The following devotion I did this morning was eye-opening for moms and students alike. I had no idea that this mini account was in the Bible. Elisha had a bold response to him being teased by boys. God takes seriously our mean-spirited teasing. It also has a side lesson on the power of our tongue, which Elisha uses powerfully.
Bible Stories from Kids of Integrity is the website where this is found, then click "Making Fun of Others"
23 Then
Elisha went up from Jericho to [a]Bethel.
On the way, young boys came out of the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go
up, you [b]baldhead!
Go up, you baldhead!” 24 When he turned around and looked at them, he
cursed them in the name of the Lord.
Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore to pieces forty-two of the
boys. 25 Elisha
went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
Footnotes:
- 2 Kings 2:23 Many
people in Bethel participated in pagan worship and regarded the prophets
of God with contempt.
- 2 Kings 2:23 This
refers to a bald space on the back of the head, which was probably shaved
by prophets as a symbol of their sacred separation from ordinary life. So
it appears that the boys were not only ridiculing Elisha’s baldness, but
his prophetic office as well.
Read 2 Kings 2:23-25.
Questions
for discussion
1.
How did the youths make fun of Elisha?
2.
What happened to them?
3.
Who are you tempted to tease?
4.
Do you think God likes it when we tease others?
Key
concepts
The young people made fun of
Elisha’s bald head and made fun of where he was going by saying, “Go on up, you
bald head.” Obviously, God was not pleased with them as He sent two bears out
of the woods to kill those who made fun of Elisha. God is not pleased when we
tease or pick on others.
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