1 Kings 13:18  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

The prophet that went to talk to Rehoboam had strict orders to not eat or stay in Bethel.  He was to do his job and then get out of there.  We really don’t know why God gave him those orders.  Regardless, first orders are from headquarters.  This old prophet, here in the passage, lied to the young prophet and convinced him to stay around for some fellowship.  That would seem like a good thing.  However, when God tells us something and we go contrary to it, for what seems to be a good thing, it is sin.

We need to be careful, at times,  with what the “brethren” convince us to do in the name of the Lord.  If it is contrary to the Word of God or to what God has revealed to us as we seek him, we need to not be taken off the course God has us on.  This old prophet living in Bethel was probably not living too holy.  He probably never went up and cried against what Rehoboam was doing, even though he lived there.  All of a sudden, he is interested in spiritual things when someone else sticks their neck out.

I am not talking about good counsel from the man of God or your pastor.  I am talking about brethren who hide in the woodwork and offer their two cents but are not living for God.  This old prophet was a liar of the highest order.  He claimed he had a vision from the Lord.  People will lie at times to get you off the course God has you on, likely for their own desires or wants.  Sometimes, they are just proud and want to give you all the wisdom they have attained.  Regardless, you need to be able to discern good counsel from bad counsel in your Christian life.  If you don’t, you may be on your way to be eaten by a lion like this young prophet.