1Kings 13:1 ¶ And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
1Kings 13:2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
1Kings 13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
This chapter relates another one of those odd stories in scripture, but it does reveal some important spiritual truths. I will give my understanding of the facts, then make closing comments.
A man of God, a prophet from Judah, went to Bethel to deliver a message from the LORD. We know that there were no true prophets of God in Israel since we learned in the previous chapter that all those that wanted to be obedient to the LORD migrated to Judah.
When the prophet arrived in Bethel, Jeroboam was burning incense at the altar he had built there. The prophet addressed the following message to the altar, not to Jeroboam: A child will be born to the house of David that will be named Josiah. He will one day sacrifice on this very altar the bones of the priests that presided over pagan high places and then came here to burn incense. It would one day be the place upon which human bones would burn.
This prophecy clearly declared that the LORD did not approve of the idolatrous changes that Jeroboam had enacted in Israel that disregarded His commands regarding sacrifices and offerings.
The prophet then declared a sign that would signify the truth of what he had prophesied. The sign: The altar would be broken and the ashes on it spilled on the ground.
JFB provides this insight: “This is one of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Scriptures; and, in its clearness, circumstantial minuteness, and exact prediction of an event that took place three hundred sixty years later, it stands in striking contrast to the obscure and ambiguous oracles of the heathen. Being publicly uttered, it must have been well known to the people; and every Jew who lived at the accomplishment of the event must have been convinced of the truth of a religion connected with such a prophecy as this.”
The fulfillment of this prophecy is recorded in 2Kings.
2 Kings 23:15–16 “Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.”
1Kings 13:4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
1Kings 13:5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
When Jeroboam heard the prophecy that the man of God made to the altar, he pulled his hand away from the altar and ordered his men to take hold of the prophet. He evidently stretched out that hand and pointed toward the prophet as he gave the order. When he tried to pull his hand back, it had withered or dried up, and he could not pull it back in. The altar broke, and its ashes spilled on the ground, fulfilling the sign declared by the prophet.
1Kings 13:6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
1Kings 13:7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
1Kings 13:8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
1Kings 13:9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
1Kings 13:10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
The king then told the man of God to ask the LORD “thy” God to heal his hand. Notice that he did not reference the LORD as “his” God. The prophet did not hesitate; he prayed and the king’s hand was restored. Jeroboam then invited the prophet to go home with him to refresh himself and accept a reward for healing him.
The prophet refused the invitation. He declared that he would not go home with the king even if he offered to give him half of what he possessed. He would not even eat bread or drink water in that place because the LORD had told him not to. He was not even to go home by the same way in which he had come. The prophet then headed out in a different direction as he left Bethel.
1Kings 13:11 ¶ Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
1Kings 13:12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
1Kings 13:13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
1Kings 13:14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
1Kings 13:15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
1Kings 13:16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
1Kings 13:17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
Enter on the scene an old prophet that lived in Bethel. His sons came and told him all about what the man of God had said and done in Bethel that day. After hearing their report, the father asked his sons if they had seen in what direction the prophet had departed; they had. The father directed his sons to saddle the ass for him, and he headed out to try and intercept the departing prophet. He caught up with the prophet as he rested under an oak tree and soon confirmed that it was the man of God he sought.
The old prophet then invited the man to go home with him for dinner. As he had told Jeroboam, the prophet said that he could not because the LORD had commanded him not to eat bread or even drink water while in Bethel. He was not even to return home by the same way he had come.
1Kings 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.
1Kings 13:19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
1Kings 13:20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
1Kings 13:21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
1Kings 13:22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
The old prophet then revealed to the man of God that he, too, was a prophet. He declared that an angel had brought him a message from the LORD telling him to bring the man of God home with him to eat and drink. BUT—he lied.
This was all it took for the man of God to disobey God’s command to him. As they sat at the table, the old prophet began to deliver his own message from the LORD. He told the man of God that since he had disobeyed God’s command, he would die before getting back home.
1Kings 13:23 ¶ And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
1Kings 13:24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
1Kings 13:25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
1Kings 13:26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
After finishing his meal, the old prophet saddled the ass for the man of God he had deceived. The young prophet was attacked by a lion and killed, and his body was left lying in the road. Both the lion and the ass remained by the dead body.
Other men passed by the dead prophet and the animals standing beside him, but the lion did not threaten them. When they got to Bethel, they quickly spread the news of what they had seen.
When the old prophet heard the news, he knew that the dead man was the man of God that had disobeyed the LORD’s command. He knew that the man’s death was God’s judgment against the disobedient prophet in fulfillment of his own message from the LORD.
