Summarising chapter 15

Power – including God-given power – can be abused.

Jesus – fully human as well as fully God – submitted himself perfectly to his Father’s will.  Like us, he was tempted, but unlike us, he was without sin.  So, when the Father invested him with power, he used it wisely and obediently.  He could have abused that power (Mt 4:2-7; 26:53), but he didn’t.

But, in the case of Moses, Samson, Elijah and Elisha and others, there were times when they did abuse their God-given power.  Ex 4:20f implies that Moses had some discretion about how he would use the miraculous powers God had given him.  See, for example, Num 20:11.

Paul clearly thinks that the Corinthians were capable of abusing their supernatural spiritual gifts.

Elijah was surely in the wrong to cause (or to wish to cause) fire from heaven to incinerate messengers he thought (mistakenly) meant him harm (2 Kings 1:10-12).  Jesus himself appears to confirm that such killing was not God’s will (Lk 7:51-56).  2 Kings 1:16f shows that Elijah’s intention to use his supernatural power against a further battalion was contrary to God’s will.  According to 1 Kings 19:1-18 Elijah’s fear, and consequent desire to misuse his divine authority, was due to a sinful mistrust in God.  Calling fire down from the sky is redolent of fire-throwing deities, and Rev 13:13 represents such power as demonic.  Jesus himself makes it clear that it is Satan, not God, who has come to kill, steal and destroy (Jn 10:10).

We conclude that

‘Elijah’s fear and lack of trust in Yahweh caused him to unwittingly use his divine authority to unleash a demonic agent on these hundred innocent men whom God wanted him to follow, not incinerate.’

Consider now the account of Elisha and the mauling bears (2 Kings 2:23f).  It makes no great difference whether we regard this is history or folklore.  Note that the words translated ‘boys’ could refer to postadolescent young men.  In mocking Elijah’s baldness, they were claiming that he was cursed or deranged.  Notwithstanding, the account it rather shocking.  But there are several indications that it was not the Lord who sent the bears to maul the young men.

It is clear that Elisha possessed supernatural power (even in death, 2 Kings 13:21).  Unlike Jesus, who only ever used his power for good, Elisha’s power could be used for good or for ill.  We should probably regard the two mauling bears as representing forces of evil that were unleashed by Elijah’s curse (2 Kings 2:21).

Samson received supernatural power, but often used that power in selfish, violent and foolish ways.  For example, he murdered thirty bystanders just to steal their clothes and pay off a bet, Judges 14:12-21.  His retaliation against the Philistines is no more edifying (Judges 15:3-14).  Samson not only had a thirst for violence: he would whine like a toddler, Judges 15:18), and had infantile relationships with women (Judges 14).  And while these stories may be legendary, we can only marvel at a God who speaks and works through such a man.  We can be sure that Samson’s exploits do not reflect the mind of God.

In such accounts we see that God is willing to risk people going their own way and abusing the power he has given them.  For:

‘God would rather have a risky creation in which free agents are capable of genuine love than a risk-free creation in which agents are not truly free.’