"Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor by the word of the Lord, “Strike me, please.” And the man refused to strike him. Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, surely, as soon as you depart from me, a lion shall kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found him and killed him. And he found another man, and said, “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him, inflicting a wound. Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes." vv.35-38
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If a man asks you to strike him would you do it? This prophet speaking God's words told one man to strike him and he wouldn't so he's then mauled by a lion because he disobeyed God. This seems harsh but if we look closer at the details there's some justification. "The man to whom he made the request was probably one who like himself dwelt in one of the prophetic societies, and he ought therefore to have understood that there was some purpose in his companion’s request. Hence his sin in refusing to comply with it" (Cambridge Bible).Then the prophet goes to another man and says the same thing. This time the man does strike him. This strike wasn't to kill himself but just to wound so that he could call out king Ahab by him making the judgement on himself based on what he would say to the wounded (disguised) prophet. Such a neat way God calls people out sometimes in them making judgement on a situation similar to theirs and then opens their eyes to see their guilt and sin. How can you use God's Word (the Bible) to let God do the judging than using your own words and thoughts so that one may see their fault?
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