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and prosperity had he stayed on the farm. Our central text for this chapter, 2 Kings 2:23-25, explores the nagging backlash God’s servants face and at the same time shows just how serious He is about the issue of people standing in opposition to His servants. As we proceed, it’s worth reviewing the conditions at that time. As stated in chapter four, the glory days of a united kingdom were long gone.Wickedness, tolerance, and idolatry still abounded, Yet, with Ahab and Ahaziah gone, there was a slight glimmer of hope. Perhaps moved by the judgment carried out on his predecessors, Israel’s King Jehoram removed the image of Baal that his father had set up and worshipped. Nevertheless, being the son of Jezebel that he was, “he fully restored and supported the order of Jeroboam’s idolatrous priests, and though he sometimes paid homage to the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, it was only in acts of momentary and hypocrit ical constraint. 1 Bethel bore evidence of Jehoram’s practices. Mentioned 71 times in the Old Testament, second only to Jerusalem, this was a place once dedicated to the praise, honor, and glory of Jehovah. Abraham pitched his tent there (Genesis 12:8, 13:3) and Jacob dreamed of a heavenly ladder there (Genesis 28:19). Captured by the Israelites under Joshua (Joshua 12;16), it was later allotted to Benjamin (Joshua 18:22). Things went south, however, when, as touched on above, Jeroboam constructed a worship center there which contained a golden calf (1 Kings 12:32-33). So, it’s no surprise that Elisha went from hero to zero when he left Jericho and entered Bethel. We know that by the disparaging comments directed at him when he came to town. According to the Bible, “As he was walking down the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him,‘Get out of here, baldy!’ they

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