From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. “Go on up, you baldhead!” they said. “Go on up, you baldhead!” He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the youths. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. 2 Kings 2:23-25

Having very little hair myself, I couldn’t pass up discussing this Scripture. I personally don’t believe this was God’s intention in giving Elisha the double portion of blessing (Scripture doesn’t say either way). I believe it was a misuse of his power. I suppose you could make a case that his life was in jeopardy with at least 42 kids making fun of him. Forty-two youths were mauled by the bears, but how many, if any, escaped and ran to tell the neighboring town about Elisha’s arrival? We don’t know. However, it is clear that the youths were disrespectful to the prophet. And that’s the point I’d like to make.

Were the kids trained right by their parents, but when they were together in a group of 40+ they turned mean and disrespectful? We don’t know. We do know that no other incident like this is recorded while Elisha was a prophet. Coincidence? Perhaps. Lesson learned? Clearly.

This is a good time to pray for our youth. They are growing up in a very different society than we grew up in and our parents grew up in (and every other generation). There are challenges the youth face that we never had to face. One glance at the fashion styles and music and commercials that kids are surrounded by will give you a taste of what they are up against. Pray that those you know personally will be able to have a godly influence on the culture around them. Pray that there will still be a remnant who are God-fearing. And pray that God will give them great boldness to proclaim the gospel to their peers.