the message … will surely come to pass: The Lord's quick judgment convinced the old prophet that the prediction made by the man of God against Jeroboam's altar would happen. The prophecy was fulfilled years later during Josiah's reforms (2 Kings 23:15–18).
Samaria became the capital city of Israel during Omri's reign, the first king of Israel's third dynasty (1 Kings 16:24, 29–33). The name Samaria sometimes refers to the capital city and sometimes to the northern kingdom as a whole (2 Kings 17:24; Amos 6:1). Mentioning Samaria here shows the viewpoint of an author from a later time. Similar uses of location names elsewhere show editorial updates (compare Genesis 23:2 with Joshua 14:15; Judges 1:10).