I have some notes from 2 Kings that I’d like to share with you today.

Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

2 Kings 2:8 (NIV)

Moses parted the Red Sea, Joshua and the Israelites walked through the Jordan that split for them, and Elijah and Elisha both parted the Jordan, but Jesus walked on water!

As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind (emphasis added).

2 Kings 2:11 (NIV)

Only three people have gone to Heaven alive. Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus. When Jesus returns, all who are taken up with Him will be in good company.

From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 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 forty-two of the boys.

2 Kings 2:23-24 (NIV)

Was this a group of kids that Elisha called down a curse on? We might think so depending on the Bible translation we read. The NIV tells us these were “boys,” while the ESV tells us they were “small boys.” The King James Bible calls them “little children.” Versions like the NASB use the term “lads,” and the International Standard Version (ISV) tells us they were “young men.”

This wasn’t a group of children being disrespectful to their elders, and it certainly wasn’t small. That forty-two of them were mauled indicates that only a part of the group was mauled. This was what we might think of as a gang today. Hostile, abusive, and dangerous.

Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.

2 Kings 3:27 (NIV)

When Moab rebelled against Israel, the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom got together to fight the Moabites. After defeating the Moabites throughout the land, only Kir Hareseth still stood. Mesha king of Moab, in a last-ditch effort to achieve victory, sacrificed his son to the detestable god of the Moabites: Chemosh. Now, it might seem in 2 Kings 3:27 that Chemosh responded when we read, “The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.” However, that’s not the case.

There is a cause and effect here, but it’s not one where the king sacrifices his son to Chemosh and Chemosh responds. Thus, the fury against Israel. No, the fury against Israel was likely due to the fervor of the Moabites. If they were so desperate and determined to survive, that they resorted to human sacrifice, their determination to live was high. The thought comes to mind about how the cornered rat fights. It’s also possible that the three kings, having seen such a horrible act, retreated from the field of battle.

That’s all I have for today. I pray this day finds you well, and I thank you for stopping by!

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