How to Follow God's Voice | Historical Books | 1 Kings 13:11-34

Welcome to 10 Minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. This is a big year at our house. I've got two seniors, one in high school, one in college, a college sophomore, and a brand new high school freshman. My people are out there in the world. They're in new classrooms, new campuses, new jobs, and new circles of friends. And whenever you step into a new space, you meet new voices. Some are right in front of you, classmates, teachers, professors, coworkers, but a lot of them, well, they're coming through our phones, social media feeds, marketing campaigns, YouTube videos, influencers, and those voices don't just pass along information. They shape what we think, how we feel, even what we believe about ourselves and the world. That's why I told my new high schooler the other day, I said, "I think your happiness in high school will be directly tied to how much time you spend on social media." And I said that because the more you give your attention to those voices, the more they start to set the agenda for your mind and heart. And that's what makes this story in First Kings 13 so relevant. It's about a man who started off completely clear on what God had said, but in a new place surrounded by a new voice, he listened to one that claimed to speak for God, but didn't. We're going to look at First Kings 13, it's kind of a different kind of passage. I'm going to break it down into four kind of points, and then we're going to talk about how it relates to where we are today. So the first thing we learn in First Kings 13 is that God's Word is final, and we see this in verses 11 through 19. So the man had God here had just delivered a bold message against King Jeroboam's altar, and he knew exactly what God had told him, "Don't eat or drink there. Don't even go home the same way you came." But then another prophet shows up, and he says, "An angel told me, 'You can come back and eat with me.'" He sounds spiritual, he sounds reasonable, but what he said directly contradicted what God had already said. That's the tricky part. Sometimes the voices most likely to pull us off course sound the most trustworthy. They can even use the right language, they can claim the right authority, and still be wrong. Jesus said though in John 10, 27, "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me." Isn't that both beautiful and also just a test? The man of God didn't follow the voice of the shepherd. And when you think about your semester and your year ahead, how important is it to you to make time to hear God's voice in his Word, to hear it taught in community worship? How will you make those a priority? Are there people that you can get together with to study the Bible to begin his Word, maybe every week or every other week? What gets planned gets done, and what goes unplanned, well, it often gets drowned out. One of your guardrails as you enter a busy season is to make time to hear God, to hear your shepherd's voice, learn what his Word says so you can test everything else against it. The second thing we learn in 1 Kings 13 is that knowing truth brings responsibility in verses 20-26. Now while they're eating, God gives the older prophet a genuine message. Judgment is coming because the man of God disobeyed. And on the way home, a lion attacks and kills him, but doesn't eat him or the donkey. It just stands there. It's a sign that this was God's judgment, not just a random tragedy. The man of God wasn't punished because he lacked information. He was punished because he had it and ignored it. In the same way, when we know what God says, we are accountable for how we respond. Clarity is a gift. It's something you and I need. It's something that God gives. If we have it, we need to pass it along. Clarity about what God's Word says brings comfort and confusing times. It gives stability in uncertain times. You can share the goodness of God by staying true to his Word. The third thing, we learn that agreement without obedience changes nothing in verses 27-34. The older prophet felt remorse. He buried the man of God in his own tomb and he honored him. And Jeroboam heard the whole story, but neither of them changed. It's possible to nod in agreement with God's Word and never let it touch your life. We can post a verse. We can listen to a sermon. We can put our hands up in worship. But if it doesn't change us, nothing is actually different. This is where we have to be willing to say, "My knowledge is tapped out, and yet I still trust God." God's Holy Spirit convicts us, seals us, counsels us, and comforts us. Following God is more than just knowing his Word, but being shaped by it, being transformed by it, trusting God more and depending on ourselves less. Now, finally, God's Sovereignty. When you read 1 Kings 13 with a God-centered lens, it is clear that this story has a director, God himself. He was involved in every detail. His Word is final. It can't be adjusted. It can't be reinterpreted. And his mercy shows in the fact that he makes his will known all of it. He doesn't leave his people guessing. But if we stop there, if we stop with just recognizing that God is in charge and that he's kind enough to tell us what he wants, we still feel the gap between his perfection and our tendency to wander. It's like standing on opposite sides of a canyon. You can see the other side clearly, but you also know you can't get there on your own. That distance is the real tension. And that is where Jesus changes everything. The same God who spoke steps into the scene as the Good Shepherd. He doesn't just send instructions from far away. He is present and personal. And he says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." The man of God in 1 Kings 13 faltered because he let another voice override the one he knew. But in Christ, we are given both the clarity of God's Word and the gift of the daily presence of the one who speaks it. He not only points out the right path, but he walks on it with us. And that is the good news in a world where we are surrounded by noise. Staying close to the shepherd is what makes his voice stand out. Like recognizing your kid's voice in a crowded room, it's not about volume, it's about the familiarity. The closer you walk with him, the harder it is to make any other voice sound like his. 1 Kings 13 is kind of an unusual Old Testament story, but it's more than that as well. It asks us, "Whose voice am I really following? Am I anchored in what God has already said, or am I letting other voices edit? Here's how to guard your heart. Anger yourself in Scripture. The more you know God's Word, the easier it is to spot what doesn't align. After every voice asked, does this agree with what God has already said? If not, it's out. And choose to be hearing the shepherd's voice daily. Make space for it to be the loudest through Scripture, prayer, godly community, and obedience. This year, like I said, my kids are in new spaces with new voices, and so am I. We all carry a device that delivers more voices in a day than most people in history had in their entire lives. The question isn't if we're listening to voices, but which ones are shaping us the most? And when it's God's Word, when it's Jesus, we will recognize it, because it's the voice that we are able to know and trust. Ask God to help you make time to hear his voice, to be in his Word, and to grow in a community that loves him.