II Kings 2:19-25
WHY DOES THE IDEA OF GOD JUDGING SOMEONE SEEM SO HARSH?
DOES GOD JUDGE CHILDREN OR TEENAGERS? WHY DO WE RECOIL AT THAT?
19Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the site of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” 20And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21Then he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’” 22So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.
23Now he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you bald head; go up, you bald head!” 24When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the boys. 25He then went on from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
BACKGROUND
Let’s put today’s passage in a little bit of context. Elisha has just come from seeing Elijah caught up by a whirlwind to heaven. He took Elijah‘s coat and struck the Jordan River and it parted to let him cross. The 50 prophets who were there saw this and were witnesses to the transition of the authority of Elijah transferring to Elisha. Then the prophets approached Elisha and asked for permission to search for the body of Elijah in the surrounding countryside. Elisha told them not to go because he knew what had happened to Elijah, that he was taken up to heaven. But they pressured him so much that he felt embarrassed and finally said go ahead and do the search. They came back after three days, not finding the body of Elijah, and then finally recognized that Elisha was truly prophet in his place.
Now Elisha begins to take up the mantle of ministry. And we begin with a request for assistance from the people of Jericho.
As we begin, we should recognize that we’re about to dig into a passage that is one of the most difficult to interpret in all the scripture. That is, the tearing of the 42 boys by bears. Why would God do that? That is the question many people ask but have no answer for.
EXAMINATION
(V.19) Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the site of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.”
The city in question is Jericho which was once under a curse. After Joshua had taken the city in his first campaign entering the promised land he uttered a curse. “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he will setup its gates” (Joshua 6:26). This was fulfilled in I Kings 16:34 where it says, “Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.”
Though the city had been rebuilt its water supply was bad. The word used for “unfruitful” in this passage literally means, “miscarry,” as in miscarrying a baby. In other words, drinking the water could cause a miscarriage. But the water was also bad for crops, which is why the people mention that the land was unfruitful. Without a supply of good water the city was not able to feed itself. Their situation was dire and they needed saving.
(V.20) And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
WHAT DOES SALT REPRESENT IN SCRIPTURE?
WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT SALT?
There was nothing about the jar or the salt that could cure the water. A little salt, which otherwise makes water bad, could not heal a bad spring from which the water came. The jar and the salt were symbols Elisha used of something else.
A jar contains things and salt is representative in the scripture of preservation, and in the New Testament, the Gospel. Jesus is the new jar. The salt is the Gospel. And the healed waters the life lived by the Spirit. We see in this instance, the Gospel being portrayed before us in picture form.
(V.21) Then he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’”
We see here in this passage just how bad the water really was. It was poisonous. It poisoned their crops and it poisoned their people. We see this because he says there shall not come death nor unfruitfulness any longer. Drinking the water caused miscarriage in women, and it caused death. No city can survive without a means of freshwater. Elisha had effectively healed the city’s primary water source.
(V.22) So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.
Even today the spring which feeds this water source is fresh and without any trace of harm.
***
Now we come to a passage of scripture that is one of the most difficult to understand, and for some people to accept. Let’s spell it out plainly. Elisha cursed some boys, probably teenagers, and the result was that they were mauled by bears. Some of them may have died, certainly there were serious injuries. We have trouble accepting that children, even teenagers, would be cursed by a prophet and be torn. Not only were some of them harmed, but 42 of them were harmed. This seems a little extreme to our modern ears and we find it difficult to accept. So let’s dig into this passage to see what it means.
(V.23) Now he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you bald head; go up, you bald head!”
VERY OFTEN IN SCRIPTURE WE ARE HELD TO ACCOUNT FOR THE WORDS WE SAY AS IF THEY WERE DEEDS. WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT IS? JESUS SAID WE WOULD GIVE ACCOUNT FOR EVERY WORD SPOKEN, EVEN CALLING SOMEONE A FOOL CAN IMPERIL US. WHY?
This wasn’t simply a small group of boys or young men hanging out. The best we can describe this in modern terms was that this was a gang. And in fact, we learn it was a large gang. There were at least 42 of them, probably more. Therefore, what Elisha was facing was not simply taunting, but he may have been facing danger to his person. How does one man face down 42 youth that might be intent on his harm?
The saying, “go up you bald head,” may reference two things. First, they may simply be saying to him get away from here or go away from here you bald head. They’re making fun of him. To be bald in ancient times was considered a curse not a blessing. It was a deficiency. This was in contrast to Elijah, who was a hairy man and yet his replacement was a bald man.
Second, this may refer to the manner which Elijah was taken away, which everybody knew about. They may be saying to Elisha, go up into the sky, like Elijah did you bald head. In other words, you’re cursed you can’t be like Elijah. You’re not a prophet like Elijah. This would be more than making fun of the man, this would be making fun of his calling and his status as prophet of God.
IS IT EVER APPROPRIATE TO CURSE SOMEONE, TO WISH THEM HARM?
(V.24) When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the boys.
