II Kings 2:15-25
“And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.” (II Kings 2:15)
The sons of the prophets appears to have been a loose affiliation of men who felt called to become prophets. They banded together for encouragement and the opportunity to learn more about prophecy. It often pointed to as the forerunner of our modern day seminaries and Christian colleges. Deuteronomy gives specific instructions as to how to tell if a prophet was from God or not.
Deuteronomy 18:18-19 declares that God would give prophets and that the people must hear what God’s prophets had to say. They would be held accountable for obedience. “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
Prophets who were not from God were to be executed out of hand for lying about what God had said. Two tests were given to determine whether he was a false prophet. The first is found in Deuteronomy 18:21-22. “And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”
If the things the prophet prophesied didn’t happen, he was a false prophet and was to be killed and his prophecies ignored. He was not speaking for God but from some other source. Even if the prophecy happened, if he spoke in the name of another God he was also to be executed according to Deuteronomy 13:1-4. “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.”
No other instructions about choosing or training prophets is ever given in the Old Testament. The organization known as the sons of the prophets appears to have been entirely man’s idea, with no official authorization by God.
“And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.
And he said, Ye shall not send.
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send.
They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.” (II Kings 2:16-17)
The sons of the prophets feared that God had taken up Elijah just to drop him out in the desert. They had no confidence that he would actually take him into heaven. Elisha had gotten his training in the field working alongside Elijah and seeing hoe God worked, while the sons of the prophets were in a school settings where their experience was solely with the programs their teachers exposed them to. While they had more academic training, they had no experience in applying it to real life.
Unfortunately this is a potential problem for any academic situation, and Bible colleges or seminaries are no exception. Many Bible colleges equip their students with a great deal of knowledge, but little or no spiritual development. As II Timothy 3:5 says, they look great but have nothing worthwhile to offer. “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Their whole focus is on man’s ideas rather than God’s power.
Far too often Paul’s statement in I Corinthians 2:2-5 is ignored. “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." Academic training cannot replace practical experience if Christians are to develop a strong sound faith.
“And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?” (II Kings 2:18)
Elisha had tried to tell them that God could be trusted, but they had ignored him. Now he reminds them what he had told them. Convinced they knew more than he did, they had insisted on going. As I Corinthians 8:1 warns, “…Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” It is interesting to note that most of the prophets God used mightily were not from the sons of the prophets. The contrast between Elisha and th esons of the prophets is rather dramatic.
“And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is nought, and the ground barren.
And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.” (II Kings 2:19-22)
The sons of the prophets were headquartered in Jericho, but they had been unable to do anything about a serious problem. Elisha allowed the Spirit to direct him and was able to solve their problem very simply.
“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. 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. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.” (II Kings 2:23-25)
Since the time of Jeroboam, there had been a turning away from God and an increasing lack of respect for his standards. That these children would make fun of the prophet of God was only and indication of attitude of the nation toward God. These children were in effect mocking God‘s standard. Their age was not an excuse. .
“And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.” (II Kings 2:15)
The sons of the prophets appears to have been a loose affiliation of men who felt called to become prophets. They banded together for encouragement and the opportunity to learn more about prophecy. It often pointed to as the forerunner of our modern day seminaries and Christian colleges. Deuteronomy gives specific instructions as to how to tell if a prophet was from God or not.
Deuteronomy 18:18-19 declares that God would give prophets and that the people must hear what God’s prophets had to say. They would be held accountable for obedience. “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
Prophets who were not from God were to be executed out of hand for lying about what God had said. Two tests were given to determine whether he was a false prophet. The first is found in Deuteronomy 18:21-22. “And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”
If the things the prophet prophesied didn’t happen, he was a false prophet and was to be killed and his prophecies ignored. He was not speaking for God but from some other source. Even if the prophecy happened, if he spoke in the name of another God he was also to be executed according to Deuteronomy 13:1-4. “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.”
No other instructions about choosing or training prophets is ever given in the Old Testament. The organization known as the sons of the prophets appears to have been entirely man’s idea, with no official authorization by God.
“And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.
And he said, Ye shall not send.
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send.
They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.” (II Kings 2:16-17)
The sons of the prophets feared that God had taken up Elijah just to drop him out in the desert. They had no confidence that he would actually take him into heaven. Elisha had gotten his training in the field working alongside Elijah and seeing hoe God worked, while the sons of the prophets were in a school settings where their experience was solely with the programs their teachers exposed them to. While they had more academic training, they had no experience in applying it to real life.
Unfortunately this is a potential problem for any academic situation, and Bible colleges or seminaries are no exception. Many Bible colleges equip their students with a great deal of knowledge, but little or no spiritual development. As II Timothy 3:5 says, they look great but have nothing worthwhile to offer. “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Their whole focus is on man’s ideas rather than God’s power.
Far too often Paul’s statement in I Corinthians 2:2-5 is ignored. “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." Academic training cannot replace practical experience if Christians are to develop a strong sound faith.
“And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?” (II Kings 2:18)
Elisha had tried to tell them that God could be trusted, but they had ignored him. Now he reminds them what he had told them. Convinced they knew more than he did, they had insisted on going. As I Corinthians 8:1 warns, “…Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” It is interesting to note that most of the prophets God used mightily were not from the sons of the prophets. The contrast between Elisha and th esons of the prophets is rather dramatic.
“And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is nought, and the ground barren.
And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.” (II Kings 2:19-22)
The sons of the prophets were headquartered in Jericho, but they had been unable to do anything about a serious problem. Elisha allowed the Spirit to direct him and was able to solve their problem very simply.
“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. 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. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.” (II Kings 2:23-25)
Since the time of Jeroboam, there had been a turning away from God and an increasing lack of respect for his standards. That these children would make fun of the prophet of God was only and indication of attitude of the nation toward God. These children were in effect mocking God‘s standard. Their age was not an excuse. .
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