CRITICIZING GOD'S LEADERS - YOUTHS
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) It is dangerous to criticize God's leaders. Consider the consequences for men and women who do such a thing in the Bible.
b) Here is one of them.
1. Person
a) Youths.
2. Situation
a) Mocked Elisha and laughed at his baldness.
3. Result
a) Killed by bears.
4. Reference text: 2 Kings 2:23-24
i) 23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. (2 Kings 2:23-24 NKJV)
5. What is the text all about?
a) The mob of youths was from Bethel, the religious center of idolatry in the northern kingdom, and they were probably warning Elisha not to speak against their immorality as Elijah had done. They were not merely teasing Elisha about his baldness, but showing severe disrespect for Elisha's message and God's power. They may also have jeered because of their disbelief in the chariot of fire that had taken Elijah. When Elisha cursed them, he did not called out the bears himself, God sent them a judgment for the callous unbelief.
b) These young men jeered at God's messenger and paid for it with their lives. Making fun of religious leaders has been a popular sport through the ages. To take a stand for God is to be different from the world and vulnerable to verbal abuse. When we are cynical and sarcastic toward religious leaders, we are in danger of mocking not just the person, but also the spiritual message. While we are not to condone the sin that some leaders commit, we need to pray for them, not laugh at them. True leaders, those who follow God, need to be heard with respect and encouraged in their ministry.
The End...
0. Introductiona) It is dangerous to criticize God's leaders. Consider the consequences for men and women who do such a thing in the Bible.
b) Here is one of them.
1. Person
a) Youths.
2. Situation
a) Mocked Elisha and laughed at his baldness.
3. Result
a) Killed by bears.
4. Reference text: 2 Kings 2:23-24
i) 23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. (2 Kings 2:23-24 NKJV)
5. What is the text all about?
a) The mob of youths was from Bethel, the religious center of idolatry in the northern kingdom, and they were probably warning Elisha not to speak against their immorality as Elijah had done. They were not merely teasing Elisha about his baldness, but showing severe disrespect for Elisha's message and God's power. They may also have jeered because of their disbelief in the chariot of fire that had taken Elijah. When Elisha cursed them, he did not called out the bears himself, God sent them a judgment for the callous unbelief.
b) These young men jeered at God's messenger and paid for it with their lives. Making fun of religious leaders has been a popular sport through the ages. To take a stand for God is to be different from the world and vulnerable to verbal abuse. When we are cynical and sarcastic toward religious leaders, we are in danger of mocking not just the person, but also the spiritual message. While we are not to condone the sin that some leaders commit, we need to pray for them, not laugh at them. True leaders, those who follow God, need to be heard with respect and encouraged in their ministry.
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