Works of Arthur Pink: Pink, Arthur - Gleanings From Elisha: 06-Third Miracle - Two Avenging Bears

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Works of Arthur Pink: Pink, Arthur - Gleanings From Elisha: 06-Third Miracle - Two Avenging Bears



TOPIC: Pink, Arthur - Gleanings From Elisha (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 06-Third Miracle - Two Avenging Bears

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THIRD MIRACLE-TWO AVENGING BEARS



Chapter 6





"And He Went Up From Thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the

way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him,

and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he

turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD.

And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and

two children of them" (2Ki_2:23-24).



First, the Connection of the Miracle



In seeking to give an exposition of this miracle let us observe its

connection. It will be noted that our passage opens with the word "And."

Since there is nothing meaningless in Scripture, it should be duly

pondered. It evidently suggests that we should observe the relation

between what we find here and that which immediately precedes. The

context records the wonders which God wrought through Elisha at the

Jordan and at Jericho. Thus the truth which is here pointed to by the

conjunction is plain: when the servant has been used by his Master he

must expect to encounter the opposition of the enemy.



There is an important if unpalatable truth illustrated here, one which

the minister of Christ does well to take to heart if he would be in some

measure prepared for and fortified against bitter disappointment. After a

period of blessing and success, he must expect sore trials. After he has

witnessed the power of God attending his efforts he may count upon

experiencing something of the rage and power of Satan; for nothing

infuriates the devil so much as beholding his victims delivered from

spiritual death and set free. Elisha has been favored both at the Jordan

and at Jericho, but here at Bethel he hears the hiss of the serpent and

the roaring of the lion against him. Yes, the minister of the gospel is

fully aware of this principle and even often reminds his hearers of it.

He knows it was the case with his Master; for after the Spirit of God had

descended upon Him and the Father had testified to His pleasure in Him,

He was at once led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Yet

how quickly is this forgotten when he himself is called to pass through

this contrasting experience.



It is one thing to know this truth theoretically, and it is quite another

to have a personal acquaintance with it. The servant of Christ is

informed that the smile of heaven upon his labors will arouse the enmity

of his great adversary, yet how often is he taken quite unaware when the

storm of opposition bursts upon him! It ought not to be so, but so often

it is. "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try

you" (1Pe_4:12). Various indeed are the ups and downs which are

encountered by those who labor in the Christian vineyard. What a striking

contrast is here presented to our view! At Jericho Elisha is received

with respect, the young prophets render obeisance to him, and the men of

the city seek his help. Here at Bethel he is contemptuously ridiculed by

the children. At Jericho, the city of the curse, he is an instrument of

blessing; at Bethel, which signifies "the house of God" and where

blessing might therefore be expected, he solemnly pronounces a curse upon

those who mock him.



Second, the Occasion of the Miracle



The insulting of God's servant occasioned this miracle. As Elisha was

approaching Bethel, "there came forth little children out of the city and

mocked him." Upon reading this incident it is probable that some will be

inclined to say that it seems that children then were much like what they

are now-wild, rude, lawless, totally lacking in respect for their

seniors. From this analogy the conclusion will be drawn: therefore we

should not be surprised nor unduly shocked at the present-day delinquency

of some of our youth. But such a conclusion is entirely unwarranted. It

is true there is "nothing new under the sun" and that fallen human nature

has been the same in every age. But it is not true that the tide of evil

has always flowed uniformly and that each generation has witnessed more

or less the same appalling conduct which now stigmatizes the young in

every part of the world. No, very far from it.



When there was an ungrieved Spirit in the churches, the restraining hand

of God was held upon the baser passions of mankind. That restraint

operated largely through parental control-moral training in the home,

wholesome instruction and discipline in the school, and adequate

punishment of young offenders by the state. But when the Spirit of God is

"grieved" and "quenched" by the churches, the restraining hand of the

Lord is removed, and there is a fearful moral aftermath in all sections

of the community. When the divine law is thrown out by the pulpit, there

inevitably follows a breakdown of law and order in the social realm,

which is what we are now witnessing all over the so-called civilized

world. That was the case to a considerable extent twenty-five years ago;

and as the further an object rolls down hill the swifter becomes its

momentum, so the moral deterioration of our generation has proceeded

apace. As the majority of parents were godless and lawless, it is not to

be wondered at that we now behold such reprehensible conduct in their

offspring.



Older readers can recall the time when juveniles who were guilty of

theft, wanton destruction of property, and cruelty to animals were

sternly rebuked and punished for their wrong doing. But a few years later

such conduct began to be condoned, and "boys will be boys" was used to

gloss over a multitude of sins. So, far from being shocked, many parents

were pleased and regarded their erring offspring as smart, precocious,

and cute. Educational authorities and psychologists insisted that

children must not be suppressed and repressed but "directed." These

professionals prated about the evils inflicted on the child's character

by "inhibitions," and corporal punishment was banished from the schools.

