2 Kings 2,5,6

The first chapter in the reading assignment, 2 Kings 2, is the transition from the prophet Elijah to the prophet Elisha. Elijah is translated in verse 11 when he “went up by a whirlwind into heaven,” but in the verses leading up to that one, it is evident that Elijah, Elisha, and “the sons of the prophets” (verses 3 and 5) all know what is coming. Elisha is determined he will not to be separated from Elijah before Elijah is taken into heaven. Three times, Elijah tells Elisha to stay while he goes on; three times, Elisha declines. In verse 9, after miraculously dividing the river Jordan so that they can cross, Elijah finally asks Elisha what it is that he wants. “And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” Elijah tells him in verse 10 that it is up to the Lord whether this request is granted or not, but that if Elisha sees Elijah being taken into heaven, then he will know the Lord has granted his request. In verse 12, we learn that “Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.”

When Elisha leaves, he performs the same miracle that Elijah had just performed: he divides the river Jordan and crosses.

What happens next is interesting. The “sons of the prophets” at Jericho think that perhaps Elijah is not gone for good; they suggest that perhaps, after being taken up, that the Lord may have dropped him off on a mountain or in a valley (verse 16). They nag Elisha until he says they can go looking for Elijah, but despite a three-day search involving 50 men, they don’t find anything (verses 17). He says, “Did I not say unto you, go not?”

The next thing that happens is the same men ask Elisha to heal the salty waters in the region, and he does (verses 19–22).

I remember the next story, in verses 23–24, from an institute class at the University of Utah. Some youths come out of the city and mock Elisha, saying, “Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.” In the King James Version, the translation calls them children, but the footnote at the bottom says they were youths, not children. My teacher said also that they were not mocking a bald man, but that they were saying he was without authority or power. Elisha curses these youth (verse 24) and two bears come out of the forest and tear 42 of them apart.

Granted, if these were youths rather than children, that is a mitigating factor. But it doesn’t solve the problem for me completely. I can remember feeling as though I was pretty grown up at 18; decades later, 18 looks terribly young to me. Granted also, if 42 of these youth died, this was an intimidating number of people, and it is possible that Elisha may have felt threatened by them. However, I still don’t like the story. Verbal abuse punished by death seems overly harsh to me. Two things comfort me: (1) The whole story is only two verses. Who knows what got left out that would make it more palatable? (2) Elisha does not specifically ask for the bears to tear them apart. Was the bear story really demonstrating a divine answer to prayer, or just a story that is useful for establishing Elisha’s authority as the successor to Elijah (which is certainly what the first part of the chapter seems to be emphasizing)?

The second chapter in the assignment is 2 Kings 5. This is the famous story about Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army who also has leprosy, and how he was healed after he washed himself in the river Jordan seven times. I am going to neglect the first part of the story, although it has some good things: the little maid who is responsible for sending Naaman to Israel (verses 2–3); the faith Naaman shows, along with the evident friendship between him and the king of Syria (verses 4–6); the king of Israel’s despair when he thinks he is being set up for a political fall by being asked to do something beyond his own power (verse 7); and Elisha’s confidence in stating that he has the power to heal Naaman (verse 8).

If you look at the story itself, Naaman has a hard time following Elisha’s instructions because he was expecting something more spectacular (verse 11) and because he thinks the rivers at home are better than the river Jordan (verse 12). “So he turned and went away in a rage.” In verse 13, it says, “And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?”

Naaman is persuaded by this, and in verse 14 he does bathe in the river Jordan as instructed, and he is healed of his leprosy.

The point here to me seems to be one of pride. The instructions were too humble, too quiet. Naaman is persuaded, however, by the influence of servants who must surely have cared about him, or they would have kept their mouths shut. They point out, in the gentlest way, his pride in refusing to follow directions.

