Commentary - 2 Kings 6:1-7

Bird's-eye view

This brief account in 2 Kings 6 is one of those delightful little miracles that seems, at first blush, to be almost mundane. There is no resurrection from the dead, no calling down of fire from heaven. An axe head is lost, and an axe head is recovered. But in this small story, we find a potent illustration of God's personal and particular care for His people, the nature of grace, and the lordship of Christ over the material world. The sons of the prophets are engaged in constructive, dominion-oriented work, building a place to live and learn. When a mishap occurs that brings with it the shame of debt and loss, the prophet of God intervenes. This is not a story about the magical properties of wood, but rather about a God who cares for the small things, a God who reverses the laws of nature to restore what was lost, and a God who deals graciously with our debts. It is a gospel miniature.

The story unfolds in a straightforward manner. A need for expansion leads to a construction project. A borrowed tool is lost, creating a crisis for the borrower. A cry for help is made to the man of God, Elisha. A simple, almost rustic miracle is performed, and the lost item is restored. In this, we see the kindness of God, the importance of stewardship, and the reality that our God is not a distant deity, but one who is intimately involved in the warp and woof of our daily lives, right down to our tools and our debts.

Outline

Context In 2 Kings

This story is nestled within a series of accounts detailing the ministry of Elisha, the successor to Elijah. Elisha's miracles often differ in character from Elijah's. While Elijah's ministry was marked by dramatic, nation-shaking confrontations with paganism (think Mount Carmel), Elisha's miracles are frequently more personal, demonstrating God's grace to individuals and communities. He purifies a pot of stew, multiplies oil for a widow, and here, recovers a lost tool. This story, therefore, fits perfectly within the broader portrait of Elisha's ministry as a demonstration of God's immanent care for His covenant people in their daily needs. It shows the prophetic office operating not just on the grand stage of kings and kingdoms, but in the mud of the Jordan River, among ordinary men doing ordinary work.

Key Issues

Commentary

v. 1 And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us.”

The story begins with a problem, but it is a good kind of problem. The school of the prophets is growing. This is a sign of health. God is at work, and the company of those dedicated to His Word is expanding. They are not complaining in a spirit of discontentment; they are stating a fact. They have outgrown their quarters. This is what faithful ministry ought to look like. It should grow, it should expand, it should press against its boundaries. They recognize the limitation and bring it to their head, Elisha. This is the right order of things. They see the problem and they go to the established authority.

v. 2 Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” So he said, “Go.”

They do not just present the problem; they propose a solution. This is commendable initiative. They are not waiting for Elisha to figure everything out for them. They are ready to work. "Let us go...and each of us take from there a beam." This is a communal project. Every man will contribute. They are going to build their own house. This is the essence of taking dominion. They see a need, and they set their hands to the task of meeting that need through labor. Elisha's response is simple and permissive: "Go." He approves of their plan. He blesses their industry.

v. 3 Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I shall go.”

This is a crucial request. One of the men, perhaps with a bit more foresight than the others, understands that their labor, however diligent, needs the presence of God's blessing. And in the Old Testament economy, the presence of God's prophet was a tangible representation of that blessing. They don't just want Elisha's permission; they want his presence. They want him to go "with your servants." This is a humble and wise request. It acknowledges their dependence. Elisha's agreement is immediate: "I shall go." A true spiritual leader does not simply send others to do the work; he goes with them.

v. 4 So he went with them; and they came to the Jordan and cut down trees.

The narrative is plain and unadorned. They get right to it. They arrive at the Jordan, the source of their building materials, and they begin the hard work of felling trees. This is not glorious work. It is sweaty, tiring, manual labor. But it is good work, done in the presence of God's prophet, for the purpose of advancing the study and proclamation of God's Word.

v. 5 Now it happened that as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.”

And here the story turns. An accident happens, as accidents do in a fallen world. As one man swings the axe, the iron head separates from the wooden handle and flies into the Jordan. His cry is one of immediate distress: "Alas, my master!" The exclamation reveals his panic. And the reason for his panic is not simply the loss of a tool, but the nature of that loss. "For it was borrowed." This is the heart of the crisis. He has lost what was not his. He is now in debt. The Scripture is clear that "the borrower is servant to the lender" (Prov. 22:7). This man is suddenly in a state of servitude because of this accident. He has been a poor steward of another man's property, and the shame and liability of it crush him.

v. 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float.

Elisha does not rebuke him for his carelessness. He does not lecture him on the importance of checking his tools. He responds with grace. His first question is practical: "Where did it fall?" He needs to identify the precise location of the problem. This is what a good pastor does. He doesn't offer vague platitudes; he asks, "Where is the hurt? Show me the spot." Once the spot is identified, Elisha performs the miracle. He cuts a stick and throws it into the water at that spot. And then the impossible happens: "he made the iron float." Iron does not float. This is a direct, divine suspension of what we call the laws of nature. But the laws of nature are nothing more than the way God usually chooses to uphold His creation. He is Lord over creation, and He can command it to behave differently whenever He pleases. The stick is not a magic wand. It is a means, a physical element that God uses to display His power. God is pleased to work through material means. He uses water in baptism and bread and wine in communion. Here, He uses a stick.

v. 7 And he said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he sent forth his hand and took it.

The miracle is not fully complete until the man participates. Elisha says, "Take it up for yourself." God's grace does not obliterate human responsibility; it enables it. God makes the iron float, but the man must reach out and take it. He has to appropriate the gift. So he stretches out his hand, the same hand that lost the axe head, and takes it back. The debt is cancelled. The tool is restored. The shame is removed. He is free to go back to work. This is a picture of the gospel. We are all in a hopeless debt because of our sin. We have lost what was not ours to lose. Christ, the true prophet, comes to us. He identifies the place of our loss, and through the wood of the cross, He performs a miracle. He reverses the curse, cancels the debt, and restores us. And then He tells us to take up this salvation for ourselves, to reach out the hand of faith and receive the grace that has been offered.

Application

First, we should see that God is interested in the small details of our lives. We are often tempted to think that God is only concerned with the "big" spiritual things, but this story shows us a God who cares about a borrowed axe head. Your work, your finances, your tools, your daily anxieties, these are all legitimate matters to bring before Him. He is not a distant God, but a Father who is near.

Second, this story is a potent warning about the nature of debt. The student prophet's cry of anguish was because the axe was "borrowed." He understood the bondage that comes with debt. Christians should strive to live with this same awareness, owing no man anything except to love one another. We must be diligent stewards of what God has given us, and especially of what others have entrusted to us.

Third, we see the pattern of grace. When we find ourselves in a hopeless situation, having lost what we cannot recover, the answer is not to try harder, but to cry out to our Master. The man did not try to dive into the murky Jordan to find the axe head himself. He cried out to Elisha. We too must cry out to Christ. He is the one who can reverse the irreversible. He makes iron float. He can take your dead-end situation, your crushing debt, your shameful failure, and by a miracle of His grace, restore you.

Finally, remember that grace requires a response. The axe head floated, but the man had to reach out and take it. God has offered us salvation full and free in the person of His Son. The work is done. But you must reach out the hand of faith and take hold of it. Do not stand on the riverbank marveling at the miracle while refusing to take the gift. Take it up for yourself.