The Miracle of the Floating Ax Head (II Kings 6)
The raising of Lazarus. The 10 Plagues in Egypt. Walking on Water. Feeding the 5,000.
There are lots of miracle in the stories that are pretty well-known, even by non-Christians. Most of them are done by Jesus, but Moses and Elijah have their fair share as well.
But there’s a miracle in II Kings 6 that’s just a bit harder to categorize. It’s not nearly as dramatic as other miracles; it doesn’t solve a problem that seems nearly as dire as something like parting the Red Sea to save all the Israelites. And it can leave us scratching our heads wondering what it’s even doing in the Bible.
II kings 6:5-7 has this story of some men chopping down trees by a river
5 But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.” 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. 7 And he said, “Take it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it.
So a man is distressed that he broke an ax, so Elisha throws a stick in the water, which makes the iron ax head float back up to the surface. A miracle, sure…but kind of mundane compared to the rest.
In fact, another element of this story I’d like to study today is that Elisha is only given a limited amount of miracles to do, and this is how he chooses to use one of them.
I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.
Turn to II Kings 6, and let’s get weird.
If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com
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