God of the Second Chance - 1 Kings 10-13

1 Kings 13:1-10 (ESV)

A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

This might be one of the most unusual stories in the Bible that we never read or hear about in the pulpit.    This is another version of Jonah 3:1.  Note:

Jonah 3:1 (ESV)

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,

God gave Jonah a second chance (and, according to chapter four of Jonah, he blew it).   In the above passage we see that God sent a man of God to speak to the rebellious Jeroboam.   God promised Jeroboam that he would rule over ten tribes of Israel (after spending years in exile in Egypt).    But, God told him to obey God’s word. Instead Jeroboam rebelled and made two golden calves for the people to worship (1 Kings 12:28).   For this reason God sends the man of God (who himself will disobey God, 1 Kings 13:11-20).   When Jeroboam attempts to hurt the man of God, God strikes him with some sort of physical ailment.   Pleading for mercy, God allows the man of God to heal him.   Jeroboam will now have a second chance to serve God.   This is the God we serve.  God put Jeroboam into power and God can and does limit or change the circumstances of that power any time He wants.   God gave Jeroboam another chance.  What did Jeroboam do with that second chance? 

1 Kings 13:33 (ESV)

After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places.

Sometimes God gives mankind a second chance (and a third, and a fourth, etc.).  But, sometimes man is just rebellious and rejects God’s grace.