This is quite a long passage but well worth the effort to read  Too often a single verse is taken out of context to make a point that God never intended in the first place.  It is therefore important for every sermon we hear or message we read, to read it for ourselves.
 

"v1-6  By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering.  He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’”  That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”
 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.  Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.
 Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before." (1 Kings 13:1-26)

There was an experiment carried out on teenagers to do with the power of peer pressure.  Several groups of 10 were taken into a room and asked to put up their hands when the teacher pointed to the longest line on 3 charts.  Nine of the ten pupils had already been primed to choose the second longest line.  The tenth person would look around at the raised hands, frown in confusion and eventually put their hand up too, lacking the courage to challenge the others choice.
 In our scripture, a man of God performs miracles on an altar in Bethel. (vv1-6)  He leaves for home but eventually believes the word of another prophet.  He disobeys God even though he knows it is contrary to what the Lord had told him. (vv15-19)  Because of his disobedience, he is killed by a lion.  (vv20-24)  We can argue that it doesn’t seem fair.  But that’s not the point of the story.  The fact is, we need to know God’s word well enough that it becomes hard to be led stray by others.  Yes, God knows the intent of our hearts and if we are led astray un-knowingly he will show us our error and draw us back.  But, to knowingly go astray is a very risky path to walk.

Matthew Henry says this:

“The judgments of God are beyond our power to fathom; and there is a judgment to come. ….with some, the flesh is destroyed, that the spirit may be saved; with others, the flesh is pampered, that the soul may ripen for hell.”

Let’s face it, this can seem quite a perplexing story at first sight but as we meditate on it the meaning is clear.  The word of God is superior to and above any other words we are given or any other voices we may hear.  We must remember that when we are tempted to give in to pressure from others, it’s then we need to stand firm.  The word of God is the ultimate truth and one that we can always rely on.

QUOTE for the week – “God’s Word is the compass that keeps us on course.”