Welcome back! In May, we started a series taking a look at an Old Testament prophet named Elisha and how his life relates to ours. “Second place” was mentioned because he was the apprentice of one Israel’s most famous prophets, Elijah. However, Elisha’s impact was just as great and important as the person he served under, Elijah (easy to get them mixed up). In such a busy and crowded world – it’s easy for us to feel like “second place.” Not getting a promotion or initial job we interviewed for. Seeing on social media a social event took place that we weren’t invited to. Unanswered prayers. Questioning: What is my purpose? Am I making a difference at all? For an extensive study of Elisha’s life story – please read 2nd Kings Chapter 2 all the way through 2nd Kings Chapter 9 sometime when you have a quiet moment for the entire context.

Today, we’re going to highlight “The Miracle of the Floating Ax Head.” One of the most amazing, overlooked stories in The Bible that you may not have known about . . .

One day a group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, “As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. Let’s go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet.”

“All right,” Elisha told them, “go ahead.” “Please come with us,” someone suggested. “I will,” he said. So he went with them.

When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees. But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. “Oh, sir!” he cried. “It was a borrowed ax!”

“Where did it fall?” the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. “Grab it,” Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it (2 Kings 6: 1 – 7).

I have yet to hear a sermon or podcast about this story. It probably isn’t found in any devotionals or Sunday School lessons. However, when we take a closer look – it is one of the most amazing miracles in the Bible and we can glean these 3 points:

1. With God – nothing is impossible. I’m not quite sure how much an iron ax head weighed in those days (a Google search suggested 1 to 7 pounds). It was powerful enough to cut down trees – so it must have had somewhat decent size and weight. Anyway, as the passage tells us – the ax head fell into the Jordan river and the user quickly summarized that it was irretrievable. The Jordan River is estimated to be anywhere between 50 to 200 feet deep. That’s when Elisha enters in. Maybe he said a quick prayer for wisdom. Maybe God whispered to him to toss a stick in the area it fell. Or maybe, Elisha thought back into his wealth of past experiences of how he had seen God accomplish miracle after miracle: He watched Elijah be taken into heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2: 1-12). He was used by God to raise a woman’s son from the dead (2 Kings 4: 18-37). And, Elisha received direction from The Lord to have a commander of the army go dunk himself seven times in the Jordan River to be healed of leprosy (2 Kings 5: 1-14). You and I: We have the same ability as Elisha to reflect on our past and find God’s faithfulness throughout our lives. Possibly miracles or spectacular events have happened to you. But sometimes it is the simplest things we can race past that show His faithfulness: Living in a free country, access to clean water, having a job, our health, our families and friends. Who knows what he has protected us from in the unseen realm? Debilitating car wrecks, health or injury crisis, attacks from evil, job losses, financial setbacks. When we’re in a bind we can directly quote Jesus’ words: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) Remember that the next time you’re in a seemingly unsolvable dilemma or you’ve lost something in your own version of the deep, Jordan River.
2. With God – He cares about the individual. The guy who lost the ax head’s name isn’t even mentioned. We have no idea if he was a young guy, a seasoned veteran, a best friend, etc. However, verse one says that he was part of a group of prophets. So he had a relationship with God – and that is where it all begins. A lot of speculation – but maybe the man didn’t have the money to replace the ax. Possibly, he borrowed the ax from someone that might get angry with him. Whatever the situation was – God knew. And God also knew it was important enough to intervene supernaturally. You and I: It’s easy for us to sometimes feel like an unseen number in a world of over 8 billion people. Maybe we feel that we’re not quite enough, that God has too much work to do on us. We see superstars, celebrities, and the incredibly talented and ask: Where do I fit in – what is my purpose? That’s where our thoughts can take us – that is why it is critical that we listen to the truth. And the truth always starts with who does God say I am? Psalm 139: 13 – 16 was written by King David. Surely this passage doesn’t only apply to David, but to everyone else as well? You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. . . You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. That’s just a start. Search and pray for God to reveal personal verses that show His love and plans for you. Once you start – you’ll discover it is non-stop 🙂
3. With God – no request is too trivial or unimportant. How does the God of the universe have time to worry about an ax head that broke off? Doesn’t He have a solar system to worry about right now? If He’s dealing with broken tools – who will command the angelic armies? This a smart group of guys – they could have solved it themselves without getting God involved – who by the way, has a packed schedule. We often forget that God isn’t us. He doesn’t think, act, respond, get too busy, or need sleep like we do. Just the opposite. The Apostle Paul writes, “Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up ALL of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks.” (Phillipians 4:6). If there was a Dave chapter of the Bible – it might possibly say, “Be anxious and worry about everything, don’t pray about your problems, especially the little ones – and then grumble and complain, even be mad at God.” You can see there’s good reason why there is no Dave chapter of the Bible. God cares about the child’s skinned knee, helping us find a parking spot on a 100 degree day, when another person breaks our heart, when our savings account is down to 5 dollars. When we bring it ALL to him (with gratefulness) – that strengthens our relationship with him and our prayer life. Try it this week! Take something miniscule – and bring it to God.

Conclusion – The Bible is filled with miracles of God breaking our natural, physical, and observable “laws” – The parting of The Red Sea, destroying the fortified city of Jericho, raising the dead – and making iron float. Remember that more than anything He wants a relationship with us. And He will move the big and the small to show us His love.

I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His PURPOSE for ME. He will send from heaven to rescue me, disgracing those who hound me (Psalm 57: 2,3).

Blessings,

Dave 🙂

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P.S. Next post we will conclude the series on Elisha – with an even stranger story than this one!