1 Ki. 13: Who's Who Here?

1 Kings 13:28 "Then he went out and found the body thrown down on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey."

Here's a story about an unnamed prophet. He comes to bring a warning to Jeroboam. He hangs out at Bethel, and speaks to an altar, telling it some dude named Josiah will be born to the line of David who is going to brutally set things right. The altar, currently being misused will be a tinderbox for the bones of the offending priests set up by Jeroboam. As a sign, the altar will split apart and ashes will fall all over the place.

Jeroboam hears about it, and stretches out his arm to have his men seize the unknown prophet. As he does, his hand gets all shriveled up like nine flabby grapes. Presumably arthritis is the condition to beset Jeroboam. Instant arthritis, can you imagine? Then the altar split apart. And ashes spilled. That was quick. Jeroboam calls on this prophet to have the LORD restore his hand. Not the calves at Bethel and Dan. The LORD. He knew where power came from. The prophet does so, and God heals Jerry's hand. He then invites the prophet to have dinner and receive a gift, probably so he could influence him in some way, or use him as a fortune teller...cheapening God's power in the process.

The prophet refuses and bails. Then there's this other prophet who finds out about the first prophet, and the other prophet's sons tell him about the first prophet so the other prophet comes to visit the first prophet and cons him into coming over to his house for dinner and drink. Then the LORD told the other prophet to tell the first prophet that he defied the word of the LORD in avoiding food and drink with men. And then I love this. The first prophet knew he was screwed, so he's like "Eff it, I'm finishing dinner! In for a penny, in for a pound." What was the deal with this second prophet? Did he want to meet with this first prophet, or was he just being a bastard?

Well, the second prophet saddles up the doomed first prophet and sends him on his way, where he proceeds to be killed by a lion. So then the second prophet, with at least a little regret, picks up the Josiah-predicting prophet, and buries him in his own tomb, and demands that he be buried next to him. What the heck is that all about?

Jerry still didn't take this message to heart, continuing to anoint priests that weren't Levites, as God commanded originally. This will end well.