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Day 91 Promise 122 1 Kings 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: 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 says the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt 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 rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.’ 4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, 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. People want things their way. What do you do when someone comes against your rules and way of life? Solomon was dead and Rehoboam was king in his place. He sought to do things his way. When he did the people, with Jeroboam as their leader, opposed him, and the kingdom divided with Jeroboam, king of Israel and Rehoboam, king of Judah. To keep the people from returning to Rehoboam and Judah, Jeroboam built altars in Bethel and Dan with golden calves in each. He told the people they were the gods who brought them out of Egypt. Jeroboam went to Bethel to burn a sacrifice to the gods he made. God sent a prophet to him and promised through prophecy that a king would come against the altars he built, and gave the name of the king not yet born as Josiah who would burn the bones of the priests on the altar because of Jeroboam’s disobedience to God. God also turned Jeroboam’s hand leprous when he wanted to attack the prophet. You might think you know what’s best for yourself and your family, yet when you go against God, He will go against you. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 2 Kings 23:15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. 16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchers that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchers, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 17 Then he said, ‘What title is that that I see?’ And the men of the city told him, ‘It is the sepulcher of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.’ 18 And he said, ‘Let him alone; let no man move his bones.’ So, they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria. 19 And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel. 20 And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem. When you work contrary to God’s Word and His calling on your life, He will always oppose you. God wants your obedience. Jeroboam’s price for his disobedience was a leprous hand. Your disobedience will always cost you something. Do you want God’s promises to work against you as a curse due to your disobedience? Or do you want His promises to be a blessing due to obedience? Your way isn’t always the right way. Let’s pray: Father, help me obey You and the calling You have on my life. When I fall short, show me my sin so I can repent and become right in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 4 November 2019 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay. Only topic-related comments accepted.