1. A man of God went from Judah to Bethel. He had received a message from the Lord. He arrived in Bethel just as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer a sacrifice.
2. The man cried out. He shouted a message from the Lord against the altar. He said, "Altar! Altar! The Lord says, 'A son named Josiah will be born into the royal family of David. Altar, listen to me! Josiah will sacrifice the priests of the high places on you. They will be the children of the priests who are offering sacrifices here now. So human bones will be burned on you.' "
3. That same day the man of God spoke about a miraculous sign. He said, "Here is the sign the Lord has announced. This altar will be broken to pieces. The ashes on it will be spilled out."
4. The man of God announced that message against the altar at Bethel. When King Jeroboam heard it, he reached out his hand from the altar. He said, "Grab him!" But as he reached out his hand toward the man, it dried up. He couldn't even pull it back.
5. Also, the altar broke into pieces. Its ashes spilled out. That happened in keeping with the miraculous sign the man of God had announced. He had received a message from the Lord.
6. King Jeroboam spoke to the man of God. He said, "Pray to the Lord your God for me. Pray that my hand will be as good as new again." So the man of God prayed to the Lord for the king. And the king's hand became as good as new. It was just as healthy as it had been before.
7. The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me. Have something to eat. I'll give you a gift."
8. But the man of God replied to the king. He said, "What if you were to give me half of what you own? Even then I wouldn't go with you. I wouldn't eat bread or drink water here.
9. The Lord gave me a command. He said, 'Do not eat bread or drink water there. Do not return the same way you came.' "
10. So he took another road. He didn't go back on the same road he had taken when he came to Bethel.
11. An old prophet was living in Bethel. His sons came and spoke to him. They told him everything the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king.
12. Their father asked them, "Which way did he go?" His sons showed him the road the man of God from Judah had taken.