Elisha, the Bears, and POTUS Trump

Last updated on: February 3, 2017 at 3:56 pm by John C Holbert

Elisha, the Bears, and POTUS Trump 2017-02-03T15:56:00-05:00 John C Holbert

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

01_Schwarzbär I once challenged a preaching class I was teaching to preach a sermon based on an especially notorious text: 2 Kings 2:23-25. Believe me, this text occurs in no lectionary, save a possible collection of readings that all wish had not found their way into the scripture! Surely, you know this one. Let me paraphrase the context by way of summary. Elisha, newly chosen successor of the great Elijah, who has just made a most dramatic exit from the world by means of a fiery chariot pulled by equally enflamed horses, announces his prophetic bona fides first by making a foul and dangerous pool of water potable by tossing some salt into it (2 Kings 2:19-22). As a result of this obvious and quite helpful miracle, Elisha proclaims that the mysterious loss of Elijah as Israel’s prophet may not be the catastrophe that it first appeared to be.

But he follows this laudable action with a second deed that is at best highly questionable and at worst nothing less than appalling. On his way to the sacred site of Bethel, that hallowed spot where in the dim past the patriarch Jacob had actually seen YHWH and had received from that God the great promise of land and countless descendants, a gang of “small boys (the word regularly implies boys under the age of ten) came out of the city and jeered at the prophet, saying, “Go away, baldy; go away, baldy” (2 Kings 2:23)! This seems a quite trivial matter, to say the least, especially for one who has just demonstrated unmatched miraculous power. We could expect the grand prophet to turn with a warm smile and cajole the tiny imps to watch their tongues and then move on with purpose to his next gig of useful action. But no! He turns around to see who is shouting such nasty taunts, and “curses them in the name of YHWH!” Talk about a repulsive use of the name of God! That ranks up there with praying before a square dance (which I admit to my shame I once upon a time did!) or asking God’s favor for a victory for your team.

Responding to the curse of the prophet, I suppose, two angry and hungry she- bears bound out of the nearby woods and proceed to maul forty-two of the screaming boys. After witnessing the blood bath, Elisha, we are told, calmly “went to Mount Carmel and then returned to Samaria.” We hear nothing of remorse or sorrow for the blood of the wounded and dying boys from the prophet; he just seems to go on about his business, having employed his God for evil and murder.

Little wonder that this foul text finds no place in the roster of possible preaching pericopes. I remember that one of my students in that long-ago class attempted a sermon on this text, but for the life of me I cannot remember what the sermon was about. Perhaps that is just as well. The text as it stands is disgusting, showing only the rash and uncontrollable authority of Elisha, prophet of YHWH. Would that this bit had been forgotten completely or at least deleted from the writings we call Bible. But there it is in all its so-called “sacred” glory.

What to do with it? The church has rolled along quite well without recourse to the story, save as a signal example of just how weird and strange our Bible can be. But in the age of Trump, a president without precedent, this text seems strangely prescient in aterrible sort of way. This is so, because one thing that all can agree on about a president Trump; he clearly does not take criticism very well! The leader of the free world spent the first two weeks of his presidency attacking, usually by way of his overactive Twitter account, anyone and everyone who would dare to question any idea he has floated or any decision he has made. If something is demonstrably not true, for example the size of his inaugural crowds compared to those of his predecessor, he quickly blames the “fake media” (CNN is his usual bête noir) for false reporting. When he banned Muslims from seven countries from entering the US for a period of months, and any Syrians for an undetermined time frame, (yes, make no mistake his immigration executive order is nothing but a Muslim ban), he quickly claims that President Obama had done the same thing, “banning Iraqis,” he claimed for six months. Not true, of course. Obama had simply strengthened the vetting process for any Iraqis who desired to enter during that six-month period. In fact, thousands of Iraqis continued to come during that designated time frame. Once again, Trump accused the media of not understanding, not reporting, not knowing what they are talking about.

This foolishness even included several tweets at Arnold Schwarzenegger, the new headman at the reality TV show, “Celebrity Apprentice,” the show that Trump ran before his foray into politics. Trump attacked Arnold for his “low ratings,” far below what Trump had achieved while on the program. Remember: these tweets were sent out AFTER Trump had become president. While Iran was testing missiles, North Korea threatening nuclear attack, China fortifying islands in the China Sea, Mexico rejecting Trump’s repeated demand that they pay for a 20 billion dollar border wall, Russia again messing with Ukraine, our president is spending his time fighting a faded movie star about the size of his television ratings! Is this not bizarre!

Donald_Trump's_hair_from_behind,_2007 Well, is it not bizarre that Elisha spent precious time during his prophetic career castigating and cursing and killing little boys for calling attention to his follicle challenged head? And why? He apparently is in this story rather like our current president, namely, terribly thin-skinned. An attack on his appearance forces him to retaliate in a deadly fashion. And it is surely ironic that the assault against the prophet has to do with his hair, or lack thereof, not unlike the most recognizable feature of the president, his oddly colored and even more oddly shaped coiffure. Indeed, when a silhouette of Trump is used, it is that specially curled hair that gives away his identity. Both T Giorgio_Vasari_-The_Prophet_Elisha-_WGA24289 rump and Elisha seem ever ready to attack those who attack them, sometimes with deadly results.

Great power matched with thin skin is a dangerous combination; as we see from the story of Elisha it can have deadly consequence. As we can see from Trump’s first two weeks in office, the combination is unpredictable and potentially terrifying.

So what to do? Neither Elisha nor Trump seems open to much change. Yet, Elisha, after the monstrous story of the bears and the boys, turned his power to good actions again and again. Can we expect Donald Trump to do the same? I am certainly not holding my breath, but because I am a Christian, I remain cautiously optimistic. For example, today’s news (Feb 3) brings a report that Trump appears to be tending toward the foreign policy of his predecessor, saying that new settlement activity in Israel “may not be helpful in achieving” the goal of peace. In the same vein, the president spoke against Russia’s latest actions in Ukraine, demanding that Russia withdraw from Crimea. None of this implies a complete change of heart, given the actions of the last two weeks that cause many of us bouts of apoplexy. Yet, these are hopeful signs that the thin- skinned one may yet turn into a president for all of us. We all need to stay vigilant against presidential actions that fly in the face of the gospel of God. At the same time, we need to applaud Mr. Trump when he veers toward actions we can support. Stay tuned and stay alert and stay hopeful!

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 2, 2017

How Can One Believe Such Things?

Next Post

February 10, 2017 How to be Happy?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz