Anointed Living

2 Kings 2:19–25 NASB95

Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. He went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’ ” So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

INTRO: I want to try and have a little fun as we start… So, “bear with me”. You’re probably familiar with the song, “I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N” - If Donys will help us, let’s see if we can do that together. We’ll start slow, and then we’ll speed it up! Ready?!?

That was fun. Now that you’re awake… You’ve probably heard me say how being a Christian is more than a badge we wear, but rather that our Christian identity means that we live our lives in submission to and dependency upon Jesus Christ. If our faith were not applicable to our whole lives, it probably wouldn’t be applicable beyond this world either.

And so the story of my life and of your life ought to be one that demonstrates the truth of our true identity as a child of God. Everything will not be a mission trip or an intentional Gospel conversation, but the biography of your life should consistently testify of this one thing: That Jesus is King of your life.

This authentic testimony of your faith is the demonstration to the world which tells them that you really do belong to Christ. Your life is different, your values align with God’s, your actions honor God and your speech points to His Word. You love God and your neighbor and the truth is on your lips. You are anointed by God’s Spirit who lives in you and commissioned to Kingdom Work.

If that’s true of you this morning, you ought to feel pretty good about that! (Thought I might hear an “amen” or something…)

As we turn to our text this morning, we find the prophet Elisha in his very first days after Elijah was taken to heaven.Now Elisha wears the mantle and title of God’s prophet. The anointing of his life was intended to be not merely for his own good, but rather for the good of the nation.

Indeed, Elisha understood that to accept this calling as God’s prophet included the fight to rid Israel of idols which robbed God of His glory. That’s why he was headed to Samaria- where the king’s palace was located. But even as this was perhaps his “major objective”, it did not mean that he was to ignore everyone and everything along the way.

What we see in this passage is Elisha living out his calling along the way. In our time together this morning, we are going to follow Elisha on his journey, and then connect our story to his in a way that I hope will encourage us and propel is to live out our calling as we go. The message is entitled, “Anointed Living”. I invite you to make use of the sermon guide in your bulletin as we learn together.

We begin in the city of Jericho. Here, we see that living out God’s anointing sometimes means you are the conduit for:

Blessings in the Name of God (19-22)

The city of Jericho was well-situated and recently rebuilt. From the viewpoint of any visitor or casual onlooker, all looked pleasant. The climate was good, the economy was diverse; there was easy trade between cities, but even so, there was a severe problem. (READ 19)

The water was bad- it was not good for people or livestock as it caused sickness and death, nor was it good for watering the crops. We don’t know what was in this water, but seeing as water is pretty important to survival, you can understand that this is no small challenge. The men of Jericho could not solve this problem- no doubt they tried!

So, when the men realized that Elisha was the new prophet in charge, they appealed to him. Why?

Well, two things I think are clear. 1) Elisha represented Yahweh, the Creator-God. The God who withheld rain for 3+ years in judgment against Ahab and the idolatry of Israel and returned rain to the land at the word of Elisha’s predecessor. But perhaps even more relevant is that this same God solved a similar problem as Moses led the Hebrews through the wilderness. Allow me to read just a few verses in Exodus 15 -

Exodus 15:23–26 NASB95

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

Elisha was a prophet of this God, the Healer of Israel.

2) This was an opportunity for Elisha to authenticate his anointing. He could have just said something like, “Man, I hate that… perhaps you can get bottled water delivered?” or “I’m praying for you...”

In His sovereignty, God placed Elisha in this place at this time in order to use him to bless the people of Jericho. We see this in. v. 20-21, Elisha threw salt in the spring and declared a blessing in the name of Yahweh. The salt wasn’t special, mind you.

The healing of the waters affirmed Elisha’s anointing as a genuine prophet of the one true God. But Elisha was on a mission, so he left Jericho, tracing the path back up towards Bethel. Here, things take a strange turn and we see that living out God’s anointing is not just blessings in the name of God, Sometimes it means pronouncing:

Curses in the Name of God (23-24)

This particular passage has been debated by scholars for years. It’s an odd entry in this journal, for sure. But we need to take the context into consideration and look for some clues.

I do not know that the age of the young lads is all that significant- we just know they were young. Teens or college-aged boys perhaps … I can certainly picture a college fraternity behaving in such a manner. Personally, I’d say it was likely middle-school aged kids, but that’s just my experience working with youth.

