1ki 13:16-17, … 17 For I have been told by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’
A man of God was sent to carry a message of impending judgment to the wicked king Jeroboam. After delivering the message, the man of God was to then leave immediately without eating or accepting a reward. The author chose the title, man of God, over prophet intentionally to differentiate true and false prophets for our us.
As he returned, he met an old prophet who asked him to come and eat bread at his home (vs. 10). The man of God emphasized what the Lord had instructed him: convey the message and return without eating or halting anyplace. Here is where things self-destructed: “He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water” (vs. 18). He listened to the old prophet after he added a contort to his message, “I am a prophet too and I speak for the Lord”.
He that resolved to decline the invitation of a king, who guaranteed him a prize, could not resist the insinuations of one that pretended to be a prophet; he sat, ate, and drank with him. This old lying prophet is plaguing our churches. We are prone to listen those professing to be a prophet representing the Lord
We must be good Bereans (Acts 17:11) who listen to the voice of God through His word by teaching and studying. What is false, will sometimes repackage itself in a manner that is engaging. You may say no several times but that old lying prophet doesn’t surrender easily.