Several times in the books of Kings a prophet or man of God disobeys a command they were given. The most prominent example is the story found in 1 Kings 13. After condemning King Jeroboam’s actions, he is told by God to return home without stopping to eat or drink. However, when an older prophet invites the man of God into his house, he does turn aside to eat and drink. This disobedience results in the younger prophet’s death when he is mauled by lions.
Similarly, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, goes against Elisha’s will and greedily takes money as payment from Naaman in 2 Kings 5. After Elisha curses Gehazi, Gehazi’s skin becomes as leprous as the Naaman’s formerly was.
While the story of Gehazi seems understandable, the story of the prophet who is mauled by lions seems a bit extreme. Indeed, his crime seemed of a lesser degree than Gehazi’s, and yet this prophet is the one who lost his life.
In both cases, the point seems to be that God’s prophets are expected to remain totally faithful to God, especially in the midst of a culture that kept straying away from the one true God. It provides a bad example if a prophet who just cursed a king for his disobedience turns around and also fails to obey God’s command. Thus, stories like these two remind the reader of the disobedience in and of the prophet’s role to help remedy this.
We operate the same way today. As we look at officials in public office, we expect them to live out the same policies which they advocate. If they tell citizens to drive less to improve the environment, it will not look good if that same leader is seen taking joy rides in a Hummer. Likewise, as Christians, we advocate many things. The real question is, do we live out what we ask of others?
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