Day 181

2 Kings 1:1-2:25, Acts 20:1-38, Psalm 78:40-55

We’ve moved from the book of 1 Kings to 2 Kings and from the work of Elijah to Elisha, one great prophet to another. Within minutes of Elijah disappearing into heaven Elisha is performing miracles, parting the water and healing it too. The Spirit of God is clearly upon him!

The departure of Elijah is an important one to note, as it will crop up every now and again. It was Moses and Elijah who met with Jesus at he Transfiguration and the fact that Elijah was “taken up to heaven” (he never shown as dying) prompted this idea that he would return.

There is also within this section one of the more difficult passages about the youths and the bear. The young people were in a sense just being young people and having a laugh, although it is not be encouraged having a go at bald old men. The result of the “Baldy, baldy” jibe is that they get eaten by bears, now that is a lesson and a half. It can cause us difficulty though, as it does seem a but harsh.

We can easily  counter some of the criticism of the passage in that the KJV version of the Bible translates it as “little children” so people found it even harsher. That translation though is not the best and they are far more likely to be youths. The fact that they were having a go at a man of God in those times also suggests that they were youths who did not have a fear of God and therefore possibly worshipped other gods, the innocence is falling out of the picture a little bit. Today, all young people are far too often tarred by the same brush, which is entirely unfair, but there are some around who are not nice, it is quite possible that these fell into that category.

Both yesterday and today we have been faced with things that we do not know the full details of, things where we do not know what God is up to. It is very hard at times but we often have to trust in God, that he will always work his purpose out, in every generation.