It's the Word of God. It's very important that we get its message. And not that it's not a message for everybody, but I want the children that are here, there's always a good number of children in our church and we appreciate that, to listen carefully to what is recorded here. Because the children, certain children, are mentioned in this portion. And therefore it's going to be relevant for you to Think about it. 2 Kings chapter 2 and verse 23. It's talking here about Elisha the prophet. And he went up from thence unto Bethel. I should explain that Bethel literally means in Hebrew the house of God. Beth means house. Like Bethlehem. It means the house of bread. But Beth-El, El being the Hebrew word for God, the house of God had actually deteriorated. It was no longer Beth-El. In reality, it was more Beth-Avon. It was a house of idols. It had turned away from God. But nevertheless, Elisha went up there onto Beth-El, onto the house of God. 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 thy bald head! Go up thy bald head! You say, well, what's such a big deal about that? I mean, when you were a kid, did you not see an old fellow and say, Hey, old baldy! That's not such a big deal, is it? Yeah, well it was a big deal to the Lord, and we're going to see in our message today why it was such a big deal. That they were mocking the Lord's servants. Go up thy bald head, they said. Go up thy bald head. Verse 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 tear forty and two children of them. And he, Elisha, went from thence to Mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. And we're going to learn from this portion of Scripture what the Apostle Paul said in the book of Galatians. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. We trust the Lord will bless the reading of His word to our hearts for His name's sake. We have been reading this morning in our series on Elisha the Prophet. A short portion, which is nonetheless important. Just a few verses, verses 23 through 25 of the second chapter of 2 Kings. But it is a vital portion because it records something of the ministry of Elisha. It is a most unusual and unique incident in his life. For as we noted in a previous sermon, the ministry of Elisha stands out by way of marked contrast to that of Elijah, his predecessor. Because whereas Elijah is normally the one associated with fire and thunder judgment and condemnation. So Elisha is usually thought of in terms of a gentle, still, small voice and is usually associated with the themes of mercy and of grace and not judgment. In that way we have noted that Elijah reminds us very much of the law, the rigors of the law, the condemnation of the law, the judgment pronounced by the law against law breakers. Elisha, on the other hand, reminds us a whole lot of the gospel and its message of mercy and love and joy and redemption. But we always have to keep in mind that as there is condemnation in the law, there is also condemnation that associates itself with the gospel. When you preach the gospel, it's a two-edged sword. The gospel is a saver of life unto life, that's true. But it is also a saver of death unto death. There is condemnation attached to the gospel. Because when the gospel is rejected by sinners, when they turn away their ears from hearing the gospel, they come under that condemnation. He that believeth not, Jesus said, is condemned already. So it is wrong for us to think that the gospel message is only a message of love and of mercy. But it is also, because of its rejection, a message that speaks of judgment and no preacher who's worth his salt will leave out of his ministry the subjects of hell and damnation. Yes, the goodness of God leadeth men to repentance, but it's also necessary for men to be slain by the law and indeed by the gospel if they're going to be redeemed. So when we look at Elisha's ministry, not only was it one that was entirely taken up or mostly taken up with mercy, but the judgment of God was present in his ministry also. And before us this morning is a short portion of Scripture, the divine record of a real, true happening in the life of the man of God. Now, it is a portion of Scripture, like many others, that has been attacked and assailed by critics. there are those who have said this portion of scripture is unworthy of God and even serves as an example to us of the so-called barbaric nature of Old Testament religion that many will tell us even from Pope. Well now when you come to the New Testament you have a different God entirely. The God of the Old Testament was all flames and fire and judgment and Breathing out condemnation that the God of the New Testament is a God of love and charity and mercy and tenderness. I want you to know that's not true. That is not what the Bible teaches. And we who love the Lord and His Word gladly receive it, whatever it says. And we believe that there are lessons in it for men in every age, even the Old Testament. We believe in preaching from the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Because God has spoken by one mouth, but that one mouth has two lips. The Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, you have the New Testament concealed. In the New Testament, you have got the Old Testament revealed. There is progressive revelation. Thank God we can look at the Old Testament in the light of the full revelation that we have in the New. We're going to learn this morning something about Macharite. and its consequences. Let me say something to everyone, not just the children. It is not a good thing. It is not a good thing to make light of the things of God. It's not a good thing to make the Bible the butt of your jokes, as many do. We should hold this book in the utmost esteem and reverence. But that doesn't mean that we find a glass case for