Dressing up to deceive a blind prophet.

In I Kings chapter 14 we have an interesting story.

At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, ² and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. ³ Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” ⁴ So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.

So, reading this causes me some questions.  There are examples of people from other nations who brought gifts to prophets and they were amazing.  Yet Jeroboam says “Take him ten loaves of bread, some cakes and a jar of honey” –not a kings gift to a prophet for sure.  But many of the kings of Israel so disdained the messages of the prophets that gifts aren’t even recorded.  Was this part of the disguise, this gift she would bring?

Another question I considered is “Who was the gift meant to impress?”  Was its commonness meant to fool the prophet or perhaps she had so little confidence in his ‘word’ that it didn’t really matter; she just followed instructions.

Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age.  The irony of this statement grabs my mind.  Did Jeroboam not know that this prophet had gone blind?  Did he disguise his wife so that the prophet would be fooled into thinking she was a deserving commoner or did he disguise his wife so the people would not know he was consulting the prophet?

⁵ But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”  This statement makes me think that the disguise was meant, at least partially, to trick Ahijah.  Did she suppose that the verdict might be kinder if she were not the king’s wife?  Perhaps she doubted that they would really receive ‘God’s message’ from this prophet.

⁶ So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? I have been sent to you with bad news.  The prophet went strait to the issue.  He also assures her that he has been sent to her.  I’m sure she thought it was the other way around, but things are often not what they appear to be.  I wonder if God had given him no message for her, if he would have even given her an audience, knowing she was the queen.  The track record for being treated well when giving these kind of messages was pretty dim.  Both Ahijah and Jeroboam had to run and hide when he gave Jeroboam the commission  to be king when he was an officer of Solomon’s court. 

Before he gave her the answer she came for, he gave her the history of Jeroboam’s rule.  ⁷Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁸ I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. ⁹ You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me.

¹⁰ “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free.^[a] I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. ¹¹ Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’

Then he turns his attention to the queen.  In a sense, his answer to her is compassionate, though he assures her that her son will die.  Yet he has already assured her that her son will die in his prophecy to Jeroboam.  But he gives this woman’s son a place of honor and respect in his death.  ¹² “As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. ¹³ All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.

The prophet also adds a sad note.  The rebellion Jeroboam introduced to Israel would cause them to be taken into slavery and scattered.  Jeroboam had a chance to lead the people of the nation back to God, but his doubts and fears caused him to lead them further away thinking that would secure him and his dynasty. ¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. ¹⁸ They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.

The story is a sad one.  Why do we seek to deceive when we are consulting God?  Why does integrity and honesty not count in our approach to God?  Why do we receive a mandate or a promise from God and then foolishly submit it to human fear and reason?  Why to we pretend to be strong or capable when approaching our need before God?

What if our deceptions were immediately put on the table as in this story.  What if our white lies were dealt with as in the story of Ananias and Sapphira?  How would it change us to know we would be quickly and surely called on our pretense?

And I have recently had cause to ask myself another set of questions.  When I pray for others, am I open to the insight God wants to give me in my human blindness?  Or am I more concerned with how I appear?  When I bless, am I sensitive to the nature and plan of God?  Or do I say what is comfortable and acceptable in our society? When I give, am I content with the deception and disguise of those who need my hand or my words? Is it even possible to be God’s person in this age?  When is it no longer about us, but about the will, plan and voice of God?  Are we people of so little faith?  If so, how can we save our nation, our families, ourselves.  Or has this faith we claim simply become a dress up game?