2 Kings 2:15-25
Elisha Succeeds Elijah

This week’s passage contains three mini-stories, each one stranger than the one before. Fifty “sons of the prophets” spend three days searching for Elijah, though he was taken up to heaven. Elisha, the successor to Elijah, throws salt in a spring to “heal” the water. Elisha calls down a curse on a group of boys who mock him saying, “Go up, you baldhead!” Passages like these make us uncomfortable, embarrassed; we skip past them as quickly as possible and hope our kids don’t ask about them. Pastor Dave showed us the insights a reverent attitude toward God’s word and careful study can produce. For example, the boys who mocked Elisha were not snotty elementary-aged kids but rather young men in their late teens. Elisha was bald because he had shaved his head as an expression of mourning the loss of Elijah. It is significant that the youth accosted Elisha as he traveled to Bethel, a center of idolatrous, counterfeit worship. Given that background, Dave paraphrased the youths’ jeers this way: “Take your mourning, follow your master, and beat it! You have no business here!” Elisha’s curse was not a peevish temper tantrum; he was appropriately calling down God’s judgment on rebellious covenant breakers. Lord, make us students of Scripture. Help us resist the temptation to rush past the parts that don’t make sense on first reading and instead dig into study resources that can help us.

Change is hard. The sons of the prophets knew that Elijah was gone and accepted it at every level except the emotional level. How could Elisha possibly take Elijah’s place, they must have wondered; he’s different! The mini-stories in this passage confirmed that God would work through Elisha as He had worked through Elijah. Dave encouraged us to think about someone or something God gave us and used in our lives but has taken away. It could be a person – a spouse or friend or pastor or church community. It could involve circumstances – a job or ministry or neighborhood or city. We know that what had been a security blanket is gone, but emotionally, we’re waiting for Elijah to come back. If you are in the midst of a painful transition, remind yourself before the Lord that He is the constant and the focus. Remind yourself that our sovereign God can do His work and accomplish His purposes through anyone and anything He chooses. The new will not be just like the old – Elisha was not a clone of Elijah – but God can and will use the new for His glory and your good.

Calvary Family

Dave and Carrie Tebay are teaching a class on parenting in a digital age this Friday evening. Parents are called to be gatekeepers of technology that can benefit or destroy their children. Useful information is a click away, but so is evil. Influencers motivated by money far outnumber believers who influence viewers/readers toward God. A child can stay connected to a large network of acquaintances, but digital connection is not necessarily the same as relationship. And, as parents teach and protect their children, they must stand against strong cultural currents. Perhaps our ever-present smart phones can be a reminder to pray for parents of children and teens.

The next baptism class is scheduled for Sunday, June 1. On the day of Pentecost, Peter told the new believers, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ …” (Acts 2:38) If you are a believer and have not been baptized, ask yourself, why not? Talk to the one you call Lord and articulate your reason for not taking this step of obedience. What does he say about it?

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert

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