El Dios de Eliseo / The God of Elisha
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
Have you every asked to borrow something from someone?
It almost seems to always happen, that when we borrow something from someone, something eventually goes wrong.
Have you borrowed a car only to see it break down?
Have you borrowed a very expensive/specialized tool only to loose it?
Our level of anxiety, at the prospect of such a loss, is usually driven by our economic circumstances or our ability to replace the borrowed object.
If we are well off then most likely we will not worry much. The loss is not an inconvenience. We can easily replace it.
The problem usually occurs when we are facing financial hardship; which is the main reason why we asked to borrow the object in the first place.
How will we ever get out of this mess?
We face the reality of having to go back to the owner and inform them that we have lost the object we promised to take care of and return in its original condition.
In our journey through the Bible in 2019 we come upon such a story. This is God’s word for us today. We will consider:
The setting
The problem
The miracle
El escenario / The setting
El escenario / The setting
Elisha is now the Lord’s prophet.
Elijah was Elisha’s mentor. Elijah has now been taken to heaven on a chariot of fire!
Elisha will now continue to proclaim the Lord’s message to God’s people.
Elisha is now God’s prophet which means he speaks for God. God speaks to his prophet and he gives his message to the people of God.
One of the ways that God demonstrated that the prophets were sent by him is that he would perform various miracles through them. This was God’s way of demonstrating that the prophets were sent by him.
As we come to chapter six of 2 Kings we see Elisha leading a school known as “the school of the prophets”.
These men were being trained in the prophetic ministry.
They would also proclaim God’s message to God’s people.
It appears that these men were not only studying together but also living together. It was almost like a university dorm situation.
The number of students had increased to such a point that they needed to build a larger building. Therefore, they decide to go down to the Jordan river to cut some trees so they can expand their current facilities.
The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”
And he said, “Go.”
2 Kings 6.
Un día, los miembros de la comunidad de los profetas le dijeron a Eliseo:
—Como puede ver, el lugar donde ahora vivimos con usted nos resulta pequeño. Es mejor que vayamos al Jordán. Allí podremos conseguir madera y construir un albergue.
—Bien, vayan—respondió Eliseo.
One of the students asks the servant of God, Elisha, to go with them. Elisha goes with down to the Jordan and they begin their work.
Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied.
Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees.
Pero uno de ellos le pidió:
—Acompañe usted, por favor, a sus servidores.
Eliseo consintió
Pero uno de ellos le pidió:
—Acompañe usted, por favor, a sus servidores.
Eliseo consintió en acompañarlos, y cuando llegaron al Jordán empezaron a cortar árboles.
Pero uno de ellos le pidió:
—Acompañe usted, por favor, a sus servidores.
Eliseo consintió en acompañarlos, y cuando llegaron al Jordán empezaron a cortar árboles.
The men begin their work.
They go down to the river and start to cut down some trees so they may return and build out their existing facilities.
As they continue to work, something is about to go extremely wrong for one of these poor students.
El problema / The problem
El problema / The problem
El problema / The problem
El problema / The problem
Out of nowhere, unexpectedly, a situation arises:
They start to cut some trees so they may take them back and expand their building.
As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees.
2 Kings 6.
De pronto, al cortar un tronco, a uno de los profetas se le zafó el hacha y se le cayó al río.
—¡Ay, maestro!—gritó—. ¡Esa hacha no era mía!
2
Notice what happens. One of these students was diligently working and for whatever reason lost control of the ax.
This poor man saw as the ax flew out of his hands and into the water. Remember, they were working near the river Jordan.
One may think that the man should have been able to go into the river and retrieve the ax. However, the river Jordan tends to have very murky/muddy waters. Therefore, it would have been very difficult to see where they heavy ax would have landed.
The man cries out demonstrating the magnitude of problem!
He cries out saying that the ax was not his.
This man, most likely a poor man who was entirely dedicated to study with the prophet of God had asked someone to borrow the ax.
The ax did not belong to him.
The ax belonged to someone else.
Why would this be such a problem?
First of all, the man was financially responsible for the ax the minute he asked to borrow the ax.
He did not have the means to purchase his own ax; surely he did not have the means to replace it.
Nowadays we can go on to Amazon.com and purchase an ax for $17.99 and ask for 24 hour shipping.
However, in the ancient world axes were extremely expensive.
They were made of iron which was very expensive and difficult to acquire.
This man was now facing:
Humiliation by the owner for having lost the ax that he had practically begged to borrow.
Even deeper poverty because now he had to somehow find the funds to pay back the owner for this loss.
A time of servitude until he could pay back the owner through service.
Can you just imagine this man’s distraught heart!
He was studying God’s word.
He was following in the prophet Elisha’s footsteps so he too could one day deliver God’s messages to God’s people.
He was helping the other prophets cut down trees so they could build out their existing facilities so more students could join them.
He had risked his reputation/his good name by asking to borrow another person’s ax.
..and after all this he was now facing the possibility of utter humiliation and financial ruin.
El milagro / The miracle
El milagro / The miracle
This story will not have a tragic ending. The Lord is with his servants!
The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
—¿Dónde cayó?—preguntó el hombre de Dios.
Cuando se le indicó el lugar, Eliseo cortó un palo y, echándolo allí, hizo que el hacha saliera a flote.
—Sácala—ordenó Eliseo.
Así que el hombre extendió el brazo y la sacó.
