OT Good Samaritans

"And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!" (1 Kings 13:30)

This is a chapter about two men, a man of God and a prophet, who both do very Christ-like things. The man of God prophesies that the alters of King Jeroboam will be destroyed, and when Jeroboam points at the man that he might be taken and killed, his hand dries up. Now, the king asks the man of God: "Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again" (1 Kings 13:6). The man of God does, and the king's hand is restored. Not only is this a sign that God has not utterly forsaken Jeroboam, that he has time to repent, but doesn't, but it reminds me of Gethsemane. When Judas and the guards come to arrest Jesus, Peter cuts off the ear of one of the men. And Jesus heals him. Like that healing, this healing in the OT is not a sign of the injured person's faith, but a sign of the mercy of God. The man of God could have laughed at the king's request, for he had no right to the mercy of God. But, he prayed for him anyways, and God was merciful.

Jeroboam was quick to abandon the Lord God, but God was not so quick to abandon Jeroboam. And if the Lord is that patient with such a man, then imagine His patience with us.

In the end, the man of God is tested, and ultimately disobeys the commandment that he was given not to turn back, or to eat or drink. He is killed by a lion, his body cast to the wayside. The prophet goes and finds the man's body, even though the lion is still there. "And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came into the city, to mourn and to bury him"(1 Kings 13:29). Compare this with the story of the Good Samaritan, finding a man half dead, placing him upon his own beast to take him to an inn, to care for him. The man of God is fully dead, consequences of disobedience. Yet, the prophet takes care of his body, mourning him, being buried with him, because the man of God did prophesy, and did do good in his life. Even if we make mistakes unto our own destruction, our good deeds will not be forgotten.

Let's take another look. Suppose the prophet is Christ, and we are the man of God. Christ proves us (see JST 1 Kings 13:18, footnote b), and because we are imperfect sinners, we will ultimately die. But, Christ will take our bodies upon His own beast, and will bury us in His own sepulcher, will cry over us, "Alas, my brother!" This is the OT, Christ has not yet been resurrected. But, if the righteous lay down in Christ's sepulcher, to "lay my bones beside his bones,"(1 Kings 13:31) then when Christ rises they will rise with Him.

The man of God, who was from Judah, was coming back down from "the high places which are in the cities of Samaria" (1 Kings 13:32).