1 Kings 13
The above chapter in the Bible is a must read. It is full of unbelievable acts of hypocrisy, craftiness, lies and treachery. Enough drama to break one's heart, and yet laced with invaluable lessons.
We must watch out for characters like that of the Old Prophet, who although was privy to the instructions given by God to the man of God, chose to lie to him and thereby got him to disobey God.
Then the same Old Prophet turned around to condemn the man of God. He virtually played a tune and coaxed the man of God to dance to his tune, even encouraging him all the while. But once the man of God had finished dancing, the same old Prophet condemned him for dancing and pronounced doom. How profound!
We must be wary of people who render bad advice knowingly, and wait eagerly for us to fall into traps they have set for our feet. They are crafty manipulators. Who appear all sweet on the outward, but have hidden daggers ready to stab us to death.
Although the old prophet persuaded the man of God that God had altered his initial instruction to him, he also later, gladly uttered doom for the man of God for obeying him, and in the process, disobeying God. What a surprising turn of events!
That old prophet had the spirit of the accuser of the brethren. His task was to distract and accuse. His main aim was to steal, kill and destroy. He was a great liar, a serpent! He was the devil personified! He acted just like the sepent did to Eve in the garden of Eden.
Then when he yielded results and achieved his aim of destroying the man of God, he hypocritically turned around and mourned his demise. Was his sorrow genuine? Your guess is as good as mine.
There are crafty people on earth. We must therefore be careful and on the alert. We must endeavour to walk with the Holy Spirit, who alone knows the true heart and intentions of men.
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