2 Kings 2:23-24 New International Version (NIV) “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.”
You’ve likely heard the news about Casey Hathaway, the 3-year old boy in North Carolina who became lost for almost three days last week. He had been playing in his grandmother’s yard and wandered into the adjoining woods.
Hundreds of volunteers combed the rough terrain before finding him two days later. Be mindful that Casey experienced this time alone in the woods with heavy rain days and below freezing nights. He survived in the woods without hypothermia.
What did he report to his rescuers? Casey said he hung out with a bear for those two days, and it kept him warm. Skeptics will scream “impossible” or try to explain it away, and one can read the rebuttal comments on the news story to see them. However, why would and how could a three-year old boy concoct such a story and also escape physical harm from the cold?
Does this event demonstrate God’s intervention to save the life of a precious child? The Bible notes many instances confirming His command of animals to implement His will. Here are just a few examples: the raven and dove helping Noah, the plagues in Egypt, Jonah and the whale, ravens providing for Elijah, Daniel and the lions, Jesus’s donkey on Palm Sunday, and others.
Did you know that the Bible cites bears as animals that God has used to promote His purpose? The prophet Elisa was on a mission to execute what God had instructed him to do. A mob of boys confronted him, intending to do him harm. Two bears appeared and defended Elisa with great success.
Is Casey Hathaway’s story far-fetched? I don’t think so at all. Even the animals obey God.