The ax head...the iron one

2 Kings 6:1-7

“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,” he 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.”

What is the big deal? It was an ax head. When I first read this I just didn’t get it. It was an ax head. After reading it over and over and thinking on it for a bit, I realized the following:

God is interested in EVERYthing. Not just the big things, but the small as well. Elisha could’ve moved on and told the prophet to get another one along the way. I know that God wants to be an integral part of my everyday life. Certainly not just “invited in” when things are difficult or I am in need. He wants it all. Even the ax heads.

The prophet cried out on behalf of someone else’s property. I think God responds most when our “cries” are directed outward. Not just about us but about and for others. Yes, it was “just” an ax head, but it was borrowed and I believe it was the prophet’s anguish over the borrowed item that led God to respond to his cry.

It was not lost on me that Elisha cut a STICK and threw it in the water. A STICK. The ax head was iron. I can just see him throwing a little twig in the water where that ax head sunk and watching that heavy piece of iron float to the top. He could’ve done it any other way. The Lord saw fit for Elisha to perform this miracle with a stick. I am reminded that God can do so much more than we think if we just give Him what we have and not put limitations on what we think He can/should do. Little is much in God’s Hands. Give it to Him.