March | 2025 | Ripple Effect Disciplines

From there he [Elisha] went up to Bethel. As he was going up along the road, some young boys came out of the city. They mocked him saying to him, “Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!” So he turned around and looked at them and cursed them in the name of ADONAI. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the boys. ~2 Kings 2:23-24 [Tree of Life version]

Alrighty then.

This has got to be one of the most obscure stories, if not the most bizarre account, in all of the Bible.

What in the world is going on here? Well, first of all, we need to approach the Bible on its own terms, as biblical scholar Michael Heiser used to say. And we do that by adhering to the context, language, and worldview of the inspired biblical writers.

The first thing which the original language helps us to clear up is the age of these mocking boys. Most people who read this tend to picture little 5 or 6 year old children having some innocent fun, thanks to some not-so-great early English translations. But the Hebrew words used here indicate that these young guys were somewhere between the ages of 12 and 30. Most scholars believe they were teenagers. I’m so glad I was never that disrespectful in my teens… By the way, Elisha was about 25 years old at this time, not a grumpy old man as many seem to think.

Next, we see Elisha is going to Bethel. There is a LOT going on there. Bethel means “House of God” and it was there that Abraham built an altar, and Jacob had his dream. But by this time Bethel had become a center of idol worship. One of Jeroboam’s golden calves was there. So this had now become a place hostile to Yahweh and the prophets.

Why were these dudes saying, “Go on up, baldy!“? Here’s where context and language help us immensely yet again. Just a little before this incident, Elijah–Elisha’s mentor–had been whisked away to heaven (without having to die for it) in a whirlwind with fiery chariots. This was quite the buzz around town. People were talking. In the Hebrew the exact same verb for Elijah’s “going up” is used by these mocking boys indicating the author’s intended connection. Therefore, these Bethel inhabitants, who despised Yahweh and the prophets, were telling Elisha to get on outta here and disappear just like Elijah because we don’t want any of you people in our town, ever. To call someone a baldhead back then was a tremendous insult, a term of scorn and contempt; it was often related to having a skin disease. These guys were cruelly insulting Elisha, and spitefully blaspheming Yahweh.

Elisha looks over at them and curses them in the name of God. He may very well have had Yahweh’s words from Leviticus 26:21-22 in mind: “if you keep walking contrary to Me and will not listen to Me, then I will multiply the plagues on you seven times like your sins. I will send the wild animals among you, which will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you so few in number that your roads will become deserted.” Then the two she-bears come out and tear 42 young men to pieces. Notice that Elisha did not specifically call the bears, he just cursed these guys for dishonoring God. Apparently Yahweh sent the bears..? One final context to look at is that it was common in the Old Testament for there to be some display of power at the beginning of a prophet’s ministry. This was quite the memorable display!

So….what’s our practical application?

Uhhhhhh….

Don’t mock God or God’s true spokespeople?

I did like what the old Interpreter’s Bible commentary said, bringing an aspect of this odd story up to our times: “Lawless youth may not be torn asunder by bears, but they are rent by passions, devoured by appetite, until their characters and careers and all their hopes for happy, useful living are destroyed.”

What do you think?

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider how you have fared. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says the LORD. You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little, and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while all of you hurry off to your own houses. ~Haggai 1:7-9

There seems to be a plethora of small obscure prophetic books near the end of the Old Testament. Lately I’ve been thinking about them, wondering if I know off the top of my head what any of them are about.

I don’t.

For some reason, Haggai rose to the top of my pool of curiosity, so I dove into it. I like it.

First, a couple of quick fun facts: Haggai is the second shortest book of the OT; only Obadiah is shorter. Also, as you can see from the photo, we can accurately date the events of this book to September 1, October 21, and December 24 of 520 B.C., which is kinda cool.

Here’s the gist of this small book so you can be prepared for your next church trivia nite: In 538 B.C. Cyrus of Persia issued a decree allowing the Jews who were in Babylonian captivity to return to their land and rebuild their temple. They got started in 536 B.C., but after a couple years, they lost interest and abandoned the project. Fourteen years later comes Haggai with a message from the Lord that they are to get back to the work Yahweh gave them to do and finish the temple. In one of the few examples we have in the Bible of quick and tangible results, the people got to work just 23 days after Haggai cracked the prophetic whip, and the temple was completed in 516 B.C.

Ecstatic to be out of captivity, the Israelites returned to their native soil to unfortunately find that it was in rough shape as far as farming potential goes. In addition, there were enemies all around them there. So it did not take very long for them to lose heart and slip into pessimism after their initial excitement. This led to a spiritual lethargy making conditions quite conducive to becoming preoccupied with their own building projects and forsake what the Lord gave them to do.

This did not go well.

The more the people devoted themselves to their own self-serving projects, the more nature worked against them in this situation. And by “nature” we mean Yahweh.

This short book is about priority. It is not about God needing a temple for Himself. Rather, the LORD’s house was to be at the center of this community in order for them to thrive. No other center will do. No other priority will yield Life. Their lives were designed to be centered on Yahweh and not themselves.

What God gives us to do is always best for us to do. How easy it is though to get distracted by shiny things, our own untamed desires, or like these Israelites, by unfavorable circumstances.

One of the most self-harmful moves we can make is to focus even more on ourself when we face some sort of challenge in life. Part of the deal of this life is suffering. It’s definitely going to happen. It could come in the form of a physical ailment or limitation, the loss of someone, oppression by cruel people… There will always be the temptation during these times to abandon what God has given us to do and retreat into “Me-Land”, but God always gives us what we need to do to live fully.

Is there anything you’ve abandoned which you need to pick back up and continue?

What is God asking you to do that you’ve not done because you’re too preoccupied with your own projects?

What spiritual exercise do you need to return to?

What self-serving activity has taken the place of serving others?

Who have you stopped praying for?

Ripple Effect Disciplines

Monthly Archives: March 2025

Bears Mauling Boys

Haggai