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Elisha's Miraculous Powers
v. 15. And when the Sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho, those who had stood at a distance to witness the older men crossing the Jordan on dry ground, saw him, returning in the same manner as both he and Elijah had gone over, they said, drawing their conclusion from this miracle, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him, with the same veneration which they had formerly shown to Elijah.
v. 16. And they said unto him, Behold, now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. They had known that Elijah was to be removed from Elisha's head,
v. 5. but they had no definite idea of the meaning attached to this expression, believing, apparently, that the soul of Elijah alone had been taken, and that they would be able to find his body somewhere in the neighborhood. And he said, Ye shall not send. He knew that their plan was altogether foolish, since Elijah had been translated to heaven according to body and soul.
v. 17. And when they had urged him till he was ashamed, when their stubborn persistence showed him that there was no hope of dissuading them from their purpose, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not, their strenuous search proved fruitless.
v. 18. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, in a mild reproof for not heeding his advice, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
v. 19. And the men of the city, probably the magistrates or the influential citizens, said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, on a beautiful oasis, noted for its splendid palms, as my lord seeth; but the water is naught, it had a bad effect, and the ground barren, miscarriages were the rule in the country round about, apparently on account of the water.
v. 20. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, a receptacle, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
v. 21. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, where the brook welled up from the ground, and cast the salt in there, as a prophetical, symbolical action to indicate what the Lord was about to do, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land, that is, barrenness, of which they had complained. This miracle was intended to convey to the minds of the people the fact of the blessings of God in the prophetic activities of Elisha.
v. 22. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. The spring and the brook served as permanent reminders of Jehovah's goodness and power for good.
v. 23. And he 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, a band of blaspheming youngsters up to the age of young men, children of the idolaters of Bethel, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head! Go up, thou bald head! They railed on him and insulted him as an impure and expelled person.
v. 24. And be turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord; for it was as Jehovah's prophet that the mockery had been heaped upon him. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them, without, however, making any move toward eating them. It was God's punishment upon these revilers of His servant, for their number shows that they had planned this demonstration with deliberate, wicked intent.
v. 25. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel, he chose solitude and concealment for a while, after the manner of the prophets, and from thence he returned to Samaria, where he afterwards had a house, 2Ki_6:32. Note: It is not wrong or an injustice, but is done out of obedience to God, if His servants pronounce His curse and damnation upon persistent blasphemers.