A Vessel Unto Honour

Have you ever thought about how a lion is depicted in two contrasting lights in Scripture?

There is the lion of Judah, and there is the devil as a roaming lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

One depiction of the lion stands in might, power, Truth and Righteousness and is the Deliverer and Saviour of our souls.

The other depiction of the lion is as is one who seeks to kill and destroy.

Both depictions of the lion are clearly shown to serve God explicitly in very clear, precise and certain terms.

If you are not following the Righteous One with all diligence, you are susceptible to the destroying, devouring one.

Read the whole chapter of 1 Kings Chapter 13.

God instructed the man of God, “Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.”

The man of God initially listened, but he allowed his ear to be enticed by the deceptive words of someone who identified himself as an old prophet.

God had warned the man of God, but the man allowed himself to trust in this deceiver’s words because the deceiver claimed to be an old prophet. The man of God was acting like the simple man described in Proverbs 22:3 because he imagined in his mind that God must have changed His mind after speaking a direct and clear command to him.

The man of God allowed himself to be enticed. This is an example of how God used His Word in an attempt to protect the man of God from harm. The man’s natural desire for food made him susceptible and weak to the old prophet who preyed on his natural desire to satisfy a basic human need.

God knew the man of God was going to be tempted, so He gave His instructive warning to protect him, but the man of God did not know God’s ways well enough to stay under the protection. The man of God clearly believed that God had changed His mind and had withdrawn His protective command. The man of God took the old prophet’s word for it and did not turn to the Word of God to verify the old prophet’s words. The old prophet told the man of God what he wanted to hear. He wanted to have permission to eat and drink, which is only natural.

After the man of God departed from the old prophet’s home on his donkey, a lion met him by the way and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass. And behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass. The lion was waiting to be seen so that it could be known exactly what had occurred. The lion did not eat the carcass, nor did it touch the donkey, nor did the donkey run away from the lion. The lion waited until the man of God’s body was taken up from the road.

This situation could only occur if the lion was more a dedicated servant to the Most High than an earthly apex predator.

The Scriptures always link the disobedient person with the one being afraid of the lion in the streets. Disobedience, in any form, bears witness against our consciences, so we know that we are not under the protection of the Lion of Judah when we give in to our flesh nature.

Isn’t it interesting how both lions absolutely serve the living God? One for good, the other for destruction. The only difference in their potential impact on us in any given moment exists in our own righteousness, which goes away the instant we deviate from His protective instructions.

Have you ever considered why some religions are so obsessed with thinking the devil is out for them? They are always worrying about protecting themselves from the devil rather than focusing on being in right standing, dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, which promises protection from the lion (Psalm 91:13).

Be diligent. Peter says of the devil who is as a roaring lion “whom resist, steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:9).

Meditate on This:

The message of this Chapter is congruent with the rest of the Whole of Scriptures: God doesn’t change His mind once He gives a direct Word of Instruction.

God is eternal, and God’s Word is eternal. Some of God’s instructions are circumstantial (if this situation is in place, then do this), and all of them are conditional (if you do this, then I will do this), but all of God’s instructions are all always eternal, it says so right in the Scriptures various times and in diverse ways.