it and put it in there and we never read it. That's not reverence for the Word. That's making God's Word into a relic. God's Word is to be used, it's to be employed. Your Bible should be well-thumbed and well-fingered and well-used. I go through Bibles quite readily. I'm not sure how long they last, but the pages start falling out, they start not cooperating. It's funny, isn't it, when you first get a Bible, you can hardly get the pages apart, and then they all start coming apart easily. But then whenever you have an old Bible, it goes back again to that, and you hardly get the pages apart. At least that's what happens to me. We should use God's Word, and we should have the utmost reverence for it, and the things that it contains. Don't make fun of the Bible. We're going to see here that mockery has its consequences. That's what I wanted to concentrate upon today. The mockery of these young people of the town of Bethel. and what we may learn from it. Let's think about their mockery. First of all, the occasion of it. Look at verse 23, and you'll see there the occasion of this mockery. These young people mocked Elisha the prophet at a particular period. It says, and he went up from Thence unto Bethel. From where? From Jericho. Jericho was the place of the curse, but right there Elisha brought healing He brought about a change in the waters so that they were no longer producing sickness among the people. There was no longer barrenness in the ground. There was fruitfulness. God, by His servant, healed those waters. Elisha performed there, at that particular time, an act of mercy. The Lord was at work. Blessing was following his ministry. And then he comes to Bethel, and as he's going up to Bethel, The Bible says as he was going up by the way, verse 23, there came four little children out of the city and mocked him. The timing is significant here. Elisha had performed a great miracle of mercy and of grace. The Lord had blessed his ministry and it was at that point that the opposition arose. It was at that particular time that the opposition came against his ministry. Now we could compare also the ministry of Elijah. Let's think about one incident in particular, the victory on Mount Carmel. Remember how the Lord answered prayer, sent fire from heaven and even then sent the rains in answer to his praying. But it was right then that there followed the threat of the evil Queen Jezebel, I'm going to kill you Elijah. And the Bible shows us how he ran away and he was in a state of depression and defeat and found himself sitting under a tree in the wilderness asking God to take away his life. You know what that tells me? It tells me that the devil loves to attack the people of God just right after a time of great blessing and victory. How often has it been the case, and you don't need to put up your hand if it's true, but you'll know it's true. How often has it been the case that you haven't been five minutes away from the house of God when you've been blessed in your soul until the old devil is attacking you in some way, shape or form. It's not by accident. It's not, you know, just a coincidence. And if you've ever experienced the blessing of God, you will also have experienced the devil coming against you and opposing that work that God has done in your soul. So this mockery happens at a particular period I think we could develop that further and think about the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Remember when the Savior was baptized and there came the voice from heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. There was the Spirit of God in the form of a dove that was above his head and he said that it suffers us to do this, to fulfill all righteousness. That was a time of tremendous blessing and right after that The very next verse, in fact, after Matthew chapter 3 comes Matthew chapter 4 verse 1, and the Lord was led up into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The temptations of Satan followed hard on the heels of the voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. We've got to be very careful about watching out for the devil and to be like Paul who said, we are not ignorant of his devices. It came, this mockery, at a particular period It also, if you look at verse 23, happened at a precise place. In our Bible reading, we refer to this. Bethel means the house of God. How often does the devil attack us as we make our way to God's house, even on the Sabbath day? How often does the devil attack some so that they don't even make it in the first place to the house of God? As he was going up by the way. This was not an accident. This was by design. I think of the words of Paul, or the experience of Paul in Acts 16, verse 16. It says, And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. The devil sent along that woman to disrupt the people of God in their worship, to try to hinder them as they went to prayer. Again, I make the point, how often does the devil come to attack you when you try to pray, or when you try to come to the prayer meeting? How often does the devil attack? I would like to believe what the hymn writer has written, and I think there's a sense in which it is true. Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. Sometimes I wonder, is that true? Because when I try to get on my knees, the devil kneels down beside me. Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. The devil attacks you when you try to pray. And will hinder you and will stop you by any way he can. When you are, as it were, even in your heart and soul, trying to ascend into the house of God. Again, there's another point here about this precise place that the mockery happened. Because Bethel was, in effect, no longer the house of God. It had become a center of false religion and idolatry. I want to show you how that had happened in history. Go back to 1 Kings chapter 12. This gives a good background to the portion that we're reading. 