Today the parent who acts according to Pro_13:24, 19:18, 22:15, and

23:14 will not only be called a brute by his neighbors, but is likely to

be summoned before the courts for cruelty; and instead of supporting him

the magistrate will probably censure him. The present permissive

treatment of children is not normal but abnormal. What is recorded in our

passage occurred in the days of Israel's degeneracy! Child delinquency is

one of the plain marks of a time of apostasy. It was so then; it is so

now.



Third, the Location of the Miracle



As with the former miracles, the place where this one happened also

throws much light upon that which occasioned it. Originally Bethel was

called "the house of God" (Gen_28:16-19), but now it had become a

habitation of the devil, one of the principal seats of Israel's idolatry.

It was here that Jeroboam had set up one of the calves. Afraid that he

might not be able to retain his hold upon those who had revolted from

Rehoboam, especially if they should go up to Jerusalem and offer

sacrifices in the temple, he "made two calves of gold, and said unto

them. It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O

Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the

one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan . . . And he made an house of

high places and made priests of the lowest of the people which were not

of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast for the eighth month,

on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah,

and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the

calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high

places which he had made" (1Ki_12:28-29, 31-33).



Thus it will be seen that, far from Bethel being a place which basked in

the sunshine of Jehovah's favor, it was one upon which His frown now

rested. Its inhabitants were no ordinary people, but high rebels against

the Lord, openly defying Him to His face, guilty of the most fearful

abominations. This it was which constituted the dark background of the

scene that is here before us. This accounts for the severity of the

judgment which fell upon the youngest of its inhabitants; this explains

why these children conducted themselves as they did. What occurred here

was far more than the silly prank of innocent children; it was the

manifestation of an inveterate hatred of the true God and His faithful

servant. Israel's worship of Baal was far more heinous than the idolatry

of the Canaanites, for it had the additional and awful guilt of apostasy.

And apostates are always the fiercest persecutors of those who cleave to

the truth, for the very fidelity of the latter is a witness against and a

condemnation of those who have forsaken it.



Fourth, the Awfulness of the Miracle



The fearful doom which overtook those children must be considered in the

light of the enormity of their offense. Our degenerate generation has

witnessed so much condoning of the greatest enormities that it may find

it difficult to perceive how this punishment fitted the crime. The

character of God has been so misrepresented by the pulpit, His claims so

little pressed, the position occupied by His servants so imperfectly

apprehended, that there must be a returning to the solemn teaching of

Holy Writ if this incident is to be viewed in its proper perspective. God

had said, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm" (Ps.

105:15). They are His messengers, His accredited representatives, His

appointed ambassadors, and an insult done to them is regarded by God as

an insult against Himself. Said Christ to His ministers, "He that

receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that

sent me" (Mat_10:40); conversely, he that despises and rejects the

one sent forth by Christ, despises and rejects Him. How little is this

realized today! The curse of God now rests on many a place where His

ministers were mocked.



"And we went up from thence unto Bethel; and as he was going up by the

way, there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him, and

said unto him, Go up, thou bald head." After the vain search which had

been made for Elijah (2Ki_2:17), it is likely that some inkling of

his supernatural rapture was conveyed to the prophets at Jericho, and

from them to their brethren at Bethel (2Ki_2:3). Hence we may

conclude that his remarkable translation had been noised abroad-received

with skepticism and ridicule by the inhabitants of Bethel. In their

unbelief they would mock at it. Today apostate leaders of Christendom do

not believe that the Lord Jesus actually rose again from the dead and

that He ascended to heaven in a real physical body, and they make fun of

the Christian's hope of his Lord's return and of being caught up to meet

Him in the air (1Th_4:16-17). Thus in saying, "Go up, thou bald

head," the children were, in all probability, scoffing at the tidings of

Elijah's translation-scoffs put into their mouths by their elders.



Thomas Scott says,



They had heard that Elijah was "gone up to heaven" and they insultingly

bade Elisha follow him, that they might be rid of him also, and they

reviled him for the baldness of his head. Thus they united the crimes of

abusing him for a supposed bodily infirmity, contemptuous behavior

towards a venerable person, and enmity against him as the prophet of God.

The sin therefore of these children was very heinous: yet the greater

guilt was chargeable on their parents, and their fate was a severe rebuke

and awful warning to them.



How true it is that "the curse causeless shall not come" (Pro_26:2).

"And he turned back and looked on them," which indicates he acted calmly,

and not on the spur of the moment. "And he cursed them in the name of the

LORD," not out of personal spite, but to vindicate his insulted Master.

Had Elisha sinned in cursing these children, divine providence would have

prevented it. This was a fair warning from God of the awful judgment

about to come upon Israel for their sins.



