And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
As the man of God from Judah and the old prophet sat together at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. The one who received the word was the one who had deceived the man of God and lured him back by falsely claiming to speak for God, including by an alleged angelic message. Through him came the announcement of judgment that the man of God had disobeyed the Lord's direct command not to return to Bethel and not to eat or drink there.
As a result he would die away from home and would not be buried with his fathers in his ancestral tomb. No claim to prophetic authority, even when falsely supported by an alleged angelic message, could cancel the direct command God had already given, and the man's trust in the lie led to his death. His ensuing death confirmed the truth of the earlier prophecy against the altar at Bethel. The sentence and death made his fate a warning and a third evidence to Jeroboam that God's words were true, which should have led the king to abandon evil and serve the Lord.
As the man of God from Judah and the old prophet sat together at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. The one who received the word was the one who had deceived the man of God and lured him back by falsely claiming to speak for God, including by an alleged angelic message. Through him came the announcement of judgment that the man of God had disobeyed the Lord's direct command not to return to Bethel and not to eat or drink there.
As a result he would die away from home and would not be buried with his fathers in his ancestral tomb. No claim to prophetic authority, even when falsely supported by an alleged angelic message, could cancel the direct command God had already given, and the man's trust in the lie led to his death. His ensuing death confirmed the truth of the earlier prophecy against the altar at Bethel. The sentence and death made his fate a warning and a third evidence to Jeroboam that God's words were true, which should have led the king to abandon evil and serve the Lord.