Lectionary Thoughts: 2 Kings 2:23-25

It is wearisome how often non-believers bring up the last few verses of 2 Kings 2. You know, the verses that “prove” how cruelly wicked the God of the Bible must be if he would send “bears out of the woods” to mercilessly shred the forty-two helpless little boys who had imprudently mocked one of His prophets.

When confronted with these sorts of “gotcha!” interpretations of scripture, we should always be careful to avoid the trap being laid for us, and firmly remind the unbeliever that the standard for truth/goodness is God Himself, and that it is a denial of “the god-ness of God” to attempt to judge Him by any sort of standard outside of Himself. As Abraham neatly put it, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Yes, and amen. The LORD can do no other.

But that said, let’s take a closer look at 2 Kings 2. First of all consider the setting: Bethel was home to Jeroboam I’s golden calf shrine and attended by idolatrous priests. Secondly, the Hebrew word for “boys” (ESV) can also be translated “subordinates.” Thirdly, recall the near context for this event: Elisha had just lost his “head” (Elijah) who had been taken “up” in the fiery chariot.

With these things in mind, the following might be a better interpretation of the passage: Given the proximity to the idolatrous temple in Bethel, “boys” could easily be understood as the “subordinate” priests of that temple; their mocking words (“go up, bald head”) could be an indication that they believed that Elisha was unprotected and vulnerable without Elijah (his spiritual “head”), and “go up” could be a taunt for Elisha to follow Elijah “up” and out of planet earth. So, rather than reading Elijah’s imprecation* as an unseemly prophetic hissy-fit, a better read might be Elisha, filled with a double portion of the spirit of Elijah, continuing Elijah’s battle against the false prophets and priests troubling Israel. Elisha’s curse then is an act of warfare, a Joshua-like attack on a center of idolatry and proof that he too is invested with the Spirit of Yahweh, and therefore able to call down “fire from heaven” (2 Kings 1) or even lions from the forest (1 Kings 13:20-25) as he fights the good fight.

Take heart, Christian. While it is true that false prophets and priests abound in our day. It is equally true that Jesus has given us a double portion of his Spirit. And empowered and directed by his Holy Spirit we are, as Paul put it, “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37) and more than able to pull down the strongholds of unbelief (2 Cor. 10:4). So what are we waiting for?

(*imprecation: noun. the act of calling down a curse)

HT: Peter Leithart

GH