The idea that we must submit to ways of perverse children is a mistake. Elisha, at the very commencement of his work, was mocked and derided by the youth of Bethel. He was a man of great mildness, but the Spirit of God impelled him to pronounce a curse upon those railers. They had heard of Elijah’s ascension, and they made this solemn event the subject of jeers. Elisha evinced that he was not to be trifled with, by old or young, in his sacred calling. When they told him he had better go up, as Elijah had done before him, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. The awful judgment that came upon them was of God. After this, Elisha had no further trouble in his mission. For fifty years he passed in and out of the gate of Bethel, and went to and fro from city to city, passing through crowds of the worst and rudest of idle, dissolute youth, but no one ever mocked him or made light of his qualifications as the prophet of the Most High. This one instance of terrible severity in the commencement of his career was sufficient to command respect through his whole life. Had he allowed the mockery to pass unnoticed, he might have been ridiculed, reviled, and even murdered by the rabble, and his mission to instruct and save the nation in its great peril would have been defeated. {5T 44.2}

[Den tanke, at vi må bøje os for et egensindigt barns vilje, er en fejltagelse. Elisa blev lige ved begyndelsen af sin gerning hånet og spottet af Betels ungdom. Han var en meget mild mand, men Guds Ånd drev ham til at udtale en forbandelse over disse spottere. De havde hørt om Elias' himmelfart og deres hånlige tilråb drejede sig om denne højtidelige begivenhed. Elisa viste, at hverken unge eller gamle skulle spøge med hans hellige kald. Da de sagde, at han hellere skulle stige op ligesom Elias, forbandede han dem i Herrens navn. Den frygtelige dom, der blev afsagt over dem, var fra Gud. Efter dette havde Elisa ikke flere vanskeligheder i sin gerning. I halvtreds år gik han ind og ud af Betels port, rejste fra by til by og passerede gennem sværme af uvirksomme, tøjlesløse unge af den værste og mest uforskammede slags; men ingen gjorde nogensinde nar af ham eller bagatelliserede hans kvalifikationer som den Allerhøjestes profet.] Dette ene eksempel på frygtelig strenghed fra sin løbebanes start, var tilstrækkeligt til at påbyde respekt gennem resten af livet. Havde han ladet spotten gå ubemærket hen, kunne han være blevet spottet, forhånet og endog slået ihjel af (45) den larmende hob og hans opgave med at belære og redde folket fra sin store fare, ville være tilintetgjort. [Barnet i hjemmet side 264 ]