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0 God sent two bears to rip apart 42 little children for making fun of Elisha's bald head

I kill ... I wound ... I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh. Deuteronomy 32:39-42

God sent two bears to rip apart 42 little children for making fun of Elisha's bald head

After Elijah went up to heaven in a chariot of fire, his disciple Elisha put on Elijah's mantle and started to perform miracles of his own. First he parted the Jordan River by slapping it with Elijah's mantle, and then he healed some water by adding a bit of salt.

And then he decided to go to Bethel.

While he was walking along, a group of 42 young boys started to make fun of Elisha's bald head.

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. 2 Kings 2:23

So Elisha decided to try his new-found prophet powers by cursing the little buggers in the name of the Lord. Then he stood back and watched what happened.

And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. 2 Kings 2:24a

What happened must have been hard for him to watch. Two she bears came out of the woods and tore all 42 of the boys apart.

And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 2 Kings 2:24b

The Bible doesn't say how Elisha reacted to the slaughter. It just says that he kept going on his journey to Bethel.

And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. 2 Kings 2:25

But I bet God got a kick out of the whole thing. He's the type.


The Friendly Atheist - How many people did God kill in the Bible?
God sent two bears to rip apart 42 little children.

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