1 Kings chapter 12, and reading from verse 28. It's talking here about King Jeroboam. Jeroboam was an innovator. Jeroboam was one who wanted to bring false worship to the people of God, but he did it in a very clever fashion. What he did was to ape and to copy the true worship of God. 1 Kings 12, 28, Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold thy God, Oh Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. He says to the people now I'm not going to change your religion but it's too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. It's too far for you to travel to the place of worship down there in Judah. So what I'm going to do is set up here in Israel the same religion. But of course it wasn't the same. because he set up two golden calves, one in Bethel, verse 29 tells us, one in Bethel, mark that, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one even unto Dan, and he made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. See, he's introducing a man-made religion, a man-made priesthood, and even a man-made feast. For it was in verse 32 that God said, Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. It was like the feast in Judah, but it wasn't the feast in Judah. Just like the mass might be looked upon by some as being like communion, but it's not communion. It's not the same thing. It's false. It's an innovation. And we read on in 1 Kings 12.32 that, So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made, and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month. Look at this. Even in the month which he had devised of his own heart. This is man-made religion. This is man-made worship. and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel, and he offered it upon the altar, and burnt incense. Bethel had apostatized. And right now when Elisha is there, 2 Kings chapter 2, there's a bunch of people there who are idolaters, who hate the truth. They hate the truth. And because they hated the truth, their children hated the truth. But there was a witness for the Lord in Bethel. 2nd Kings chapter 2 verses 2 and 3 tells us that that was the place where Elijah was going to go and Elisha went with him it says in verse 2 so they went down to Bethel and mark 2nd Kings 2 verse 3 what it says carefully and the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha there was a witness for the Lord there in that idolatrous place there were sons of the prophets there And Elisha was coming, I believe, to meet with them. He was coming to see the sons of the prophets and to worship with them. But the hostile worshipers, idle worshipers of that city organized a demonstration to hinder the servant of Jehovah. That's what this was all about. This wasn't just a bunch of little kids who happened to be happily playing and they saw this bald man and they decided to make fun of his baldy head. That's not what was happening. That is not What this portion is saying, merely. Before we get to the mockery and its origin, we want to just say that mockery was not and is not something limited to the day of Elisha. I think about the Savior upon the cross. And what does the Bible say in Matthew 27? We read from verse 29, And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, and get out of your mind the idea of those thorns that are on your rose bushes we're talking about eastern thorns that are 2 and 3 inches long that were woven into a mock crown because you see, Jesus is the King of the Jews they knew that was his claim so they decided to follow up on his claim by mocking him, plaiting a crown of thorns It says in verse 29 of Matthew 27, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand, a stick, a mock scepter, trying to make him look the fool. And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him saying, Hail, King of the Jews. And they spit upon him and took the reed and smote him on the head. Can you imagine when they hit him over the head with that stick? They were beating those eastern thorns down into his skull. and they made the blood come. They mocked him. There's much more about the mockery that is recorded in the gospel that our Savior endured. The Lord Jesus said, it is enough for the servant that he be as his Lord. If they call the master of the house the Elzebub, what will they not say about his servant? What will the people of the world and ungodly folk not say about the people of Christ when they say the things that they do about Christ? If they have persecuted me, he says, they will persecute you also if you are a child of God. And Paul found that to be so in his preaching in Acts 17, verse 32, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead some spot. Ha! Resurrection. Do you really believe that stuff? That a man who was dead came alive again on the third day? walked on this earth and then went back to heaven, they expect us to believe that? Absolutely, if the gospel says it. But they must. In Jude verse 17 and verse 18, that little epistle of Jude right before Revelation, one chapter, here's what it says, Jude verses 17 and 18, But beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you There should be mockers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. Mockers. 2 Peter chapter 3 tells us the same thing. There are those who mock, there are those who laugh and scorn at the things of God. Knowing this, there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? That's the day we're living in folks. 