King & KingdomsSample

This is where the story starts to get really strange. We don't know why the old prophet sets out to deceive the young man of God. In fact, it would be hard to know for sure if he was lying if the writer of 1 Kings didn't tell us in verse 18. Why would he lie? What does he have to gain?

The text doesn't give us a lot of insights, but we can at least gather this: the old prophet abused the Word of God to get what he wanted. He lied about God giving him a message--that the man of God should come eat with him--and the man of God suffers because of it.

God takes his Word way more seriously than we understand. It's an incredibly precious gift that we have such a close relationship with our God that he talks to us: through his written Word and by his Holy Spirit applying that Word to us. Not many people in our world think a God would want to do that! This is a privilege, but that also means it matters how we handle God's Word. We need to make sure we know what God's Word really says and really means. The consequences can be big, but that also means the opportunity is far bigger.

Think it Over: Why do you think God takes his Word so seriously? What opportunity do you see in putting God's Word into action in your life?