1Kings 13:27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
1Kings 13:28 And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
1Kings 13:29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
1Kings 13:30 And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
Once again the old prophet told his sons to saddle the ass for him. He went and found the body of the dead prophet with the lion and ass both still standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the carcass or attacked the ass—obviously acting contrary to natural instinct.
The prophet took the body of the dead prophet and brought it back to the city where he mourned and buried it. He buried the body in his own grave and appeared to experience sincere grief over the death of the younger prophet.
1Kings 13:31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
1Kings 13:32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
After burying the disobedient prophet’s body, the old prophet instructed his sons that when the time came, they were to bury him in the same grave with the dead prophet, hoping to spare his bones being burned on the altar as foretold by the man of God. He then affirmed that the prophecy declared by the prophet at the altar in Bethel would certainly be fulfilled.
1Kings 13:33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
1Kings 13:34 And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
These events in no way caused Jeroboam to repent of his evil ways. He continued to appoint priests of his own choosing and even served as a priest himself. His sin of disobedience eventually resulted in the destruction of the house of Jeroboam; no descendants would be left.
So what can we learn from this sad story?
God’s word is truth; His word never fails. Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
God is omniscient; He can foretell the future. Isaiah 46:9–10 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
God is a worker of miracles. Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” —— Matthew 19:26 “…with God all things are possible.”
God answers the prayers of the righteous. John 15:7 “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” —— 1Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers….”
One should never disregard the commands of God at the word of another person—even if he/she identifies as one speaking for God and appears to be trustworthy.
The word of an angel is not to be trusted over the word of God. Galatians 1:8–9 “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” —— Acts 5:29 “We ought to obey God rather than men.” —— Matthew 4:10 “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
God exercises authority over His creation—even to the point of causing animals to act contrary to natural instinct. Psalms 135:6 “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” —— Deuteronomy 10:14 “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.”
The LORD does not want His people to enjoy intimate fellowship with those who knowingly and purposely reject Him and His word. 2 Corinthians 6:14–17 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate….”
The most confusing part of this story to me is why the old prophet determined to get the younger prophet to disobey God’s command. He seemed to be genuinely sorry that the man was dead. It’s possible that his actions were allowed as a time of testing for the younger prophet. The younger prophet failed the test, but the whole story provides multiple affirmations to the truth of God’s word.
1Kings 14:1 ¶ At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
1Kings 14:2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
1Kings 14:3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
There came a time when Jeroboam’s son, Abijah, got sick. Jeroboam decided to send his wife in disguise to the prophet Ahijah (the one that had told him he would be king) in Shiloh to find out what would happen to his son. She was to take a gift of ten loaves, some cracknels (cakes or biscuits) and a cruse of honey.
JFB made an interesting observation: “The reason of this extreme caution was an unwillingness to acknowledge that he looked for information as to the future, not to his idols, but to the true God; and a fear that this step, if publicly known, might endanger the stability of his whole political system; and a strong impression that Ahijah, who was greatly offended with him, would, if consulted openly by his queen, either insult or refuse to receive her. For these reasons he selected his wife, as, in every view, the most proper for such a secret and confidential errand, but recommended her to assume the garb and manner of a peasant woman. Strange infatuation, to suppose that the God who could reveal futurity could not penetrate a flimsy disguise!”
1Kings 14:4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
1Kings 14:5 And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
1Kings 14:6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavytidings.
Jeroboam’s wife did as her husband asked. Before she arrived, however, the LORD spoke to Ahijah, who suffered from the blindness of old age. The LORD told Ahijah that Jeroboam’s wife was coming in disguise to consult him on behalf of her sick son.
When Ahijah heard her approaching his door, he called out to her. He identified her as the wife of Jeroboam and asked why she would pretend to be someone else. He then informed her that he had bad news.
1Kings 14:7 ¶ Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,
1Kings 14:8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
1Kings 14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
1Kings 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
1Kings 14:11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.
The prophet gave the following message for the woman to deliver to her husband (my paraphrase).
I, the LORD God of Israel, took away most of the kingdom of Israel from the house of David and made you their king. In spite of that, you have not served me in the same way that David my servant did. He followed me with a desire to obey my commandments and do what was right in My eyes. You have done great evil, more than all (kings of Israel) who have gone before you. You have made other gods and idols to provoke Me to anger and turned your back on Me. Because of your actions, I will bring evil upon your house and destroy all your sons. I will rid Israel of your family just as completely as a man burning up dung until it is gone. Any of your descendants that die in the city will have their bodies eaten by dogs; those that die in the countryside will be eaten by vultures. Gross!
1Kings 14:12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
1Kings 14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
The prophet then told Jeroboam’s wife that her son would die when she arrived in the city. There was a word of consolation for the mother. All Israel would mourn the death of her son, and he would receive a proper burial because the LORD God of Israel saw some good in his heart toward God.
