Today’s reading: I Kings 12-13; Luke 24:36-53
26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” I Kings 13:26
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, Luke 24:45
Our readings today demonstrate that our natural, human, default position on the Truth is to hold it loosely, discard it easily, and trust in our own reasoning.
The bold prophet from Judah went in obedience to God to Bethel and confronted the King of Israel, Jeroboam. He refused Jeroboam’s invitation to come to his home based on God’s command to leave Bethel and return home without eating or drinking there. So far so good.
But then another old prophet told the bold one that God had given him new instructions, to come to the old prophet’s home and eat bread and drink water. It was a lie. The bold prophet gave in and accepted the invitation. Then the old prophet told him he would die for his disobedience. That happened. Apparently, despite his bold stance before Jeroboam, his default position on the Truth was to question what God had said to him clearly and trust another man.
In the case of the disciples, Jesus graciously corrected their misunderstanding of the Scriptures, He opened their minds to understand them, and He promised them the Holy Spirit. He also gave them a mandate, commonly called “the Great Commission,” to be His witnesses proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations. Without the Lord’s correction they would have muddled on in doubt and disbelief, in their default position on the Truth.
Praise God He does not leave us in confusion. If we are His own, He resets the default position of our human hearts and minds. Pray that you will not doubt, not second guess, what He clearly says. Study His word diligently to believe and obey it.
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