One of the questions in the study guide is, “How can we increase our willingness to follow the counsel of Church leaders?” (p. 20). I understand the point of such a question (I think what is being suggested is that LDS church leaders have the authority to speak and that when we refuse to listen it is usually out of misplaced pride). However, I think the real point here is not blind obedience. In my mind, at least, this has to do with following through on acts of faith and being swayed by the good counsel of those who have our best interests at heart. Naaman had the faith to come to Elisha. He also had the good sense to recognize when he was hearing good counsel. He was willing to back down after an embarrassing tantrum and to do the right thing after all. This story says much more to me about the good influence friends can have than anything else. If it were not for the friendship of the “little maid,” the Syrian king, and Naaman’s servants, Naaman would surely never have been healed.

Isn’t that also true for the rest of us? I don’t know about you, but I have been reading LDS church magazines, reading books, and listening to talks given by the general authorities my entire life. I have also had the privilege of associating with really good people who are doing their best to live gospel principles. Some of these people have been around for a while, so we are talking lifetimes of trying to do the right thing. If someone asks me to do something, whether it is a neighbor or a general authority, they are not asking in a vacuum. In the case of the general authorities, I may have effectively been watching them and studying them my entire life. If I then choose to do what they ask me to do, isn’t that mostly because I respect them and feel that they are on solid ground?

Now, sometimes it is possible that someone in a position of authority makes a mistake in one area or another. I then have a responsibility in terms of how I follow. On the one hand, I do not feel that we are bound to support mistakes. On the other hand, I’d better be very, very sure that the mistake is not mine! And even in a case where someone is clearly at fault at one area, that doesn’t excuse me from supporting the same individual in a separate area where no mistake has been made.

All in all, I think that the whole concept of leaders and followers interacting is far more complex and challenging than the question implies. If you know the moral character of your leaders, and you know that they are good people, then it isn’t at all challenging to follow their directions when they are asking you to reach for something better. However, this does not mean abdicating your own moral judgment. You are far more likely to follow the good counsel of an individual whose strengths and weaknesses you understand than that of a stranger you don’t know at all. But that idea absolutely requires that you have to do your homework and that you have to understand who is talking to you. Otherwise, how can you be sure that what you are reaching for is really better at all?

Naaman’s gratitude to Elisha (verses 15–19) is beautiful. Naaman’s conversation with Elisha is more than evidence enough for me to understand why people cared about him. He offers payment to Elisha and Elisha declines; he offers lifelong loyalty to the Lord, combined with utter honesty for the fact that his king will require him to be involved in official worship of the pagan god Rimmon. Elisha responds in verse 19 by saying “Go in peace.”

The remainder of the story is about greed. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, wants the pay that Naaman offered and that Elisha declined. He runs after Naaman and lies in order to get both clothing and money. When Gehazi returns, Elisha asks him where he’s been and he lies again in verse 25: “Thy servant went no whither.” Elisha reproves him and then in verse 27 curses him with “the leprosy of Naaman.”

I don’t want to say a whole lot about the last chapter in the reading assignment, which is 2 Kings 6. Elisha miraculously rescues the lost head of an axe, Syria comes to war against Israel, and while Samaria is under siege, there is a gruesome story about cannibalism. (The king holds Elisha accountable for this atrocity.) However, there is a great section of the chapter I do want to draw to your attention. In verse 16, when Elisha and a young man are apparently surrounded by enemy soldiers, Elisha tells his frightened companion, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” He then prays that the young man’s eyes will be opened. The prayer is granted, and in verse 17 the young man sees that “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

I really like this little story, because so often I think we feel as though we are alone in whatever we are doing, but we don’t understand the full situation. Our spiritual eyes are usually blind. It comforts me when I am scared or intimidated to realize that I can’t see everything, and that I might actually have more help than I realize.

In the case of this particular siege, the Syrians end up fleeing in chapter 7 (which is not part of the reading assignment) because they think they hear a battle, and they leave all their possessions behind. Everything changes in the course of a single day, and Israel does not even have to engage them in battle on this particular occasion.

We live in frightening times because we are in the last days and so much is in upheaval throughout the world. However, perhaps we can draw comfort from the idea that our world has a purpose and that in the long run we can look forward to a happy ending, despite the wars, calamities, and tragedies of our day. If we act as people of conscience who are willing to help others, then perhaps, like Elisha, we are also entitled to say, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”

Sunday School Notebook -July 2006 - Susan Morgan