If your God is the God of the Bible then the answer is yes. Check out the verses below:
2 Kings 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
I have heard various explanations from Christians about why this is acceptable, but none have been satisfying. Some say the children were actually a gang of wild youths who would have hurt the prophet. Some say the children got what they deserved for mocking a prophet of God. Killing those children sent a message to other children and they were more obedient to God.
I cannot understand why anyone would worship a God who kills children.
1 comment:
Hi Clint,
I will address this passage of the Bible in a way you may not have heard before. From my own study, I believe that it was not God's "hand" that killed these children, but the prophet's hand. Why do I say this? It is due to this verse:
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. [Romans 11:29]
What this verse says is that when God gives us a gift (gifts of healing, power, miracles) He will not take it away just because we misuse it.
The office of prophet is an extremely high calling that comes with great power and spiritual authority. And all forms of power and authority can be abused. Spiritual power is no different from political power. Leaders can use political power for good or for evil. Power without character will lead to abuse.
In this case, I believed that the prophet Elisha abused his power by cursing the children who mocked him. I believe at that time Elisha did not have the character to go along with the power that he possessed. Remember this incident occurred right after he received the double portion power from his mentor, Elijah.
The Scripture does not say if God punished Elisha for this act, though it is obvious that Elisha did not lose his power afterwards, as the verse in Romans explain, God does not take away the power He has given us, even after we abuse it.
Though Elisha did many miracles in his life, he was not considered as great of a prophet as his mentor, Elijah, and nowhere near the level of Moses. I believe it has to do with his character issues.
In the New Testament, Jesus mentioned something very interesting: (Matt 7:21-23)
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
So just because someone performs miracles and display supernatural power, even in the name of God, does not mean that they are friends of God. Though the display of the supernatural points to the existence of God.
Today, we can see powerful leaders in all arenas being exposed in scandals. It shows that they did not have the character to go along with their power. It is God's desire for all of us have the character to go along with the power that He gives us, and God is always working on our character (The fruit of the Spirit, Gal. %22-23). But each of us can also resist God's work in building character in our lives, and just play with the power that He gives us. This deeply grieves God's heart.
Elisha was not perfect, and none of us are perfect. I believe that Elisha couldn't control his temper, and cursed the youth in a moment of rage. In the past, when he didn't have the power, nothing would happen after he cursed people, but now, things have changed. And this incident may be something that he regretted deeply later on.
There are many "heroes" in the Bible who were deeply flawed and did not fully represent the heart of God. Including David, who murdered and committed adultery. The Bible also mentioned how David repented after he committed the sins, and David was punished by God.
In the Bible, only Jesus is the full, accurate representation of God's heart. And Jesus said, "let the little children come to me." (Matt 19:14) Jesus loved children.
Psalm 127 says, "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward."
I hope these passages in the Bible brought more clarity to you about the true heart of God. Can God take away the power that He gives us? Yes, but it is out of His honor and respect for us that He doesn't snatch back the gifts that He gives to us. He is not into controlling us like slaves or robots. He wants to give us the freedom to make decisions for ourselves, and He trusts us to make wise choices with the power that we possess.
Blessings to you,
Sam
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