The
Book of Second kings
Chapter 6a
[1] And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha,
Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
[2] Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and
let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
The Axe Head 2 Kings 6:1-7
1)
School (Vs 1,2)
Elisha was the man of God and taught the sons of the
prophets....Students of the Word of God
The students ask if they can go and cut trees and build a
larger place (seeking advice of Master)
(Back then students built But today students rebel) Every
man has a work to do
Elisha tells them to go
[3] And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he
answered, I will go.
[4] So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
2)
Support (Vs 3,4)
The students ask their teacher Elisha not only to allow
them to go but to go with them as well ....Presence
What an honor (Back then students want the teacher
& today students hate the teacher)
The young men ask the older man to join in with them
* Elisha had seen God move and the students reverenced
the move of God (2 K 4 & 5)
Elisha went with them and they went to work cutting wood
by the Jordan river
[5] But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he
cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
[6] And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he
cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
3) Situation (Vs 5,6a)
As a student was chopping wood and his axe had the head
fly off the handle and fall into the river
The iron could’ve hit someone, but God allowed it to fall
in the water (Dt 19:4,5)
This may be a small
matter to you and I as we did not borrow it or loan it, but it wasn’t to the
student
A. Value
It was valuable as there was very
little iron in that day (1S 13:22)
It was valuable as the axe head had
been borrowed............it belonged to someone else
We should take care of what is borrowed Ex 22:14 make full restitution but he was poor
We
should take it back to the owner when we are thru with it
Also we should be willing to
loan.........even to loan out our very best
The student was trusted by the owner
and the student didn’t want to violate his trust
C.
Vision
The man of God, Elisha was concerned over
small matters “where fell it?”
God is concerned over small matter * Losing a set of keys at church * Keys
in Boone
[7] Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took
it.
4)
Symbolic (6b,7)
A. Saviors Power
The man of God had asked the student where
the axe head fell into the water
The student showed the man of God the place.
He knew where he lost it
The man of God cut down a stick and cast it
in
The stick, made of wood of a tree represents
the cross
When the man of God applied the cross the
iron did swim
Iron doesn’t float, but God made the iron to
swim
“Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand
and took it.”
When
we work for the Lord we are using borrowed power (Acts 1:8) We need power from above
B. Spiritual Edge
The student was working but not watching and
lost his cutting edge....his spiritual edge
1. Did it become loose and he refused
to tighten it?
Was it lost because too busy, secret sin,
compromise, wrong priorities, trusting the flesh?
2. When he lost the cutting edge, he
could’ve quit
Just quit and look back and see what God has
done and be satisfied
For most, it is easier to look back than to
look forward
3. When he lost the cutting edge he
could keep chopping (but with no axe head)
Make a lot of noise, spend much effort, but
nothing to show for it
A lot of doing but no improvement. No longer effective
4. The student was willing to
confess “I don’t have it” and “I’ve
lost my spiritual edge”
Judges 16:20 many will not confess....
Rev 3:14-20 BUT
OTHERS DO KNOW
But through the cross of Jesus, we kind find
the cutting edge, the power of God
5)
Service
The student was willing to do his part. He confessed
(retrace his steps, remove his sin, renew his spirit)
“Take it up to thee”
Reach out the hand of faith and recover what was lost
He was not to analyze the miracle (to explain it) but to
Appropriate the miracle (exercise faith)
Jesus died for you and is willing to forgive sins and
renew your spirit
The student reattached the axe head and went back to work
(chopping trees)
Once more he put his shoulder to the task
Concl: Where is your spiritual edge?
Do you have power with the Lord and of the Lord OR not?
Is this power in your grasp OR is it beyond your reach,
beyond your ability to recover?
Do you have the handle of human wisdom but w/o the power
of God?
Come to Jesus.
Lost power can be restored