Pastor Rusty Milton
1 Kings 13:11-19 ESV

The greatest challenge to the church comes from false prophets who tell you they are speaking for God. In 1 Kings 13:11, we see a false prophet lying to God's true prophet, and thus bringing about the death of the true prophet. When the false prophet hears the news of God's prophecy against Jeroboam and his false religion, he sends for the young prophet (Vv. 11-13). He then deceives him into believing that he, too, has heard from the Lord, and that the young prophet should come to his house to eat. Despite having been warned against doing that very thing, the young prophet believes the older, eats at his house, and is subsequently killed by a lion. 

False prophets and teachers have always been the worst enemy of God's true people; they try to convince people to not trust God's word and promises. Having been deceived and fallen into cynicism themselves, they encourage others to follow their feelings, and thus lose sight of the Gospel. How does this process of deception progress? It begins by listening to deceiving words, dwelling on them, trusting in them, and then acting upon them. To protect ourselves, we must meditate on God's true Word and be quick to reject anything that sets itself up to depose its authority in our lives.

1 Kings 13:11–19
ESV

The Prophet’s Disobedience

11 Now uan old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons1 came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, v“I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me wby the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.