January 2, 2022
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in 2 Kings? Here’s today’s reading:
2 Kings 6 (NIV)
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. 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.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
2 Kings 6
2 kings: 6
It is interesting to me to read about the band fo the prophets, showing Elisha was not the only one, especially in unbelieving Israel. So in spite of the kings disobedience to God, there still remained those who were faithful, and God provided a voice through the prophets to Gove His message, direction and correction. It is interesting as well to see the kings of Israel to call the prophet their father, so still regarding the prophet even though they worshipped false gods. It is not unlike today where people might give regard to a religious position, but care very little about God. And the miracle of the floating axe head is pretty neat…God just suspending the laws of physics for a moment. And what a great realty that Elisha sees when the armies of Aram are assembled around him, and what grace is extended to the servant when God gives him eyes to see the reality of the armies of the Lord. That same reality surrounds us in all the things that God provides for us that makes us more than conquerors. The power made available to us will not be about military conquest or even overcoming things in regards to the circumstances of life, but rather in not being afraid, not being insecure, or not allowing the opinions of people to matter so much to us.
And how sad this account is of the desperation that the people of Samaria are in because of this siege. And yet rather than the king humbling himself before the prophet and realizing that these are the very things that would happen when Israel abandoned God, he blames the prophet and wants to go after him. When will they learn that you don’t mess with God’s prophet.
I love how God changes the way people see things in this chapter. I am excited by the idea of looking at my situation through God’s eyes instead of my own. Seeing beyond the earthly circumstance of trouble, heartache, or hurt to the victory and love God has for us is such an encouraging idea.
I am always so troubled whenever I read this account of the woman being tricked into giving her son as food but what struck me this time is how the king takes it out on God rather than seeing this desperation as the people’s need for God. If he would have just been obedient he could have avoided such desperation for his people.
I was thinking about the ax head floating and how sometimes I shouldn’t ask God to help me with seemingly trivial things, or think that I shouldn’t “test” Him by asking for a controlled physical response. I have had two major answers to prayer with regards to protecting my chickens (it sounds so silly!). In both cases, I asked God for a specific physical outcome. One was that a mink would enter the trap with the dead bait (that he killed!) instead of the chicken yard full of live accessible chickens. The other was that a fox would not run off; that it would go to an area I could see and remain in a position for me to shoot him.