1 Kings 13:25

1 Kings 13:25 says, 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.  Some people came along and saw the carcass of the prophet with the lion standing by it and went and told people in the city where the old prophet lived. We are not told that they had attempted to retrieve the body of the prophet, but only that they brought news of what they had seen.  Some people are better at talking about things than they are at taking action.  Verse twenty-six adds, 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 old prophet who had lied and led the other prophet to disobey God did not take responsibility for what had happened but said that it was the prophet who had disobeyed God who was destroyed by the lion in punishment for his sin.  Those who lead us away from God's will by lies are never going to be quick to take responsibility if God punishes us.  Of course, ultimately the responsibility for our sins is ours personally.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.  The old prophet did begin to take some responsibility, telling his sons to saddle an ass for him, but it was too late to help the prophet who had been killed.  We may ultimately take responsibility for leading others astray, but it is often too late to undo the consequences of our sins.  Verse twenty-eight states, 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.  The old prophet found the body of the other prophet and the ass standing by it unharmed.  The lion had neither eaten the body nor torn the ass.  The ass was not being punished, and what happened to the body of the prophet after he was dead had nothing to do with God's punishment of him.  Punishment for our sins will never ultimately focus on our earthly body but on our soul and what happens in God's everlasting kingdom.  Verse twenty-nine adds, 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.  The old prophet brought the body of the other prophet back to the city to mourn and bury him.  We are not told if he did this because his lie had influenced the other prophet to disobey God or not, but we may mourn our actions if we lead others to sin, but that is going to do nothing to change the situation.  Verse thirty continues, And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!  The old prophet buried the other prophet in his own grave saying. Alas my brother.  I don't know if this was more because of what had happened to the other prophet or out of regret for his lie or both.  We may be sorry if our lies lead others to harm, but it may be too late to do them any good.  Verse thirty-one says, 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:  The old prophet instructed his sons to bury him with the man of God, or other prophet, when he died.  He recognized that the other man had indeed been a man of God, and I believe that he was also acknowledging that he had not acted like a man of God in the situation.  Our actions after someone we have led astray has died are never really going to matter, nor is it going to matter if we try to honor them when we die.  Verse thirty-two adds, 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.  The old prophet said that all that the prophet had declared against the altar at Bethel and the high places would come to pass.  Of course, this was because the judgment was not the other prophet's but was God's.  Even if we aren't always faithful to God, His promises will always come to pass.  Verse thirty-three continues, After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.  The prophesy of the prophet had no effect on Jeroboam except to make him even worse in his sinful actions and idolatry.   Some people are not going to accept God's truth no matter how clear it may become to them because they do not want to take themself off the throne of their live here in this world.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.  Jeroboam's sinful actions would lead to his house being cut-off from God's kingdom forever.  Though our actions cannot cause anyone else to be denied salvation and everlasting life with God, if we reject Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, this will cause us to be cut off from His kingdom forever.