Forty-two Young Boys
In 2 Kings 2:23-24 we read about the unruly behaviour of some young boys. It says that Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. The context of the story can be understood by reading what happened prior to this incident. V.11 says a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and Elijah went “up” to heaven in a whirlwind. The usage of the words, “Go on up!” by the youths could have been an effort to tease Elisha to climb “up” along with his mentor. I believe they not only insulted the prophet but also his God, Yahweh.
The story ends unpleasantly. The prophet cursed. Thankfully two bears only mauled the youth and did not kill them, leaving them with a strong warning for their misbehaviour. However as a parent, I wonder about their upbringing. Did the parents of the forty-two young boys and the Yahweh- educators of their time fail? Jewish boys had education both at home and outside. I think it was a lack of value educatio from both these sides that led to a lack of respect of God and a minister of God. Lack of Christian education and good values for sure lead to disasters in churches and families even today.
Three Young Boys
I shift my focus to three more young men who belong to a time prior to Elijah namely, Samuel, Hophni & Phinehas (1 Samuel 1 & 2). The latter two were the children of the local priest, Eli whereas Samuel was the son of the “so called” lay member in the priest’s jurisdiction. Hannah & Elkanah together raised Samuel in Godly values. No wonder prophet Samuel changed the then world upside down and was a huge blessing to society.
Coming to Hophni & Phinehas, these young sons of Eli were sexual perverts and also were known for laying their hands on the offerings on the altar and licking the taste of the best portions. As a good parent Eli warned his sons saying, "Why do you do such things? ... If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?" His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke (2:23-25). Eli failed as a dad, for God said to Eli, “Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?” (v. 29) He failed to restrain his children (3:13) The result was chaos: Ark captured, disaster to nation, loss of lives of Hophni, Phinehas and his wife, all in one day.
Hope for Our Children
The Biblical solution is for parents to take their priestly role seriously following the footsteps of our forefathers of the patriarchal times. It is said that Abraham not only built tents but also altars (5 occasions specifically). Lot built tents, not altars. It is sad that some parents even today only build tents/ houses for children like Lot, but there is no family altar/prayer and no respect for God’s words. Abraham was blessed with Isaac and generations after him are blessed until today. In contrast Lot’s wife died as a pillar of salt, his children sinned with their own father also earning generational curses. Job who also lived in the patriarchal era took his priesthood seriously that it was a 'regular' custom for him. Early in the morning every day he offered sacrifices for each of them (Job 1:5) Though he lost them all in a day to death, the truth we learn from the full story is that Job got all of his blessings doubled. He did not lose his children at all because in eternity their count was also doubled! (ten earlier and ten later).
A typical family priest can even be a mother or a grandmother like in the case of Timothy, where his mom, Eunice and grandma, Lois took a lead. Timothy’s faith is attributed to these great women of faith (2 Timothy 1:5). Pastor Timothy learnt Scriptures from his infancy from them! (3:14-15) A godly upbringing can bring blessings in the lives of children and grandchildren. We are the priests to our children. It is the senior generation that can change the destiny of the juniors, trusting the word of God. We bring hope through Christ, the victor.
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