Had Elijah still been alive on the earth Elisha could not have exercised authority as his successor. In this chapter note the parallels between the succession of the prophets and the succession of the kings that the writer recorded elsewhere in Kings. Elisha gave the skeptics opportunity to verify Elijah's departure (cf. 1 Kings 18:12). After all, Elijah had been known to disappear and reappear suddenly (cf. 1 Kings 18:12). The same Spirit that had empowered Elijah now rested on Elisha (v. 15).
The miracle that attested God's messenger and his message evidently took place at Jericho (v. 15). The physical condition in the town was symbolic of the spiritual condition of the nation (v. 19).14Refreshment and fertility had suffered as a result of apostasy. Elisha was a new vessel in God's hand similar to the new jar he requested (v. 20). Salt seemed like the worst thing to add to brackish water to make it pure just as return to Yahweh must have appeared to be a backward step to many idolatrous Israelites. Nevertheless since salt is what God ordered it was effective. The use of salt may have symbolized a break with the past since this is what rubbing certain sacrifices with salt to sanctify them indicated (Lev. 2:13; Num. 18:19; Ezek. 43:24).15Yahweh, not Baal, could restore blessing and fertility to His people. This miracle was another polemic against Baal worship (cf. 1 Kings 18; et al.). Baal's worshippers credited him with ruling over the waters on and beneath the earth including underground springs and fountains.16God's permanent healing of the spring would have served as a continuing reminder of Yahweh's ability to bring fruitfulness and blessing out of the deadly sterility of idolatry.
Bethel was a center of idolatry in Israel, one of the golden calf sites (v. 23). Evidently Elisha's approach triggered a mass demonstration against him by many young men. The Hebrew word na'artranslated "lads"in 2:23 describes young men, not boys, in many other places in the Old Testament.17"Baldhead"was and is a term of disrespect. The idolaters challenged Elisha to "go up"to heaven as Elijah had done if Elisha could.18These youths were typical of a nation that "mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at his prophets"(2 Chron. 36:16). Not motivated by personal pride but by a desire for God's glory, Elisha pronounced God's curse on them for their disrespect for His prophet and Himself (v. 24; cf. 1 Peter 3:3-7). As before, God used wild animals to judge the rebels (cf. 1 Kings 13:24). Wild bears were common in ancient Israel.19These early miracles identified Elisha as God's spokesman who possessed His power to bless or to curse.
These two miracles set the tone of Elisha's whole ministry. He would be a source of blessing to the needy, but he would be a source of judgment to those who did not respect Yahweh.
