The best way to approach the Bible it simply to start reading it consistently - with prayer, crying out to God, "I would like to know the truth about who you are as I'm reading the Scripture."

If we want to correct the theology of someone simply because we want to be right and we want to prove them wrong, we are aiming far too low. We want our theology, and the theology of others, to be accurate because of the glory of God.

Discover Joy in Serving Your Spouse Daily - Marriage Devotional

Many years ago, I saw the second installment of Tolkien’s trilogy, The Two Towers, in the theater. I ran into a friend there who was excited to watch the film. When I asked him what he thought of the first movie, Fellowship of the Ring, he informed me he hadn’t yet seen it. I then asked if he had read the books. Again, he said no. At this point, I informed my friend of the obvious: “You’re going to be really confused.” He assured me it would be fine. After the movie was done, I asked him what he thought. Shocker, the plot perplexed him. Have you ever been similarly confused while reading the Bible? This can happen even if we’ve read the Bible from cover to cover. One such perplexing story is 1 Kings 13. We need to seek clarity as this narrative has implications for our lives as Christians today. Specifically, we learn that the word of the Lord must be rightly heard, taught, and obeyed. The Story I encourage you first to slowly read 1 Kings 13, as I’ll only be offering highlights of the narrative. We are now in the era just beyond Solomon’s life, and Israel is split into the northern and southern kingdoms. This story takes place in the northern kingdom of Israel. Reminiscent of Israel’s fall in Exodus 32, Jeroboam constructs two golden calves to be worshiped and erects an altar where sacrifices can be offered (12:25–33). So the king of Israel, who should be a model of true worship, ironically leads the people into idolatry. This is especially bad because as goes the king, so go the people. The king of Israel, who should be a model of true worship, ironically leads the people into idolatry. Then a man of God from Judah confronts King Jeroboam about his sin (13:3). He predicts that a king named Josiah will come, eradicate the false priests, and overturn all the damage Jeroboam has done. As a sign, the man of God says the altar will be destroyed. Jeroboam is outraged, points at the man, and commands he be seized. But when he does, the king’s hand shrivels (vv. 4–5). He begs the man of God to restore his hand. The man prays, and God miraculously restores the king’s hand (v. 6). At this point, the king offers the man of God to come home and receive refreshment and reward, but the man declares that God told him not to receive any kind of hospitality and to return to his homeland quickly (vv. 7–9). Then an old prophet is told what this man of God did (vv. 11–13). The old prophet deceives the man of God, saying the Lord told him to have the man come eat and drink at his house (vv. 14–19). The man of God does so, but then the old prophet receives an actual word from God. The old prophet tells the man he disobeyed and will be buried outside his land (vv. 20–23). The man of God leaves, and a lion kills him on the road. The old prophet buries the man of God (vv. 24–32), and the narrative ends with Jeroboam continuing in his idolatrous practices (vv. 33–34). The Structure A strange story indeed. What is going on here? Let’s think about the big picture. According to 1 Kings 12:31, Jeroboam builds temples on high places and sets up his own priestly system. And then in 13:33 we see the same thing—false priests and idolatrous centers of worship. It’s essentially a way for the author to bracket the narrative about the man of God in chapter 13. With those bookends in place, we can frame the story as follows: The man of God confronts Jeroboam, and God shrivels the king’s hand (vv. 1–6). Jeroboam tempts the man of God to come to his house (vv. 7–10). The old prophet tempts the man of God to come to his house (vv. 11–19). The old prophet confronts the man of God and God brings the judgment of death (vv. 20–32). That’s the structure, but to make sense of it, the reader needs to look even further out to see how this chapter fits in the book. If we view 1–2 Kings as a unified narrative, we can note parallels in the way the story progresses—what some call a chiastic structure. On the book’s outer edges, we discern the glory of the Davidic kingdom under Solomon (1 Kings 1–10) and hope for the Davidic dynasty preserved even in exile (2 Kings 25:27–30). Next, we see Solomon’s apostasy and its effects (1 Kings 11–12). This parallels the fleeting attempts at reform that turn back to apostasy and judgment (2 Kings 18:1–25:26). Our passage, the prophetic condemnation at Bethel (1 Kings 13), corresponds to the prophecy fulfilled at Bethel (2 Kings 22–23). The next passages showcase the corrupt northern kings patterned after Jeroboam (1 Kings 14–16) and their continued corruption that leads to exile (2 Kings 9–17). At the book’s center stand the ministries of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 8). Again, in the overall structure, 1 Kings 13 stands across from 2 Kings 22–23. The man of God prophesies that Josiah would come and undo Jeroboam’s work in 1 Kings 13, and 2 Kings 23 fulfills that promise. The Point So, with the summary of the story and the overall structure of the chapter and the book, what is the point of the narrative? Why is this seemingly odd story there, and what does it mean? Put simply, God’s Word must be heard rightly, proclaimed accurately, and obeyed fully. The phrase “the word of the LORD” is seen numerous times in this narrative (1 Kings 13:1, 5, 9, 17, 18, 20, 21, 26, 32). In 2 Kings 23, Josiah reforms the nation by his hearing, heeding, and obeying the word of the Lord (vv. 2, 3, 16, 24). God’s people must learn from this story that the Lord doesn’t call for partial obedience. We hear, proclaim, and obey with precision. We cannot be led astray, even by those who seem like they would be authorities we should listen to (Deut. 13:1–18; Gal. 1:6–9). God’s Word is true and brings about the reality it proclaims. God’s Word must be heard rightly, proclaimed accurately, and obeyed fully. A true understanding of a passage like 1 Kings 13 will not come to us unless we read the books of the Bible as a whole, preferably in one sitting over and over again. We must give ourselves to delightfully meditating on God’s Word day and night (Ps. 1:1–2), following the author’s intention in smaller units of thought as well as entire sections and even the whole book. When we become steeped in the truth of the Bible, meaning is revealed more readily as we think about the near context, how a passage fits within a book, the Testament, and the whole canon.

At the end of the day, our goal should be to please our audience of One. His regard is the only one that should hold such a place of priority in our lives. If we spend our lives fearing man, we will remain caught in the snares of performance and perfectionism.