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.
When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God shouted against the altar in Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and ordered, 'Grab him!' But the hand he stretched out against the prophet immediately withered and became paralyzed, so he couldn't pull it back to himself.
When King Jeroboam tried to arrest God's prophet, God immediately paralyzed the king's outstretched hand as divine judgment for opposing His messenger.
📚 Historical Context
This event occurred around 930 BC when Jeroboam had set up unauthorized worship centers in Bethel and Dan to prevent his people from traveling to Jerusalem. A prophet from Judah had just pronounced God's judgment against Jeroboam's false altar, predicting it would be destroyed by a future king named Josiah.
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