1 Kings 6.
.-7
The prophet of God asks the distraught to tell him where exactly it was that the ax had fallen.
The man points out to the exact place.
The prophet cuts a stick from one of the trees and throws it into the water.
The men cannot believe their eyes but all of a sudden - contrary to the law of gravity - the iron ax begins to float!
This is utterly impossible.
This cannot happen.
Ax is heavier than water. It cannot, it will not float - but God intervenes and overcomes the laws of gravity to make the ax float by his great power.
The prophet of God tells the man to lift out the ax!
The man retrieves the borrowed ax.
Can you imagine the look on this man’s face?
Can you imagine the burden that has just been lifted from his shoulders?
Can you imagine the thoughts that are going through his mind?
He cannot believe what has happened!
He cannot believe how this tragedy had been completely stopped in its tracks - all by the power of God!
Conclusion
Conclusion
How should we understand this miracle?
There are those that think there was no way this could have occured.
There are those that deny the power of God.
However, if God has the power to raise a dead man from the grave, the Lord Jesus Christ, surely he has the power to raise an ax head from the depths of the Jordan river.
This miracle seems so trivial to us.
We may think of miracles as being the parting of the red sea.
We may say that a miracle is a resurrection from the dead.
We may think that miracles are great/marvelous demonstrations of power.
We may think that miracles must be impactful and leave all those who witness them with their mouths wide open.
This miracle may not seem all that spectacular compared to other miracles in the Bible; but let me tell you that this miracle was extremely significant to the man who lost the ax.
The miracle was the most important thing that happened to that man that day.
It may not have impacted the other students or the entire nation of Israel. Nevertheless, this miracle made a great impact in the life of that one poor student.
Example: finding an extra $100 hidden away in an old coat may not mean much to Mr. Simplot; but it makes a huge difference to a single mother living paycheck to paycheck.
This miracle comes in series of similar miracles.
In God uses the prophet Elisha to bless a poor widow and her child with an unlimited supply of oil and flour.
In God uses the prophet Elisha to raise from the dead the child of a well to do woman in the town on Shunem.
In God uses the prophet Elisha to purify the stew that had become accidentally poisoned by one of the student prophets. The student prophet had cut a wild plant and thrown it into the stew not realizing that it was poisonous.
…and now in our story God uses the prophet Elisha to raise the sunken ax from the Jordan river so the poor student could return it to its rightful owner.
What do these four miracles have in common?
These miracles were not necessarily all that spectacular.
They did not involve great signs and wonders.
They had to do with very specific personal circumstances:
A poor widow and her child who were about to die of starvation.
A well off woman who had just lost her only child.
A group of poor students who would’ve been poisoned had they eaten the stew that had been prepared.
A poor student who would’ve possibly become a slave for a time to repay the ax that he had lost by accident.
What is God saying to us through these miracles?
God wants us to understand that his is the great God of .
This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.
Así dice el Señor:
«El cielo es mi trono,
y la tierra, el estrado de mis pies.
¿Qué casa me pueden construir?
¿Qué morada me pueden ofrecer?
Así dice el Señor:
«El cielo es mi trono,
y la tierra, el estrado de mis pies.
¿Qué casa me pueden construir?
¿Qué morada me pueden ofrecer?
God is so great that neither the earth nor the heavens can contain him.
After all, it is he who made the heavens and the earth.
It is he who created the entire creation order by the power of his word.
It is God who sustains the entire creation second after second.
It is God who created the great mountains and deep oceans.
It is God who created everything that exists.
He is responsible for the miracle of creation.
He is the same God who by his power parted the red sea.
He is the same God who destroyed the walls of Jericho.
He is the same God who rose his son Jesus Christ from the dead.
God wants to show us he is the great God of heaven who does great and marvelous works as he pleases.
But…God, our God, is also a God that concerns himself with:
The plight of a poor and hungry widow and her young boy.
The tragedy of a gentile woman who has lost her only son.
The hungry students who would’ve been poisoned had the prophet of God not intervened.
The poor prophet who would’ve gone into servitude because of the lost ax.
God concerns himself with his people corporately but also concerns himself with each one of us individually.
God knows every detail of our lives.
He understands every single thing we are experiencing.
He knows our pains, our anxieties, our hurts, our needs, our fears.
God knows every single detail of our lives and says…you matter to me!
It could very well be that you think there is no one on earth to whom you matter - and that is ok because you matter to him who matters the most - God!
He concerns himself with you!
He has promised to be with you to the end of the earth.
No wonder the psalmist said:
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
Aunque mi padre y mi madre me abandonen,
el Señor me recibirá en sus brazos.
The Lord Jesus showed us how much God is concerned about us:
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Mt
¿No se venden dos gorriones por una monedita? Sin embargo, ni uno de ellos caerá a tierra sin que lo permita el Padre; y él les tiene contados a ustedes aun los cabellos de la cabeza. Así que no tengan miedo; ustedes valen más que muchos gorriones.
If God is so concerned that much about us why do we delay going to him in prayer?
Why do we not trust him?
Why do we not turn to him?
Why do we not put our cares and worries upon him?
There is nothing insignificant about us in the sight of God. God truly cares for you and me. Why?
Because we have been bought at a price.
We have been purchased by the blood of his son Jesus Christ.
It is because of our Lord’s sacrifice that we are sons and daughters of God and experience his loving and tender care; even in those things that may not seem significant to others.