Pastor Bob DuPar
June 14, 2008

Journal Entry



Scripture

1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6.

Observation

The interchange between King Jeroboam and “the man of God” is humorous. One minute King Jeroboam is stretching out his hand and saying, “Seize him!” And, the next minute he’s begging the prophet to ask God to heal his shriveled hand. Then, Jeroboam has the audacity to ask the Seer if he wants to come over to his house for fish and chips! Oh yes, and he says, “I’ve got a gift for you.” That sounds like someone from the mafia saying, “Let’s go somewhere private and quiet. I’ve got something special for you.”

The next scene between the “old prophet” and the “man of God” is difficult to understand. The old prophet tricks the man of God by lying to him. He gets the man of God to go against God’s command, and then prophesies about his impending judgment and death. Then, the old prophet mourns over the man of God, feeling no apparent responsibility for his plight. I guess implicit within the text is the notion that God used the old prophet to test the man of God. Otherwise you have God honoring the actions and prophesy of a liar. But, as a fellow prophet I would not even conceive that lying would be an option for a man who represents God.

In Acts 9:27 it’s neat that Barnabas befriended Saul when everyone else was afraid of him and doubted the authenticity of his conversion. Acts 9:31 describes a time of blessing for the early church – one that unfortunately seems to be an exception rather than a normal condition:

“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.”

Application

Barnabas is a great example of how we all should be when someone comes to faith in Christ. We should not judge them according to their background or past behavior.

Living in the fear of the Lord, leads to strength and encouragement in the Holy Spirit as well as growth – both spiritually and numerically.

Prayer

“God, help me to be a Barnabas to others – to believe in them, encourage them, and reach out to them.”