2 Peter 3 verse 3. Mockers. Scoffers. And there's an important point to note about the mockery that was rendered against Elisha, and that is he didn't have to go looking for the opposition of the devil. He didn't have to go, you know, looking in Bethel. I wonder where all the apostates are. They came to meet him. They came out to meet the prophet before he would even get to Bethel. I believe they were hoping to turn him away from his plan and purpose. And is it not remarkable that the Bible says of the ministry of Christ, in Mark chapter 5, verses 1 and 2, they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the gathering, and when he, Jesus, was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tomb, a man with an unclean spirit. You don't have to go, believer, looking for the devil. He'll come to you. You stand up for God and His truth, the devil's crowd will come after you. By the way, you will notice about these children that they came out of the city. Just go through your Bible and notice how many times the city or cities are referred to in a negative connotation. The city is usually to be looked upon in scripture as a place of great evil. It's a picture of the world. It's a picture of And those that are involved in all kinds of wicked practices and sins, they came out of the city. But notice not only the occasion of the mockery, but the origin of this mockery. Now, we have to say right away that no doubt this sneering and this scoffing of God's prophet ultimately had its origin in hell. No question. Because all mockery of God and His people originates in that place. It comes from the pits. Oh, the mockery of the resurrection, while we're on that subject, may well come from the lips of one who says he's a minister, but the origin is still the pit of hell. The same origin. Those who attack God's truth, who mock God's truth, are of their father the devil, because the devil is the great mocker of godly things. He inspires mockery in his own children. Remember, when Jesus was being tempted by Satan, it's not without significance that the devil said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. There's a voice of unbelief, as ever I heard it. If thou be the Son of God, casting doubt upon the things of the Lord. Remember the first words of the devil recorded in the Bible? Genesis chapter 3, Yea, hath God said. Is that what God said? casting doubt upon his word, mocking his own truth. And so here, the devil was behind this mockery, but if you want an immediate cause, the mockery had its origin not only in hell, but doubtless among their parents at home. Where do you think these children learn to mock the man of God? By the way, some have pointed out that the word, the Hebrew word that's used here for little children, actually means young men. And so it's very likely, and I would certainly go along with that, that this was very likely a band of youth, possibly young teenagers. But really, it doesn't lose its force for all of that, even if it were little children, I still believe it. They were taught to have an utter disdain for the Lord and for the servants of the Lord. And where did they imbibe this? They imbibed it at home. What kind of parents did they have? Did they instruct them in the truth? Not very likely. Did they teach them respect for the things of God? No, not at all. It appears that they were sent from the city to abuse the Lord's servants. They knew that he was coming, you see. Sometimes they say good news travels fast, so does bad news. As far as the idolaters of Bethel were concerned, it was bad news that the prophet of God was coming. So these children were sent out, these young men, to abuse God's servants. And I make the point, how many parents today, in the day in which we live, are responsible for the wickedness of their offspring because of example, and because of the things that they're taught, or not taught, as the case may be. In seeing the conduct of their parents before their youngsters, is it any wonder that a lot of children grow up with the attitudes that they do? When my wife and I started a children's meeting back in Rutherglen in Scotland, we got little kids in off the street. We went around the homes, contacted their parents, and some of them used to say to the kid, would you like to go to the church? And the kid would say no. They'd say, no, he doesn't want to go to church. That's it. End of story. I never got the option when I was a kid. I never was asked did I want to go. I was told I was going. In fact, I wasn't sent to Sunday school or church. I was brought, you see. I was brought. But we had a couple of kids in that children's meeting on a Wednesday night who were from a home that was very dysfunctional. In fact, I would say we had 20 to 25 kids to come and probably three quarters of them were from homes that were dysfunctional. But these two kids in particular, I discovered through the grapevine in that area that their mother was a junkie. She looked like one right enough, now that I think of it. But she was sending those kids on onto the street, a nine-year-old and an eleven-year-old, to sell drugs, to get money to feed her habit. And the only teaching that those kids were getting from a biblical standpoint was what they got for an hour on a Wednesday night in our little meeting. Is it any wonder that children grow up the way that they do when they have the kinds of parents that they have? Where, tell me, did these young people learn to scoff at the things of God? Was it at home? And by the way, it should be noted that delinquency in youth is a mark of a day of apostasy. Isaiah chapter 3 teaches us that. Isaiah 3 verse 5 is the scripture that I'm thinking about. It says, and the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor. Mark this, the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable. In other words, in this day of apostasy that was being talked about, children were to be noted for their lack of respect for older folks. That's a mark of apostasy, one of the marks. And how we need parents in the day that we live to obey the Bible in raising their children. How we need that. To inculcate the teachings of God's precious words within their young hearts. Timothy was one who grew up to be a preacher. And you know why? Not just because God called him, ultimately that's the reason. But because he had learned the things of God from a child. And he was taught them by his godly mother and godly grandmother. The object of this mockery then we want to think about. Verse 23 tells us that there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him. Who? Elisha. Elisha was the immediate target of their scorn. They said, go up thy bald head. Go up thy bald head. But I want you to know this morning, and this is important, that the real object of their mockery was the God of Elisha. Now, how do I know that? Well, for a couple of reasons. In verse 24, he turned back and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. In the name of the Lord. Or, if you like, by the authority of the Lord. This was a divine judgment that was visited upon these youngsters. You see, we need to realize that the devil cannot get at Christ now. On the cross, the serpent bruised the heel of the seat of the woman. That was Christ. He certainly was there. In fact that's hinted at in Psalm 22 where the Lord speaks of the strong bulls of Bashan compassing me around. He speaks of the horns of the unicorn. It's all very symbolic language but it's talking about demonic and devilish activities. The devil got at Christ and of course he failed for Christ got the victory over the devil, trod him under his feet But now the devil cannot get at Christ except through his people. The body is attacked on earth when the devil cannot injure the head in heaven. Any attack upon the church, therefore, is a blow aimed at Christ. I want you to think about that. Any blow that is aimed at the people of God is aimed at the Lord himself. That is why when Saul of Tarsus, later when he was converted to be called Paul the Apostle, when he was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, when the Lord stopped them in his tracks on the road to Damascus, you know what he said? Acts 9 verse 4, Saul saw, why persecutest thou me? And he said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, Whom thou persecutest. But Saul wasn't persecuting the Lord Jesus. He was persecuting the Christians. Ah, but when you persecute the disciples of the Lord, you're persecuting the Lord Jesus. That's what Christ said. The devil can't get at the head, so he attacks the body. Any mockery, therefore, of God's people and their stand for truth, their biblical teachings that they follow, is an attack upon the Lord. Remember also, that the Savior himself promised that this would be so. In John 15 verses 20 and 21, he said, Remember the word I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. They do it to you because you are associated with me. Now, when we go back to the incident, you may be wondering how this is the case, that this is a persecution of a servant of the Lord, when they were merely making fun of his appearance. I mean, a lot of kids have done that. Oh, baldy. Right? You shouldn't do it. You shouldn't do it. But a lot of kids do it. Make fun, in fact, a lot of adults do it as well. Make fun of somebody with a bald head. Usually the ones making fun are those that have a good head of hair themselves, otherwise they wouldn't really have a lot to say, right? But there was a deeper meaning attached to this. Go up thou bald head. It is believed, at least by many commentators, that the reference to his baldness was a reference to the fact that he was morally impure and had become bald as a result of leprosy. You can read about that kind of thing that happens in the book of Leviticus where there was a baldness of the forehead, there was a baldness of the head and leprosy would be in his bald forehead or in his scalp. But more than this, this mockery was not mere childish mischief But it was a wicked and blasphemous attack upon God and His servants. It was bad enough to ridicule the Lord's servants, because the Bible says in Psalm 105 and verse 15 something about this. Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm. That's what God said. But their words were words that revealed skepticism and unbelief because when they said not only thy bald head they said twice go up go up you know why they said that? this was a mocking reference to the translation of Elijah up to heaven you see they had heard about this report that Elijah had gone from earth to heaven in a whirlwind and there was a chariot and horses of fire And they did not believe in that idolatrous place that that really happened, even though they'd heard the reports of it. And so what they were doing here, these little children, was mocking at a divine miracle. Go up, thy bald head. You go up as well. You get translated to heaven as well. They didn't believe it. Go up, thy bald head. Go you up as well, baldy. And they thought that was funny. but they were mocking the Lord. And we could bring that right home to today and isn't it amazing, or not so amazing really, how many ungodly people speak about the miracles of Christ. They don't believe Jesus turned water into wine. They don't believe Jesus walked in the water. They make fun of that. They don't believe the Lord healed the blind. They don't believe He raised the dead. People mock about those things. Laugh and scorn at it. You start talking about those things, you can see some of them tittering and laughing under their hands. I think it's really funny to mock at the things of God. Make a real laugh of the resurrection of Jesus. In fact, there is a so-called minister in England who was the Bishop of Durham until fairly recently when he retired. His name is David Jenkins. And he said, among