Read 2 Kings 2:15-25

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.” (2 Kings 2:15 NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Part 72: Elisha. On Mount Horeb, while hiding away from Ahab and Jezebel for fear of his life, Elijah was instructed to appoing a successor to him. The man he was to appoint was named Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, who was evidently a farmer. When Elijah found him, he was plowing in a field.

For years following that calling, Elisha assisted Elijah in his work and learned from him. He was Elijah’s apprentice, as it were, and Elisha witnessed many of the great deeds of his mentor, and encountered many of the confrontations between Elijah and the wicked king and queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel.

When Elijah, according to Scripture, was taken up into heaven in a firey chariot, Elisha took over in Elijah’s place. Just prior to Elijah’s ascension into heaven, Elisha prayed to God to be given an double portion of Elijah’s spirit. While there is scholarly debate as to what Elijah meant by that prayer, for me it seems that Elisha was praying for even greater prophetic power than that of Elijah.

Indeed, Elisha was given great power and does many wonderful deeds. Elisha was considered to be a patriot because he lent his services to soldiers and kings. First and foremost, he was known as a wonder worker. He cleansed the infected waters of Jericho, and he multiplied oil for a widow who was being harrassed by a harsh creditor. Through petitions to God he was able to provide the birth of a son to a rich woman who had shown hospitality. He also later resurrected her son back to life after he had died.

Through God, Elisha cured the Syrian military commandar, Naaman, of his leprosy. He did these and performed many other mirculous signs. He was truly one of God’s people who, for the most part, remained faithful to God. Still, not everything that Elisha did seems to hold up to the God of love, mercy and grace.

For instance, in today’s scripture we come across the story of Elisha being mocked by a large group of children. Actually, the Hebrew word (נַעַר, pronounced na’ar) could mean children or it could mean people (young adult aged) who have no religion. Young adults who were, in essence, irreverent people. What were they mocking him over? Namely, they were making fun of the fact that he was bald. Yes, I feel his pain for sure; however, Elisha’s response to that seems hardly warranted. Indignant over their behavior, Elisha cursed them, which resulted in bears coming out of the forest and devouring each and everyone of them. Overkill much?

In that moment, Elisha let his pride and his anger take over and it caused him to do something that had horrific consequences. How many of us find ourselves cursing others out of anger? Perhaps when we are driving down the road, or when someone hurts our feelings, or when someone sins against us? How many of us curse people in those moments? When we do so, can we truly say we are behaving in a way that pleases God? Of course not! Let us learn from Elisha’s sin, repent of our own and, by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, learn to bless people (even if undeserving) rather than curse them.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“I say, if you are even angry with someone [without cause], you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” – Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ (Matthew 5: 22 NLT)

PRAYER
Lord, allow me to find temperance when I am angry and give me the peace I need to respond to people who hurt me with blessings and not curses. Amen.