Useful Bible Studies > 1 Kings Commentary > chapter 13
We may ask: what honour should a holy man receive if he does not obey God?
The answer may surprise us. This is the answer: we must give him great honour because, as a holy man, he speaks God’s words. Clearly, that man’s decision not to obey God is a very serious matter. However, it is not a matter for us. God is the judge of all people, and especially of his servants. If that holy man does not turn back to God, God’s judgment against him will be strict.
We have been reading about two holy men, whom we called ‘the old prophet from Bethel’, and ‘the holy man from Judah’. The holy man from Judah died because he did not obey God. He chose not to obey God because the prophet from Bethel had lied to him.
Those wrong deeds are matters for God alone. We must respect those men greatly because they declared God’s messages.
The prophet from Bethel gave the greatest possible honour to the holy man when he buried him. He even told his sons to bury him in that same grave, with the holy man. He considered that place to be a holy place, because the bones of such a holy man were there. After the funeral, he put up a special stone in memory of that holy man (2 Kings 23:17).
For the next 300 years, people saw that stone and they remembered the holy man and his message. Then, King Josiah carried out what the holy man had declared by the word of God (2 Kings 23:15-18).
Next part: A message from God about the future (1 Kings 13:32)
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