My wonderful wife, who is teaching about Elisha to fifth graders tonight, reminded me that the disrespectful, 42 boys who showed such contempt for one who was obviously a prophet (he would be distinct by his clothing, if not by his reputation) were local boys from Bethel.  What is significant about this is that Jeroboam had made Bethel a bastion of backsliding when he led Israel in dividing the kingdom (1 Kings 12:25-13:34).  That is where the wrong priests offered wrong worship at the wrong place and time.  That was the heritage for these boys, who had no respect for a true prophet who they teased, if not bullied, about his bald head.

Where did they learn such disrespect for one who represented healthy, right teaching?  Surely they were influenced both in the home and the culture that had developed (or devolved) around them.  What a lesson for us today.  If we want our children to love the church, to respect elders, preachers, deacons, and other church workers, if we want them to properly prioritize spiritual things, if we want them to avoid worldly words and actions, we had better provide such in the home.  These boys were no doubt emboldened by a pack mentality that validated what was truly invalid, but good “home training” would have helped them avoid such cultural compatriots and such temptation.  Certainly the divine sentiment of training children in the proper way includes bending and molding them, in line with their characteristics and personality, to respect what is godly and right (cf. Prov. 22:6).  Such training will help them avoid trouble in this life, but it will most especially save them from the biggest punishment of all at the end of the way.

–Neal Pollard