Evidently a massive hoard of these boys came out of the city in order to jeer at Elisha. This means that it was not just boys poking fun as someone passed by them. No, this was an intentional mob whose purpose was to mock God’s prophet. Let’s read v. 23 again (READ)

When we read this, our temptation might be to snicker and laugh (I saw a few of you…)- we tend to picture kids we know just being boys and poking fun. But what’s taking place here is more sinister. How do we know?

For starters, we have to know a little about the city of Bethel. Bethel has a rich heritage through the early years of the OT. But later, King Jeroboam (the wicked king from 1 Kings 12) set up 2 sanctuaries for worship where he set golden calves and instructed the people to worship them as god. One was placed in Dan, the other in Bethel.

Thus, Bethel became a city of apostasy, where the people turned from Yahweh and bowed to these false gods, even as there were some called “sons of prophets” in the city. Other prophets (Jeremiah, Hosea, and Amos) spoke against Bethel for this reason.

So, when it was learned that a prophet of Yahweh was passing through, the reaction of these boys was not one of reverence for God, but contempt. They wanted nothing to do with God, which no doubt reflects the majority view of those in the city… Where do you think these young lads would have learned such an attitude?

A modern translation of this mocking might sound like this: “Get outta here you bald-headed good-for-nothing! You and your god are not welcome here! Just go on!”

They were not simply jeering at an old man, they were, in fact, mocking God. And so, as one who is anointed by God’s Holy Spirit, Elisha spoke against this wickedness. Look at v. 24 (READ 24a)

Now, when Elisha cursed them, it likely is not what you pictured in your head as I read this. He did not use profanity laced insults and shake his fist or wave any particular finger in their direction. No, the biblical use of this term is more in line with God’s promise to Abraham in

Genesis 12:3 NASB95

And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Elisha’s action was a pronouncement of judgment upon evil. We don’t know exactly what he said, but the method by which God chose to curse these young men was 2 female bears. (Female because everyone knows they are meaner… just seeing if you’re awake!)

Elisha was anointed for God’s purposes. And, just like a battery has a positive and negative terminal in order to be effective, sometimes Elisha would have the joy of blessing others in the name of the Lord but it also meant that he would have the duty to denounce evil and foretell God’s judgment upon those who practice wickedness.

Now, this section of Scripture is not explained, simply declared. But in it, we see that the role of God’s servant is one of deference to God’s Word and will.

This is where we connect our story to Elisha’s. We’ll call this

Mission in the Name of God

You see, I believe the church today is situated similar to Elisha. Elisha was anointed and given the role to complete Elijah’s mission.

We too have been anointed with God’s Holy Spirit and commissioned to GO - accomplish the mission of God in all the world. Thus, we must demonstrate that anointing in our lives. Let me read to you a couple NT passages that I believe will help us tie in.

Acts 1:8 NASB95

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

1 John 2:20–21 NASB95

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

Believers are anointed and commissioned

Matthew 18:18 NASB95

“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Because we have received the Holy Spirit, we are called to live in such a way that our identity as anointed ones would be seen. We do this in part by blessing others. Jesus said in

Matthew 5:16 NASB95

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

You don’t have to purify a spring to bless a people. That might mean you simply spend time with the lonely, assist those who are sick, or show compassion to the needy. It could be that you sign up and go on one of the mission trips we are planning as a church! It might be that you surrender to God’s call for you to serve in ministry.

Demonstrate your anointing by blessing others.

But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. God is holy, and as people called by God to represent His Kingdom on earth, we must demonstrate our anointing by denouncing evil and proclaiming the truth.

I do not stand up here weekly and only preach the easy, happy, non-convictional stuff. God has commanded that the whole counsel of His word be proclaimed. Far be it from any of us to decide that we are going to omit the hard or uncomfortable parts of God’s Word.

2 Timothy 3:16 NASB95

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

Friends, let me just ask you, “Wouldn’t you rather people hear the truth from you so they can repent rather than to come before the judgment seat of Christ and be cast into eternal hell?”

If you have turned from your sin and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are part of HIS BODY- Paul says,

Ephesians 1:22–23 NASB95

And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

IOW - WE ARE THE CHURCH! We are anointed by God almighty and His Spirit lives in us… I guess the question is, Does anyone else know? Are we a blessing to others? Do we stand against evil?

Invitation - Maybe you are here and you have never trusted in Jesus as Lord- you know the greatest blessing that you could ever receive is the blessing of salvation. If that’s you, hang around after service and let’s talk.

[PRAY]

Discuss: How do you bless others as you go about life’s journey?

Discuss: What does it look like to denounce evil?

Discuss: God used bears to judge the boys. Do you think God still uses things of nature to judge evil?