WAIT… THAT’S IN THE BIBLE? — DAY 22
A lighthearted look at some of the wonderfully unexpected things you discover when you actually read your Bible, context still matters!
“From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’ they said. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’” 2 Kings 2:23
You start reading this story and think:
Okay… apparently Elisha is having a rough day (a bad hair day).
He’s walking along the road when a group comes out and starts mocking him:
“GET OUT OF HERE, BALDY!”
And you’re thinking…
Well, that’s rude.
Then you read the next verse.
Elisha turns around.
He pronounces a curse in the name of the LORD.
And suddenly…
TWO BEARS COME OUT OF THE WOODS.
Modern Bible reader:
“I’M SORRY…
WHERE DID THE BEARS COME FROM?!”
That escalated considerably faster than expected.
Context REALLY matters with this one!
This isn’t simply a story about some little children making fun of a bald man and receiving an unbelievably harsh punishment.
The Hebrew expression translated “boys” or “youths” can refer to young people rather than necessarily small children, and there were more than 42 in the group.
Their words also appear to be more than a playground insult.
Elisha had just succeeded Elijah as God’s prophet, and “Go up!” may carry the sense of telling him to leave or disappear as Elijah had. They were showing contempt toward God’s appointed prophet.
And this happened as Elisha approached Bethel, a major centre of Israel’s idolatrous worship.
So this strange little episode sits within a much bigger biblical story about rejecting God’s authority and His word.
It isn’t:
“Don’t call someone bald or bears will get you.”
But still…
You have to admit that Scripture gives absolutely no warning for the reading experience:
Verse 23:
“Baldy!”
Verse 24:
BEARS.
First-time Bible reader:
“Well… that took a turn.”
Sometimes the verses that make us stop and say:
“WAIT… THAT’S IN THE BIBLE?”
are also the ones that make us dig deeper and discover why context really does matter.
A lighthearted look at some of the wonderfully unexpected things you discover when you actually read your Bible, context still matters!
“From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’ they said. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’” 2 Kings 2:23
You start reading this story and think:
Okay… apparently Elisha is having a rough day (a bad hair day).
He’s walking along the road when a group comes out and starts mocking him:
“GET OUT OF HERE, BALDY!”
And you’re thinking…
Well, that’s rude.
Then you read the next verse.
Elisha turns around.
He pronounces a curse in the name of the LORD.
And suddenly…
TWO BEARS COME OUT OF THE WOODS.
Modern Bible reader:
“I’M SORRY…
WHERE DID THE BEARS COME FROM?!”
That escalated considerably faster than expected.
Context REALLY matters with this one!
This isn’t simply a story about some little children making fun of a bald man and receiving an unbelievably harsh punishment.
The Hebrew expression translated “boys” or “youths” can refer to young people rather than necessarily small children, and there were more than 42 in the group.
Their words also appear to be more than a playground insult.
Elisha had just succeeded Elijah as God’s prophet, and “Go up!” may carry the sense of telling him to leave or disappear as Elijah had. They were showing contempt toward God’s appointed prophet.
And this happened as Elisha approached Bethel, a major centre of Israel’s idolatrous worship.
So this strange little episode sits within a much bigger biblical story about rejecting God’s authority and His word.
It isn’t:
“Don’t call someone bald or bears will get you.”
But still…
You have to admit that Scripture gives absolutely no warning for the reading experience:
Verse 23:
“Baldy!”
Verse 24:
BEARS.
First-time Bible reader:
“Well… that took a turn.”
Sometimes the verses that make us stop and say:
“WAIT… THAT’S IN THE BIBLE?”
are also the ones that make us dig deeper and discover why context really does matter.
WAIT… THAT’S IN THE BIBLE? — DAY 22
A lighthearted look at some of the wonderfully unexpected things you discover when you actually read your Bible, context still matters!
“From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’ they said. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’” 2 Kings 2:23
You start reading this story and think:
Okay… apparently Elisha is having a rough day (a bad hair day).
He’s walking along the road when a group comes out and starts mocking him:
“GET OUT OF HERE, BALDY!”
And you’re thinking…
Well, that’s rude.
Then you read the next verse.
Elisha turns around.
He pronounces a curse in the name of the LORD.
And suddenly…
TWO BEARS COME OUT OF THE WOODS.
Modern Bible reader:
“I’M SORRY…
WHERE DID THE BEARS COME FROM?!”
That escalated considerably faster than expected.
Context REALLY matters with this one!
This isn’t simply a story about some little children making fun of a bald man and receiving an unbelievably harsh punishment.
The Hebrew expression translated “boys” or “youths” can refer to young people rather than necessarily small children, and there were more than 42 in the group.
Their words also appear to be more than a playground insult.
Elisha had just succeeded Elijah as God’s prophet, and “Go up!” may carry the sense of telling him to leave or disappear as Elijah had. They were showing contempt toward God’s appointed prophet.
And this happened as Elisha approached Bethel, a major centre of Israel’s idolatrous worship.
So this strange little episode sits within a much bigger biblical story about rejecting God’s authority and His word.
It isn’t:
“Don’t call someone bald or bears will get you.”
But still…
You have to admit that Scripture gives absolutely no warning for the reading experience:
Verse 23:
“Baldy!”
Verse 24:
BEARS.
First-time Bible reader:
“Well… that took a turn.”
Sometimes the verses that make us stop and say:
“WAIT… THAT’S IN THE BIBLE?”
are also the ones that make us dig deeper and discover why context really does matter.
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