Paul states that ‘all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work’ (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Whilst this is undoubtedly true, there a few moments in the Bible that are so epically random, even biblical commentators find them hard to explain. We’ve listed four of our favourites below. You can either share them with your youth group…or not share to avoid the need to provide an explanation.
Philip teleports
You probably think that teleportation has been made up or imagined by comic book or film writers, but its origin is somewhat biblical. The teleportee is Philip, who has just baptized the Ethiopian Eunuch. After the baptism the Bible says - ‘The spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more’. Philip then ‘finds himself at Azotus’, the next city! Before you get too excited, there haven’t been any noted instances since. But still, we can dream.
A Donkey speaks a word of warning
A long time before Eddie Murphy played a loveable talking donkey in Shrek, the book of Numbers told the story of Balaam and his talking donkey. Balaam, on his donkey, was walking towards the angel of the Lord, standing there with a sword in his hand, and presumably about to strike him down. The donkey tried to deviate from the path and was struck three times by Balaam for his impudence, after which the donkey spoke and asked him why he was being so mean. Balaam’s swiftness of reply doesn’t really suggest much surprise, but his talking Donkey spared his life.
Two Bears appear and attack some youths
As Elijah’s successor, Elisha was clearly a man with some authority. Despite this, he was follicly challenged, something that some young people in Bethel noted. They started to mock him, pointing him out and jeering him and his “baldhead”. Safe to say that Elisha didn’t like that very much and summoned two she-bears from the woods to attack them. A good lesson to warn your young people with if they choose to mock you.
Elijah A.K.A The Flash
If you thought Usain Bolt was the fastest man in human history, you are most likely wrong. As well as being one of the most well-known and respected prophets in the Bible, Elijah also holds the world record for the 100m (plus however many more meters) dash. Needing to deliver a message to Ahab, who was riding in a chariot, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Elijah enabling him to run and catch up.
