![]() ![]() Of course, most don’t quibble when they see a Sunday school picture of a little boy David flinging a rock at the big, bad giant, but that image of David is quite incorrect. The vital question of concern to most here is the age of these “little children.” We recoil in horror at the idea of bears mauling a gaggle of preschoolers. In this setting, as Elisha approached Bethel, no less than 42 “little children” came “ out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head go up, thou bald head” ( verse 23).Įlisha “ turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord.” Then “ there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them” ( verse 24). Their concerns about this not-quite-proven prophet are seen in their distrust of his account of Elijah’s trip to heaven ( 2 Kings 2:16–18). Elisha would need the same credibility that Elijah once had in order to lead them and the people of Israel, yet they were already somewhat doubtful of him. ![]() ![]() But there remained at Bethel a remnant of God-fearing people, represented by the “sons of the prophets” described in verse 3 of the same chapter. Jeroboam set up golden calves at Dan and Bethel ( 1 Kings 12:29) and ordained a program of counterfeit worship.Įight kings and several dynasties later, Bethel had undoubtedly become a prosperous city thriving on the commerce enjoyed by being a worship/tourist center. Israel’s first king, Jeroboam, had instituted idolatrous worship as a political maneuver to keep his citizens from visiting Jerusalem. Bethel was notable as one of the two centers for idolatrous worship in the Northern Kingdom. The odd incident recorded in verses 23–24 occurred near Bethel. Elisha’s job to call the people to return to the true God and worship Him alone, to put away idolatry and all the vile practices associated with it. He needed credibility with the king, with his fellow prophets, and with the people. This idolatry caused much suffering in this world and the next, idolatry that would eventually cause God’s judgment to fall on the whole nation at the hands of the vicious Assyrians.Įlisha’s job-to call the people to return to the true God and worship Him alone, to put away idolatry and all the vile practices associated with it-was important for the spiritual and physical well-being of the thousands of individuals in the nation and for the nation as a whole. God had taken Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind right before Elisha’s eyes and promised to give him a double portion of Elijah’s “spirit.” This spiritual power that Elisha sought was important, for Israel was rife with idolatry. ![]() In 2 Kings 2:23–24, the prophet Elisha, God’s new messenger to the corrupt nation of Israel (the Northern Kingdom), had just returned from bidding Elijah, his predecessor, farewell. In so doing, careful attention to the whole of Scripture and to the context should keep us from either expunging the parts we don’t personally like or falsely accusing God of characteristics He doesn’t have. We should, however, examine Scripture in context and compare Scripture with Scripture to answer these hard questions. Of course, we cannot see into the hearts of people or see the future as God sees it, so we generally need to avoid dogmatic pronouncements about the hard whys of an individual’s life (as the disciples did in John 9 when they saw a man born blind). That seems a bit harsh to me, and after just reading your response to the feedback question on stoning rebellious and disrespectful sons, I thought you might be able to tackle this one.īoth non-Christians and Christians struggle with difficult passages in Scripture, just as they do with difficult situations in life, often asking, “Why would God allow/cause/do that?” It just doesn’t get the job done to say, “We’re sure He had a good reason,” nor does such a glib answer fulfill the command God gives us inġ Peter 3:15 to be always ready to give an answer. I’ve sought answers to that one for a long time, and never could find a satisfactory response. Many years ago, I had an atheist question me on the passage in 2 Kings 2:23–24 where some little kids taunt Elisha, and he curses them and two bears come out of the woods and eat them all. ![]()
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