Compare 2 Kings 6:7 with Jesus' miracles in the New Testament. Setting the Scene: An Iron Axe Head Floats • 2 Kings 6:7: “ ‘Lift it out,’ he said, and the man reached out his hand and took it.” • The prophet Elisha has just thrown a stick into the Jordan, causing a borrowed iron axe head to rise to the surface (vv. 5-6). • A quiet, localized miracle—yet it demonstrates God’s concern for everyday needs and His mastery over the natural order. Miracle Parallels in Jesus’ Ministry • Turning water into wine (John 2:1-11) • Calming the storm (Mark 4:35-41) • Walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33) • Feeding the five thousand (Luke 9:10-17) • Providing a coin in a fish’s mouth to pay tax (Matthew 17:24-27) • Each act, like Elisha’s, shows supernatural control over matter, time, or space. Shared Themes: Compassion and Provision • Borrowed axe head: a worker’s livelihood was at stake; God cared. • Wine at Cana: a family’s honor was at stake; Jesus cared. • Hungry crowds: bodily needs matter; Jesus fed them. • God’s miracles consistently address real human concerns, however small or large. Power Over Nature • Iron defies gravity; water becomes wine; winds obey Christ; bread multiplies. • Psalm 24:1 reminds, “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof.” • Both Elisha and Jesus operate in a reality where the Creator freely intervenes in His creation. Restoring What Was Lost • Axe head: loss averted, debt avoided. • Luke 15:4-7: the shepherd seeks the lost sheep. • Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” • Physical restoration in Elisha’s day prefigures spiritual restoration fulfilled in Jesus. Pointing to a Greater Salvation • Stick thrown into water hints at substitution—wood overcoming sinking iron. • Christ’s cross (1 Peter 2:24) overcomes the weight of sin dragging humanity down. • Miracles build trust that the same God who lifts iron and stills storms can raise the dead (John 11:38-44) and grant eternal life (John 3:16). Take-Home Truths • God is intimately involved in mundane details and monumental crises alike. • The miracles of Elisha foreshadow the fuller revelation of divine power in Jesus. • Trust grows as we remember: the One who floated iron in the Jordan and walked on the Sea of Galilee still intervenes today, inviting us to reach out and “take” His provision by faith. |
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