Am I Using Faulty Tools?

2 Kings 6:1-7

Elisha has now succeeded Elijah as a prophet to the Northern Kingdom (2 Kings 2:1-18). He has by now already prophesied and God has performed a few miracles through him. But now we will see something peculiar, he makes an axe head float. This situation shows how God cares for His children and how He can provide for them in the little things of life. We also learn of Elisha’s interaction with everyday people. We cannot forget where we came from and do not become so engaged with the act of service that we forget the reason and to whom we serve.

In verse 1-3:

Here we see a few students (sons of prophets). The students wanted to go build a new place to study in because where they were at was beginning to get too small. This may be due to an increase in the number of students. They even decided to build the new school themselves. Not only that, but they also wanted Elisha to go with them.

So, what do these few verses tell us? Well, I do not know for certain, but I would think that Elisha was a teacher here (2 Kings 4:38) and it seems that he was somewhat popular because the students wanted him to go with them as they built a new school. These men were willing to work and not just sit idly by and wait for a new school to be built. There is work that needs to be done in the service for the Lord. Not all of us will do the same type of work, but we all have our part in God’s service.

• Luke 10:2, Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

• Romans 12:4, For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

His popularity may have come from the miracles that had been performed and the people could tell that he was a man of God. He not only showed this in his speech but in his daily walk. It would behoove many professing Christians today to not only talk the talk but to walk the walk more so.

• Romans 12:1-2, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In verses 4-7:

There are quite a few questions that will be asked during this next section. We see that as they came to Jordan, they began to labor. But suddenly, one man’s axe head came off the handle and fell into the water. He started stressing, “What am I to do?” Was it because it was not his tool? Why did he borrow it anyway? Did he not have his own tools? Being as he was a student; I would suspect that the man could not afford to have much. Or maybe, someone saw something in the man and trusted him with the tool.

Why did the axe head fall off? Were the tools not properly prepared or was it just a coincidence? Where did it fall? What happened after it fell off, the work stopped. The man then calls for Elisha. The man knew to who to call for. Does the scripture say anything about Elisha rebuking the student for being careless or for not having his own tool? No, he simply went to help. What a miracle to happen. God looks at the small things just as much as the big things.

You see, the axe head laid on the bottom of the river. It was raised up, restored, replaced, and then put back to work again. If we look at this another way, Elisha reaches down, places a stick in the water, which compels the axe head to come forth, it was fixed and was ready to be used. That is what Christ has done for us. We were down in the mire, we were dirty, we were filthy, and we were uncleaned. Christ gave Himself for us so that we could be made clean.

• 1 Peter 2:24, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

What do we do when something like this happens to us? Has God trusted us with heavenly tools to use for His service? Have we taken care of them? Christians, what have we done with the tools God has graced us with? We need to recognize that we have lost it, pray, and go back to where we lost it. Seek guidance from a spiritual mentor, ask for someone to help us pray.