2 Kings 2:24
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
On the way to Bethel after Elijah's ascension or translation, ungodly youths mocked Elisha over his going up by taunting him about going up and about his baldness. Their mockery showed contempt for his sacred prophetic calling and a lack of reverence, and as an insult to God's servant and representative it was directed against God himself. The young people had learned this disrespect from their parents.
Elisha, though mild by nature, turned and pronounced a curse on them in the Lord's name under divine inspiration. God punished them then and there, with two she-bears coming out of the woods and mauling forty-two of them. The judgment established respect for his ministry and authority and prevented further mockery that could have hindered his mission to instruct and save during his many years of service. The episode shows that kindness has limits and that authority may require firm severity.
The youths' lack of reverence teaches that reverence should be taught and cherished, that God's name must not be spoken lightly, and that respect shown to ministers, teachers, and parents as God's representatives honors God. The verse warns that scoffing at God's work and treating the hope and prospect of the saints' going up as something to ridicule brings God's wrath and plagues. It is not a light or small thing to trifle with the Creator.