Previous Questions and Answers
Who was the bald prophet?
Who was the prophet (I think he was a
prophet?) Who threatened some kids by telling them he would sick animal(s) on them because
they were making fun of his bald head?
The prophet name was Elisha. I Kings
2:1–25 says, “And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into
heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto
Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto
him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down
to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said
unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And
he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here,
I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as
thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the
prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the
LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold
ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent
me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave
thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to
view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it
together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two
went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said
unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha
said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast
asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so
unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and
talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted
them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and
he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he
saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took
up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of
Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and
said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they
parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which
were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And
they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto
him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee,
and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast
him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they
urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they
sought three days, but found him not. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at
Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not? And the men of the city said
unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord
seeth: but the water is nought, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse,
and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the
waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these
waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were
healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. And he went up
from thence unto Bethel: 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. And 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. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to
Samaria.”
We are living in a day today, when there is less and less respect for adults on the part of children. That is the result of children not being obedient to their own parents. When children do not respect their own parents, they also do not respect other adults. II Timothy 3:1,2 says, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.” When a child is disobedient to his/her parents, then that child’s life is not going to go well, and may also be shortened. Ephesians 6:1-3 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
These children were mocking Elisha and his bald head, and more or less telling him that they would like him to “get lost” or “get out of there” like Elijah had been suddenly taken away up to heaven. It was showing not only disrespect for Elisha, but also disrespect for the man of God that had preceded him. It may seem that the prophet Elisha was rather harsh on these children, but remember it was not he that called forth the bears out of the woods. He just cursed the children in the name of the Lord, and it was God that then caused the bears to come out of the woods and tear the children. Note that it was two “she” bears. It is pretty sad when God has to use some “mother” animals to teach children about the proper respect of adults and men of God, because their own mothers have not trained them, and they are acting like animals. Proverbs 29:15 says, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”