2 Kings 2:23-25; 4:1-723And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 25And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. (2 Kings 2:23‑25)
1Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. 2And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. 3Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 4And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. 5So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. 6And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 7Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest. (2 Kings 4:1‑7)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
DEAR children, do you think that people loved Elisha? People who loved God loved Elisha very much, but wicked people hated him. There were some people, who even dared to laugh at him: there were even some children who dared to mock him. I will tell you about these children.
Did you know that people who have no hair (or only a little hair) on their heads are called bald? Elisha was bald. One day Elisha came near a town, where a great many people lived who worshipped idols. One of the golden calves that Jeroboam made was in this town. A great many children came out of it, and met Elisha as he was in the road; and they mocked him and said, 'Go up, thou bald head: go up, thou bald head.' They wanted Elisha to go up into heaven as Elijah had done, that they might not see him anymore, nor hear what he said.
How did they dare to speak in this way to the prophet of the Lord! But yet some children dare to take God's name in vain. Elisha turned back, and looked on them, and told them that God would send them a dreadful punishment.
The children soon found that Elisha had spoken truth: for two bears came out of the wood, and tore forty-two of these children.
No doubt the children cried, and screamed, and tried to run away, when they saw the bears coming; but it was of no use; they could not escape: the bears overtook them, and tore them with their great claws. What must their parents have said, when they heard what had happened to their children? You know how your mother would cry if you were to be torn by a bear. You may not be eaten by a bear, but God has other means of punishing you if you are wicked. I hope that you do not like to hear people say bad words. I hope that you will never say them yourself, and that you will never laugh at people who love God.
You have now heard what became of wicked children who mocked Elisha, and you shall hear next of God's kindness to a poor, good woman.
This woman had lost her husband, so she was a widow. Her husband had been a good prophet: and he had been very poor; and he had not been able to pay for all the things he had bought.
People should never get into debt, unless they have not money enough to buy bread; but perhaps this poor prophet had not had money enough even to buy bread.
The poor woman came to Elisha, and said, 'My husband is dead, and he did fear the Lord; but I cannot pay my debts, and a man is come to me to take away my two sons to be slaves.'
The poor woman was very unhappy at the thought of losing her dear boys. Your mother would not like you to be taken from her, and made a slave. But people in this country may not take away children from their parents; there are no slaves here.
Elisha was sorry for this poor woman, and he said, 'What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house?'
And the woman said, have nothing but one pot of oil.' This oil was fit to drink.
Elisha said, 'Go and borrow a great many empty cups, jugs, and basins, and bring them into thy house, and shut the door upon thee, and thy sons, and pour the oil you have got into all these cups and basins; and when they are full of oil put them by.'
Could a little oil fill a great number of cups and basins? But the woman knew that Elisha could do miracles, because God was with him to help him.
So the woman did as Elisha had told her.
She borrowed the cups, jugs, mugs, and basins, and shut herself up in a house with her sons, and began to pour out her oil. She poured, and poured, and still there was oil left in her pot. At last she said to her son, `Bring me another cup;' but he said, 'There are no more,' and then the oil stopped. So she went to Elisha, and asked him what she was to do: and he said, 'Go and sell thy oil, and pay thy debt, and when the debt is paid, keep all the money that is over to buy bread for yourself and your children.'
How happy the poor widow must have been! How happy the boys must have been! They were going to be made slaves, but now they might stay with their mother. You see, dear children, how kind God was to them! I hope they grew up to be good like their dead father.
But how sad it is to think of the children who were torn by the bears! Perhaps their parents had not taught them to love God. But I do teach you about God, my dear child. I hope you will not make God angry with you. Never laugh at any person who is lame, or blind, or whose back is broken; but more than all, never laugh at people who pray to God. Never laugh at any person who preaches, either in a church or in the streets.
Our tongues were made to bless the Lord,
And not speak ill of men;
When others give a railing word,
We must not rail again.
Cross names and angry words require
To be chastised at school;
And he's in danger of hell fire
That calls his brother, fool.
But lips that dare be so profane,
To mock, and jeer, and scoff
At holy things, or holy men,
The Lord shall cut them off.
When children in their wicked play,
Served old Elisha so;
And bid the prophet go his way:
'Go up, thou bald head, go,'
God quickly stopped their wicked words,
And sent two raging bears,
That tore them as they tried to flee,
With blood, and groans, and tears.
Great God, how terrible art Thou,
To sinners e'en so young!
Grant me Thy grace, and teach me how
To tame and rule my tongue.
Dr. Watts' Divine Songs.
Questions on Lesson 32
What did some wicked children once say to Elisha?
Why did they wish him to go up?
Was Elisha in a passion when he told them that God would punish them?
How many children were torn by the bears?
What was going to be done to a poor widow, who could not pay her debts?
What was it Elisha ordered her to do?
How long was there oil in the pot?
What did the widow do with the oil?