Fifth, the Ethics of the Miracle



The passage before us is one which infidels have been quick to seize

upon, and lamentable indeed have been many of the answers returned to

them. But the Word has survived every opposition of its enemies and all

the puerile apologies of its weak-kneed friends. Nor are the Scriptures

in any danger whatever in this skeptical and blatant age. Being the Word

of God, they contain nothing which His servants have any need to be

ashamed of, nothing which requires any explaining away. It is not our

province to sit in judgment upon Holy Writ: our part is to tremble before

it (Isa_66:2) knowing that one day we shall be judged by it (John

12:48). As Jehovah was able to look after the sacred ark without the help

of any of His creatures (2Sa_6:6-7), so His truth is in need of no

carnal assistance from us. It is to be received without question and

believed in with all our hearts. It is to be preached and proclaimed in

its entirety without hesitation or reservation.



Certain so-called Christian apologists have replied to the taunts of

infidels by a process of what is termed "toning down" the passage,

arguing that it was not little children but young men who were cursed by

the prophet and torn to pieces by the bears: but such an effeminate

explanation is as senseless as it is needless. We quite agree with Thomas

Scott when he says,



Some learned men have endeavored to prove that these offenders were not

young children but grown-up persons, and no doubt the word rendered

"children" is often used in that sense. The addition, however of the word

"little" seems to clearly evince they were not men, but young boys who

had been brought up in idolatry and taught to despise the prophets of the

Lord.



Others roundly condemn Elisha, saying he should have meekly endured their

taunts in silence and that he sinned grievously in cursing them. It is

sufficient to point out that his Master deemed otherwise. Instead of

rebuking His servant, He sent the bears to fulfill his curse, and there

is no appeal against His decision.



Some Bible teachers have asserted mistakenly that this drastic punishment

was necessary because the Old Testament period was governed by the law,

but that under New Testament grace, this would not warrant immediate

judgment. Let such teachers remember that Ananias and Sapphira fell dead

as soon as they sinned against the Holy Spirit (Acts 5).



God is even now giving the most awe-inspiring and wide-reaching proof of

His wrath against those who flout His Law, visiting the earth with sorer

judgments than any He has sent since the days of Noah! The New Testament

equally with the Old teaches "it is a righteous thing with God to

recompense tribulation to them that trouble you" (2Th_1:6). In the

incident before us, God was righteously visiting the sins of the fathers

upon the children, as He was by the death of their children also smiting

the parents in their tenderest parts. At almost the end of the Old

Testament era we read that Israel "mocked the messengers of God, and

despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD

arose against his people, till there was no remedy" (2Ch_36:16).

Here at Bethel God was giving a warning, a sample of His coming wrath,

unless they reformed their ways and treated His servants better.



Sixth, the Meaning of the Miracle



At first glance it certainly appears that there can be no parallel

between the above action of Elisha and that which should characterize the

servants of Christ, and many are likely to conclude that it can only be

by a wide stretch of imagination or a flagrant wresting of this incident

that it can be made to yield anything pertinent for this age. But it must

be remembered that we are not looking for a literal counterpart but

rather a spiritual application. Viewing it thus, our type is solemnly

accurate. Ministers of the gospel are "unto God a sweet savor of Christ,

in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the

savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life"

(2Co_2:14-15). Certainly the evangelist has no warrant to anathamatize

any who oppose him, but he can point out that they are accursed of God

who love not Christ and who obey not His law (1Co_16:22; Galatians

3:10).



Seventh, the Sequel of the Miracle



This is recorded in the closing verse of 2 Kings 2. "And he went from

thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria." In the

violent death of those children as the outcome of Elisha's malediction,

we behold the estating of the prophet's divine authority, the sign of his

extraordinary office, and the fulfillment of the prediction that he

should "slay" (1Ki_19:17)! After his unpleasant experience at Bethel,

the prophet went to Carmel, which had been the scene of Elijah's grand

testimony to a prayer-answering God (1 Kings 18). By heading for the

mount this servant of God intimated his need for the renewing of his

strength by communion with the Most High and by meditation upon His

holiness and power. Samaria was the country where the apostate portion of

Israel dwelt, and by going there, Elisha manifested his readiness to be

used of his Master as He saw fit in that dark and difficult field of

labor.



There is only space left for us to barely mention some of the more

outstanding lessons to be drawn from this solemn incident. First, "Behold

therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Rom_11:22): if the previous

miracle exemplified His "goodness," certainly this one demonstrated His

"severity," and the one is as truly a divine perfection as the other!



Second, the words as well as actions of children, even "little children,"

are noticed by God! (Pro_20:11). They should be informed of this and

warned against showing disrespect to God's servants.



Third, what must have been the grief of those parents when they beheld

the mangled bodies of their little ones! But how much greater the anguish

of parents in the day of judgment when they witness the everlasting

condemnation of their offspring if it has been occasioned by their own

negligence and evil example.