2 Kings 1
The Bible is often harsh, and I don’t always understand it. There are a few examples of that in the first three chapters of 2 Kings. In chapter 1 Elijah called down fire onto two different groups of 50 men whom King Ahaziah sent to bring Elijah to him. I have no idea why Elijah did this. Was he afraid? I am hard pressed to believe God would have responded so readily to fear. Did God command him? We have no real indication of that. Or, perhaps, the evil intent of the commander’s pride was evident to Elijah in both cases.
The reason is not made clear. What is made clear, however, is that the third commander came with a humble heart. He came pleading for his life and the life of his men. God honored that by instructing Elijah to go with them. I know that God knows the hearts of men and I know that He “resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jms 4:6b). So I may not understand why God rained down fire on these men at Elijah’s request, but I trust that God’s judgments are never wrong. I also trust that God will have grace on those who keep their hearts humble before Him.
2 Kings 2
Then, at the end of chapter 2, Elisha cursed the large group of “small boys” who were jeering at him. Forty two of those boys were “torn” by two she-bears. Yikes! This seems a stark contrast to David, who did nothing to the man who vehemently cursed him as he fled Jerusalem to escape his son. But, as is so often the case, I sense there is way more to this story than what it seems. With some brief looking into it, I found some viable possibilities.
I mentioned recently how the Bible often makes reference to “children” who aren’t really what we think of as children at all. I found some clarification on that. As it turns out, the Hebrew phrase used in such cases does not necessarily refer to age or even size, but can also refer to status. So it is entirely possible, maybe even likely, that these “small boys” were young men, perhaps servants. Does that make the violence wrought on them any better? Not necessarily.
But I also discovered that Bethel, which means “house of God”, was anything but. It was actually one of the pinnacles of idolatry in the nation of Israel at the time. And I found some indication that their mockery of, “Go up, you baldhead!” was more than just a shot at his physical appearance. It was actually a mockery against God, His message, and the man He chose to bear that message. So not merely a personal attack at all. Therefore, what we have here is a group of at least 42 probably young men, possibly temple servants, coming out of an extremely idolatrous city and mocking God and his messenger. A different scene altogether!
I also noted that the text says, “and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD” (2 Kings 2:24). He did not act until he saw them. What did he see in them? Again, was the evil intent of their proud hearts evident to him? Were they armed in any way to attack him with more than words? Whatever it was, it seemed he saw something worth acting against. As for the action, he did not actually do anything himself. Instead, he turned them over to God, who then unleashed two she-bears on them.
Another thing to remember here is that the Bible is full of parallels, and this story is no exception. Elisha stepped in for Elijah, a great man of God, miraculously crossed over the Jordan into Jericho and then into the land of Canaan to bring judgment on the Godlessness there. This is not unlike the story of Joshua, as he entered the Promised Land after stepping in for Moses.
2 Kings 3
One last example is in chapter 3. God commanded the Kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom to, “ fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones” (2 Kings 3:19b) as they made their way through Moab. What did the trees and the springs and the land have to do with anything? It seems a terrible waste of good resources to me to destroy all of that stuff. Yet it is not an uncommon command from God.
But here’s the thing I need to take note of about that. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they didn’t just curse themselves, they cursed all of creation. So it seems reasonable that the “creation” associated with these corrupt and Godless nations would be cursed by their corruption. Among other things, God is making a point about wiping out corruption completely and about not clinging to corrupt things. Instead of seeing the total destruction as a waste, I need to remember that it is God who created it all in the first place. He can make more of it at any time and in any quantity that He wants. The concept of “waste” denotes a limited supply, but my God is limitless. I don’t need to cling to anything but Him, who provides all of my needs in due time and quantity.
And I will end this section by saying that it is good to know that I can learn, even without completely understanding. God is good.
James 1
One of the many things James points out in this first chapter is that it is not God who tempts us, but our own desires. Desire plants a seed in our hearts that “gives birth to sin” and ultimately leads us to death (James 1:15). So how does one fight temptation? My mind goes back to what I mentioned a couple days ago about Psalm 37:4. “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I mentioned that, rather than viewing this verse as a means to get what we want in life, we can look at it as a path to learning to desire the right things.
I can now take that thought a step further in the context of this verse in James and say that the way to fight temptation is to delight myself in the LORD. If I will enthusiastically, wholeheartedly place God first in my life, He will plant the seeds of His desire in my heart that will give birth to “every good and perfect gift” that comes from God (Jms 1:17). With God’s desire growing fruitfully in my heart, temptations will be weeded out.