03.07. The Consequences of Mockery

The Consequences of Mockery

Such then was the origin and character of the young, but presumptuous blasphemers who insulted the prophet at the gates of Bethel. They were instigated by the agency of the father of lies, and had entered upon a course the very opposite to that of goodness, righteousness, and truth. Had not this conduct been punished in the awful manner in which it was, the authority of Elisha among the people might have been greatly impaired; the insolence of his opposers would have been raised to a higher pitch, and might have known no bounds. Doubtless, this was what our inveterate adversary desired to accomplish, that Elisha’s spiritual influence might be put down at once, his prophetic work abolished, his mission stripped of its glory, and his person rendered ridiculous (as a false prophet) in the eyes of the people. The same method is still pursued by our great adversary in his opposition to the witnesses of God. If he cannot make them suspected as hypocrites or fanatics, he derides them to the multitude as contemptible and weak men, and therefore as false prophets. In this manner has he sought to destroy the influence of many a faithful Christian minister, and especially of one whom you well remember among yourselves. Nevertheless, that holy man stood (like an ancient confessor) unshaken as a rock, and continued joyfully to testify of Christ. He did not, as is so frequently the case at present, aim at countervailing the offence of the cross, by diluting the gospel, or by dressing it up in high flown eloquence. God was with that worthy man, and blessed his ministry. No wild beasts devoured his revilers, but they were visited with the thunderbolts of bankruptcy and penury—the badges of public contempt. He raised his servant from the dust, wherein they had sought to trample him; he gave double energy and point to his words, and so remarkably owned and prospered his work, that even the ungodly were constrained secretly to acknowledge that "the Lord was with him!" The transaction then before the gates of Bethel was not one that could be silently passed over. The attack on the cause of God was too serious to be met with clemency and forbearance. Of this Elisha was perfectly sensible. The indignity offered to himself he might easily have brooked but higher considerations prescribed to him, in this case, a different course. His authority in Israel was at stake, and with it the results of his prophetic mission. His rising feelings of compassion and love must, therefore, here be sacrificed to the honor and cause of Jehovah, the true God of Bethel and of Israel. This required the exercise of painful self-denial in a man of Elisha’s gentle character; but a sacred public spirit sustained him, and higher considerations for the general good prevailed over him. The man of God turned towards the reckless mob, beheld them with holy indignation, and "cursed them in the name of the Lord." Many interpreters, wishing to soften the matter, represent the prophet as only reproving them for their impiety, and threatening them, unless they reformed, with Divine judgments. But this attempt to save Elisha’s honor is gratuitous and misplaced. The words here used by the inspired penman oblige us to believe, that Elisha, under Divine direction, positively announced to his revilers the signal displeasure of the God of Israel. The Lord confirmed the word of his servant, and affixed to it a dreadful seal. Scarcely had the awful words escaped the prophet’s lips, when, behold, two raging bears, the terrible executioners of heavenly vengeance, rush forth from a neighboring wood; commence the work of destruction upon the godless rabble, and desist not until forty and two of them are torn in pieces. Those fierce avengers then returned quietly into the gloom of their forest, without the least molestation offered to the man of God. But what an awful judgment! What an astounding event to Bethel, and to the whole country! That it was a Divine visitation could admit of no dispute; otherwise it had not been even a likely occurrence that so many human beings should have been destroyed, as in a moment, by such means as these. Nothing but the keenest hunger could have incited such animals to attack the human species, and not even that to attack so many at once. That two such creatures should rush upon a whole band of vigorous youths was a thing unnatural and unknown. That hunger had not impelled them was evident, from their tearing one victim after another, and then deserting them all; for the history implies that they did not devour them. It is, therefore, most evident, which indeed the sacred history, with equal plainness, intimates, that this was a special visitation of God, who, in the exercise of his almighty power, can appoint at one time ravenous birds to carry sustenance to his servants, and at another raging bears to become the agents of his righteous displeasure. The event produced some salutary results. Though it did not suffice to change the minds of the idolatrous Bethelites, it put them under the restraint of bit and bridle, and served to secure, at least for a time, not only to the prophet, but to all the pious remnant in Israel, exemption from gross outrage and injustice. It is of the same character with