“Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.” II Kings 2:23-25 NKJV
a. Some youths came from the city and mocked him: The ancient Hebrew word translated youths here means young men in a very broad sense. This term applied to Joseph when he was 30 (Genesis 41:46), to Absalom as an adult (2 Samuel 14:21, 18:5), and to Solomon when he was 20 (1 Kings 3:7).
i. These youths were from Bethel, and their mocking presence shows the continuing opposition to a true prophet in Bethel, the chief center of pagan calf-worship.” (Wiseman)
b. Go up, you baldhead: This both mocked Elisha because of his apparent baldness, and because of his connection with the prophet Elijah. The idea behind the words, “Go up” was that Elisha should go up to heaven like Elijah did. It mocked Elisha, his mentor Elijah, and the God they served.
i. “Go up; go up into heaven, whither thou pretendest that Elijah is gone. Why didst not thou accompany thy friend and master into heaven? Oh that the same Spirit would take thee up also, that thou mightest not trouble us nor our Israel, as Elijah did!” (Poole)
ii. “The lack of hair was not a result of old age; since he lived about fifty years after this incident, he was at the time a relatively young man. Elisha’s baldness must have been in striking contrast to Elijah’s hairy appearance.” (Dilday)
c. So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD: Elisha knew these young men mocked his ministry, Elijah’s ministry, and the God they both faithfully served. Yet he left any correction up to God by pronouncing a curse on them in the name of the LORD.
d. Two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths: In response to the curse of Elisha, God sent two female bears and they mauled(literally, cut up) the young men.
i. “Bears are attested in the hill ranges until mediaeval times.” (Wiseman)
ii. “Since forty-two of the boys were struck by the bears, the group may have been quite large and therefore dangerously out of control. Elisha may have needed miraculous intervention to escape.” (Dilday)
iii. “Verse 24 does not say that the victims were killed. The Hebrew word translated ‘mauled’ might indicate less serious injuries. The ultimate outcome of the miracle was to break up the gang, frighten the offenders and the entire village.” (Dilday)
(Guzik)
Go Up, You Baldhead!
I’ve always loved these verses! I guess you have to have a bald head to appreciate them!
Is this the first ever recorded teen takeover? Nothing a couple female bears couldn’t handle, lol!
I’m reminded of a verse!
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:7 NKJV
Some have more than others and it’s good to know that the Lord has numbered the very hairs that I have left and that I am of more value than many sparrows!
If you see me walking by just don’t yell, go up, you baldhead! Because you never know, a couple female bears may suddenly appear?
Blessings!
No comments:
Post a Comment