Small Group Questions:

1. What did think about today’s Bible story?
2. How easy is it for you to handle your tongue? Do you think it matters what you say?
3. Read James chapter 3:3-12. What convicts you?
4. We must desire to learn God’s word so that we can know Jesus (The Word), to speak God’s words. God’s words bring life. Where in your life do you want to speak “LIFE”?

THE MAIN POINT

Rather than mockery, our words should bring life.
We must desire to learn God’s word so that we can know Jesus (The Word), to speak God’s words. God’s words bring life.

THE BIBLE

2 Kings 2:23-25, James 1:22-27

THE CONTEXT

The Bible has some really strange stories in it. There are some that you read and think, “Wait a minute. What?!” We’ve unpacked a talking donkey, a fish that saves a man by swallowing him but today’s story might be the weirdest of them all. The story is found in 2 Kings where 42 youth are killed by 2 bears for calling a man bald. You read that correctly. It’s possibly one of the craziest and weirdest stories in the Bible and leaves most readers in shock and doubt of trusting a God who could do such a thing. As always, reading this story in light of what came before and what came after is the key to understanding what happened. We also need to know something about Bethel’s relationships with the prophets of God.

Did God kill a bunch of kids?

When Elisha drew near to Bethel, and a group of people mocked him, many versions say these were “little children” (KJV), “boys” (NIV), or “small boys” (ESV). The Hebrew phrase is a combination of the noun na‘ar and the adjective qatan. What do these mean?

The word na‘ar, which is often rendered as children/boys, has a broad range of meanings. It can denote everyone from baby Moses (Exod. 2:6) to fully-grown Absalom (2 Sam. 14:21). A na‘ar can also designate a servant (Gen. 22:3), armor-bearer (Judges 9:54), king’s official (2 Kings 19:6), and—significantly for us—a priest (1 Sam. 2:17).

The Hebrew adjective, qatan, means small, little, or young. The question is: how young? This same Hebrew combination, na‘ar qatan, is used to describe a mature rebel named Hadad the Edomite (1 Kings 11:17). Likewise, when Solomon takes the throne at about the age of twenty, he describes himself as a na‘ar qaton (1 Kings 3:7). Obviously, he and Hadad were not elementary-aged, little boys!

Thus, at a bare minimum, we can say it’s highly unlikely the people who mocked Elisha were “little children” or “small boys.” It’s much more probable that these were young men and they were called na’ar not in reference to their sex (male) but their office (servants).

WHY IS BETHEL IMPORTANT TO THE STORY?

If you want to understand a Bible story, pay careful attention to geography. This story takes place in Bethel. At this time, Bethel had become one of the two main worship centers for the northern kingdom. And not just “worship” but rebellious, covenant-breaking, idolatrous worship. Jeroboam founded Dan (in the north) and Bethel (in the south) as his kingdom’s two alternatives to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:25-33). He set up golden calves at these sites, ordained non-Aaronic priests changed the time of the festivals, and Baal worship soon reigned supreme.

Bethel became a thorn in the side of everything Moses had commanded. When God’s prophet approached this idolatrous city, the young men mocked him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” Not only were they ridiculing his lack of hair (which, in the Old Testament, was often associated with a skin disease), they were telling him to go away, fly away, be gone from this life, like his predecessor Elijah had done. Keep in mind that, right before this, Elijah had “gone up” to heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2). This small story is part of the bigger story of the ongoing war between God and his worship, and false gods and their worship. Elisha represented the one, these mocking young men the other. In other words, this is a small battle in the ongoing war between light and darkness, orthodoxy and idolatry, God and gods. It has as much to do with Elisha’s bald head as the Exodus has to do with gathering straw for Pharaoh. Both are minor details in the major drama.

One more thing: as mentioned above that na‘ar is often a title for official, steward, servant, or priest. Because this happened at Bethel, it is suspected these were forty-two priestly servants attached to that city’s idolatrous shrine. They mocked and ridiculed Elisha because he opposed everything they and their god stood for.

THE CORE

As you prepare the core of the message using personal story and questions keep in mind these points:

• This memorable story, far from being a moralistic tale about honoring elders or preachers, is a brief glimpse into the age-old war that began in a garden and ended at an empty tomb. Bears may play a significant role here, but the real animal in this overarching story is a serpent. His slithering and slandering tongue was inside the mouths of these mockers. The god whom they served, Baal, was just a mask for Satan. And their fate was a preview of the serpent’s eventual fate. Except it wouldn’t be a bear that mauled this serpent, but a lamb—the Lamb of God—who would take him down. That Lamb’s victory is for Elisha, and for all of us, who live in his resurrection kingdom that will have no end.
• Rather than mockery, our attitude should be one of humility. We ought to live with a desire to be taught the Word of God, and be obedient to Jesus (THE WORD).

THE APPLICATION

As you prepare the application, challenge and/or encouragement, keep in mind these points:

• James 3:9 shows us the power of our tongue. We can worship God but also mock others. The way of Jesus is learning how to tame our tongue, being humble in our attitudes, and being obedient to God.
• We must desire to learn God’s word so that we can know Jesus (The Word), to speak God’s words. God’s words bring life.