the summary execution of the golden calf worshippers at the foot of Sinai; with the judgment inflicted on Ananias and Sapphira at the very commencement of the New Testament church; and was intended to produce a similar effect. It proclaimed in characters of blood, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked;" and great fear must naturally have come upon all the people. A deep and awful impression of the Divine severity must have bound the spirit of blasphemy and scorn, as with chains of brass; and the children of the prophets, those at least in Bethel, would enjoy some respite from persecutions and indignities, to which we may well suppose they had been hitherto exposed. The horrible image of the two terrible avengers, would seem to guard like sentinels the dwellings of God’s servants. The shields of the mighty were now seen to cover the prophet’s head, and the glittering sword of the Lord to be ready, if required, to devour the adversaries. But greatly as the punishment inflicted on this impious band of youths contributed to establish the dignity of the prophet, and important as was the impulse given by it to his work in Israel, and to the advancement of the word of truth, meekness, and righteousness, the spirit of the man of God would be so far from elated at any triumph of his own, that, doubtless, if any one lamented that the honor of God rendered such severity needful, it was Elisha himself. Many, had they been honored with such a triumph as his, would not have retired till they had witnessed the splendid consequences of the fearful infliction, or at least had gratified themselves with the altered position and obsequious respect of their opponents. Elisha desired no such gratification, but hastened from the place, as though he had been the vanquished party, and sought retirement on Mount Carmel. Does this surprise us? It need not, if we consider that the prophet found himself in a sphere of action directly at variance with his amiable and evangelical spirit. He, who was so disposed to forbearance and pardon, had been the instrument of a dreadful punishment; he, who was so especially fitted, by the peculiar structure of his mind, to administer consolation and healing, found himself suddenly armed with the sword of Divine vengeance, and, for a while, commissioned to scatter death and destruction around him. We may imagine that he hardly recognized himself, and that his very office seemed changed; so heavily would the horrible catastrophe depress his affectionate spirit. Not only would the mangled carcases of his revilers be constantly present to his imagination, but the awful condition of the souls whom his curse had precipitated into the presence of their Judge, would continually distress a mind like his. How should he regain that former happy serenity of which this tragic event must have greatly deprived him? How should he hush that tumult of horror, pity, and amazement, which must have agitated his soul? He was, indeed, aware, that the Lord had commissioned him to pronounce the judgment; but this consciousness would be insufficient, of itself, to restore composure. What else could he do, except to seek in retired solitude fresh converse with his God? In the shadow of the Lord’s hand must he hide himself, and there regain his self-possession. From him, he must obtain renewed assurances that he had done right, that he had acted in His name, by His imperative command, and as His instrument. He, therefore, flees from Bethel, and hastens to Mount Carmel, to pour out, in the solitude and silence of its groves, his oppressed soul before the Lord, and to calm its agitating impressions in devotional retirement.

Here we leave him, and conclude our reflections with rejoicing in the strengthening conviction, that God identifies the honor of his faithful servants with his own, and that all contempt of them is regarded by him as a contempt of Himself. Supported by this consideration, we may well deem it a small thing to be judged of man’s judgment, or to bear with the injustice of the world. If their arrows fly upwards, we may well allow them to pass harmlessly over our heads, without exciting our envy at the evil doers: for rather should we pity them, and cry, "Father, forgive them." It is true, God at present endures with much long suffering those who oppose his cause and despise his people. He seldom inflicts summary judgment as he did for Elisha at Bethel. If in this life he punish the revilers of his faithful servants, it is rather by concealing from them the true glory of real Christians, than by displaying it openly. Such is the nature of that service to which we belong, that it is the service of the cross; and the inscription on its banner for our direction on the way, is, "Onward." But, a day will come, when the King shall assert the honors of Zion, and present her to his enemies as his chosen bride, arrayed in his own glory. What astonishment and confusion of face will then be manifested! Till then let us bear the cross patiently, and be contented to be despised and unknown. We know ourselves. We already see though darkly, yet assuredly, in the mirror of God’s word, something of what we shall be; therefore let us never faint, nor be discouraged that the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Amen.