10. A Day With God

Hymns: 101 Leaning On the Everlasting Arms 318 Blessed Assurance 355 Day By Day

 

Life of Elisha

(Serving Our Faithful God)

– A Day With God

2 Kings 6:1-7

 

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 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. ³ And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. ⁴ So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. 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. 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. ⁷ Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

 

OUTLINE

• A Day’s Toil (v1-4)
• A Day’s Trouble (v5)
• A Day’s Triumph (v6-7)

 

INTRODUCTION

The question is asked, “How do you live life?” The answer came “a day at a time”. We are such finite beings. We do not know what will happen the next moment.

Solomon wisely advised to this effect:

Proverbs 27:1 (KJV) ¹ Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

James said similarly but with a piece of advice to do something good for Christ each day while He gives you strength this we fulfil the ethos of the Christian life.

James 4:13-17 (KJV) ¹³ Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: ¹⁴ Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. ¹⁵ For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. ¹⁶ But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. ¹⁷ Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

The nineteenth-century Scotsman, author Robert Louis Stevenson, is reputed to have said life is to be lived one day at a time: “Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely till the sun goes down.”

Jesus’ advice to life is summarized in Matthew 6:31-33 (KJV) ³¹  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? ³²  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. ³³  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. In other words, do not worry about life, do His good will, seek His honour first in all that you do, and He will surely take care of you.

This principle of dependence upon the power of God to live our daily life was well-expressed in our text in 2 Kings 6:1-7.

This is the story…The school of prophets in Israel led by Elisha had grown, and there is a need to expand the facilities to meet the growing need. And so the enterprising students were personally involved in the building project, but they encountered difficulty when they the head of the axe used to chop the trees fell into the water and was lost beneath the Jordan River. The extension project was jeopardized. But God was with them. He caused the axe that fell into the water to miraculously swim itself to shore from the depth of the riverbed. The building plan proceeded to His honour and glory.

Three thoughts for our consideration:

• A Day’s Toil (v1-4)
• A Day’s Trouble (v5)
• A Day’s Triumph (v6-7)

 

(1) A Day’s Toil (v1-4)

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 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. ³ And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. ⁴ So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.

It is a day’s visit to the Bible school of Israel. You recall these were dark days in Israel’s history. The succeeding kings of Israel led the people to worship imported idols from foreign lands. Persecution was great upon the prophets of God whom God raised to warn the people of God’s coming judgment because of their apostasy. No doubt, this Bible school is the primary target for the enemies of God. But God did not leave Himself without His men. More men joined the ranks, and soon the dormitory had become too crowded.

The word “strait” in verse 1 means narrowness, tightness of space. Although, this term is often used to describe a person’s pain and distress, oppression, a feeling of been hemmed in. It also explains how the Lord delivers His faithful follower from affliction translated “distress” in Ps. 4:1.

 Psalm 4:1 (KJV) 

¹ Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

This word is also used to describe oppressive political, economic, and military conditions suffered by a group, people, or a nation (Judg. 11:7).

The extension plan was to build further accommodation near the Jordan River. Elisha was the man-in-charge, and so they sought his counsel. Elisha supported their idea. They requested his presence to supervise the building program.

It was all in a day’s work of service in God’s vineyard. No doubt there were prophets, their duty was to know the whole counsel of God but here you see them involved in a building project. It was a needful plan to be carried. There were enough skills among them to do the work.

It was hard work. They needed the building material, and they were led to the vicinity of the Jordan River to cut down the trees.

I recall a brother-in-Christ said to me. My father and mother rise early each morning when I was young to go to work and return in the evening tired. The toil of the day rendered them physically exhausted at the end of each day. Does it not sound familiar? They would share the distress and challenges they encountered at the workplace. I could feel the pressure they were under to put food on the table for the family. That was how his parents brought him and his siblings up in their home. He remembered his mother best as a woman of prayer. She would spend the time to pray while she was home in her room alone to ask God for daily strength and for help through the difficulties that she faced daily. She is now home in glory.

 A Day’s Toil, A Day’s Trouble…

 

(2) A Day’s Trouble (v5)

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.

 

While working, an axe head fell flew off fell into the water. It was a needful instrument to get the supply of wood for the building program. Without the axe, the building program would be affected, the schedule delayed.

 It was a distressing time for this person who lose his axe head. To make matters worse, this axe did not belong to him. He borrowed it. He would not be able to return to the owner.

