Lynda Pongracz, Elisha: Prophet of the Faithful God (2008)
Lesson 1: “Elisha's Authority Established by God”
Bears maul 42 children to death for their petty taunts of Elisha
Scene 1: After Elisha walks across the Jordan River, he is greeted by 50 “sons of the
prophets” who want to search for Elijah. Elisha tells them not to. Disrespecting Elisha’s
authority, they insist on searching for Elijah anyway.
You deserve to go to Hell: “After you body dies, your
soul will go to one of two places — to Heaven, God’s
perfect home, or to Hell, a terrible place of
punishment.... Because you have sinned, you don’t
deserve to go to Heaven. Instead you deserve to go
to Hell and be separated from God forever.”
Obey Church Authorities: “Have you ever been guilty
of disrespecting God by not respecting His workers....
God has placed some of His workers in authority over
you — He has put them in charge... The pastor of your
church, your Sunday school teacher or other leaders in
your church are all God’s workers.... When you disobey
your church leaders or your parents, you’re being
disrespectful....”
Scene 2: After three days of fruitless searching, the 50 sons of the prophets return, and
Elisha gains their respect. Elisha performs a miracle on Jericho’s toxic well water, throwing
salt on it to “purify” it, and gains the respect of Jericho’s residents.
Listen, Obey, and Pray for Your Church Authorities:
“When your pastor is teaching God’s Word, listen
carefully, obey what he teaches, and pray for him....
When church leaders make rules, what should you do?
(Listen, obey, pray.) You show respect by listening quietly
when they are talking to you or teaching you and by
speaking politely to them. You show respect by listening to their advice or
suggestions and learning from their experience. Mostly, you show respect by obeying
them with a good attitude.”
Scene 3: Elisha leaves Jericho and heads into the mountains toward Bethel. As he walks
along, several “young men” begin taunting Elisha, rudely telling him, “Go up, you bald head;
go up, you bald head!”
People who don’t believe the Bible is true are defiant fools: “There
are people today who foolishly defy (go against) God. They aren’t
interested in what God has said or done—they don’t
believe God’s Word is true. But God’s Word is true! God
says that the person who against Him is a fool.”
You have a sinful heart, deserve to go to Hell, and
you would be foolish to defy God: “Your sinful heart
causes you to do sinful things such as cheating at
school, lying and talking back. God says your sin must
be punished.... [T]he punishment for sin is to be
separated from Him in a terrible place.... [But God] is ready to forgive your sins when
you call on Him, believing that He died for you. Only a foolish person would not believe
in the living God and defy His power.”
Scene 4: Elisha asks God to punish the boys. God sends two
bears after them, and “suddenly they stopped laughing and
mocking him.” “The laughing and mocking of the young men
turned into screams for help,” as 42 of them are mauled to
death “because they did not respect God or His worker.”
“Challenge” for the week: Don’t challenge your
church leaders: “The week show respect to your
pastors, parents, and other leaders by listening carefully,
obeying them and praying for them. If you do that you
will be pleasing God. Next week you can tell us how God helped you show respect.”
© Intrinsic Dignity
