2 kings 6 commentary

2 KI GS 6 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
An Axhead Floats
1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha,
“Look, the place where we meet with you is too
small for us.
BAR ES, "The writer returns here to the series of miracles which Elisha performed
for the benefit of the prophetical schools under his care. The connection, in this point of
view, is with 2Ki_4:44.
The place where we dwell with thee - literally, “the place where we sit before
thee,” i. e. “the place where we assemble and sit to bear thy teaching.” Elisha visited the
sons of the prophets in circuit, staying a short time at each place where a “school” was
established. Perhaps he was now visiting Jericho. Compare 2Ki_2:5.
CLARKE, "The place - is too strait for us - Notwithstanding the general
profligacy of Israel, the schools of the prophets increased. This was no doubt owing to
the influence of Elisha.
GILL, "And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha,.... Or the disciples of the
prophets, as the Targum:
behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us: their
numbers were so increased, that there was not room enough for them in the house they
dwelt in with the prophet; which increase was owing, the Jews (z) say, to the departure
of Gehazi last mentioned, who was a bad man, and used the disciples so ill, that they
could not stay in the college; but, when he was gone, they flocked in great numbers; but
rather it was owing to the very instructive ministry and wonderful miracles of Elisha: the
place where the prophet and his disciples now dwelt seems to be Gilgal, 2Ki_4:38.
HE RY, "Several things may be observed here,
I. Concerning the sons of the prophets, and their condition and character. The college
here spoken of seems to be that at Gilgal, for there Elisha was (2Ki_4:38), and it was

near Jordan; and, probably, wherever Elisha resided as many as could of the sons of the
prophets flocked to him for the advantage of his instructions, counsels, and prayers.
Every one would covet to dwell with him and be near him. Those that would be teachers
should lay out themselves to get the best advantages for learning. Now observe,
1. Their number increased so that they wanted room: The place is too strait for us
(2Ki_6:1) - a good hearing, for it is a sign many are added to them. Elisha's miracles
doubtless drew in many. Perhaps they increased the more now that Gehazi was
cashiered, and, it is likely, an honester man put in his room, to take care of their
provisions; for it should seem (by that instance, 2Ki_4:43) that Naaman's case was not
the only one in which he grudged his master's generosity.
2. They were humble men and did not affect that which was gay or great. When they
wanted room they did not speak of sending for cedars, and marble stones, and curious
artificers, but only of getting every man a beam, to run up a plain hut or cottage with. It
becomes the sons of the prophets, who profess to look for great things in the other
world, to be content with mean things in this.
3. They were poor men, and men that had no interest in great ones It was a sign that
Joram was king, and Jezebel ruled too, or the sons of the prophets, when they wanted
room, would have needed only to apply to the government, not to consult among
themselves about the enlargement of their buildings. God's prophets have seldom been
the world's favourites. Nay, so poor were they that they had not wherewithal to hire
workmen (but must leave their studies, and work for themselves), no, nor to buy tools,
but must borrow of their neighbours. Poverty then is no bar to prophecy.
4. They were industrious men, and willing to take pains. They desired not to live, like
idle drones (idle monks, I might have said), upon the labours of others, but only desired
leave of their president to work for themselves. As the sons of the prophets must not be
so taken up with contemplation as to render themselves unfit for action, so much less
must they so indulge themselves in their ease as to be averse to labour. He that must eat
or die must work or starve, 2Th_3:8, 2Th_3:10. Let no man think an honest
employment either a burden or disparagement.
JAMISO , "2Ki_6:1-7. Elisha causes iron to swim.
the place where we dwell with thee — Margin, “sit before thee.” The one points
to a common residence - the other to a common place of meeting. The tenor of the
narrative shows the humble condition of Elisha’s pupils. The place was either Beth-el or
Jericho, probably the latter. The ministry and miracles of Elisha brought great
accessions to his schools.
K&D 1-4, "Elisha Causes an Iron Axe to Float. - The following account gives us an
insight into the straitened life of the pupils of the prophets. 2Ki_6:1-4. As the common
dwelling-place had become too small for them, they resolved, with Elisha's consent, to
build a new house, and went, accompanied by the prophet, to the woody bank of the
Jordan to fell the wood that was required for the building. The place where the common
abode had become too small is not given, but most of the commentators suppose it to
have been Gilgal, chiefly from the erroneous assumption that the Gilgal mentioned in
2Ki_2:1 was in the Jordan valley to the east of Jericho. Thenius only cites in support of
this the reference in ָ‫יך‬ֶ‫נ‬ ָ‫פ‬ ִ‫ל‬ ‫ים‬ ִ‫ב‬ ְ‫ּשׁ‬‫י‬ (dwell with thee) to 2Ki_4:38; but this decides nothing,
as the pupils of the prophets sat before Elisha, or gathered together around their master

in a common home, not merely in Gilgal, but also in Bethel and Jericho. We might rather
think of Jericho, since Bethel and Gilgal (Jiljilia) were so far distant from the Jordan,
that there is very little probability that a removal of the meeting-place to the Jordan,
such as is indicated by ‫ּום‬‫ק‬ ָ‫מ‬ ‫ם‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ‫נוּ‬ ָ ‫ה־‬ ֶ‫שׂ‬ ֲ‫ע‬ַ‫,נ‬ would ever have been thought of from either of
these localities.
BE SO , "2 Kings 6:1-2. The sons of the prophet said to Elisha — Probably those
that were at Gilgal, for that is the place last mentioned where the prophet was,
(chap. 2 Kings 4:38,) and was also near to Jordan. Let us go — unto Jordan — To
the woods near Jordan; and take thence every man a beam — A piece of timber for
the building. Hence it may be gathered, that although the sons of the prophets
principally devoted themselves to religious exercises, yet they sometimes employed
themselves about manual arts.
ELLICOTT, "(1-7) The prophet causes an iron ax-head to float ın the Jordan.
(1) And the sons of the prophets said.—The form of the verb implies connection
with the preceding narrative; but as the section refers to Elisha’s activity among the
sons of the prophets, it was probably connected originally with 2 Kings 4:44. The
compiler may have transferred it to its present position in order, as Thenius
suggests, to indicate the lapse of some time between the events described here and
there; and further, to separate the account of the renewed warfare between Syria
and Israel (2 Kings 6:8, seq.) from that of Elisha’s good deed to aaman the Syrian.
The place where we dwell with thee.—Rather, the place where we sit before thee:
scil., habitually, for instruction. The phrase occurred in 2 Kings 4:38. The common
hall is meant; whether that at Gilgal or at Jericho is uncertain. Jericho was close to
the Jordan (2 Kings 6:2), but that does not prove that it is meant here. The
prophet’s disciples did not live in a single building, like a community of monks.
Their settlement is called “dwellings” (nâyôth) in the plural (1 Samuel 19:18); and
they could be married (2 Kings 4:1).
Too strait.—Their numbers had increased. (Comp. 2 Kings 4:43.)
ISBET, "THE LOST AXE-HEAD
‘And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we
dwell with thee is too strait for us. 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.’
2 Kings 6:1-2
There are two conditions of real personal power in the world. One is the power of
insight, and it is that which redeems life from being regarded as commonplace.
Everything is tinged with heavenliness for those who see heaven’s light above all,

and the possession of this power gives that dignity of conception to life which is one
of the secrets of power. The other condition is the strength of personal assertiveness,
the power of personal action. These two gifts Elisha possessed.
But there is a third qualification still which is needed, in order that these two
powers may be brought into contact with life. Great men are men who are in touch
with their own age. A man may have insight and energy of character; but if he have
no power of adjusting his capacities in language understood of the men amongst
whom he lives, all that power will be thrown away. The scene before us explains that
Elisha was largely possessed of this gift. He identifies himself with the men of
progress; he allies himself to their individual life. He allows the freest scope of
individual activity, but yet preserves them in the great unification of their work.
I. It is not the cry of the Jewish Church only, it is the cry of all ages, ‘The place is
too strait.’ The history of the Church of Christ is the history of a thousand regrets.
The spirit of prejudice surrounds every aspect with which we regard life and
Church movement. It is difficult for a man bred in one communion to believe in the
types of saintship which have become the favourites of another.
II. Whenever a new doctrine or a new truth has come up in the history of the
Church, it has been held in the first instance by men who lived by it and tied their
own lives to it.—Truth is not a thing of the intellect only; it descends into our moral
nature; it grafts upon our affections and conscience. The natural history of a
doctrine is this: when men are taking it rightly, using it as for God, rightly handling
it, it is a power in their hands. Taken up for the purpose of evading the claims of
God which other truths may be making upon their minds, it becomes evacuated of
its power; it is impotent, it is buried underneath the stream of constantly changing
time. When men believed in the inspiration of God and the Bible, it was a power to
them; but when this dropped down into a belief that every jot and tittle was part
and parcel of God’s inspiration, then they merely crystallised into a dogma what
was a great and living truth.
III. You are surrounded by workers.—Your mind is often disturbed among the
many cries and many sounds; but believe it, each of you has his own beam, and God
can put into your hand the weapon which you are to use in hewing it down. Go
forward, and be not afraid.
—Bishop W. Boyd Carpenter.
Illustration
‘When the episode happens, which often does happen in the story of great
movements—when one man’s heart is smitten through with despondency, when the
work is still before him, but the power of carrying on the work has dropped from
his hand, slipping into the stream which is ever ready to drown our best endeavours,
Elisha stands beside a man in despondency, cheers his spirit, which is overwhelmed
by hopelessness, and restores to him hope, capacity, and power. This is a man who
is, in a great sense, a true prophet of this day, not simply posing for personal

