Connect 1 Kings 13:3 with other instances of signs confirming God's word. The Sign at Bethel (1 Kings 13:3) “And that day he gave a sign, saying, ‘This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: “The altar will be split apart and the ashes upon it will be poured out.”’” (1 Kings 13:3) Why God Gives Signs • Highlight the divine origin of a message • Authenticate the messenger in real time • Warn or encourage the audience to respond immediately • Demonstrate that the LORD alone controls nature, time, and history Old-Testament Echoes of Bethel • Exodus 4:1-5 — Moses’ staff becomes a serpent, proving the LORD has truly appeared. • Exodus 4:6-8 — Leprous hand healed; water to blood if needed: “so that they may believe.” • Judges 6:36-40 — Gideon’s fleece, twice confirming God’s call to deliver Israel. • 1 Samuel 2:34 — The death of Eli’s two sons “will be a sign to you” of impending judgment. • 1 Samuel 10:1-9 — Three precise signs assure Saul that God has made him king. • Numbers 17:5-8 — Aaron’s rod buds, blossoms, and bears almonds overnight, settling the question of priestly authority. • 2 Kings 19:29 — Hezekiah receives a sign of deliverance: volunteer grain the first year, cultivated harvest the third. • 2 Kings 20:8-11 — The sun’s shadow retreats ten steps, confirming fifteen added years to Hezekiah’s life. Prophetic Signs That Prefigure Fulfillment • Isaiah 7:14 — “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son…” • Jeremiah 32:6-8 — The purchase of a field during siege acts as a sign that the land will be restored. • Ezekiel 24:24 — Ezekiel’s silent grief over his wife’s death: “You will do as I have done; when this happens you will know that I am the Lord GOD.” Christ: The Climactic Sign • Matthew 12:38-40 — “The sign of Jonah”: three days in the heart of the earth, fulfilled literally in the resurrection. • John 2:18-22 — “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The empty tomb vindicates every word Jesus spoke. • Acts 2:22 — Jesus “accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs.” Apostolic Signs That Continue the Pattern • Mark 16:20 — “They went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them, confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.” • Hebrews 2:3-4 — God testified to the gospel “by signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.” Putting It All Together • From Bethel’s split altar to the empty tomb, signs serve a single purpose: to prove that God’s spoken word is infallible. • Every genuine sign is anchored to a clear revelation; God never leaves obedience to guesswork. • The immediate fulfillment at Bethel assures us that longer-range promises—redemption, judgment, resurrection—are equally certain. • Believers today trust Scripture’s plain meaning, knowing that the same God who split an altar has already raised His Son and will keep every remaining promise. |
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