Are you follicly challenged? A chrome dome? Cue ball? Mr. Clean? Sporting a skullet? A real baldilocks? If so, you might find today’s devotional particularly interesting.
Long before Rogaine, cultures tried many ways to ward off baldness. Home remedies included pigeon poo, powdered horse teeth, oils, herbs, and onion mixtures rubbed on the scalp. When the hair wouldn’t grow, wigs were used. Julius Ceasar had his famous laurel wreath perched on his head, not because of regality but to help cover his thinning hair.
While some cultures viewed baldness as a sign of wisdom and maturity, others took it to mean the loss of youth and vitality.
Men like Yul Brynner in the 50s to 60s and Michael Jordan in the 80s to 90s helped put a positive spin on the hairless head. Both men embodied attributes considered stereotypically masculine. And, if you are a middle-aged man or woman, you had better accept the fact that statistics and odds say that you are going to start experience the thinning and receding of the hairline.
One particular event in the Bible deals with baldness and the story is seldom told. 2 Kings 2:23-24 says, “And he [Elisha] 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. (24) 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.”
Was Elisha like a lot of men today, ultra-sensitive about being bald? Was this malicious retribution? The questions have oft gone unanswered, and the story overlooked because it seems like this is overkill – pun intended.
First, understand that the “little children” aren’t a bunch of toddlers. This term in the
Hebrew is used of a wide range of ages from a true little child (1 Samuel 1:22) to a young adult capable of going to war. (1 Kings 20:15-20) In Elisha’s defense, we would assume at least that these “little children” were all old enough to know better.
Second, what were they “insulting?” Was it the fact that Elisha was dealing with some alopecia? Or might it have been something else? Commentators suggest several possibilities.
- The Bible clearly says that Elisha is being mocked. Perhaps this is in reference to Elijah “going up” in the whirlwind and they are mocking Elisha that he got left behind.
- Maybe this is an insult that is wishing Elisha away. They don’t want a prophet of God telling them what they can or cannot do.
- Another idea comes from what we read earlier in the chapter, 2 Kings 2:3. “And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.” Verse five tells us that the sons of the prophets that were in Jericho said the same thing. Sure enough, by verse 11, Elijah is caught up in the chariot of fire. He is taken from Elisha’s head. Elisha now has a “bald head.”
Three days after Elijah is taken away (2 Kings 2:17-18), these “little children” to mock the Lord’s servant and messenger. But they were mocking God. Elijah wasn’t overly sensitive about thinning hair. Who knows — he might have had a full, luscious crop of hair. Metaphorically, though, he was “bald” because his “head” was gone. Without Elijah, he was deemed a nobody and nothing. But God and his servant would not be mocked.
The principle that is being taught in 2 Kings is the one found in Galatians 6:7. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Sometimes, the reaping takes a while to happen; other times, it is nearly immediate. Nevertheless, God’s accounting is always accurate and what is sown will be reaped.
Today, we see a world mocking God and all His servants. The truth of Galatians 6:7 is still true and soon, Proverbs 1:24-27 will come to fruition. All we can do is sound the alarm and warn, hoping and praying that many will heed the warning.
“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; (25) But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: (26) I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; (27) When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.”
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