Don't call someone a "baldhead!"

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Scripture

Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!”
(2 Kings 2:23 NASB)
When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.
(2 Kings 2:24 NASB)
He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
(2 Kings 2:25 NASB)
Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
(Psalms 82:3 NASB)
Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
(Psalms 82:4 NASB)

 

Observation

This seems to be a rather strange story to me. Elisha passes by Bethel and some young men from the town come out and mock him. They make fun of the fact that he is bald. To put the story into perspective, Elisha is now God's man of the hour. The mantle of spiritual leadership for the land has been passed from Elijah to Elisha and now, this is God's man. This story isn't just about a group of young men, but about an entire nation who has turned their backs on God with no respect for the things of God. Therefore, as the Holy Man walks past their town, the young men come out and shout mocking comments in his direction.

The next part seems quite odd. It may seem against God's nature, but I believe that the mocking had gone deeper than just the human Elijah, but in reality the boys were mocking God himself. Two female bears suddenly appear and they attack the boys. In the Psalm reading we read about the justice of God. It is God who vindicates and rescues the weak and the needy. It is God who rescues from the wicked. Whether in this scenario or any other, it is God who responds and God who vindicates in the face of evil.

 

Application

The point here is not really about calling someone a "baldhead" or not. However, it does have to do with mocking God and picking on those who are weak. These are two very distinct points and I'm afraid that there are times when it becomes easy to go with the crowd and make fun of the "man of God." We must be ever so cautious about this type of behavior. We may not always agree with everything that the person God has called to leadership has in mind, but that is no cause for mocking. No, for when we mock God's person for the hour, we are mocking God himself and there are dire consequences to this behavior. Instead, we must be willing to stand alone, to move away from the crowd and hold God's people in respect.

At the same time we are to act justly with those who are weaker. All of us are weak in our own way. We may have power in some areas of our lives, but at the same time we are weak in others. There will most always be others, those that we can support who are weaker than ourselves. We must be grateful for those who have gone out of their way to support us, and in return we must be protectors of those who are weaker than us. God's nature is to do justice and to rescue the weak from the hand of the wicked. If we are clothed in Christ and are united with God, then his nature is in us. Our response should be his response. Injustice should make us as angry as a bear! We should come out ready to protect those whom the world might mock. There are dire consequences to calling God's servant, "you baldhead!"

 

Prayer

Lord, please help me to see the world in the way that you do, and to be a servant who helps to protect the weak. Amen.

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