1 Kings 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.
The verse belongs to the history of Jeroboam's reign, when the apostasy he introduced became more marked toward the utter ruin of the kingdom of Israel. The man of God was torn and slain by a lion because he disobeyed the Lord's direct, express command not to return and eat in Bethel. His disobedience followed his trust in a prophet who falsely claimed that an angel had given contrary instructions.
His death by the lion fulfilled and happened according to the word of judgment the Lord had spoken to him. The lion's standing beside the body without harming the donkey made the event a sign of the judgment pronounced on the disobedient messenger. His death was a further proof that confirmed the truth of the prophecy spoken over the altar.
Together with the torn altar and the withered arm, the prophet's terrible death displayed the swift displeasure of an offended God. God did not let the disobedient prophet go on in safety, because Jeroboam would have used his escape to excuse his own disobedience. The death should have warned Jeroboam not to persist and keep doing wrong in disobedience.
The disobedient man is to be called a deceived prophet, yet disobedience does not by itself establish that someone is a false prophet. The passage shows as evidence that corrupt trust in falsehood carries a cost.