Now comes the hard part, in two ways. First, Elisha cursed the boys in the name of the Lord. This is not speech that in our modern day we often think is appropriate for a man of God. We should bless and not curse. We are called to be focused on the positive, the good things, the blessings, not to curse. And yet Elisha does so in the name of the Lord. So God was with him in the curse because he had something that he was going to do, something he was going to prove.
The second thing is the two bears that came out of the woods and tore up 42 of the boys. In scripture, bears are often representative of judgment. We see this is Proverbs 17, 28, Isaiah 59, and Lamentations 3.
The way the language is used in this passage indicates that there were more than 42 boys. It’s just that 42 were the ones who are harmed. Why would God harm 42 boys? What about this word, boys?
The word used here for boys can refer anything from children to young men, even young adults. It’s likely that it refers to people who are probably teenagers anywhere from 12 to 18 years of age. Though it is possible they were older. We just don’t know. But the fact that God would curse and then cause harm to 42 young men like this is hard for us to accept. Especially simply for something that they said rather than something that they did.
Why did the Lord do this? To be honest, I read over 40 commentaries on this passage. None of them had an answer for why God would cause this to happen with the bears and the 42 boys. Nobody really knows why God resorted to such drastic means. So, let me offer what I think it might be one possible contrast.
We have two parts of our passage today. One part shows Elisha saving a community, Jericho. The next part of our passage that we were into right now, shows judgment. These are the roles of a prophet in ancient times—that of saving and that of judgment. One group came out and sought Elisha so that God might save them. The other group ridiculed him so that God might judge them.
Ministry, even in the day in which we live, involves both saving and judgment, or saving and discipline. In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus talked about conducting church discipline upon those who do not repent of their sin. That is a legitimate function of the church and its leaders. Sometimes it requires judgment. Remember what Jesus said should happen to the person who refuses to hear the church and receive church discipline, he said they are to be treated as sinners and tax collectors. That’s a form of judgment or discipline. Remember what the apostle Paul said could be done with a completely unrepentant believer. There was one instance in which he said he was turning that person over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh that his soul might be saved in the day of Christ (I Corinthians 5:5). That’s harsh!
So while our pastors and ministers are involved in acts of saving, they’re also involved in acts of discipline and judgment. These are legitimate functions of ministry. Even today.
I think that is what’s going on with the passage here. God is showing that Elisha is a true prophet of God. He has a ministry of saving and he has a ministry of judgment, though most of Elisha’s miracles were saving in nature.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
- Elisha saved a community when they sought help, honoring him as prophet.
- Elisha cursed those who ridiculed his ministry and they suffered the consequences.
- God blesses those who seek him.
- God curses those who reject him.
INTERPRETATION
What is the author’s big idea?
How we respond to spiritual leadership can bless us or imperil us.
Just as recognizing the prophet was a means of saving or judgment, so too, recognizing who Jesus is results in saving or judgment. If we recognize Jesus and submit to him our lives, then we can be saved and have eternal life with him forever. But if we reject Jesus, for any reason, then we face only judgment. This was similar to what happened at Jericho and Bethel and the boys in our passage today with the prophet Elisha. Some recognized him as prophet, and their city was saved. Others rejected him, and they were condemned.
APPLICATION
1. God Can Restore What Is Broken
The waters at Jericho were unproductive and harmful, yet God used Elisha to bring healing and life.
- No situation is beyond God’s ability to redeem.
- What seems permanently damaged (relationships, careers, spiritual dryness) can be restored by His power.
- God often chooses simple means (like salt) to accomplish profound transformation.
Application: Trust God with areas of your life that feel “contaminated” or fruitless. Ask him to bring renewal.
2. Obedience Positions Us for God’s Work
Elisha didn’t question the method—he simply obeyed God’s direction to throw salt into the spring.
- God’s instructions may not always seem logical.
- Obedience often precedes visible results.
- Faithfulness in small acts can lead to large impact.
Application: Act on what God has already shown you, even if it seems small or unusual.
3. Spiritual Authority Should Be Taken Seriously
The mocking of Elisha at Bethel reflects a deeper rejection of God’s authority, not just disrespect toward a man.
- God’s messengers represent His truth and authority.
- Disrespect toward spiritual truth can lead to serious consequences.
- A culture of mockery toward what is sacred hardens the heart.
Application: Cultivate respect for God, His Word, and those who faithfully communicate it.
4. Words and Attitudes Matter
The youths’ taunting words (“Go up, you bald head!”) were not harmless—they revealed a posture of rebellion.
- Speech reflects the condition of the heart.
- Casual disrespect can grow into deeper spiritual resistance.
- What we say—and how we say it—has weight before God.
Application: Be intentional about using words that honor rather than tear down, especially in spiritual matters.
5. God Is Both Merciful and Just
This passage holds two contrasting truths: healing at Jericho and judgment at Bethel.
- God’s character includes both compassion and justice.
- His mercy brings restoration; His justice confronts rebellion.
- A balanced understanding of God leads to both comfort and reverence.
Application: Embrace both the kindness and the holiness of God—respond with gratitude, humility, and reverence.
