Boys and Bears

In John 9 we learn a difficult lesson. The disciples asked Jesus the obvious question regarding the man who was born blind. "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents?" (John 9:2) Jesus gave an unexpected answer. "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him" (John 9:3) That is, first, not all tragedy is the product of or judgment for sin. Second, it is so that "the works of God might be displayed." In other words, while we universally view hard times as bad, God appears to view them as necessary and for a good purpose. In 2 Kings 2 we have two famous stories. The first is the origin of the song, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, where Elijah becomes only the second man in all of history to not die (2 Kings 2:1-12). At that event, Elijah's disciple, Elisha, asked for "a double portion of our spirit on me" (2 Kings 2:9) and received Elijah's mantle. That is, Elisha was given Elijah's job of calling Israel to repentance and twice Elijah's resources to do it. The second event isn't as much fun. Elisha was coming out of Bethel where he encountered some rude boys who jeered at him for being bald (2 Kings 2:23). The text says, "And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys" (2 Kings 2:24). Okay ... what? Can we make any sense out of that?

Remembering that the Bible is God's Word, not simple lies or mere myth, and that God "works all things after the counsel of His will" (Eph 1:11), what can we derive from this? Behind the scenes, keep in mind that Bethel was a particular city of idolatry (1 Kings 12:29), just for background. So, first, the boys were jeering the man known to be Elijah's successor (2 Kings 2:15). Second, they were disregarding God's appointed prophet by ridiculing God's work. "Go up, baldy" was a reference to Elijah's going up. It was a taunt similar to the one they gave Jesus -- "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross" (Matt 27:40) -- except it included the sense of "and be gone from here." That is, "Get out of here, you messenger from God, because we reject you entirely." Third, it is a mistake on the part of many moderns to think, "But these were innocent children!" Modern thinking says so; Scripture denies it. God said, "The intention of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen 8:21). David said we are conceived in sin (Psa 51:5). There are no innocents. Beyond this, the words translated "little children" (KJV), "small boys" (ESV), or "young lads" (NASB) isn't as clear as you might like to think. "Young" comes from qatan meaning small, young, or unimportant. "Boys" is naar referring to youths, servants, or even young men (71 times). The same wording appears in 1 Kings 11:17 referring to Hadad the Edomite who was an enemy of Solomon and fled to Egypt while he was "young." The term may refer to age or maturity or social stature. Either way, then, we have condemned sinners in full rebellion forming a mob (more than 42 of them) (2 Kings 2:24) against God and His known prophet.

Opponents of God and His Word would like you to believe that this is clearly an injustice. It is not Scripture or even Elisha on trial here. It is God. If the account was in error, it wouldn't have been included. If Elisha was in error, God wouldn't have allowed the "injustice" of two bears malling the kids. So the outcome appears to be God's intention for God's glory and God's purposes. Those who are hostile to God (Rom 8:7) will continue to use it to blaspheme. You who are not need not.
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One other side comment here. I want to point out that the text does not say that any of the boys died. We all know that not all bear attacks result in death. The text says the bears "tore" the boys; it does not say they killed them.