3. The man of God gave proof to the people that this would happen. He said, “This is the proof that the Lord told me about. He said, ‘This altar will break apart, and the ashes on it will fall onto the ground.’”
4. When King Jeroboam heard the message from the man of God about the altar in Bethel, he took his hand off the altar and pointed at the man. He said, “Arrest that man!” But when the king said this, his arm became paralyzed. He could not move it.
5. Then the altar broke into pieces, and all its ashes fell onto the ground. This proved that what the man of God had said came from the Lord.
6. Then King Jeroboam said to the man of God, “Please pray to the Lord your God for me. Ask him to heal my arm.” So the man of God prayed to the Lord, and the king’s arm was healed, as it was before.
7. Then the king said to the man of God, “Please come home with me. Come and eat with me. I will give you a gift.”
8. But the man of God said to the king, “I will not go home with you, even if you give me half of your kingdom! I will not eat or drink anything in this place.
9. The Lord commanded me not to eat or drink anything here. He also commanded me not to go back the same way I came.”
10. So he took a different road home. He did not go back the same way he came to Bethel.
11. There was an old prophet living in Bethel. His sons came and told him what the man of God did in Bethel and what he said to King Jeroboam.
12. The old prophet said, “Which way did he go when he left?” So the sons showed their father which road the man of God from Judah had taken.
13. The old prophet told his sons to saddle his donkey. They put the saddle on the donkey, and the prophet left.
14. The old prophet went after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked him, “Are you the man of God who just came from Judah?” The man of God answered, “Yes, I am.”
15. So the old prophet said, “Please come home and eat with me.”