That is a wonderful reminder for me of how I was contaminated from birth. Like those little children outside Bethel my "natural" inclination was to mock Jesus just as they laughed at Elisha's pate. But God knew they were really mocking Him. Just imagine how a prophet would loose respect if people knew little children found a comb-over amusing!
Because when King Mesha—a disgusting Moabite—
started in with the disrespect, refusing to supply The Israelites with free mutton wool and breeding stock, who would there be to marshall troops against him? What would The Israelites eat? What would they wear? With limited wool and rams they might be reduced to the abomination of combining fibres such as wool and flax or crossbreeding with billy-goats.
Leviticus 19 KJV
19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee..
32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Now things weren't looking too good for the armies marching on Moab. Taking
a route through the wilderness may not have been the best plan but when there is a prophet available ignoring logistics opens the door to miracles and Elisha was that prophet. Everyone began to dehydrate.
Jehoshaphat knew what would happen if they carried on without God and this is what he said:
“Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him?”
. .One of the king of Israel's servants answered “Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.”
. . . And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the LORD is with him.”
Now just imagine if God had overlooked those children's gleeful taunts. When Jehoshaphat requested a prophet and Elisha turned up what respect could he have commanded? It would be
Elisha the bald-headed twit or
Elisha? Don't make laugh and everyone would be sniggering behind there hands as they remembered how the little children found his coiffure a source of merriment one sunny afternoon as they skipped among the trees and he did nothing. Jehoshaphat's riposte would have been altogether different.
. . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . . .
“Prophet? Shmophet! Get me a
real prophet
” he would have said. And all the people would laugh openly, making rude gestures, pulling faces, sneering. And of course dying of thirst. There would be no free mutton for their families at home; they'd all starve. No woollen cloaks to keep them warn, no rams to cover those ewes, no leather for Ugg boots. Horror upon horror until they were all dead.
But Elisha
was a real prophet. Respected for what he could do to gleeful children who knew all about his relationship with Elijah and how God had displayed His majesty by sucking him off to Heaven in a tornado.
II Kings 2:9b-11 KJV
Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Silly old Mesha was done for. He murdered his son and went home. What a terrible man!
II Kings 3:22-27 KJV
And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.