1Ki 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.
1Ki 13:25    And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told [it] in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
1Ki 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.
1Ki 13:27    And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled [him].
1Ki 13:28    And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
1Ki 13:29    And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
1Ki 13:30    And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, [saying], Alas, my brother!
1Ki 13:31    And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God [is] buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
1Ki 13:32    For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which [are] in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

I actually am not all that surprised that it was a lion that got him because truthfully, he had already encountered the lion when he met up with the old prophet.

The problem as I see it, is that we so often get a victory, after fulfilling God’s word to us and walking it out by faith, and then get relaxed, and that is the exact moment that the deceiver is waiting for.

It’s almost as if a victory to us, signals a vacation. Our guard comes down, and we are so happy and relaxed after defeating our enemy, that we give him almost an open invitation to hit us with a surprise attack.

“However, by this God intended to warn all those whom he employs strictly to observe their orders, at their peril.” 

“The wonderful preservation of his dead body, which was a token of God’s mercy remembered in the midst of wrath. The lion that gently strangled him, or tore him, did not devour his dead body, nor so much as tear the ass, v. 24, 25, 26. Nay, what was more, he did not set upon the travelers that passed by and saw it, nor upon the old prophet (who had reason enough to fear it) when he came to take up the corpse. His commission was to kill the prophet; hitherto he should go, but no further. Thus God showed that, though he was angry with him, his anger was turned away, and the punishment went no further than death.” (commentary of Matthew Henry)

It took me a while to figure out what caused the old prophet to tell his sons to bury him with the man of God. The commentary mentioned evil wanting to associate itself with good. However, the thing that made the most sense was the prophesy of the man of God itself.