1 Kings 13:9

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD. ²And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, "O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.'" ³That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, "This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: 'Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.'" ⁴Now when King Jeroboam, who was at the altar in Bethel, heard the word that the man of God had cried out against it, he stretched out his hand and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward him withered, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. ⁶Then the king responded to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him as it was before. ⁷Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward." ⁸But the man of God replied, "If you were to give me half your possessions, I still would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹For this is what I was commanded by the word of the LORD: 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.'"¹⁰So the man of God went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

For: 1 Kings 13:1, 1 Kings 13:21, 1 Kings 13:22, 1 Samuel 15:22, Job 23:12, John 13:17, John 15:9, John 15:10, John 15:14

Eat no bread: Numbers 16:26, Deuteronomy 13:13-18, Psalms 141:4, Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11, Ephesians 5:11, 2 John 1:10, 2 John 1:11, Revelation 18:4

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 9:9 - I neither 1 Kings 13:16 - General 1 Kings 13:19 - General 1 Kings 13:26 - which he spake 1 Kings 18:4 - bread and water 1 Thessalonians 4:15 - by the

Cross-References

Genesis 13:8
So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers.

Genesis 13:12
Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre in Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

Genesis 20:15
And Abimelech said, "Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please."

Genesis 34:10
You may settle among us, and the land will be open to you. Live here, move about freely, and acquire your own property."

Psalms 120:7
I am in favor of peace; but when I speak, they want war.

Romans 12:18
If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

1 Corinthians 6:7
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

Hebrews 12:14
Pursue peace with all men, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord,.... The command of the Lord, by which he came to Bethel, and cried against the altar there, 1 Kings 13:1

saying, eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest: signifying that no communion was to be had with idolaters, nor any example to be set and followed; but the way to them, and to their idolatry, was to be shunned and avoided.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Eat no bread, nor drink water - The reason of the command is evident. The man of God was not to accept the hospitality of any dweller at Bethel, in order to show in a marked way, which men generally could appreciate, God’s abhorrence of the system which Jeroboam had “devised of his own heart.”

Nor turn again by the same way that thou camest - This command seems to have been given simply to test the obedience of the prophet by laying him under a positive as well as a moral obligation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 13:9. For so it was charged me - Eat no bread, c. — That is, Have no kind of communication with those idolaters. He was charged also not to return by the way that he came probably lest the account of what was done should have reached the ears of any of the people through whom he had passed, and he suffer inconveniences on the account, either by persecution from the idolaters, or from curious people delaying him, in order to cause him to give an account of the transactions which took place at Beth-el. This is a reason why he should not return by the same way; but what the reason of this part of the charge was, if not the above, is not easy to see.