many other blasphemous things that he has preached, That the resurrection of Jesus was no more than a conjuring trick involving bones. That's blasphemy. That man will remember those words forever. People mock at the Second Advent, as we've already pointed out from 2 Peter chapter 3. I want to tell you Christians that are here, when folks make fun of you for your godly beliefs, or scoff at the preaching, or scoff at the witness, it's really the Lord they're mocking. Don't take it personally. It's the Lord they're mocking. The devil's crowd will, though, use even personal insults to try to do harm to the message that we bring. That's an old tactic, isn't it? You don't like the message, shoot the messenger. The telegram boy brings evil tidings and boom, blow him away. We don't like to hear it. Shoot the messenger when you don't like the message. Remember how they mocked the Savior, tried to discredit His miracles. The enemy's tactics have not changed. They're still the same. And I want you to notice here that as Elisha was concerned for the Lord's honor, or he cursed them in the name of the Lord, so let us forget ourselves amid the mockery and the persecution and what people might say about us. It's the glory of God that we should be jealous of. It should grieve us when we hear people, for example, taking the Lord's name in vain. Because, I mean, that's nothing to us, is it? Well, it should be, because they're speaking about our Saviour. They're speaking about our Lord. If somebody in your family that you greatly loved was being ridiculed and run down and people were saying everything about them, you would go to bat for them, wouldn't you? Oh yeah, you'd go to bat for them all, right? You say, don't say that about my loved one. Don't say that about the person that I love. Some of you husbands, somebody starts running down your wife, you're ready to get the fish out. And hopefully vice versa, right? You don't like it. You don't like to hear it. You don't want to hear it. Because you love that person. How much do we love the Lord? If we love the Lord, are we not going to be jealous for the honor of his name? And that brings me to this, the outcome of this mockery. Go up thy bald head, they said, mocking him. And he turned back and looked on them. I can just imagine what kind of look that was. You ever heard of somebody say that the look that was on that person's face was the look that would have killed you? Well, when Elisha looked on those young boys, he looked on them with a fierce look. And he cursed them. in the name of the Lord. The judgment of God came upon the mockers. Or we read on in verse 24, look at it carefully, and there came forth two she-bears out of the woods. Is there any significance in the fact that they were females? I'm not going to comment on that at all. But they tear forty and two children of them. Now I have to worry about these sexist remarks and not be too chauvinistic, but that's what the Lord says. There came forth two she-bears. And you don't want to mess with she-bears, especially when they're either hungry or their cubs are nearby. You really don't want to get near them. Some people think bears are cute. They are cute. When they're behind a cage, I think they're really cute. That's the only time I ever saw them. When I was a kid growing up in the zoo, there were bears. But I always liked the fact that they were behind a cage. I would not have liked to have come across them out there in the open. And God shows us here in His Word that judgment will come swiftly when He wants to send it. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. What do I learn from this? It is very, very dangerous to cast scorn on the things of God. Now, some people may stop here and say, wait a minute, wait a minute. Why such a severe punishment? I mean, come on. Children, you know, making fun of the prophet, surely he could have just blown that off. No. The authority of Elisha as a prophet had been challenged and it was now at stake. In their words was implicit the idea you're not fit to be a prophet. And furthermore, we don't believe you're a prophet. Because you're telling us that Elijah as a prophet of God went up into heaven. You go up and prove that you're God's prophet. They didn't believe in his prophetic office therefore they would not believe any word that came out of his mouth and Elisha had to be vindicated and the cause of God had to be vindicated because his future ministry and prophetic work was at stake many of those great acts of mercy that would be performed in the future were at stake God needed to vindicate his servants and Elisha as the prophet of God was vindicated in a very marked way. He cursed them in the name of the Lord. The Bible doesn't tell us that Elisha was a, you know, a bear trainer. Elisha didn't work in a circus. He just cursed them in the name of the Lord and right then there came out of the woods two female bears. I'm not an expert in bears, but from what I read The action of these two bears was very unusual. It would be very unusual that two bears, two female bears, would come and tear apart 42 young people all at one time. That's what the Bible says happened. There came forth two she-bears out of the wood and tear 40 and two children of them. And furthermore, there's no evidence that they did it because they were hungry. Because they didn't eat them, they just tore them to pieces. Kind of like a coyote would do with lambs and sheep. They just kill them for the heck of it. They just kill them because they like killing. These bears weren't hungry. They came out and did the bidding of God. Now, let's learn this. The honour of the Lord and that of his people is bound up together and whether it is here or as is more likely in this New Testament age, hereafter God will deal with those who oppose