An old prophet in Bethel,
and a prophet from Judah
Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.-1 Kings 13:11-18***Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) was 75 years old and his wife Sarah (Sarai) was 65 when they journeyed with nephew Lot and their servants and possessions from Haran to Canaan. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that the Lord God promised to give Canaan to Abraham's descendants and childless Abraham, and Abraham journeyed to Bethel and other places throughout Canaan. When Abraham was at least 99 years old and living in Mamre, in the Hebron region of Canaan, he approached 3 nearby visitors and offered them water to wash their feet, and a place to rest, and food to eat, and Abraham told Sarah to quickly make some bread. After Abraham and childless Sarah heard the divine visitor proclaim a message about a son to be born to Sarah, Abraham led 2 of the visitors, who were actually angels, towards Sodom, and Abraham returned and spoke to the 3rd divine visitor about any righteous people in Sodom. Isaac was born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah. Sometime after 127-year-old Sarah died in Hebron, Abraham sent his top servant to Haran to make marital arrangements for Isaac. The servant prayed to the Lord God, and saw Rebekah, Abraham and Sarah's grandniece, and spoke to her and made a request. Rebekah gave water to the servant and his camels, and the servant questioned Rebekah, and Rebekah introduced herself and offered him lodging and provision. Rebekah's brother Laban the Syrian (Aramean) brought the servant, and the servants with him, and their camels to the family's home and provided them with water to wash their feet and food to eat. After the servant spoke to Rebekah's family, and Rebekah's family and Rebekah consented to the marital arrangements, the servant brought Rebekah to Canaan, and Rebekah became the wife of 40-year-old Isaac. Fraternal twin sons Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) were born to 60-year-old Isaac and Rebekah. After Rebekah prompted Jacob to deceive Isaac, and cheat Esau, and she learned that Esau planned to kill Jacob, she spoke words to Isaac that led him to send Jacob from their home in Canaan to Rebekah's family in Padan Aram, Haran. In Bethel, Jacob was asleep and saw, in a dream, the angels of God and the Lord God speaking to him. During Jacob's 7th year in Haran, he was married to Laban's daughters Leah and Rachel. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and daughter Dinah were born to Jacob and Leah. Dan and Naphtali were born to Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. Gad and Asher were born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. Joseph was the 1st son born to Jacob and Rachel. During Jacob's 20th year in Haran, he began journeying home to Canaan with his family, servants, animals, and possessions. Near Bethlehem, Benjamin was born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel died. When Joseph was 17 years old, his brothers sold him to merchants traveling to Egypt and led Jacob to believe that Joseph was killed by a wild beast, and Joseph was 30 years old when Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, proclaimed him second-in-command. After the 2nd time that Joseph's brothers were in Egypt to buy corn (grain) during a famine, Joseph identified himself to his brothers and told them to move with their families, including Jacob, to Egypt. Pharaoh heard about the reunion and expressed his generosity and hospitality. In Beersheba, Jacob offered sacrifices to the Lord God, and the Lord God spoke to 130-year-old Jacob. In Egypt, Jacob proclaimed Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons born to Joseph and his wife Asenath, to be his own sons, and the tribe of Joseph became the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim. Sometime after 147-year-old Jacob died in Egypt, and Jacob's family buried his body in Canaan, and 110-year-old Joseph and his siblings were dead, their descendants the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were born into the tribe of Levi. When Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83, the Lord God sent them to speak to the Israelite elders and Pharaoh. After the Lord God brought the 10th and final plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt, Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to get the Israelites and their animals and go worship the Lord God. Moreover, Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to bless him. Before Moses and Aaron led the Israelites, and those with them, away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, the Israelites asked for and were given an abundance of valuable goods, fulfilling the words that the Lord God spoke to Abraham. In the desert wilderness of Sinai, in the region of Mount Sinai, the Israelites heard the voice of the Lord God proclaim the Ten Commandments to them, and the Lord God began giving Moses judgments, statutes, and laws for the Israelites, including laws about strangers, and the Lord God made a covenant with the Israelites, and the Lord God said they would obey the words of the Lord God. When Moses was upon Mount Sinai 40 days and nights with the Lord God, the Lord God described the offering that willing Israelites were to bring, and the Lord God described to Moses and showed Moses the likeness of the tabernacle, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the other sacred items that the Israelites were to make, and the Lord God told Moses that only Aaron, and Aaron's sons and the sons born to their descendants were to serve the Lord God as priests. Meanwhile, the Israelites thought they were abandoned and told Aaron to make gods to lead them. Aaron told the Israelites to bring him their gold earrings, and Aaron made a golden calf that the Israelites worshiped and Moses burned and ground. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Miriam the prophetess died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died, and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' aide and successor from the tribe of Ephraim, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. Over 300 years after 110-year-old Joshua died, and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, became the 1st king to rule over the Israelites. David, from the tribe of Judah, was the 2nd king to rule over all of the Israelites. Solomon, a son born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king to reign. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to rule over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city, and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city, and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. Jeroboam established idolatry throughout the kingdom, and put a golden calf in Bethel and a golden calf in Dan, hoping to keep the Israelites in the northern nation from going to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and reuniting with Rehoboam. The Lord God sent a prophet from Judah to speak to Jeroboam, and Jeroboam wanted to harm the prophet. Jeroboam's hand shriveled, and Jeroboam asked the prophet to pray to the Lord God for its restoration. Jeroboam's hand was healed, and Jeroboam became gracious and extended the hospitality of his home and a gift to the prophet. The prophet declined and stated that the Lord God told him not to eat or drink or take the same route home. When a prophet in Bethel heard about the goings-on between Jeroboam and the prophet from Judah, he went to speak to the prophet. King Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser, ruler of Assyria, began taking Israelites captive. During the 9th year of the reign of King Hoshea, the 19th king to rule the northern nation, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Less than 125 years after Samaria was conquered, Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) became the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. During the 11th year of the reign of Jehoiakim's brother Zedekiah (Mattaniah), the 19th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem, into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 4:1-5:33, 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21, 8:1-31:13, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26