a third time, but they also prophesied.
Finally, Saul went to Ramah himself. He came to the well at Sechu.
He asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”
The people answered, “In Naioth at Ramah.”
Then Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God also
entered him. And he walked on, prophesying until he came to Naioth
at Ramah. He took off his robes and prophesied in front of Samuel.
He was laying down naked all that day and all that night. That is why
people ask, “Is even Saul one of the prophets?”
Even the ungodly king can prophesy all day and all night. Non-stop,
without any restrictions or self-control.
1 Corinthians 14:32
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
True prophets will exercise restraints and controls in their own
hearts, and continually check whether their words are truly from the
Lord, and not their own imaginations and desires. If unchecked and
monitored, many prophetic pastors and people would continue to give
prophetic words and utterances even though their previous words did
not come to pass! And sad to say, many of their followers did not
check and examine their bad track records!
In any group of prophets and apostles, how many are true, and how
many are false? How many are truly seeking the kingdom of God and
His righteousness? And how many are seeking selfish gains and
worldly recognition?
Song of Solomon 2:15
Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
Some prophets, like Balaam, can prophesy for ungodly rewards.
Sometimes big but often small and petty gains.
Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and
my Redeemer.
May we continue to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, staying close
to Lord without swaying to the left or the right.
Written on 4 November 2022