This memorable story, far from being a moralistic tale about honoring elders or preachers, is a brief glimpse into the age-old war that began in a garden and ended at an empty tomb.

Bears may play a significant role here, but the real animal in this overarching story is a serpent. His slithering and slandering tongue was inside the mouths of these mockers. The god whom they served, Baal, was just a mask for Satan. And their fate was a preview of the serpent’s eventual fate. Except it wouldn’t be a bear that mauled this serpent, but a lamb—the Lamb of God—who would take him down. That Lamb’s victory is for Elisha, and for all of us, who live in his resurrection kingdom that will have no end.