Why wasn’t the liar punished in 1 Kings 13

Just read 1 Kings 13 and the story made me angry.

[To Summarize: a prophet (#1) from Judah gave a prophesy to King Jeroboam in Bethel. Apparently, God told him not to eat or drink there, so after prophesying he declined the king’s invitation to eat and left.

On the way back, he runs into another prophet (#2) who invites him to dine. He declines, but then prophet #2 lies and said an Angel told him prophet #1 must do this.

After the meal, prophet #2 says prophet #1 will be punished for having disobeyed God.

On his way back, prophet #1 is devoured by a lion.

My question: Prophet #1 obeyed God twice. But the third instance where he failed, he only failed because he was tricked! Yet, he is punished and not the Liar. This seems unjust. Is it?

Posted Jul 4, 2026, 6:37 PM UTC

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