seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Kings 6:1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”
And he said, “Go.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
And he said, “Go.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
Boy there have been times when I wished I could throw out a keychain and my car keys would appear!
This is from enduringword.com.
The place where we dwell with you is too small for us: This indicates that at this time Elisha had a significant impact on the nation. The old facility for housing the sons of the prophets was not large enough to meet the needs of all those who wanted to be trained in ministry.
Please consent to go with your servants: Elisha did not initiate or lead this work of building a new center for training the prophets, but it could not happen without his approval and blessing.
The iron ax head fell into the water: This was a significant loss. Iron was certainly present at this time in Israel, but it was not common enough to be cheap.
Alas, master! For it was borrowed: The man who lost the ax head was rightly sensitive to the fact that he lost something that belonged to someone else, making the loss more acute.
So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float: This was an obvious and unique miracle. There was no trickery in the way that Elisha put the stick in the water; it was simply an expression of his faith that God honored.
Pick it up for yourself: Conceivably, God could have arranged a way for the ax head to appear right in the man’s hand without any effort on his part. But this miracle worked in a familiar way – God did the part only He could do, but He left to man the part that he could do.
Please consent to go with your servants: Elisha did not initiate or lead this work of building a new center for training the prophets, but it could not happen without his approval and blessing.
The iron ax head fell into the water: This was a significant loss. Iron was certainly present at this time in Israel, but it was not common enough to be cheap.
Alas, master! For it was borrowed: The man who lost the ax head was rightly sensitive to the fact that he lost something that belonged to someone else, making the loss more acute.
“The iron axe-head (Hebrew ‘iron’) had been asked for, that is, begged or prayed for, and not necessarily ‘borrowed.’” (Wiseman)
So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float: This was an obvious and unique miracle. There was no trickery in the way that Elisha put the stick in the water; it was simply an expression of his faith that God honored.
“God can do all things, he can make iron swim – we cannot – and yet you see the prophet did it, and he did it by the use of a stick. He cut down a stick. Was there any connection between the stick and the iron? I can’t see any, and yet God does use means, and he would have us use means.” (Spurgeon)
“The chief value of the story lies in its revelation of the influence Elisha was exerting in the nation. The growth of the school of the prophets was most remarkable.” (Morgan)
“The chief value of the story lies in its revelation of the influence Elisha was exerting in the nation. The growth of the school of the prophets was most remarkable.” (Morgan)
Pick it up for yourself: Conceivably, God could have arranged a way for the ax head to appear right in the man’s hand without any effort on his part. But this miracle worked in a familiar way – God did the part only He could do, but He left to man the part that he could do.
“Elisha then caused the submerged ax head to surface and instructed the pupil to retrieve the ax; thus he would personally participate in the miracle.” (Patterson and Austel)
Yesterday, in another post, I said that if my squamous cell disappeared overnight it would be a miracle... and if a doctor helped me get rid of it, then it wasn't. Well... I was mostly right.... but sometimes God has other plans for a miracle. Now if those spots of cancer had been cured overnight... it would have definitely been a miracle directly from God... however....
The miracle of hearing the words ..... "you are now cancer free".... after the surgery to remove those bumps.... that is God using a human to accomplish a miracle. [I'll probably never really be cancer free again..I've asked God to give me the cancer my family would have to deal with so I can take it with me.... but if it happens then God is definitely going to be involved in some way. There are people praying for me everywhere.]
It's not likely that an ax head made of iron would float.... but it did. Everyone who was there saw it. When that man yelled out that he had lost that ax head.... everyone knew there was no way to get it back.... that ax head was at the bottom of the water... they didn't have scuba gear, lights, magnets.... they were sunk like that ax head.... but God got involved.