With the rushing waters of the Jordan, it is impossible to locate the axe head beneath the waters.

I recall going fishing with my father. We had an echo sounder. It enables us to see from the screen of the echo sounder what was beneath the boat. We could see a piece of rock, a shipwreck, a school of fish. And so, we can locate the ideal location to let down the anchor and let down the fishing line. We could almost certainly predict a catch.

It seemed impossible to locate the axe head. Elisha was alerted to the trouble confronting the building program. It was a distress cry.

I recall during those 11 ½ years of work as an engineer; there were many occasions I faced challenging work situations. Inadvertently, it was often a helpless situation. I recall coming to pray in the workplace with another like-minded Christian colleague. Prayer was the key to problem-solving in my working life. I was often at my wits end. The pressure was coming from every nook and corner. I was involved high volume electronic manufacturing business. The production line must be fed with products to meet schedule. Sometimes, our products were not delivered to the customer’s manufacturing line on-time causing what we called a “line-down.” The production line come to a stand-still because a product is missing to complete the production process. The angry customer with their paid workers laying idle in the manufacturing line waiting for the product without any promise of delivery. In those anguish moments, only by prayer and supplication, the Lord provided a solution or wisdom each time to handle the “crisis”.

Thank God that we have a Father in heaven whom we can call upon for help in times of distress. My testimony is that God has never failed to help each time I pray. What a faithful God whom we serve! He will not leave us to fend for ourselves. He is a present help in trouble.

Psalm 27:1-14 (KJV) ¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ² When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. ³ Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. ⁴ One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. ⁵ For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. ⁶ And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ⁸ When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. ⁹ Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. ¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. ¹¹ Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. ¹² Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. ¹³ I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

The psalmist praises God for being with him when the world around him seemed to be tumbling down. He sought the Lord, waited upon God through prayer and God was his present help in trouble.

Indeed, this son of a prophet was in distress when he called out to Elisha for help.

 

(3) A Day’s Triumph (v6-7)

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. ⁷ Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

 Elisha instructed him to cut down a stick and cast it in showing him the location in which the axe head fell into the river. A notable miracle took place. Our text tells us “the iron did swim!” The iron by its weight would inevitably sink to the riverbed. But this piece of iron could float and find its way to shore. It was safely recovered.

It was a happy day for this man who witnessed God’s power in action to retrieve the lost axe head so that the building program would not be impeded. God is certainly alive! We can depend on Him to help us in the troubles of life. Trouble was turned to triumph as God manifested His glory.

We can only bow in humble worship at the goodness of God in answering the distress call of His servant Elisha. Elisha interceded in prayer and God answered His servant’s prayer.

Recall the time when Peter was captured by Herod and cast into prison awaiting execution. James had also fallen under the sword. The church prayed.

Acts 12:5-19 (KJV) ⁵ Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

The Lord delivered Peter. God answers prayer. With Him, nothing shall be impossible, when it is His will.

⁶ And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. ⁷ And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. ⁸ And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. ⁹ And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. ¹⁰  When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. ¹¹ And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. ¹²  And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

It was unbelievable to the prayer warriors that God answered their prayers in such a marvellous way.

¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. ¹⁴ And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. ¹⁵ And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. ¹⁶  But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. ¹⁸ Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. ¹⁹ And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.

 

Life with God is a blessed journey of His presence protecting us each step of life’s journey. We are not alone! Jesus is with us!

 

1. What a friend we have in Jesus,
   All our sins and griefs to bear!
   What a privilege to carry
   Everything to God in prayer!
   Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
   Oh, what needless pain we bear,
   All because we do not carry
   Everything to God in prayer!

 

2. Have we trials and temptations?
   Is there trouble anywhere?
   We should never be discouraged—
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
   Can we find a friend so faithful,
   Who will all our sorrows share?
   Jesus knows our every weakness;
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.

 

3. Are we weak and heavy-laden,
   Cumbered with a load of care?
   Precious Savior, still our refuge—
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
   Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
   Take it to the Lord in prayer!
   In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
   Thou wilt find a solace there.

 

It may seem very dramatic for the iron to swim from to shore. It is a testimony of the reality of the living and true God in our lives helping us.

 

CONCLUSION

When we receive Jesus Christ into our life, His Spirit indwells us. He is with us to assist us through life’s pathways. “A Day’s Toil” (v1-4), “A Day’s Trouble” (v5) and “A Day’s Triumph” (v6-7). Our God is dependable! We can keep leaning upon Him. Amen.