Death and life after a series of three is always a messianic prophesy, as we see in 2nd Kings 13. Elisha doesn’t know it yet but he isn’t just speaking a prophesy, his death will be a part of the prophesy. The prophesy is the death and resurrection of the nation of Israel itself.
It had been 70 years since Israel had any exposure to the temple in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and to God. Eliyahu (Elijah) is starting from scratch with them. Eliyahu’s story is God’s message to Israel. It’s all tied together. Eliyahu’s interactions with Ahab and Yezebel (Jezebel) dominate the story but the purpose of these interactions were to teach the people of Israel about God.
We can see here how Israel has progressed in their knowledge of God and His law since Eliyahu started his ministry.
When we deviate from God’s path, it is our duty to bring our deviations back to God’s path, following God’s guidance in doing so. Ba’asha, king of northern Yisrael, was warned by a prophet the danger of his path but refused to address the issue and turn back to God’s path. There is a seven-fold pattern in the lives of Yeroboam (Jeroboam), Ba’asha and Solomon in being God’s instrument but going too far. David provides the correct pattern.
The chiastic structure in 1st Kings 13 points to the words spoken by the prophet to the pagan altar of northern Israel. That prophecy finds fulfillment in chapter 14 and 300 years later under king Yoshiyah (Josiah).
This chapter has some odd elements: a “man of God” who spoke condemnation to the false-worship altar of the now-separate northern kingdom of Israel, he got tripped up in his mission by another prophet, then his body is watched over by a donkey and a lion. Rather than oddities, these are messages from God about the coming exiles of Israel, the return from exile and the role of the Messiah.
Idols are actually as prevalent in modern times as they were back in the days of Rehoboam and Yeroboam (Jeroboam). Bowing down to a statue as a representation of a divine is not as common in our world, but what is common is spiritual idolatry — the core of physical idolatry.
As it says in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” The rebellion Yeroboam (Jeroboam) started that split ancient Israel in northern and southern parts is still with us today, because the “hearts” of people haven’t changed.