So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.
The verse records the man of God's initial obedience to the Lord's clear instruction to leave Bethel by another way and not return by the road he had come on. He restated that command when refusing the old prophet's invitation to turn back. He then let the old prophet's lie persuade him to turn back to Bethel, and that return after being deceived broke the clear command. His earlier obedience and the warning he had received did not excuse abandoning the Lord's word, for he remained accountable to what God had given him. His disobedience cost him his life.
The wider account in 1 Kings 13:1-32 concerns the disobedience of the deceived prophet from Bethel. It has been used to accuse a later prophet, Sr. White, of walking contrary to God as a disobedient, deceived prophet. That accusation is rejected as unproved without identifying any specific disobedient act showing that she walked contrary to God.
The verse records the man of God's initial obedience to the Lord's clear instruction to leave Bethel by another way and not return by the road he had come on. He restated that command when refusing the old prophet's invitation to turn back. He then let the old prophet's lie persuade him to turn back to Bethel, and that return after being deceived broke the clear command. His earlier obedience and the warning he had received did not excuse abandoning the Lord's word, for he remained accountable to what God had given him. His disobedience cost him his life.
The wider account in 1 Kings 13:1-32 concerns the disobedience of the deceived prophet from Bethel. It has been used to accuse a later prophet, Sr. White, of walking contrary to God as a disobedient, deceived prophet. That accusation is rejected as unproved without identifying any specific disobedient act showing that she walked contrary to God.