By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. – 1 Kings 13:1

Today's Scripture Reading (February 9, 2026): 1 Kings 13

Bethel. It is one of the names that keep coming up within the Christian Community. We have blessed our churches, campgrounds, and ministries with the name. And all for good reason. The name Bethel has a long history. The etymology of the name is "House (Beth) of God (El)." In the Hebrew Bible, we are told that Abram pitched his tent near Bethel. Later, his Grandson Jacob would have a dream of a stairway to Heaven at Bethel as he ran from his brother, Esau.

However, the esteemed image of Bethel would tarnish. Originally part of the Tribe of Ephraim, Bethel became a crucial spiritual city in the Northern Kingdom of Israel after the Kingdom split into Israel in the North and Judah in the South. King Jeroboam would make a pair of golden calves for his people to worship, so that they wouldn't have to return to Jerusalem. The King declared that these calves were the gods of Israel who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt, echoing Aaron's message after he had created a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain of God. The Israelite King placed these calves in the northern city of Dan, located within the tribal lands of Naphtali, not in the territory of the tribe of Dan, and in Bethel in the South. Bethel, a city with a rich history with the patriarchs and the worship of the God of Israel, was now made into a spiritual place devoted to the worship of false gods. And it became a key city in leading a nation away from God.

Enter this unknown Judean man. The change had just been made. One would have thought that not everyone would agree with the tactics of Jeroboam to replace Israel's God, but apparently that was not true. No one from Israel could be found to oppose the King's plan, so God sends a man from Judea to oppose Jeroboam while the King stands by the altar, preparing to make a sacrifice.

We don't know who the man was, which might be as important as the message he brings. It is a story that is repeated throughout the biblical record. We know the name of Elijah, but when he first appeared before King Ahab, he was a nobody with an important message. And the fact that he wasn't known wouldn't stop him from speaking truth to power. Here, an unknown man is sent with a message to Jeroboam. And in our world, we shouldn't wait for celebrities or spiritual leaders to speak truth to power. Sometimes, it is even more powerful and necessary for us to speak the truth, for no other reason than that God has given us a message to share with those in a position to change our world.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 10