1 Kings 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. 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.
This account belongs to one of the messages God sent to backslidden Israel during Jeroboam's apostasy to lead them back to allegiance to Him and to give them opportunity to check the tide of apostasy and return. The man of God from Judah had violated God's direct and express command. His violation was turning back to eat and drink at Bethel on his journey home, after following false orders from a false prophet's lie.
After he ate and drank, a lion met him by the way on the road and killed him, and his body was cast in the way while the donkey and the lion stood beside the carcass. Though his death followed a false prophet's lie, he himself was responsible for abandoning the command he had received from God, showing that trusting a claimed prophetic message over God's clear instruction brings grave consequences. His death was a divine judgment that literally fulfilled the prophecy of doom and the threatened judgment against him, confirming that he had disobeyed the Lord's word and providing clear evidence that God's word and the prophecy over the altar were true.
This fearful result was a third evidence to Jeroboam that God's words were true, following the rent altar and the king's palsied arm. His fate was a warning to Jeroboam of God's swift displeasure with disobedience and should have led Jeroboam to turn from evil and serve the Lord. Had the messenger returned safely, escaped unharmed, or gone safely on after disobeying, Jeroboam could have used that to support and defend his own disobedience.