Sermon Outline, October 16

Peter J. Leithart, October 10, 2005

INTRODUCTION
Since the early church, Christians have struggled against "Marcionism," the heretical idea that the Creator-God of the Old Testament is different from the Redeemer-God of the New. The Old Testament reveals a God of wrath and law, the New a God of love and gospel. Frequently, this takes the form of an "ethical Marcionism," the idea that the Old Testament presents a different ethical system than the New. This chapter puts the lie to that idea. Elisha as much as Jesus operates on the view that we should "love our enemies" and "do good to those who despitefully use you." Elisha would have agreed wholly with Paul's exhortation to "overcome evil with good."

THE TEXT
"And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, 'See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.' So he answered, 'Go.' Then one said, 'Please consent to go with your servants.' And he answered, 'I will go' . . . ." (2 Kings 6:1-23).

FLOATING IRON
The story of the floating axe head seems trivial and pointless, like some of the miracles recorded about medieval saints. It does not have the oomph of raising someone from the dead or curing leprosy. How did this end up in the Bible?

The axe head is lost during a construction project. The sons of the prophets are prospering, and they have become too numerous to fit into existing quarters. Their house-building is related to the exodus-conquest motifs that have been dominating the Elijah-Elisha narratives. Israel came from Egypt with spoils to build the tabernacle, and here the sons of the prophets, the remnant seed who has been liberated from the Omride kingdom is building a house. Elisha accompanies them to the Jordan, a sign that the community of prophets will be blessed so long as the prophet is with them.

One of the sons of the prophets loses his "iron" (v. 5). He is distressed because the iron was "asked" (v. 5). According to the law, a borrower is responsible to make it good if he damages or loses borrower property (Exodus 22:14-15), and iron was a rare commodity in ancient Israel. Losing an axe head would put someone in hefty debt. Elisha delivers the man from indebtedness, as he delivered the widow (4:1-7). Elisha's instruction to "take it up" (v. 7) echoes with his instruction to the Shunammite woman to "take up" her son (4:36). By saving the axe head, Elisha is giving the man a new life. Elisha is still functioning as the "kinsman-redeemer," delivering from debt and death.

Death-by-flying-axe is the biblical paradigm of manslaughter (Deuteronomy 19:4-10). A man-slayer was allowed to flee to a city of refuge, where he would stand trial and either be admitted to the safe haven of the city or cast out to face the blood-avenger (cf. Numbers 35:9-34). The allusion to this law here indicates that the sons of the prophets are creating a "city of refuge."

Elisha has healed and delivered by throwing things before – salt into a spring, meal into a pot. We are reminded of the miraculous healing of the waters at Marah (Exodus 15). The axe head sinks into the water and returns, like Jonah the prophet. In Jonah, submersion and return is an image of Israel’s exile in the sea of Gentiles and her return to the land. The fact that the axe head passes through the Jordan and returns further associates this incident with Israel's conquest and return from exile. This story is another sign that Elisha is the new Joshua, leading the sons of the prophets in a new conquest of the land.

ARAMEAN WARS REDUX
Ahab’s descendants, like Ahab, have to fight the king of Aram (cf. 1 Kings 20, 22). Apart from Elisha, the characters in this story are not named; the kings are simply "kings." This makes the story feel like a parable, and it is. It teaches Israel that kings are successful and safe if they rely on prophets and prophetic power rather than on their own resources. If they acknowledge the prophet as "father," all will go well (v. 21).

Obviously, sight plays a key role in the story: The king of Aram tells his men to "see" (v. 13), Elisha prays twice for Yahweh to open eyes; the Aramean soldiers, like the men of Sodom, are bedazzled. There are several puns on the verb "guard" (v. 9, 10, 17). The question is raised, Who is the true guardian of the land? The king of Israel is clearly not very good at guarding the land; he leaves the borders so porous that Aramean bands get through easily. Elisha, however is the true guardian of the land, since he is accompanied by horses and chariots of Yahweh. The phrase "horses and chariots of Yahweh" is elsewhere used only in 2 Kings 2, where it refers to the cloud of glory that whisks Elijah away to heaven. Elisha is at the center of this angelic host, a "man of God" who shares in the glory and power of God Himself.

The story begins with Aram's marauding bands again invading the Northern kingdom (cf. 5:2). The king of Aram's efforts are continuously thwarted, and the king of Aram thinks that he has a traitor in his midst. He does not "see" that Elisha is revealing the Arameans maneuvers, though all his men seem to know that this is the case (v. 12). They joke that Elisha even has a bug in the king's bedroom (v. 12). The king sends out an army to capture Elisha, as Ahaziah sent troops to capture Elijah (2 Kings 1), and as the Jews and Romans later gathered troops to capture Jesus. Like Jesus, Elisha will not be taken unless he wants to be.

Elisha's actions all have to do with sight. He "dazzles" the Aramean soldiers, even while he is opening the eyes of his servant to the hosts of Yahweh that surround him (v. 17). Yahweh darkens understanding and opens the eyes of the blind, and He has delegated this power to His prophet. Wielding this power, Elisha shows that he is actually more in charge of the Arameans than their own king.

The reference to "Dothan" (v. 13) suggests a connection between Elisha and Joseph, the "seer" of Egypt. Like Joseph, he shows mercy to and feeds his opponents. Instead of humiliating the Arameans, he conquers them with hospitality, returning good for evil. And the bands stop invading the kingdom.

CATECHISM FOR LITTLE SAINTS
Why was the prophet concerned about his axe head?
Because it was borrowed and very expensive, and he needed to pay for it.

How did Elisha beat the Arameans?
By giving food and drink to his enemies.