admiration, not merely asserting himself and destroying the capabilities of those
about him, but with that sweet flexibility and that wondrous firmness combined,
which is capable of giving movement to the young life about him, and at the same
time drawing them into the one great purpose of existence. And thus it seems to me
that the scene spreads beyond its own age. It is a type of all great movements, and it
gives us a fitting attitude of those who would direct and control such movements.’
PULPIT, "FURTHER MIRACLES WROUGHT BY ELISHA. The historian relates
first a (comparatively) private miracle wrought by Elisha in the vicinity of Jericho,
for the benefit of one of the "sons of the prophets" (2 Kings 7:1-8). He then tells us
briefly of a series of public miracles which brought Elisha into much note and
prominence. War, it appears, had again broken out in a pronounced form between
Israel and Syria, Syria being the aggressor. The Syrian monarch prepared traps for
his adversary, encamping in places where he hoped to take him at a disadvantage.
But Elisha frustrated these plans, by addressing warnings to the King of Israel, and
pointing out to him the various positions occupied (2 Kings 7:8-12), which he
consequently avoided. When this came to the ears of the King of Syria, he made an
attempt to obtain possession of Elisha's person—an attempt which failed signally (2
Kings 7:13 -23), owing to the miraculous powers of the prophet. Benhadad, some
time after this, made a great expedition into the land of Israel, penetrating to the
capital, and laying siege to it. The circumstances of the siege, and the escape of the
city when at the last gasp, are related partly in the present chapter (verses 24-33),
partly in the next.
2 Kings 6:1
And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell
with thee—literally, before thee—is too strait for us. The scene of this miracle is
probably the vicinity of Jericho, since both Gilgal and Bethel were remote from the
Jordan. The "school of the prophets" at Jericho, whereof we heard in 2 Kings 2:5, 2
Kings 2:19, had increased so much, that the buildings which hitherto had
accommodated it were no longer sufficient. A larger dwelling, or set of dwelling, was
thought to be necessary; but the scholars would make no change without the
sanction of their master. When he comes on one of his circuits, they make appeal to
him.
EBC, "ELISHA A D THE SYRIA S
2 Kings 6:1-23
" ow there was found in the city a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered
the city."
- Ecclesiastes 9:15

ELISHA, unlike his master Elijah, was, during a great part of his long career,
intimately mixed up with the political and military fortunes of his country. The king
of Israel who occurs in the following narratives is left nameless-always the sign of
later and more vague tradition; but he has usually been identified with Jehoram
ben-Ahab, and, though not without some misgivings, we shall assume that the
identification is correct.
His dealings with Elisha never seem to have been very cordial, though on one
occasion he calls him "my father." The relations between them at times became
strained and even stormy.
His reign was rendered miserable by the incessant infestation of Syrian marauders.
In these difficulties he was greatly helped by Elisha. The prophet repeatedly
frustrated the designs of the Syrian king by revealing to Jeroboam the places of
Benhadad’s ambuscades, so that Jeroboam could change the destination of his
hunting parties or other movements, and escape the plots laid to seize his person.
Benhadad, finding himself thus frustrated, and suspecting that it was due to
treachery, called his servants together in grief and indignation, and asked who was
the traitor among them. His officers assured him that they were all faithful, but that
the secrets whispered in his bed-chamber were revealed to Jehoram by Elisha the
prophet in Israel, whose fame had spread into Syria, perhaps because of the cure of
aaman. The king, unable to take any step while his counsels were thus published to
his enemies, thought-not very consistently-that he could surprise and seize Elisha
himself, and sent to find out where he was. At that time he was living in Dothan,
about twelve miles northeast of Samaria, and Benhadad sent a contingent with
horses and chariots by night to surround the city, and prevent any escape from its
gates. That he could thus besiege a town so near the capital shows the helplessness to
which Israel had been now reduced.
When Elisha’s servitor rose in the morning he was terrified to see the Syrians
encamped round the city, and cried to Elisha, "Alas! my master, what shall we do?"
"Fear not," said the prophet: "they that be with us are more than they that be with
them." He prayed God to grant the youth the same open eyes, the same spiritual
vision which he himself enjoyed; and the youth saw the mountain full of horses and
chariots of fire round about Elisha.
This incident has been full of comfort to millions, as a beautiful illustration of the
truth that-
"The hosts of God encamp around
The dwellings of the just;
Deliverance He affords to all

Who on His promise trust."
"Oh, make but trial of His love,
Experience will decide,
How blest are they, and only they,
Who in His truth confide."
The youth’s affectionate alarm had not been shared by his master. He knew that to
every true servant of God the promise will be fulfilled, "He shall defend thee under
His wings; thou shalt be safe under His feathers; His righteousness and truth shall
be thy shield and buckler." {Psalms 91:4}
Were our eyes similarly opened, we too should see the reality of the Divine
protection and providence, whether under the visible form of angelic ministrants or
not. Scripture in general, and the Psalms in particular, are full of the serenity
inspired by this conviction. The story of Elisha is a picture-commentary on the
Psalmist’s words: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round them that fear Him, and
delivereth them." {Psalms 34:7} "He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep
thee in all thy ways." {Psalms 91:11} "And I will encamp about Mine house because
of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and
no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with Mine
eyes." {Zechariah 9:8} "The angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in
His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of
old." {Isaiah 63:9}
But what is the exact meaning of all these lovely promises? They do not mean that
God’s children and saints will always be shielded from anguish or defeat, from the
triumph of their enemies, or even from apparently hopeless and final failure, or
miserable death. The lesson is not that their persons shall be inviolable, or that the
enemies who advance against them to eat up their flesh shall always stumble and
fall. The experiences of tens of thousands of troubled lives and martyred ends
instantly prove the futility of any such reading of these assurances. The saints of
God, the prophets of God, have died in exile and in prison, have been tortured on
the rack and broken on the wheel, and burnt to ashes at innumerable stakes; they
have been destitute, afflicted, tormented, in their lives-stoned, beheaded, sawn
asunder, in every form of hideous death; they have rotted in miry dungeons, have
starved on desolate shores, have sighed out their souls into the agonizing flame. The
Cross of Christ stands as the emblem and the explanation of their lives, which fools
count to be madness, and their end without honor. On earth they have, far more
often than not, been crushed by the hatred and been delivered over to the will of
their enemies. Where, then, have been those horses and chariots of fire?
They have been there no less than around Elisha at Dothan. The eyes spiritually
opened have seen them, even when the sword flashed, or the flames wrapped them

in indescribable torment. The sense of God’s protection has least deserted His saints
when to the world’s eyes they seemed to have been most utterly abandoned. There
has been a joy in prisons and at stakes, it has been said, far exceeding the joy of
harvest. "Pray for me," said a poor boy of fifteen, who was being burned at
Smithfield in the fierce days of Mary Tudor. "I would as soon pray for a dog as for
a heretic like thee," answered one of the spectators. "Then, Son of God, shine Thou
upon me!" cried the boy-martyr; and instantly, upon a dull and cloudy day, the sun
shone out, and bathed his young face in glory; whereat, says the martyrologist, men
greatly marveled. But is there one deathbed of a saint on which that glory has not
shone?
The presence of those horses and chariots of fire, unseen by the carnal eye-the
promises which, if they be taken literally, all experience seems to frustrate-mean two
things, which they who are the heirs of such promises, and who would without them
be of all men most miserable, have clearly understood.
They mean, first, that as long as a child of God is on the path of duty, and until that
duty has been fulfilled, he is inviolable and invulnerable. He shall tread upon the
lion and the adder; the young lion and the dragon shall he trample under his feet.
He shall take up the serpent in his hands; and if he drink any deadly thing, it shall
not hurt him. He shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that
flieth by day; of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the demon that
destroyeth in the noonday. A thousand shall fall at his right hand, and ten thousand
beside him; but it shall not come nigh him. The histories and the legends of
numberless marvelous deliverances all confirm the truth that, when a man fears the
Lord, He will keep him in all his ways, and give His angels charge over him, lest at
any time he dash his foot against a stone. God will not permit any mortal force, or
any combination of forces, to hinder the accomplishment of the task entrusted to His
servant. It is the sense of this truth which, under circumstances however menacing,
should enable us to
"bate no jot of heart or hope, but still bear up, and steer uphillward."
It is this conviction which has nerved men to face insuperable difficulties, and
achieve impossible and unhoped-for ends. It works in the spirit of the cry, "Who art
thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel be thou changed into a plain!" It
inspires the faith as a grain of mustard seed which is able to say to this mountain,
"Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,"-and it shall obey. It stands
unmoved upon the pinnacle of the Temple whereon it has been placed, while the
enemy and the tempter, smitten by amazement, falls. In the hour of difficulty it can
cry, -
"Rescue me, O Lord, in this mine evil hour,
As of old so many by Thy mighty power,
Enoch and Elias from the common doom;

oe from the waters in a saving home;
Abraham from the abounding guilt of heathenesse;
Job from all his multiform and fell distress"
"Isaac when his father’s knife was raised to slay;
Lot from burning Sodom on the judgment day;
Moses from the land of bondage and despair;
Daniel from the hungry lions in their lair;
And the children three amid the furnace flame;
Chaste Susanna from the slander and the shame;
David from Golia, and the wrath of Saul;
And the two Apostles from their prison-thrall."
The strangeness, the unexpectedness, the apparently inadequate source of the
deliverance, have deepened the trust that it has not been due to accident. Once,
when Felix of ola was flying from his enemies, he took refuge in a cave, and he had
scarcely entered it before a spider began to spin its web over the fissure. The
pursuer, passing by, saw the spider’s web, and did not look into the cave; and the
saint, as he came out into safety, remarked: "Ubi Deus est, ibi aranea taurus, ubi
non est ibi taurus aranea" ("Where God is, a spider’s web is as a wall; where He is
not, a wall is but as a spider’s web").
This is one lesson conveyed in the words of Christ when the Pharisees told Him that
Herod desired to kill Him. He knew that Herod could not kill Him till He had done
His Father’s will and finished His work. "Go ye," He said "and tell this fox, Behold,
I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be
perfected. evertheless, I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following."
But had all this been otherwise-had Felix been seized by his pursuers and perished,
as has been the common lot of God’s prophets and heroes-he would not therefore
have felt himself mocked by these exceeding great and precious promises. The
chariots and horses of fire are still mere ant are there to work a deliverance yet
greater and more eternal. Their office is not to deliver the perishing body, but to
carry into God’s glory the immortal soul. This is indicated in the death-scene of
Elijah. This was the vision of the dying Stephen. This was what Christian legend
meant when it embellished with beautiful incidents such scenes as the death of
Polycarp. This was what led Bunyan to write, when he describes the death of

