2 Kings 2:15 – 25 “When the sons of the prophets who were facing him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.
“Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.”
“Do not send them,” Elisha replied.
But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.”
And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.
When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”
“Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.”
So they brought it to him, and Elisha went out to the spring, cast the salt into it, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.’ ” And the waters there have been healthy to this day, according to the word spoken by Elisha.
From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys (insignificant young men) came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
Elisha has just watched Elijah being swept up into heaven, riding in a chariot of fire. Even before Elijah and Elisha crossed the Jordan, Elisha knew that Elijah was leaving the earth that day; he simply didn’t know how it would happen. The sons of the prophets were watching from the west side of the Jordan near Jericho and may even have seen the chariot of fire; certainly, they watched as Elisha struck the waters of Jordan with Elijah’s cloak and crossed on dry land. But the sons of the prophets had very little faith, so they imagined that God had simply picked Elijah up and transported him someplace else. When the sons of the prophets demanded to search for Elijah, Elisha probably just shrugged his shoulders and let them go at it, knowing that Elijah was no longer on the earth.
When Joshua destroyed the city of Jericho, he cursed anyone who would rebuild it. During the reign of wicked King Ahab, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho at the cost of his eldest son and his youngest son. These boys may have been slaughtered and their bodies buried before the walls and gates were established. Little wonder then, if there was a curse on the land and the water was foul. But Elisha had received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and he was prepared. The use of a new bowl with salt served as a symbolic gesture of God’s healing of the land and the water. That spring still exists today, and the land around Jericho remains highly productive.
“Elisha’s Spring (also called the Prophet’s Fountain and Elisha’s Fountain) is a freshwater spring near the archaeological mound of Tel Jericho where remains of settlements were found dating back to about 8,000 BC.
” (https://www.beinharimtours.com)
Evidently, from time immemorial, there were always bunches of young men hanging around to see what kind of trouble they could cause. But one gang got a horrible shock. After leaving Jericho, Elisha was walking toward Bethel when these fellows began mocking him for his baldness. Although the name Elijah is generally translated as “Yahweh is my God,” another translation is “lord of the hair,” perhaps indicating that Elijah had flowing locks. At that time, baldness was considered as a type of physical deformity, so these hoodlums felt that they had found someone they could pick on. Bad move! Elisha called down a curse from the Lord, and two female bears rushed out of the woods and mauled forty – two gang members. From Bethel, Elijah went on to Mount Carmel and then back to Samaria.
Why did God allow forty – two young men to be mauled by bears? Perhaps the Bible only gives us a sanitized version of what actually took place. Perhaps this gang actually planned to attack and kill Elisha. At any rate, the message would have gone out throughout the land: don’t mess with God’s prophet!
APPLICATION: In the days of vaudeville shows, there were certain slots on the program that were undesirable. Performers never wanted to follow a very popular act because the audience was likely to take a break and go for refreshments when that act ended, leaving the next performers with a shrunken audience. People loved to watch acts involving trained dogs or trained ponies or a combination of the two, hence the name “dog and pony act.” The worst place on the program was the slot following the dog and pony act, because to be able to keep the audience’s attention after that meant that you had to have something very special.
Elisha succeeded Elijah and received a double portion of his spirit; however, Elisha was also in the position of following an incredibly successful mentor. After all, Elijah not only called down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice on Mount Carmel, but he also called that same fire down on two different companies of soldiers when they came to arrest him. Perhaps God allowed the miracle at Jericho and the deliverance from this gang both to emphasize His approval of Elisha and also to encourage Elisha.
God’s calling and anointing on Elisha was no weaker than His calling and anointing on Elijah. But God called Elisha to a different ministry. One of the biggest mistakes one can make is to compare oneself to a highly successful predecessor. Each of us is unique with our own abilities and talents. God knows us far better than we know ourselves and calls us to work that is particularly suited to the gifts He has given or will give. But one thing we must remember: we can only accomplish things by God’s power, not by our own. 2 Corinthians 4:7 tells us, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
Today, if you are feeling overwhelmed at the tasks before you, why not ask God for the strength and courage to complete those tasks? If God is calling you to a work, He will certainly provide the energy and the vision for you to complete it.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust that where You guide, You will provide and that You will give us the strength to complete the work to which You are calling us. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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