1Kings 14:14 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
1Kings 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
1Kings 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
Ahijah’s concluded his message from the LORD by declaring that the LORD would raise up a king over Israel who would destroy the house of Jeroboam. The LORD will strike Israel with violence like a reed that is shaken in the water. He will take Israel out of the land that He gave their fathers and scatter them beyond “the river,” a reference to the Euphrates. Why? Because they had turned away from Him to worship false gods and idols. This will happen because of the sins of Jeroboam, the king who led his people into idolatry.
Though Israel would not be carried off into captivity until some 300 years later, the fulfillment of the prophecy of the death of Jeroboam’s son served as a sign that the prophecy of Israel being taken out of the land would just as surely come to pass.
1Kings 14:17 And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
1Kings 14:18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
Jeroboam’s wife then left the prophet and returned to Tirzah, one of the royal residences that was located seven miles northeast of Shechem. When she came to the threshold of her home, her son died. They buried him as Israel mourned for him, just as the LORD had declared through the prophet Ahijah, His servant.
1Kings 14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
1Kings 14:20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
This ends the biblical record of the life of Jeroboam. He died after reigning 22 years over Israel—and oh the wicked things he accomplished in that time. His son Nadab succeeded him to the throne.
I can’t help but make a modern day comparison. Sadly, our president of the last 7.5 years will leave the same kind of legacy on his own country in an even shorter amount of time. He has led the way in changing the laws of our land to completely reject the LORD God and the truth of His word. He has led the way in establishing as right that which the LORD declares wrong. He has fast-tracked the process of demonizing Christians and promoting the support of false religions. AND…he has done all this while claiming to be a Christian. Though it seems as though he is doing all this with impunity, be assured that he will one day have to stand before the LORD God and answer for his actions—he and all those that joined him in promoting his wicked agenda.
We learn from the next chapter that Abijah (or Abijam), the son of Rehoboam, reigned as king in Judah during the last years of Jeroboam’s reign. Their armies eventually met in battle. Though Jeroboam’s forces seemed to have the advantage, Abijah led his troops in the name of the LORD God. As the troops of Jeroboam closed in for the kill, the priests of Judah sounded the trumpets and the men of Judah shouted. The LORD God intervened and delivered them with a great victory. Jeroboam never recovered from this defeat. We are told, “the LORD struck him, and he died.” Jeroboam did not die from the stroke of a man, but from a stroke of God.
1Kings 14:21 ¶ And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
1Kings 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
1Kings 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
1Kings 14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
The historian now summarizes the rest of Rehoboam’s reign in Judah. Rehoboam succeeded to the throne when he was 41 years old after the death of his father Solomon. He reigned for 17 years in Jerusalem, they city that the LORD chose to associate with His name. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.
We know that during the first three years of his reign, the people remained faithful to the LORD.
2 Chronicles 11:14–17 “For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem….And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.”
After that, things quickly changed (much in the same way that things are occurring in America today). The people of Judah began doing evil in the sight of the LORD, making him angry by committing even worse sins than their fathers before them. As in the northern kingdom, they built high places and idols all over the place to worship false gods.
Specifically noted is that there were “sodomites” in the land. Sodomites were male prostitutes that served in the worship of false gods. Gill provides the following note: “Such as were addicted to unnatural lusts between men and men, which the men of Sodom were guilty of, from whence they had their name….”
The wickedness of the people mimicked that of the nations that the LORD had cast out of Canaan to give the land to the children of Israel.
1Kings 14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
1Kings 14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
1Kings 14:27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house.
1Kings 14:28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak, the king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house. He took away everything, including the shields of gold that Solomon had made.
Rehoboam replaced the shields of gold with shields of brass and gave them into the care of the chief of the guard that protected the king’s house. Any time the king went to the temple, the guards would use the brass shields and then return them to the guard chamber.
1Kings 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
1Kings 14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
1Kings 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
This concludes the historian’s record of Rehoboam. It is noted that there was continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days. Rehoboam was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Abijam (or Abijah) his son became king.
The Chronicler makes a very important point in his summary of the life of Rehoboam.
2 Chronicles 12:14 “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.”
Rehoboam did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD. Man doesn’t just naturally choose to follow the LORD. Scripture records that the heart of man is naturally deceitful and wicked.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
It is a warning to each and every one of us. If we do not prepare our hearts to seek the LORD, we will turn to wickedness just as surely as did Rehoboam. The Hebrew for “prepare” states: “to set up, in a great variety of applications, whether literal (establish, fix, prepare, apply)…confirm, direct, faithfulness…be fixed….” In other words, it involves making a personal choice to establish or fix one’s heart to follow the LORD in faithfulness.