himself and his church. A lot of people don't believe in the judgment of God because they don't often see it apparently manifested on this earth. But yet my Bible tells me it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And when God wants to, He can make anything do His bidding. And I learn right here that even the wild beasts of the wood are under God's control. Even these two bears were doing God's bidding and carrying out judgment. God is sovereign. God is in control. And He will always vindicate the right eventually. And this was a miracle. It was a miracle of judgment. It was a miracle of condemnation, but nonetheless it was a miracle. God was vindicating His own name because Elisha cursed Him in the name of the Lord. And how do you know that God's approval was on that? How do you know that it wasn't just a fit of temper on Elisha's part? How do you know that it wasn't just, you know, pique on his part? He was really, it got under his skin that they talk about that bald head of his, so he cursed him. How do you know that God approved of that curse? Because immediately there came these two bears and tore 42 of them in pieces. God vindicated the ministry of his servant. Therefore, as the people of God, we ought not to be afraid. of all who might oppose us and the truth of God. Because they're opposing the Lord Himself. And the Lord Himself will in one way, shape or form vindicate His own truth. And just in closing, I want you to see what happened to Elisha after this. It says that he went from thence to Mount Carmel. I wonder why he went to Mount Carmel? Well, Mount Carmel was the scene of the great triumph, wasn't it? when his master Elijah prayed and God sent the fire. And not only that, the judgment of God fell that day at Mount Carmel on the false prophets. The worshipers of Baal, idolatry was routed at Mount Carmel. And Elisha goes from this place of idolatry to Mount Carmel, the scene of Elijah's greatest triumph. And he goes there perhaps as his master did to pray and to give thanksgiving to God and from thence he returned to Samaria and he began then, continued then rather, to carry out his ministry. Young people, even the young children and the older folk that are here, be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever you sow the Bible says you will reap. This is, as I say, a short portion of scripture but it's a portion of scripture that shows me just how jealous God is for His own name and His own cause. God loves His own truth and God will defend His own truth even if He has to take drastic measures to do it. I remember some years ago the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland a man called Brian Faulkner It was on television. It was something that was broadcast nationwide. And he venomously attacked the Lord's servant there in Ulster. He made a fearful attack upon Dr. Paisley, upon the Free Presbyterian Church, because politically it didn't suit him, the things that we were saying. And he said in reference to Paisley, he says, Dr. Paisley, he says, I would call him a demon doctor who's going about this country preaching God knows what. And I was just a young fella at the time. I remember my mother giving a huge gasp, put her hand over her mouth. And as God is my witness, I remember my mom saying, something terrible is going to happen to that man. The Lord's not going to allow that just to go past. Well, just a few weeks passed and Paisley was out of the country. In fact, I think he was in the States at the time. Brian Faulkner was fond of hunting. His red tunic and all the rest of it. The hounds. And he was out, he was a very skilled horseman. And he was out on a hunt. And he was at a particular road that I know very well. and he had just come outside the home of one of the office bearers of our church in the Martyrs. So it was very significant where he was at that time. And without any warning, his horse reared up, I don't know where he saw a rabbit or an animal or something, the horse reared up, threw him off, and the horse inexplicably trampled on top of this man at a grating and killed him, stone dead. And as soon as that came on the news that the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland has been killed in a riding accident, I thought of the statement that he made. The demon doctor is going about the country preaching God knows what. You say, does God always do things like that? Not always. Not always. But sometimes he does. And I really believe that it is a very dangerous thing. Not just to mock men, because men are men. It doesn't really matter in one sense what anybody would say about me or you or any other Christian. But God believes that it matters. It matters to Him. Because His honour is bound up with the honour of His people and of His truth. And that is why old Samuel Rutherford, the Covenanter, said, Do not give away one hair's breadth of God's truth. Because it is not yours to give away, but God's. The Bible says, buy the truth and sell it not. We've been talking about the judgment of God today in a particular sense. But you know, there is a judgment to come. And we should never forget what John the Baptist preached, which was who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come. There is wrath. Bible says, Because there is wrath, beware, lest he take thee away with his stroke, and then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. My Bible tells me in the book of Hebrews that our God is a consuming fire. It also says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Thank God for redemption through Christ Thank God for the mercy that there is in the gospel. If you trust in the Savior with all your heart, He'll save you. And you'll never be judged. You'll never experience the wrath of God because Christ has borne that wrath on your behalf.