Christian, that "all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side." When poor
Captain Allan Gardiner lay starving to death in that Antarctic isle with his
wretched companions, he yet painted on the entrance of the cave which had
sheltered them, and near to which his remains were found, a hand pointing
downward at the words, "Though He slay me, yet will I put my trust in Him."
There was a touch of almost joyful humor in the way in which Elisha proceeded to
use, in the present emergency, the power of Divine deliverance. He seems to have
gone out of the town and down the hill to the Syrian captains, and prayed God to
send them illusion (ajbleya), so that they might be misled. Then he boldly said to
them, "You are being deceived: you have come the wrong way, and to the wrong
city. I will take you to the man whom ye seek." The incident reminds us of the story
of Athanasius, who, when he was being pursued on the ile, took the opportunity of
a bend of the river boldly to turn back his boat towards Alexandria. "Do you know
where Athanasius is?" shouted the pursuers. "He is not far off!" answered the
disguised Archbishop; and the emissaries of Constantius went on in the opposite
direction from that in which he made his escape.
Elisha led the Syrians in their delusion straight into the city of Samaria, where they
suddenly found themselves at the mercy of the king and his troops. Delighted at so
great a chance of vengeance, Jehoram eagerly exclaimed, "My father, shall I smite,
shall I smite?"
Certainly the request cannot be regarded as unnatural, when we remember that in
the Book of Deuteronomy, which did not come to light till after this period, we read
the rule that, when the Israelites had taken a besieged city, "thou shalt smite every
male thereof with the edge of the sword," {Deuteronomy 20:13} and that when
Israel defeated the Midianites; { umbers 31:7} they slew all the males, and Moses
was wroth with the officers of the host because they had not also slain all the
women. He then (as we are told) ordered them to slay all except the virgins, and
also-horrible to relate-"every male among the little ones." The spirit of Elisha on
this occasion was larger and more merciful. It almost rose to the spirit of Him who
said, "It was said to them of old time, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine
enemy; but I say unto you, Love your enemies; forgive them that hate you; do good
unto them that despitefully use you and persecute you." He asked Jehoram
reproachfully whether he would even have smitten those whom he had taken captive
with sword and bow. He not only bade the king to spare them, but to set food before
them, and send them home. Jehoram did so at great expense, and the narrative ends
by telling us that the example of such merciful generosity produced so favorable an
impression that "the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel."
It is difficult, however, to see where this statement can be chronologically fitted in.
The very next chapter-so loosely is the compilation put together, so completely is the
sequence of events here neglected-begins with telling us that Benhadad with all his
host went up and besieged Samaria. Any peace or respite gained by Elisha’s
compassionate magnanimity must, in any case, have been exceedingly short-lived.
Josephus tries to get over the difficulty by drawing a sufficiently futile distinction

between marauding bands and a direct invasion, and he says that King Benhadad
gave up his forays through fear of Elisha. But, in the first place, the encompassing of
Dothan had been carried out by "a great host with horses and chariots," which is
hardly consistent with the notion of a foray, though it creates new difficulties as to
the numbers whom Elisha led to Samaria; secondly, the substitution of a direct
invasion for predatory incursions would have been no gain to Israel, but a more
deadly peril; and, thirdly, if it was fear of Elisha which stopped the king’s raids, it is
strange that it had no effect in preventing his invasions. We have, however, no data
for any final solution of these problems, and it is useless to meet them with a
network of idle conjectures. Such difficulties naturally occur in narratives so vague
and unchronological as those presented to us in the documents from the story of
Elisha which the compiler wove into his history of Israel and Judah.
PARKER, "Elisha and the Young Prophets
We see in the opening of this chapter some of the simple and happy relations which
existed between the elder and the younger prophets. Is it not possible to revive some
of these relations? Look at the case: "And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha,
Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us" ( 2 Kings 6:1).
Put into modern language the statement amounts to this: "Our college is getting too
small, we want more room; let us, therefore, consider this practical question, and see
what can be done." Elisha did not live with the young men. That, perhaps, was
rather a happy than an unhappy circumstance, though a very beautiful picture
could be drawn concerning domestic collegiate life. A college or a school with the
teachers and students all living together must, one would surely say, be a little
heaven upon earth. What can be, ideally, more perfect than the old prophet
surrounded by all the younger prophets, eating and living together, having a
common room, and a common hostelry, or a common home? What can be,
imaginatively, more taking, more pathetic and satisfactory? Without pronouncing a
judgment upon that inquiry, it is enough to be so far just to the text as to say that
Elisha did not adopt that system of collegiate life. He went round about from place
to place; he visited the schools of the prophets in the various localities; and now,
when he came to this place, the young men said: "We have not room enough; we
must consider our circumstances, and endeavour to enlarge our accommodation."
What did they propose? It is well now and again to hear what young men have to
suggest. It is useful to listen to young politicians in national crises, that we may hear
how they would treat the patient. It is desirable that young voices should mingle
with old voices in the common council. ow it is the turn of the young men to speak.
What will they propose to Elisha? The answer is given in the second verse: "Let us
go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make a
place there where we may dwell." The city was not situated exactly upon the
Jordan, but upon a stream a little way from it, which flowed directly into that great
river; and now the young men proposed to get a little nearer to the main stream, for
the district of it was called The Valley of Palms. Palestine was notably destitute of
trees, but in this particular locality timber was to be got. So the young men made the

proposition to Elisha. What does the proposition amount to? It amounts to
something which in this day might horrify a good many of the successors of Elisha.
The young men said: "Let us go and cut down our own timber, and enlarge our
college with our own hands." Did they propose that the question should be
"reported upon"—that it should be brought under the attention first of the general
committee, then be referred to a sub-committee being bound to report to the general
committee, and the general committee being unable to attend, or to constitute a
quorum, and so go on to forget the whole business? The young men said: "We want
room: let us make it; we want a larger college: let us build it." Why not adopt the
same principle today? There is nothing so easy as to send round an appeal for a
contribution and never get any reply to it. We, wanting to be missionaries, should go
by the next boat; wanting to preach the gospel to the heathen, we should say:
"When does the ship start?" and being unable to pay the fare, we should work our
passage. And when people ask us what we are doing, and whether we have lost our
senses, we should say: "Yes; if we be beside ourselves, it is unto God." Then an
impression might be made upon those who look on. They would say; "Surely these
men are in earnest; be they right, or be they wrong: be they fanatical or sober-
minded, their earnestness burns in them like a fire, and such men can neither be put
back nor kept down." Without wishing, however, to modernise the details of this
incident, which, owing to our civilisation, would be impossible, it is enough to
remember that, in the early days of collegiate and school life, the scholars were
prepared to do something towards helping themselves. They did not send for
builders from Jerusalem, or even from the city of Jericho; they undertook the work
at their own impulse and at their own charges. There is a line of beauty even in the
proposition of the young men. They desired Elisha"s permission. They said in effect,
"Father, may we go?" They were enthusiastic, but they were under discipline; they
had fire enough, but they responded to the touch of the master; they were ready, not
only to go, but to run, and yet they would not stir a foot until Elisha said, "Go ye."
What then did they do? "And one said [to Elisha], Be content, I pray thee, and go
with thy servants" ( 2 Kings 6:3). They were stronger when the elder man was with
them. Sometimes the eye is the best master. It often happens that the man who is
standing in the harvest field resting upon his rake, a picture of dignity and ease, is
doing more than if he were sweltering himself by cutting down corn with his own
sickle: his eye is doing the work, his presence is exerting an immeasurable and
happy influence upon the whole field. Elisha was not asked to go and fell the timber,
but to be with the young men whilst they did the hard work; and, becoming young
again himself, as old men do become young when associated with young life, he
instantly said: "I will go: the work is a common work; it belongs to me as well as to
you; it belongs to all Israel, in so far as all Israel is true to the living God; come, let
us go in one band: union is strength." ow they went, the old and the young
together. Why would they not go alone? Perhaps they were reminded of what
happened when once they did go alone. Elisha ordered that food should be
prepared, and when the seething pot was on, one of the young men went out and
gathered something and threw it into the pot, and nearly poisoned the whole college.
What wonder if some of them, remembering this, said: " o more going out alone, if
you please; we once took the case into our own hands, and do you not remember
how many of us fell sick, and how we cried to Elisha, "Master, father, there is death

in the pot!" and how he kindly took a handful of meal, sprinkled it into the vessel,
and restored its healthfulness? The pot was relieved of all the disease which it
contained, and the meal happily proceeded." We should remember our blunders,
and learn from them. We are always safer in the company of the old and wise than
when we are in our own society. Happy is the man who takes counsel with his elder
neighbours, and who can sometimes renounce himself and say to wise men: "Such
and such are my circumstances; now, what would you advise me to do?"
Elisha and the young men have now gone down to the Jordan. Elisha felled no tree;
but he did his own particular kind of work. What that particular kind of work was
will further appear as the narrative proceeds.
The Syrian king could not rest. In his heart he hated or feared the king and the
hosts of Israel. There was chronic war between Israel and Syria. The king of Syria
said: "I will fix my camp in such and such a place;" and the ninth verse thus reads:
"And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not
such a place, for thither the Syrians are come down." There is a ministry of
warning. Men may not go themselves to battle, and yet they may be controlling the
fortunes of war. We need statesmen, spiritual interpreters, religious teachers, men
of thought and men of prayer; and they may be doing more practical work than is
being done by those who are engaged in the physical work of leading armies and
commanding military hosts. This is what Elisha did. He felled no tree; he wielded no
sword; and yet, alike in the building of the college and in the direction of the war,
his was the supreme mind. The prophet saved the king. This must always be the
case. The great man of the nation is the man who can think most profoundly and
most comprehensively. The architect is a greater man than the builder. The prophet
is a greater man than the king. He reads more; he sees further; he grasps a larger
field. He is master of metaphysical principles: and metaphysical principles alone
endure: they wear the clothes of the present time; they adopt the form of the passing
generation, but they go on from age to age, themselves always the same, their
adaptations being addressed to the immediate necessities of the people. We have
been told that "justice is not an intermittent apparition." That is perfectly true in
one sense; but justice is often a deferred creditor, and sometimes that may be done
tomorrow which cannot be justly done today. The prophet sees all this; he looks
ahead; he has a larger horizon than is accessible to the vision of other men. So let it
stand, an eternal lesson, that the greatest men in any nation are the men who can
think most, pray best, feel most deeply, and penetrate the metaphysics and the
inmost reality of politics and of civilisation.
Spiritual power is not only useful in one direction; it is alarming in another. When
the king of Syria felt himself baffled, all his plans thrown into uncontrollable
bewilderment, his heart was sore troubled. It is the Immeasurable that frightens
men. It is the Unknown Quantity that troubles all their calculations, and gives them
to feel that after they have completed their arithmetic their conclusion is a lie. What
was in the air? Whose was this ghostly presence that was upsetting Benhadad"s
well-laid schemes? What was it, or who, that always went before him, and that made
his proposals abortive, and turned all his policies into mocking nothings? Had there

been any man who was visible and measurable, that man could have been dealt
with. There is always a quantity equal to any quantity that is known. What is
wanting in one way can be made up in another; as, for example, what is wanting in
number may be made up in quality. As one great leader said in ancient history,
when his soldiers were saying they were too few for the battle, "How many do you
count me for?" That touched the fire of the army, and inspired the soldiers with
confidence. But when the element that troubles the heart is not visible, not
measurable, when it is here, there, round about, above, below, spectral, something
in the wind, then even Benhadad, with his footmen and horsemen and chariots,
cannot come at the awful thing. It is a presence without a shape, an influence
without a magnitude. ow, this spectral ministry has never been wanting in human
history. There is always something which even statesmen cannot calculate upon.
There is not only a spirit in Prayer of Manasseh , there is a spirit in the universe,
there is a spirit in wide civilisation. Is it a spirit of justice? Is it a spirit of criticism?
Is it a spirit of holiness? There it Isaiah , however, whatever it be; and we must take
that into account when we lay our plans. The rich man made a map of his estate,
drew it in beautiful and vivid and graphic lines, and when it was all done, he said:
"Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be
merry; thy fortune is assured." "But"—then the voice not human was heard—"but
God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." Then
the one thing, as we have often had occasion to say, which the rich man had
forgotten in his calculations was God; in other words, was everything; or, in other
terms still, was the only thing worth remembering, and ought to have been the first
thing in the opening line of the calculation. Consult your own life, and say what it is
that upsets your plan. You left the door open, purposing to return presently; and
behold, when you do go back the door is shut from the inside—locked, bolted; the
wood is turned to iron, and there is no admission for you! Who did this? Lift up
your voice; cry aloud; demand in emphatic tones: "Who did it?" and the dumb
universe will not even grant you the reply of an echo. How is this? Surely "things
are not what they seem." Surely there is a Throne above all other thrones; a Power
higher than all known might. The Christian gives the answer—a sure, strong, happy
answer: "The Lord reigneth: he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven,
and among the inhabitants of the earth."
ow the matter was revealed to the king, and he took means to remove the spectral
influence. He made this arrangement: "Go and spy where he Isaiah , that I may
send and fetch him;" and when he knew that Elisha was in Dothan the king sent
"thither horses and chariots and a great host." What unconscious tributes bad men
pay to good influences! Men do not know wholly what they are doing. Why, this was
but a poor prophet, wearing a hairy robe that had descended to him; he was no
king; he had no sword, he had no horse: he was but a man of prayer. How did
Benhadad propose to capture him? The king sent "horses and chariots and a great
host" to take a man whose sword was the word of God, whose helmet was the
defence of the Most High, whose breast-plate was Righteousness! Here are three
arms of the Syrian service—footmen, horsemen, chariots; and remember that these
were all employed to bring one poor man to the king"s presence! Might not Elisha
have said before Antigonus uttered it, "How many do you count me for?" He might

well have taunted the king of Syria, saying: "Why all this ado? Would not one
soldier have been enough to take one prophet? He might have come on foot; a horse
was not necessary, and certainly not a sword; one soldier might surely have arrested
me." But bad men unconsciously pay tribute to good men. They say, in effect,
"Elisha is only one, but a stubborn one; only one tree, but his roots seem to have
spread themselves through the earth, and to have taken hold of the entire scheme of
things; he is only one, yet, strangely, he is many in one." And this, indeed, was the
interpretation given by Elisha, for he said: "They that be with us are more than
they that be with them," Who can tell how many angels are round about the
praying-man? How is it that when the arresting hand is laid upon some men it
becomes softened, the muscles relax, and have no more pith in them, and the men
come back to say: " ever man spake like this man; arrest him we cannot"? This is a
tribute paid to the Christian religion. Men have passed parliamentary statutes
against it, but the religion of the cross has outlived the statutes—has seen them grow
into yellow letters, has observed them being cancelled, or otherwise passing into
obsoleteness. Who can hinder the progress of the divine kingdom? Who can stay the
chariot of God, saying: " o further shalt thou proceed"? Remember, Christian
men, that you do not stand in your units only. You are not simply ones and twos.
ot by arithmetic is your force or influence to be measured. You are the mediums
through which the Spirit of the living God operates upon the age. Give him a noble
outlet. Give him a free way through your heart, and say: "Make use of me, thou
living Christ, so that I may be the means of occasioning immeasurable good to the
age in which I live." Blessed are they whose defences are spiritual. Rich are they
who are rich in faith, heirs for ever, never to be cut off by any law of parliament,
who, through Christ, inherit the kingdom that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that
fadeth not away.
We are now brought to a very striking point in the incident. The servant of Elisha
came back, saying: "Alas, my master! how shall we do? I have been up early, and
behold a host compasses the city, both with horses and chariots." Then Elisha said;
"Lord, open his eyes: let this young man see; at present he can only look upon
appearances which are not realities. The universe is within the universe. The Bible is
within the Bible. The man is within the man. This servant of mine sees only the
outer circle, the rim or rind of things,—Lord, show him the reality; let him see, and
then he will be at peace." There is a view of sight; there is a view of faith. The
worldly man goes by what his bodily eyes notice or discern; the spiritually-minded
man walks by faith, not by sight. The telescope does not create the stars; the
telescope only reveals them, or enables the eye to see them. If, then, a telescope can
do this, shall we deny to that spiritual power within us called Faith the power which
we ascribe to a mechanical instrument which our own hands have fashioned? Look
upon a given object—say you take a piece of glass, two inches square; look upon it,
and say: Is there anything upon that glass? And looking with the naked eye, the
sharpest man would say: " o, that glass is perfectly free from blot or stain, or flaw,
or inscription of any kind whatsoever." ow put that same two-inch square of glass
under a microscope; and look through the microscope. What is upon it? A portrait,
or a long writing—say the Lord"s Prayer upon a speck not discernible by the naked
eye. If, then, we ascribe such wonderful powers to a glass which we ourselves have

determined as to its size and relation to other glasses, shall we deny to a certain
spiritual faculty the power of seeing that which cannot be discriminated by unaided
reason? By all the pressure of analogy, by all the reasoning of inference, we insist
that, if such wonderful things can be done mechanically, things at least equally
wonderful can be done by forces that are spiritual. The sun does not make the
landscape; the sun only shows it. A man may stand upon a high hill on a dull, gray
day and say: "I can imagine what this would be when the sun was shining." But no
man can imagine light. It stands as a sacred mystery in our life that the sun never
comes within the lines of imagination. The sunlight is a continual surprise, even to
the eyes that have most reverently and lovingly studied it. When the sun looks upon
the landscape there are new colours, new distances, new forms; a whole work is
wrought upon the landscape which can only be described by the word "wizardry."
So it is with the Bible, the great work of the living God. Look at it with the natural
vision, and you may discover in it particular beauties. You may say: "The poetry is
noble; the English is pure; and the moral sentiment of the book is not without a
certain elevation." But the book wants no such reluctant or impoverished
compliments. Let the soul be touched by the Spirit that wrote the book; let the eyes
be anointed by the living God; and then the Bible is like a landscape shone upon by
the noonday"s cloudless sun. Then the reverent reader says: "The half had not been
told me; up to this time I have been as one blind, but now I see;" and evermore the
opened eyes are fascinated by the disclosed beauties of Revelation , and to the end
the observer reads with heightening delight and with still more glowing
thankfulness.
Elisha took his own way with the Syrian army, and here occurs a point worthy of
special note. When the Lord smote the people with blindness according to the word
of Elisha, "Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow
me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria."
What! Then did the man of God resort to a false strategy? This is a very serious case
indeed, and has occasioned a good deal of difficulty. or need we wonder, for in The
Speaker"s Commentary we find such words as these: "Untruth has been held by all
moralists to be justifiable towards a public enemy. Where we have a right to kill,
much more have we a right to deceive by stratagem." When words like these occur
in a Christian Commentary, no wonder that infidelity should seize upon the
annotation as a prize, or use it as a weapon. o such comment can we adopt in
perusing this portion of sacred Scripture. It cannot be justifiable to treat a public
enemy by untruth or deception. We have no right to kill, and therefore we have no
right to deceive by stratagem. This is not the way to recommend the word of the
living God. The incident must be taken in its totality. The reader must not arrest the
progress of the narrative by stopping here or there to ask a question; he must see
the incident in its completeness, and, seeing it, he will have reason further to glorify
God for the pure morality of the book and the noble spirit of the record. Elisha
might well so far follow his illustrious predecessor as to use the weapon of irony or
taunting in dealing with the Lord"s enemies. Elijah said to the prophets of Baal:
"Cry aloud: for he is a god." As well might we stop there and say: "By Elijah"s own
testimony deity was ascribed to Baal." We forget the irony of the tone; we forget
that Elijah was mocking the debased prophets. So Elisha might say: "This is not the

way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye
seek." There was a taunt in the tone; there was sarcasm in the emphasis. or is the
verse to be read in its unity; it is to be read as part and parcel of a whole narrative.
ow what became of all this Song of Solomon -called deception and stratagem?
When the people were come into Samaria, Elisha said, "Lord, open the eyes of these
men, that they may see." He prayed first that their sight might be taken away. That
seemed to be cruel. ow he prays that their sight may be given to them again. "And,
behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha,
when he saw them, My father," as if he had become a convert. The son of Ahab and
the son of Jezebel said to Elisha: "My father"—a reluctant and hypocritical
compliment, for Jehoram could be neither reverent nor true. But, said Hebrews ,
observing the prize that was before him: "Shall I smite them? shall I smite
them?"—a Hebraism equal to "Smiting, shall I smite?"—an equivalent of
"Blessing, I will bless thee, and multiplying, I will multiply thee." So Jehoram said:
"Shall I smiting, smite them?" And the prophet said: " o." ow let us hear what
this man can say who has been judged guilty of untruth and of stratagem? And the
prophet said, "Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou
hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow?" equal to: "If you yourself
have won the victory then you can smite; but you did not take these men, and
therefore you shall not smite them: what you have taken by your own sword and
spear may be your lawful prize in war: but here is a capture with which you have
had nothing to do." What, then, is to be done? Hear Elisha: "Set bread and water
before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master." And so great
provision was prepared; "and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away,
and they went to their master." We might even excuse a strategic act in order to
secure such a conclusion.
What was the effect? "The bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel."
This is the true revenge. This is the great miracle. "If thine enemy hunger, feed him;
if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."
"Love your enemies" is the great Christian maxim. Here is Christ operating in
Elisha; here is the pre-incarnate Son of God; here is the Gospel in the Old
Testament. Let us use our enemies in the same way. If, for a little time, we seem to
practise upon them that which brings them into our power, let us see to it, that when
they are in our hands they shall feel that, however desirable it may be to have a
giant"s strength, it is tyrannous to use it. Having got them into our power, let them
hear how we can pray; let them observe how liberal we can be; let them carry back
to the land of Syria the news that the kings of Israel are merciful kings, and the
prophets of Israel are men of great, glowing, noble hearts. In this way by our
benefactions we preach without words. In this way we comment upon the Spirit of
the Cross—which is the Spirit of Love!
Selected ote
Does the king of Syria devise well-concerted schemes for the destruction of Israel?
God inspires Elisha to detect and lay them open to Jehoram. Benhadad, on hearing
that it was he that thus caused his hostile movements to be frustrated, sent an armed

band to Dothan in order to bring him bound to Damascus. The prophet"s servant,
on seeing the host of the enemy which invested Dothan, was much alarmed; but by
the prayer of Elisha God reveals to him the mighty company of angels which were
set for their defence. Regardless of consequences, the prophet went forth to meet the
hostile band: and having again prayed, God so blinded them that they could not
recognise the object of their search. The prophet then promised to lead them to
where they might see him with the natural eye. Trusting to his guidance, they
followed on till they reached the centre of Samaria, when, the optical illusion being
removed, Elisha stands in his recognised form before them! Who can tell their
confusion and alarm at this moment? The king is for putting them all to death; but,
through the interposition of him whom they had just before sought to destroy, they
were honourably dismissed to their own country (b.c892). But a year had scarcely
elapsed from this time when Benhadad, unmindful of Israel"s kindness and
forbearance, invests Samaria and reduces its inhabitants to such a state of
starvation that an ass"s head, a proscribed animal by the Levitical law, was sold for
fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab—a quart or three pints—of
dove"s dung for five pieces of silver.
GUZIK, "A. The recovery of the axe head.
1. (2 Kings 6:1-3) The sons of the prophets need to expand.
And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with
you is too small for us. Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam
from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.” So he answered,
“Go.” Then one said, “Please consent to go with your servants.” And he answered,
“I will go.”
a. The place where we dwell with you is too small for us: This indicates that at this
time Elisha had a significant impact on the nation. The old facility for housing the
sons of the prophets was not large enough to meet the needs of all those who wanted
to be trained in ministry.
b. Please consent to go with your servants: Elisha did not initiate or lead this work
of building a new center for training the prophets, but it could not happen without
his approval and blessing.
PETT, "Elisha Causes An Axe Head To Float (2 Kings 6:1-7).
This seemingly trivial incident is probably intended by the prophetic author to lay
emphasis on an important fact. Just as the axe head was borrowed or begged, and,
on being lost, was recovered by Elisha, so the power of Israel was ‘borrowed’ (or
‘begged’) from YHWH (2 Kings 2:12), and having been lost was now being
recovered by Elisha. It was also a reminder to the group of prophets that although
the truth appeared to have sunk to the bottom in Israel, yet its cutting edge was

being made available to them by God’s power.
This need not necessarily be intended as a description of prophetic community life
in general. It refers to only one small group, living together in a place too small for
them, and therefore seemingly in straitened circumstances (unless it was simply
because their number was growing). We know already from chapter 2 that there
were communities of sons of the prophets at Jericho and at Bethel. Presumably this
was the one at Jericho. It is apparent that this group lived as a community, and
found that their present accommodation was too small for them. So they had
determined to build new premises. ‘By the Jordan’ was the source of their material,
not the place where they built. Such an area would have been inhabited by wild
animals, such as lions and wild boar, and fever ridden. But plenty of available wood
was to be found there which was of a type that they, with their limited facilities,
could utilise. They were presumably intending to build in or near Jericho, possibly
at Gilgal.
The axe that was lost was not necessarily borrowed (the Hebrew word means ‘asked
for’) but it was certainly ‘begged for’ in one way or another, which may be an
indication of the poverty of the group. They could not afford to buy iron axes, which
were very expensive in terms of what they possessed. Life was seemingly not easy for
those who followed YHWH truly. So to lose an iron axe head was, for them, no
trivial matter. It may indeed have been the only one that they had, their other
available tools being flint axes. This story may also have been placed here as a
contrast to the attitude and behaviour of Gehazi, who had used these poverty
stricken sons of the prophets as an excuse in order to enrich himself. He had had his
eyes on silver and gold and rich clothing. They could not even afford an iron axe
head. But the lesson here was that God was their sufficiency.
Analysis.
a And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we
dwell before you is too restricted for us” 2 Kings 6:1).
b Let us go, we pray you, to the Jordan, and take from there every man a
beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell” (2 Kings 6:2 a).
c And he answered, “Go you.” (2 Kings 6:2 b).
d And one said, “Be pleased, I pray you, to go with your servants” (2 Kings 6:3
a).
e And he answered, “I will go” So he went with them. And when they came to
the Jordan, they cut down wood (2 Kings 6:3-4).
d But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water, and he cried,
and said, “Alas, my master! for it was begged for” (2 Kings 6:5).
c And the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” (2 Kings 6:6 a).
b And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in there,
and made the iron float (2 Kings 6:6 b).
a And he said, “Take it up to you.” So he put out his hand, and took it (2 Kings
6:7).
ote that in ‘a’ their straitened circumstances are described, and in the parallel

YHWH provides for them. In ‘b’ they go to cut down timber for their enterprise,
and in the parallel Elisha cuts down a stick in order to aid them in it. In ‘c’ Elisha
speaks to them, and the same in the parallel. In ‘d’ one makes a request to him, and
the same in the parallel. Centrally in ‘e’ they all go down to the Jordan to begin
their enterprise.
2 Kings 6:1-2
‘And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell
before you is too restricted for us. Let us go, we pray you, to the Jordan, and take
from there every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may
dwell.” And he answered, “Go you.” ’
The request of these faithful men to Elisha, on one of his visits, was for permission
to take time off from their teaching work in order to build new premises for
themselves. It does not indicate that Elisha lived with them, but it does bring out
how faithful they were in their duties. They would not do it without his agreement.
‘Dwell before you’ (literally ‘in seeing you’) was deferential and simply indicated
that they looked to him as their master.
They wanted permission to take time off in order to build larger premises. These
would not be very luxurious. The timber available from by the Jordan was of the
small tree variety (such as willow, tamarisk, acacia and plane trees), but it was
nevertheless quite suitable for the kind of shelter that they were intending to build
in the hot, dry climate of the Jordan rift valley. Elisha gave his permission. The fact
that he was not expecting to go with them points to the fact that he was not the
resident leader of that community.
BI 1-6, "The place where we dwell is too strait for us.
A church-extension enterprise
If there was a church in Israel at all, the school of the prophets undoubtedly constituted
a part of that church. They were a communion of godly men.
I. This church-extension enterprise was stimulated by the principle of growth. The old
sphere had become too narrow for them, they had outgrown it. This is a principle on
which all church-extension should proceed, but in these modern times it is not only
ignored, but outraged. Although statistics show that the churches and chapels in
England fall miserably short of the accommodation necessary for the whole population,
it is three times greater than is required for the number of attendants.
II. This church-extension enterprise was conducted in a manly manner.
1. The best counsel was sought before a step was taken.
2. Each man set to honest work in the matter. “Take thence every man a beam.”
III. This church-extension enterprise encountered difficulties unexpected. “And when
they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. 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.”
IV. This church-extension enterprise obtained supernatural help when needed. When

the man who had lost his axe and was crying out in distress, Elisha, the “man of God”
said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in
thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his
hand, and took it.” (Homilist.)
Age and youth
Few questions are more perplexing than the question as to what should be the character
of the relationship between the old and the young. Many of our young people are
impatient of the restraints which older people would put upon them, while those who
have had long experience of the world are apt to be equally impatient of the impulsive
ardour and restlessness of youth.
I. Consider the characteristics of youth. These are well known, and failure to recognise
them must mean failure in all dealings with them. “Wisdom comes not to the child.” We
must deal with people as they are, not as we wish them to be. Among the characteristics
of youth we select a few:—Dissatisfaction. The sons of the prophets said unto Elisha,
“Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.” Elisha seems to
have been very content; not so the young men. They wanted a larger place. Desire for
improvement (2Ki_6:2). This is the outcome of the other. The desire increases, and the
young want to measure their strength against the world.
3. Strength. Compared with the old, the young possess a large amount of energy, so
much indeed that they cannot rest.
4. Thoughtlessness. “As one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water.”
With the least care on his part that would never have happened. What, then, ought
the young to do? Seek the help of those who are older and wiser than themselves.
II. Consider the powers possessed by age.
1. They have knowledge of the world. They know its temptations, how subtle and
how persistent they are.
2. They have experience of human life. They have seen lives begun in promise go out
in darkness.
3. They know the power of God. They can tell which way victory lies. They have seen
Jesus and learned of Him.
(1) Let no one think the time wasted which is spent in cultivating the friendship
and love of the young. Some shallow people would have said that the prophet was
wasting his time.
(2) What attention we ought to pay to ourselves. Every man is reproducing his
own character in others. “No man liveth to himself.”
(3) To do this, we must become friends of Jesus. Elisha is a type of Christ. (A.
Jubb.)
Helping somebody
On one occasion the wife of General Sir Bartle Frere drove to a railway station to meet
her husband. She told the footman to go and find his master. The servant, who had been

engaged in Sir Bartle’s absence, asked how he should know the General. “Oh,” replied
Lady Frere, “look for a tall gentleman helping somebody.” The description was sufficient.
The servant went, and found the General helping an old lady out of a railway carriage.
How well it is for men and women themselves, as well as for the world they bless, when
they are known by God to be persons who are always trying to help somebody! (Quiver.)
2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get
a pole; and let us build a place there for us to
meet.”
And he said, “Go.”
BAR ES, "Take every man a beam - Trees were rare in most parts of Palestine,
but plentiful in the Jordan Valley. Jericho was known in early times as “the city of
palms” Deu_34:3; Jdg_1:16.
CLARKE, "Every man a beam - They made a sort of log-houses with their own
hands.
GILL, "Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan,.... Which, according to Josephus (a),
was fifty furlongs, or upwards of six miles, distant from Gilgal:
and take thence every man a beam; by cutting down the trees that grew there; for
Mr. Maundrell says (b), the banks of Jordan are beset with bushes and trees, which are
an harbour for wild beasts; and another traveller (c) observes, that it is shadowed on
both sides with poplars, alders, &c. and who speaks of their cutting down boughs from
the trees when there:
and let us make us a place there where we may dwell: near the banks of Jordan,
which they might choose for the seclusion and pleasantness of the situation, or because
Elijah was taken up to heaven near it, as Abarbinel thinks; from whence it appears that
these scholars were far from living an idle life; for they were not only trained up in useful
learning, but were employed in trades and manufactures, to which they had been
brought up, and knew how to fell timber, and build houses:
and he answered, go ye; he gave them leave, without which they did not choose to do
anything.

HE RY 2-7, "5. They were men that had a great value and veneration for Elisha;
though they were themselves prophets, they paid much deference to him. (1.) They
would not go about to build at all without his leave, 2Ki_6:2. It is good for us all to be
suspicious of our own judgment, even when we think we have most reason for it, and to
be desirous of the advice of those who are wiser and more experienced; and it is
especially commendable in the sons of the prophets to take their fathers along with
them, and to act in all things of moment under their direction, permissu superiorum -
by permission of their superiors. (2.) They would not willingly go to fell timber without
his company: “Go with thy servants (2Ki_6:3), not only to advise us in any exigence, but
to keep good order among us, that, being under they eye, we may behave as becomes us.”
Good disciples desire to be always under good discipline.
6. They were honest men, and men that were in care to give all men their own. When
one of them, accidentally fetching too fierce a stroke (as those that work seldom are apt
to be violent), threw off his axe-head into the water, he did not say, “It was a mischance,
and who can help it? It was the fault of the helve, and the owner deserved to stand to the
loss.” No, he cries out with deep concern, Alas, master! For it was borrowed, 2Ki_6:5.
Had the axe been his own, it would only have troubled him that he could not be further
serviceable to his brethren; but now, besides that, it troubles him that he cannot be just
to the owner, to whom he ought to be not only just but grateful. Note, We ought to be as
careful of that which is borrowed as of that which is our own, that it receives no damage,
because we must love our neighbour as ourselves and do as we would be done by. It is
likely this prophet was poor, and had not wherewithal to pay for the axe, which made the
loss of it so much the greater trouble. To those that have an honest mind the sorest
grievance of poverty is not so much their own want or disgrace as their being by it
rendered unable to pay their just debts.
II. Concerning the father of the prophets, Elisha. 1. That he was a man of great
condescension and compassion; he went with the sons of the prophets to the woods,
when they desired his company, 2Ki_6:3. Let no man, especially no minister, think
himself to great to stoop to do good, but be tender to all. 2. That he was a man of great
power; he could make iron to swim, contrary to its nature (2Ki_6:6), for the God of
nature is not tied up to its laws. He did not throw the helve after the hatchet, but cut
down a new stick, and cast it into the river. We need not double the miracle by supposing
that the stick sunk to fetch up the iron, it was enough that it was a signal of the divine
summons to the iron to rise. God's grace can thus raise the stony iron heart which has
sunk into the mud of this world, and raise up affections naturally earthly, to things
above.
JAMISO , "Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan — whose wooded banks
would furnish plenty of timber.
K&D, "
ELLICOTT, "(2) Take thence every man a beam.—The Jordan valley was well
wooded. Its present bed is still “overarched by oleanders, acacias, thorns, and
similar shrubbery.” If all were to take part in felling the trees, the work would soon
be done.
Where we may dwell.—Literally, to sit (or, dwell) there. The reference seems still to

be to sitting in the hall of instruction.
PULPIT, "Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan. Jericho was situated at some little
distance from the Jordan, on the banks of a small stream, which ran into it. Along
the course of the Jordan trees and shrubs were abundant, chiefly willows, poplars,
and tamarisks (see Josephus, 'Bell. Jud.,' 4.8. § 3; Strabo, 16.2. § 41). It would seem
that the Jordan thickets were unappropriated, and that any one might cut timber in
them. And take thence every man a beam. The meaning is, "Let us all join in the
work, each cutting beams and carrying them; and the work will soon be
accomplished." And let us make us a place there. They propose to build the new
dwelling on the banks of Jordan, to save the trouble of conveying the materials any
long distance. Where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. Elisha, i.e; approved
the proposal, gave it his sanction and encouragement.
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come
with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied.
GILL, "And one said, be content, I pray thee, and with thy servants,.... Or be
pleased to go with us; he begged it as a favour, that, being awed by his presence, they
might preserve peace and order, and have his advice as to the spot of ground to erect
their edifice on, and might be protected by him from harm and mischief by men or wild
beasts:
and he answered, I will go; he consented to it, knowing perhaps before hand that he
should have an opportunity of working a miracle there, as he did.
ELLICOTT, "(3) One.—Heb., the one, whoever it was.
Be content.—Consent, or, be willing.
Go with thy servants.—To superintend their work, and help them in case of
unforeseen difficulty.
PETT, "2 Kings 6:3
‘And one said, “Be pleased, I pray you, to go with your servants.” And he answered,

“I will go.” ’
They then asked for his company while they were doing it. They wanted to take
advantage of his being with them, and it would give them further opportunity to
talk with him. Furthermore they respected his advice. They may also have felt that
his presence would act as a protection against wild animals because they knew
YHWH’s special care for him. And he agreed to go with them.
PULPIT, "And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. One of
the number was not satisfied with the prophet's mere approval of the enterprise, but
wished for his actual presence, probably as securing a blessing upon the work. And
he answered, I will go. Elisha approved the man's idea, as springing from piety and
faith in God. He, therefore, raised no difficulty, but at once, in the simplest manner,
acceded to the request. There is a remarkable directness, simplicity, and absence of
fuss in all that Elisha says and does.
4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down
trees.
GILL, "So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down
wood. Trees which grew upon the banks of it, to build their house with, at least for the
rafters and flooring of it, supposing the walls to be built of stone.
GUZIK, "2. (2 Kings 6:4-7) The recovery of the axe head - another miracle of
provision.
So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But
as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out
and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.” So the man of God said, “Where did
it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there;
and he made the iron float. Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he
reached out his hand and took it.
a. The iron ax head fell into the water: This was a significant loss. Iron was certainly
present at this time in Israel, but it was not common enough to be cheap.

b. Alas, master! For it was borrowed: The man who lost the ax head was rightly
sensitive to the fact that he lost something that belonged to someone else, making the
loss more acute.
i. “The iron axe-head (Hebrew ‘iron’) had been asked for, that is, begged or prayed
for, and not necessarily ‘borrowed.’” (Wiseman)
c. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float: This was
an obvious and unique miracle. There was no trickery in the way that Elisha put the
stick in the water, it was simply an expression of his faith that God honored.
i. “God can do all things, he can make iron swim-we cannot-and yet you see the
prophet did it, and he did it by the use of a stick. He cut down a stick. Was there any
connection between the stick and the iron? I can’t see any, and yet God does use
means, and he would have us use means.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “The chief value of the story likes in its revelation of the influence Elisha was
exerting in the nation. The growth of the school of the prophets was most
remarkable.” (Morgan)
d. Pick it up for yourself: Conceivably, God could have arranged a way for the ax
head to appear right in the man’s hand without any effort on his part. But this
miracle worked in a familiar way - God did the part only He could do, but He left to
man the part that he could do.
i. “Elisha then caused the submerged ax head to surface and instructed the pupil to
retrieve the ax; thus he would personally participate in the miracle.” (Patterson and
Austel)
PULPIT, "So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan—i.e. to the river-
bank—they cut down wood. They set to work, each felling his tree, and fashioning it
into a rough beam.
5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron
axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he
cried out. “It was borrowed!”

GILL, "The ax head - literally, as in the margin. The Jews used iron for the heads of
axes at a very early date (see Deu_19:5). They probably acquired a knowledge of the
smelting process in Egypt, where iron was employed at least from the time of the third
Rameses.
JAMISO , "it was borrowed — literally, “begged.” The scholar’s distress arose
from the consideration that it had been presented to him; and that, owing to his poverty,
he could not procure another.
K&D, "In the felling of the beams, the iron, i.e., the axe, of one of the pupils of the
prophets fell into the water, at which he exclaimed with lamentation: “Alas, my lord (i.e.,
Elisha), and it was begged!” The sorrowful exclamation implied a petition for help.
‫ל‬ֶ‫ז‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַ ַ‫ת־ה‬ ֶ‫א‬ְ‫:ו‬ “and as for the iron, it fell into the water;” so that even here ‫ת‬ ֵ‫א‬ does not stand
before the nominative, but serves to place the noun in subjection to the clause (cf.
Ewald, §277, a.). ‫אוּל‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ does not mean borrowed, but begged. The meaning to borrow is
attributed to ‫ל‬ፍ ָ‫שׁ‬ from a misinterpretation of particular passages (see the Comm. on
Exo_3:22). The prophets' pupil had begged the axe, because from his poverty he was
unable to buy one, and hence the loss was so painful to him.
BE SO , "2 Kings 6:5. The axe-head fell — The iron fell from the wood. Alas,
master, for it was borrowed! — He was the more concerned, both because he was
now compelled to be idle and useless to them in the common work, and because it
was his friend’s loss, who was now likely to suffer for his kindness in lending him
the axe; for though justice obliged him to restore it, his poverty rendered him
unable.
ELLICOTT, "(5) But.—Heb., and it came to pass, the one was felling the beam. ot
necessarily “the one” of 2 Kings 6:3, but the one (whoever it was) to whom the
mishap occurred, as presently related.
The ax head fell.—Heb., and as for the iron, it fell. The subject of the verb is made
prominent by being put first in the accusative. It is thus implied that something
happened to the iron. Perhaps, however, it is better to consider that the particle,
which usually marks the object of the verb, in cases like the present has its
etymological meaning of “something” (’eth being regarded as equivalent to yath,
and so to yçsh). (See Winer, Chaldäische Grammatik, ed. Fischer.)
Master!—My lord, Elisha. He instinctively appeals to Elisha for help.
For it was borrowed.—Heb., and that one was borrowed. Vulg., “et hoc ipsum
mutuo acceperam.”

PETT, "‘But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water, and he
cried, and said, “Alas, my master! for it was begged for.” ’
However, as one of them was at work cutting the timber that grew by the river the
iron axe head that he was using came off the shaft and fell into the water. If it was
the only iron axe head that they had we can understand why he was so distressed,
especially as they did not have the resources to obtain a new one. Whether it was
borrowed, or had been obtained by begging, is disputed. Either way it demonstrated
their poverty.
PULPIT, "But as one was felling a beam—i.e. a tree, to make it into a beam—the
axe-head; literally, the iron. We see from Deuteronomy 19:5 that the Hebrews made
their axe-heads of iron as early as the time of Moses. They probably learnt to smelt
and work iron in Egypt. Fell into the water. The tree must have been one that grew
close to the river's edge. As the man hewed away at the stem a little above the root,
the axe-head flew from the haft, into which it was insecurely fitted, and fell into the
water. The slipping of an axe-head was a very common occurrence (Deuteronomy
19:5), and ordinarily was of little consequence, since it was easily restored to its
place. But now the head had disappeared. And he cried, and said, Alas, master!—
rather, Alas, my master! or, Alas, my lord!—for it was borrowed; rather, and it was
a borrowed one. The words are part of the man's address to Elisha. He means to
say, "It is no common misfortune; it is not as if it had been my own axe. I had
borrowed it, and now what shall I say to the owner?" There is no direct request for
help, but the tone of the complaint constitutes a sort of silent appeal.
BI 5-7, "But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water.
The axe-head
1. The first thought presented is, when Christ dwells in the hearts of His people there
is a deep inward conviction of our own narrowness. The sons of the prophets
dwelling with Elisha are conscious of the straitness of their dwelling, and earnestly
long for enlargement. So it is with every true child of God. The soul that dwells in
Christ and Christ in it is conscious of its straitness. It longs for enlargement. More
room for Christ—this is its intense inward breathing. And this yearning cannot rest
with inaction. Its course is always onward. “Let us go, we pray thee, to Jordan, and
take thence every man a beam, and let us make a place there, where we may dwell.
And he answered, “Go ye.” “Let us go”—that is its motto. This is the only form in
which the yearning within can find rest. It carries the soul with it into higher aims
and holier aspirations. It lays hold of everything that would lift it nearer to God.
2. But observe, there can be no onward movement, no enlargement of soul, without
God’s presence with us. “And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy
servants. And he answered, I will go.” The language of this unknown one is that of
every true child of God, under all circumstances. The believer knows that God’s
abiding presence with him can alone assure growth in grace, or security against evil.
Without the constant presence of the Lord he has nothing to keep him from lapsing
into coldness or deadness, nothing to meet the powers of evil that lie so thickly in his
path. The presence of the Lord is his joy, his pavilion in trial, temptation, and

danger, his light in darkness, and his life in death.
3. We see these remarks confirmed by what happened in this narrative. “So he went
with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was
felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water.” Here at this critical moment, the
very weapon needed most of all for carrying on the work—the axe-head—suddenly
and unexpectedly fell into the water. Alas, alas! how is the wood to be cut down now?
How is the building to go on? What are we to do? All is over now! At one sudden
stroke everything collapses, and there is a cry of despair. If Elisha had not been with
them in this crisis what could they have done? They would have wrung their hands in
unavailing sorrow, and the work must have ceased. And are there not such crises in
the history of every believer? Has not the Church of Christ, in her passage through
this world, volumes of such to record? Some great work of the Lord is prospering
when, suddenly, the one who is the very centre of it, on whom it all seems to hang, is
taken away by death. Happy for those who have with them the presence of the true
Elisha. They “sorrow not as others who have no hope.” Their hope is in God.
4. But notice another truth in the reason given for this sorrow here: “Alas, master!
for it was borrowed.” The axe-head was not this man’s own. It belonged to another.
See how this applies to the believer. Like these sons of the prophets dwelling with
Elisha, he dwells with Christ. Abiding in Him, he fully realises that everything he
possesses is only lent. It belongs to another, even God. It is just given him to use for
his Master’s glory, and nothing else. It is but the axe-head which is “borrowed.”
5. But now observe what “a very present help” Elisha was: “And the man of God said,
Where fell it?” This was all. All the responsibility now was Elisha’s. So is it in the
Christian’s life. In all our circumstances the Lord is saying, “What is it? Tell Me.” He
is ever asking us to lay before Him these emergencies. He sends them for this
purpose that we may “show Him the place.” When this is done He will “undertake for
you.” You cannot bring up from the deep that that will fill your soul with joy, but He
can. So it was here: “And Elisha cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron
did swim.” The axe-head—that which your soul needs, that which can alone enable
you to make your way, the true Elisha can bring back to your soul. It may seem to
you to be hopeless, lost in the fathomless deep; and a world that can see nothing
beneath the surface may pity, and write despair on your hopes. But Elisha, Jesus, is
with you. “Is anything too hard for the Lord? . . . I will restore to you the years that
the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm: and
ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God that
hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.” Oh, trust
the Lord! With such assurances as these how can you doubt? He will undertake for
you, and the lost hope shall “swim” again before your eyes. You shall “eat in plenty
and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God.”
6. Here is presented a picture of death and resurrection. In the axe-head down in the
waters, we see man “dead in trespasses and sins,” “far off” from God, a lost and
ruined sinner. Who shall go down into the waters of death and bring him up? Jesus,
He has done it. “All thy waves and thy billows have gone over Me,” was His cry. Thus
He went down to the depths, and brought up the poor lost one. In His death the
sinner has died. In His resurrection the believer has “risen again from the dead.”
7. “And he put out his hand, and took it.” Faith is the hand. Have you indeed put it
forth, and taken hold of Jesus for your soul? Is it religion with you or Jesus? Which?
(F. Whitfield, M. A.)

The lost axe-head
Elisha’s recovery of the lost axe-head is a sad stumbling-block to rationalists. The
miracle seems to them childish. They cannot explain it away, and they do not like to
accept it. The Christian, however, does not sit in judgment upon God’s Word. It is
unreasonable to believe in God and to object to miracles; nor are we fit judges as to what
is or is not a sufficient cause for God to interfere, as we call it, with His own laws, but to
learn more of God’s faithfulness and thoughtful care. The prophet’s college was overfull;
there was no tooth for the growing number of students. This was very encouraging.
There had been no such difficulty in Elijah’s day; but Elisha had reaped where Elijah had
sown. This blessing entailed increased responsibility. It always is so; the reward of work
is more work. There can be no standing still or resting upon our oars. The Divine
command is always “Spare not,” “Stretch forth.” We must be ever pressing forward, both
in the pursuit of personal holiness and in our efforts to win lives for God. They wish to
build, therefore, and they go about it wisely. But, in spite of Elisha’s presence, a serious
embarrassment arose. “Alas, master,” he cried; “for it was borrowed.” He was an honest
man, you see. He might have exclaimed, “What a stupid and worthless tool—the owner
deserves to lose it”; or, “That’s not my fault, it was pure accident; what a good thing it
isn’t mine.” We must not let our good be evil spoken of. Dishonour often accrues to
God’s cause if we are careless about what is due to others. Elisha saw it would be for
God’s glory that the axe-head should be restored. But what a beautiful parable the story
makes. We are all workers for God. We work with borrowed power. This power may be
lost, not only from indolence and neglect, but even through over-energy in God’s work.
God’s carpenters sometimes show more strength than skill. The energy of the flesh or
the wisdom of the flesh leave no room for God to work, and so the power is lost. Learn
then how the lost power can be regained.
1. The man stopped working. Of course, you say; how could he cut down trees when
the axe-head was gone? But Christian workers are not always so wise; they think to
make up by their own energy and earnestness for the lack of Divine power. They use
the haft of human wisdom or ecclesiastical status, although the cutting, driving
power of God has been forfeited.
2. He told Elisha at once. That is always the first thing to do. Go and tell Jesus;
confess to Him that you have lost the power. In this case the confession was made in
public. Sometimes it is well for ministers and workers to acknowledge openly that
they have lost the blessing they had. Generally, however, it is enough to tell Jesus.
You do not need to tell others; they see it for themselves.
3. He showed Elisha the place where it fell. It is always well to be definite. Confess
exactly where it was you lost touch. Perhaps you were puffed up with your success;
or you began to distrust and doubt when that trouble came; or you were
contaminated by that company; or you allowed that new interest, that book or game,
to rob you of your secret time with God.
4. Elisha at once brought it within reach. Interpret as you like, the casting in of the
wood. There is one power that always brings forfeited blessing within reach: it is the
Cross of Calvary. The precious blood of Christ has brought within faith’s reach every
blessing that we need. Bring the Cross to bear upon your lost peace and power, and
at once it is within reach.
5. The man put out his hand, and took it. There must be the personal appropriation
of faith. He did this at the bidding of Elisha. Do the same at the bidding of the Lord

Jesus, who still says to His disciples, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” (F. S. Webster, M.
A.)
The borrowed axe
I. That it is the privilege of People to expect and receive Divine interposition, when
overtaken by trouble of misfortune, in any laudable undertaking. The enterprise in
which these young men were engaged was both laudable and praiseworthy. “Into the
water!” What an unusual, perplexing occurrence. How trivial it would have been, if it
had fallen on the land. Such is life. It is the unexpected that happens. It is what may be
called the stupid and vexatious occurrences of life that cause much of our daily trouble
and disappointments. This young man was evidently careless, or he would not have
allowed the axe to come clear off. I also learn from this narrative that, if a poor man
should have no axe, and not well able to buy one, that God has no objections if he should
go to a neighbour and borrow one.
II. That it is the privilege of God’s people to look for and receive Divine interposition in
seasons of legitimate anxiety and worriment. Every honest man should feel worried, who
has borrowed the property of another and cannot return it according to promise.
Christian people, especially, should be very sensitive on this point. A religion that does
not make a man honest and truthful is spurned and ridiculed by the world, and justly so,
for it is worse than no religion at all. This young man had a noble sense of honour and
equity about him. As I look at the Divine interposition, in behalf of this anxious,
disappointed young man, I draw lessons of encouragement.
1. Let us be sure, first of all, that the business, the enterprise out of which our
troubles arise, is legitimate and proper.
2. That we entered upon it in the right spirit. That, during its prosecution, we sought
to go in and out under the smile of God.
3. That our troubles are not the result of our own ignorance, indolence, or sin, but
from causes we did not suspect, and over which we had no control. The axe is off,
and in the water. Legitimate anxiety and worriment from unusual and unsuspected
quarters. The zeal and energy of this young man brought him this trouble. I suppose
that some men could have used that axe all day, and it might not have slipped a
quarter of an inch, But he swung it as a man who intended to make the chips fly.
Therefore, I should say it came off, and all this trouble came on. So, the man who
works with both hands heartily, in felling souls for the spiritual temple of the Lord,
will be sure to make himself trouble. A cold, formal Church and the wicked world will
unite to oppose and do him harm. Indeed, any man who has anything worthy of the
name of zeal, in the cause of God, will soon find cause for legitimate anxiety about
himself, his reputation, and his work.
III. That God’s method of interposition, in behalf of His people, is frequently through
human instrumentality. Elisha was the instrument God used to help this young man out
of his trouble. So now, God often helps us, even answers our prayers, through persons to
whom he has given the will and power to do it. There are many striking instances of
God’s interposition in behalf of His people, in temporal matters.
IV. That, although in this case the interposition was miraculous, the end was not fully
secured without human co-operation—“Take it up to thee.” In the Divine economy, man
must be more than a mere negation,—he must be more than a passive recipient of God’s

interpositions and blessings. He has raised us to the dignity of co-workers with Himself,
in the great work of rescuing our sin-cursed race from the service and dominion of
Satan. Just as God and man work together in nature, He always doing the
supernatural,—producing the seed, and the vast possibilities of life slumbering in the
face of nature, and the external influences fitted to call them forth: and man, as though
everything depended upon him, clearing the ground, sowing the seed, cutting weeds and
thistles, arranging his fields, gardens, and orchards, until the face of nature is a very
paradise of beauty and blessing. So in the spiritual world, God’s purpose is that through
human and Divine co-operation. Oh for the eager promptness of this young man, in
grasping our lost blessings. Reflections:—
1. Learn from this narrative that God is not displeased with His zealous, whole-
hearted servant, who by his extra zeal disables himself or loses his axe; and that he
would rather work a miracle, to put him in working trim, than to see him lazy and
sleepy at his work.
2. That every man who has lost his axe of spiritual power must find it again, or, so
far as he is concerned, the work of God is stopped. That one idle man among God’s
workmen counts more than one in the aggregate of his influence. His very presence
will retard the workman and slacken the movements of many.
3. That in seasons of misfortune, it is well to be calm, and not by our own
impulsiveness and imprudence make matters worse. Like the man I saw in a
machine shop who chaffed his hand in attempting to put the belt on a machine, and
became so furiously angry that he cut the belt in pieces, but had to replace it, at the
cost of nearly a week’s wages.
4. That the sinner should not make his case any more desperate by continuing to sin
against God. That it is dangerous, unmanly, add very displeasing to God for one to
deliberately add to the moral turpitude of his case, thus necessitating a greater
miracle of Divine mercy, in order to save him. (T. Kelly.)
The iron axe-head that swam
“Our trials are often the shadows of coming mercies. God will appear at the ebb of the
tide. He will turn the year at the shortest winter’s day. When He has shown us our entire
dependence upon Himself, He will stretch out His glorious arm, and work deliverance.”
The life of the true child of God is as constantly watched over, guided, protected, and
blessed, as though the bright spirits who attend about His throne came visibly to
minister to the heirs of salvation. The idea that the Almighty One, who made and
governs all things, could not so change the usual course of nature as to cause the iron to
swim, is simply absurd. In the working of a great printing-press, if any thing goes wrong
with the paper, the feeder has only to touch a lever with his foot, and, while the ordinary
movements of the press are undisturbed, the impression is not made upon the sheet.
The skill and genius of man have brought the laws of nature under his control so far that
distant countries are reached by the steamship and the telegraph. And even so, the God
of nature bends these mighty forces to suit His own good pleasure, God gave power to
Elisha to befriend the disconsolate young man, when he lamented the loss of the axe-
head. And in every generation since, He has enabled other faithful ones to do Elisha’s
work, and make the iron to swim. The trifling and licentious Charles the Second locked
up John Bunyan in Bedford jail, and kept him there with his Bible for twelve long years.
There the despised tinker wrote the Pilgrim’s Progress, and that iron is likely to swim

2 kings 6 commentary

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2 kings 6 commentary