2 Kings 6:1-7 – Restoring our cutting edge

There were prophetic schools both in Elijah as well as in Elisha’s time. They existed to train prophets. The trainees were referred to as the sons of the prophets. What happened in 2 Kings 6:1-7 was that more students were enrolled and the place where the training that was taking place was getting too small for the increase in intake. One of the trainees representing the body of student prophets took initiative and came to Elisha saying, “Behold now the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us takes from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” He was essentially getting Elisha’s permission to get some beams from the wood near Jordan to enlarge the school as it was getting more crowded.

Elisha gave permission for them to go. But being submissive, the students wanted him to go along with them. So they gently nudged him saying, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he agreed. So they went to the wood near the Jordan and began to cut trees. As one of the prophets was cutting the trees, his ax head flew off and fell into the water. Honestly, he came to Elisha and told him that the ax he used to cut the tree was a borrowed ax. Elisha then inquired which part of the water did the ax head fall into. The trainee quickly showed him where his ax head had fallen. Elisha then cut off a stick and threw it into the place where the ax head had purportedly fallen. Immediately the ax head floated. He then instructed the student prophet to pick it up which he did. And we imagine that he then resumed his cutting.

Few things could be said of the trainees. Firstly, they were people of initiative and willing to work. Realizing that the place was getting smaller they wanted to contribute to expanding the place. Secondly, they were not insubordinate people. They did not take matters into their hand without seeking permission from their leader. Thirdly the interns, especially the one whose ax head had flown off were honest and would face up to his wrong. He could have gone on pretending as if the ax head was still there and just used the handle to beat at the tree. But he didn’t. He owned up to his problem. They had shown themselves to be perfect candidates for the service of the Lord. They not only had the initiative but were also hard-working and honest.

The crux of the story is not about the miracle of the ax head that could float. It is about the need to restore our cutting edge when we have become blunt. What good would an ax do when it does not have a head that can cut. When the intern realized that his ax head had flown off, he immediately paused to seek help. Elisha got him to identify where the ax head was lost and then to retrieve it. What Elisha did to cause the ax head to float points us to Calvary. The stick he threw into the water points us to the cross of Calvary. The most important lesson we take away from this passage is: have we lost out cutting edge in life and ministry? We need to pause and return to the Calvary where we first found our cutting edge. Steven Covey's seventh habit of sharpening the saw echoes this call. When our lives are blunt and had lost their cutting edge, we will be merely going through the motion and accomplishing nothing. The call is for us to pause to restore our cutting edge. Go back to the source where the power and strength come from!