This is what the young men said to Elisha as he traveled from Jericho to Bethel. Their insolence was directed at this prophet of God for the purpose of mocking him. For their lack of respect, they paid a high price.
Elijah and Elisha had traveled together for some time. God had determined that the time had come for Elijah to leave this earth, and the preparation for this event began.
The two men traveled first to Bethel, and there the sons of the prophets asked Elisha if he knew that God was going to take away his master. Elisha told them he didn’t want to talk about it.
God sent Elijah on to Jericho, and there the sons of the prophets asked Elisha the same question. Once again Elisha told them he didn’t want to talk about it.
God then sent Elijah to the Jordan River. When they arrived, there were 50 sons of prophets that stood to watch as Elijah struck the Jordan River with his mantle and parted the waters for him and Elisha to cross.
Once across, the two men stood together; and God allowed Elisha to watch as a chariot and horses of fire carried Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha was left with Elijah’s mantle and the story of Elijah’s departure.
The sons of the prophets had trouble believing this story. In fact, they searched three days for Elijah’s body; but his body was not found. This story was difficult to believe.
Elisha returned to Jericho where he performed a miracle and purified the water of the city with a vessel of salt (II Kings 2:19-22). This should have been proof that God was with Elisha and that Elisha now possessed the same miraculous abilities that Elijah had possessed.
After his stay in Jericho, Elisha began a trip back to Bethel. As he was walking along, a group of young men began to taunt him. They said, “Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head” (II Kings 2:23 KJV). It seems that these young men challenged the story Elisha was telling about Elijah. It was hard for them to believe that the God of heaven had taken a man in such a miraculous fashion since many of them probably worshiped idols.
As they mocked Elisha, two she bears came out of the woods. II Kings 2:24 says the bears “tore forty-two of the boys.” They were punished for mocking God and showing disrespect to God’s messenger.
God does not punish people today for mocking Him. They are not attacked by bears or struck dead for touching something holy, as was Uzzah in II Samuel 6. The blood of the dead is not licked up by dogs because of a man’s sin, as was the case with King Ahab in I King 22. No one is going to be swallowed by a giant fish and live to tell about it as Jonah was.
We do read about Christians today being tortured and murdered because they believe in a higher being. We are having our religious freedoms taken from us because we want to pray, read the Bible, sing religious songs, or show our honor and respect to God in some other way.
Men and women still deny the existence of a creator and a universe formed by the one true God. Many choose to worship a statue or a man who claims to be worthy of worship. In the end of time, everyone will know the God of heaven. Everyone will confess His name. Paul told the Romans, “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10-12).
Accountability is in our future. Just as surely as the 42 young men were punished for their disbelief, so will those of us who show disbelief and lack of respect to our Heavenly Father. Disrespect may be in the form of mocking Christians, challenging the authority of the Bible, or outright disobedience to God’s commandments.
Let us not take man’s direction for our salvation, but let us be like the Bereans in Acts 17. “They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (verse 11).
Sandra Oliver