When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.It appears Elisha had a temper. At least, he was the touchy sort. Here it's only been a few days since Elijah was taken, and as he's walking along some local boys are insulting him. Apparently, Elisha was bald, and they were making fun of him for it. What we're taught today is to ignore such insults. But Elisha didn't get that message. Instead, he cursed the boys, and God sent bears to fulfill the curse.
Was this Elisha coming to grips with his newly-given power? Did he not know what the consequences of a curse would be? Or was this him fulfilling God's laws about disobedient youths, perhaps? These boys had apparently not been raised right, or had ignored their instruction. In the Law, God commands that such boys be stoned. If Israel has not been following the Law, this is a reminder that they are still beholden to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment