2 Kings 6:1 – 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 6:2 – 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 6:3 – And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.

2 Kings 6:4 – So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.

2 Kings 6:5 – 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.

2 Kings 6:6 – And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

2 Kings 6:7 – Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

Hello readers, hope you’ve had a great week. We’ve had rain these past few weeks, a rarity in our summers and very welcome! May God send the rain in the drought of your  and my life. Today we’re talking about the lost axe head. I do hope this blog is a help to you. This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, the gospel is all through it as we will see. Is your life that lost axe head?

Well this all begins when the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Strait is an interesting word, for Jesus said for us to enter in at the strait gate. Strait refers to narrow, close, difficult, strict, rigorous, straight. There’s a strait gate to go through to get to heaven, if you don’t get saved through repentance of sin, acknowledgement of the truth, faith in Jesus Christ alone… you’re not getting through. It’s not you can’t be right with God, but there is a way, one way in which you can be made right with him, any other way, and you’re not getting to him.

Well these sons of the prophets got a bit discontent with where they were living, there’s not enough room for you and us Elisha! We can be like that with Jesus, oh it’s a bit too stifling and strict and not fun obeying God’s word, I want to wander just a bit and pitch out here. That’s discontentment for you. They wanted to go to the woods and make a better place to suit them. If that’s not a picture of Christians today I don’t know what is. God’s word, God’s ways, God’s principles, God’s book… it’s all a bit to strait to us. It’s too strict and particular and narrow minded. We get into trouble, and in the woods of our lives getting away from dwelling with the truth.

But they wanted to go and make a new place, so the man of God said go. God’s not going to stop you if you’re bent on a life of sin. He’ll place warnings and reminders in your life, and the lesson would come with the lost axe head… but your life is your responsibility. Stop blaming other people, we are where we are by our own decisions and choices. We live in a society that blames and plays victim and can never accept personal responsibility and the truth about themselves.

Well they came to Jordan and began felling trees, and as one of them was felling a beam, the axe head flew off the handle and fell into the water. The water of the Jordan, a muddy, deep, dark, flowing, oft flooding river. Oh no! You know, each of us have flown off the handle in life. We were originally made with a purpose, but sin caused us to fly off the handle. We became lost and useless because we got off the handle. Man decided to go things his own way in the garden of Eden. God said don’t eat of the tree, but they had to go ahead of disobey him. We’ve been getting off the handle ever since. Christians get on the handle, but then they go off the handle as well. When you disobey God, when you’re about making your own way and place, you get off the handle.

In getting off the handle that axe head became lost. People don’t want to be on God’s handle, they want freedom to sin, freedom to go their own way and do their own thing. It’s all a bit to strait for me, too strict, too harsh, too hard, it’s a bit too straight. Don’t control me God! Don’t tell me what to do God! That’s why people get off the handle, they want to go their own way. Well this axe head went its own way and look where it ended up.

That axe head took on water. We find our lives taking on water when we get off the handle. We become submerged in our sin, conquered, defeated and destroyed. That axe head found itself in darkness. That’s us, we find ourselves plunged into darkness in our life as we choose sin, and our own way. We want to go life alone, separate from handle. And it’s made our life full of darkness. That this world and all it has to offer, darkness. People are lost today and they are in darkness, they can’t see what they’re doing, what they’re saying and where they’re going. They need salvation and redemption just like this axe head did.

When you’re on the handle with God, things are pretty good in life. You’re useful, you’ve got purpose, you’re in tune with your design. That axe head had a purpose, but it had lost it’s purpose lying in the bottom of the river. Human beings were created for God’s pleasure and purpose and glory, when you get God central to your reason for living, you’ll find joy and peace and fulfillment that you can never find at the bottom of muddy Jordan.

This axe head became mighty useless. It was condemned to a useless existence, and not just useless, but as the water would begin to work on it, it would rust and rust and rust away. Sin will be a cancer in your life. Rejecting Jesus Christ will rust your heart, mind and soul and existence. That axehead had no future and no purpose.

Worse still, the axe head was in a hopeless state. It couldn’t save itself, it couldn’t find itself, it couldn’t lift itself up and it couldn’t save itself. See, we can’t either. We can’t lift ourselves out of sin, out of darkness, out of uselessness and lostness. it’s not in our nature too, we can’t do it. Our flesh only knows to sin, it doesn’t know God. The axe head had a nature to go down in the water, and our nature is to go down. The axe head was heavy, and it went down. We take that heavy yoke of Satan on our lives, and we are only ever going down. Our nature takes us down, there is no redeeming quality in and of ourselves to lift us up.

That axehead was unfindable. You know when you lose something and look and look and look but cannot find it. I work at an orchard, and when you lose something in the long grass, particularly if it’s small and insignificant, there’s just no hope of finding it. As this settled in Jordan’s murky depths, it was unfindable. Who’s going to find you? You’re like that sheep off in the mountains astray in the wilderness… only that great Shepherd of the sheep can track you down and rescue you from the peril you are in.

The man who lost his axehead couldn’t see where it had ended up. He knew the area where he had lost it, but he didn’t know where it was lying at the bottom. What a phenomenal truth. We can’t see where to fix, how to fix, and what to fix in our lives. It takes God’s grace to pinpoint and fix where we’ve gone wrong. You may have troubles in your life, and you can’t even find the problem, but Jesus can, Jesus knows, he can save you, little lost axehead.

Maybe this axehead once was ready, and shining, and sharp… maybe you think you’re pretty good, but you got away from God and thought you’d do fine off the handle… but now you’re lost and in a mess in your life. It doesn’t matter how quality the iron was, it doesn’t matter how sharp and glittering it was… off the handle it was useless. You need to be on the handle and in the hands of God to be useful and profitable in life. It doesn’t matter how smart and intellectual and smart you are, unless you’re on the handle in God’s hand, you’re useless.

What about another truth. This axehead was borrowed. You know, your life is borrowed. It’s not your own. You didn’t make yourself. You didn’t grant yourself life. You’re living on God’s grace in your life. People seem to really rate themselves and have an inflated view on themselves and their capability and ability. But we’re nothing, we don’t have any control really, we just live on what God has given us. Believers and unbelievers benefit from God’s goodness, grace, longsuffering and mercy alike. At the end of your life, the lender is going to judge you, what you did with what he gave you, and it’s going to be a sorry account if what he gave you is a lost, rusted out, piece of junk.

But in amongst all this hopeless, helpless, sad situation… a right decision was made. The guy who lost his axe head went to the man of God. He went to God’s word for finding and for fixing. Until you humble yourselves, and see that you can’t fix your situation, and find what is lost, and go to God’s word for truth and righteousness… you’ll never recover your axe head. The man confessed what had happened, and he asked Elisha for help. Ask Jesus Christ to help you, to save you, to find you.

Perhaps you think the Old Testament is out of date and irrelevant. But look how relevant this is. What a picture of the gospel, and I’m not even touching the hem of the garment of it. The man of God went to the place where it fell in. Jesus went to our place, he became flesh and blood, he was born of a woman into this world, so he could come to my place in life where I got lost, and he could find me. Elisha came to the place and he cut down a stick and threw it in the water and the iron did swim. This was a miracle. Salvation is a miracle. How can iron float? But your life can float above the sin line… how?

In this story you see an Old Testament picture of the cross of Calvary. The stick being cut down and thrown in the water is a picture of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He died on the tree. He became humanity, he was thrown in the deep water so your life could float. So you could be forgiven, and found and rescued. That stick got cut down. Jesus got cut down for us, he did no sin, yet took our sin upon himself. God smote him, God poured out his wrath and judgment on his own Son so you could be found.

Jesus died for you and for me. When that stick was cut down, that stick died, but in its death, the axe head was found. You could never be found until Jesus Christ died for you. And in the death… there was a rising. What a picture! The dead stick resulted in the iron rising. Jesus death didn’t end there, because he arose, you can rise from your death bed of sin. It’s through his power, his finding, his redeeming, his salvation.

To complete this wonderful picture of the gospel, the man of God said to the man, take it up to thee. You know, the gospel is useless to you until you take it into your heart. Take ownership of the salvation Jesus Christ extends you. This man could’ve just been like, oh wow that’s cool, and left the axe head there floating on the water. It would’ve done him no good. He had to stretch out his hand and take it. Salvation is for your taking. The man put out his hand and took it. Salvation requires you taking it. It’s not enough that Jesus died for you, for he died for the sins of the world, yet many are going to hell. You must believe that he died for you personally, you must received what he has done, just as this man received his lost axe head back.

You can take the lost axe head of your life back today. You can find your life in the person and work of the Lost Jesus Christ. Have you lost all purpose, fulfillment, direction in life? Are you submerged in sin, is your life rusted out by disobedience and rebellion? Your life is stuck in the mud, and not going anywhere, and you’re in darkness. Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, put out your hand, and take the cup of salvation today.

Psalm 116:12 – What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?

Psalm 116:13 – I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.

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