19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.” 20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” 22 And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken. 23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
My chaplain supervisor at Hennepin Country General shared a situation which was very unusual. He was called into a case involving a young adult female who came very ill and was not eating. The physicians did various tests and couldn't find anything physically wrong. They consulted with a psychiatrist and he didn’t have a solution. They asked the Chaplain to visit her to see if something might be discovered. He admitted it was a puzzling case.
Her father then suggested the reason may be a curse that her grandfather placed on her. It seemed that her grandfather did not want her dating. One night she snuck out with a boy. The grandfather was so displeased he placed a curse upon her. Of course, the physicians discounted that but every day she was getting closer to death.
One day in walked this character, described as being very dirty, very unkept, a long beard and long white hair. He went up to his granddaughter and said something unintelligible and left. The girl immediately took a turn for the better and was shortly released. Her condition and her recovery stumped the staff.
There are examples in other parts of the world of people practicing various curses and blessings. Many in Haiti are involved with devil worship, voodoo and witchcraft. Many missionaries will talk about overt evil spiritual powers that will inflict suffering and injury on others.
There are different meanings for the word, curse. However, a curse is the general word for calling evil on another.
When Elisha began his new ministry, he is met with some challenges right away. Change brings its own challenges.
There are interesting stories of Elisha, where there an area has bitter water and another where Elisha cursed youth mockers. The Scriptures are realistic-not only are they filled with the blessings and joy of God's mercy, but we are left with strong warnings and examples of God's judgments. There are mysteries that deserve our attention this week.
Application: What are some of the circumstances and conflicts that you are facing these days? Do you see it has a curse or circumstances that leads to ultimate blessing? How can you improve your responses to what you cannot change?
Prayer: Lord, I know that You are on Your throne and are in control. Help me to submit to You as a response to those things I cannot change.
