23 And he went up from thence to Bethel, and as he went up by the way, there came forth little boys out of the city, and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, bald head; go up, bald head!
But they mocked at the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the fury of Jehovah rose against his people, and there was no remedy.
But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, let not Judah trespass; and come ye not unto Gilgal, neither go up to Beth-aven, nor swear [As] Jehovah liveth!
and others underwent trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, and of bonds and imprisonment.
and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou art Son of God, descend from the cross. [And] in like manner the chief priests also, mocking, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others, himself he cannot save. He is King of Israel: let him descend now from the cross, and we will believe on him. He trusted upon God; let him save him now if he will [have] him. For he said, I am Son of God.
and having woven a crown out of thorns, they put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and, bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And having spit upon him, they took the reed and beat [him] on his head. And when they had mocked him, they took the cloak off him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify.
And seek not Bethel, neither go to Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices in the morning, your tithes every three days,
So shall Bethel do unto you because of the wickedness of your wickedness: at day-break shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.
The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calf of Beth-aven; for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the idolatrous priests thereof shall tremble for it, for its glory, because it is departed from it.
But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot. Against whom do ye sport yourselves? Against whom do ye make a wide mouth, [and] draw out the tongue? Are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,
And the people shall be oppressed one by the other, and each by his neighbour; the child will be insolent against the elder, and the base against the honourable.
Then remove discontent from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth are vanity.
Folly is bound in the heart of a child; the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
But at my halting they rejoiced, and gathered together: the slanderers gathered themselves together against me, and I knew [it] not; they did tear [me], and ceased not:
Sons of fools, and sons of nameless sires, they are driven out of the land. And now I am their song, yea, I am their byword. They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, yea, they spare not to spit in my face. For he hath loosed my cord and afflicted me; so they cast off the bridle before me. At [my] right hand rise the young brood; they push away my feet, and raise up against me their pernicious ways; They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, without any to help them; They come in as through a wide breach: amid the confusion they roll themselves onward. Terrors are turned against me; they pursue mine honour as the wind; and my welfare is passed away like a cloud. And now my soul is poured out in me; days of affliction have taken hold upon me. The night pierceth through my bones [and detacheth them] from me, and my gnawing pains take no rest: By their great force they have become my raiment; they bind me about as the collar of my coat. He hath cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. I cry unto thee, and thou answerest me not; I stand up, and thou lookest at me. Thou art changed to a cruel one to me; with the strength of thy hand thou pursuest me. Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to be borne away, and dissolvest my substance. For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and into the house of assemblage for all living. Indeed, no prayer [availeth] when he stretcheth out [his] hand: though they cry when he destroyeth. Did not I weep for him whose days were hard? was not my soul grieved for the needy? For I expected good, and there came evil; and I waited for light, but there came darkness. My bowels well up, and rest not; days of affliction have confronted me. I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up, I cry in the congregation. I am become a brother to jackals, and a companion of ostriches. My skin is become black [and falleth] off me, and my bones are parched with heat. My harp also is [turned] to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of weepers.
And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt! And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. And this thing became a sin; and the people went [to worship] before the one, as far as Dan. And he made a house of high places, and made priests from all classes of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 2
Commentary on 2 Kings 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
In this chapter we have,
This revolution in prophecy makes a greater figure than the revolution of a kingdom.
2Ki 2:1-8
Elijah's times, and the events concerning him, are as little dated as those of any great man in scripture; we are not told of his age, nor in what year of Ahab's reign he first appeared, nor in what year of Joram's he disappeared, and therefore cannot conjecture how long he flourished; it is supposed about twenty years in all. Here we are told,
2Ki 2:9-12
Here,
2Ki 2:13-18
We have here an account of what followed immediately after the translation of Elijah.
2Ki 2:19-25
Elisha had, in this respect, a double portion of Elijah's spirit, that he wrought more miracles than Elijah. Some reckon them in number just double. Two are recorded in these verses-a miracle of mercy to Jericho and a miracle of judgment to Bethel, Ps. 101:1.