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.
There came a man of God out of Judah. Who this prophet was cannot be ascertained. He name by divine authority. It could not be either Iddo or Ahijah, because both were alive after the events here related.
Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. It was at one of the annual festivals. The king, to give interest to the new ritual, was himself the officiating priest. The altar and its accompaniments would of course exhibit all the splendour of a new and gorgeously decorated temple. But the prophet foretold its utter destruction.