All right, I want you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 1 Kings. I began
reading last week or so out of the books, two books of the Kings,
and the Lord has given me a heart to want to look at these passages. I said 1 Kings, 2 Kings, I'm
sorry, 2 Kings chapter six. Lord willing, I'll be in First
Kings next time. No, next service. Second Kings
chapter six. I want to read the first seven
verses. Second Kings six, one to seven. And the sons of the prophets
said unto Elisha, behold now the place where we dwell with
thee is too straight for us. 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. And one
said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So
he went with them, and when they came to Jordan, they cut down
wood. But as one was felling a beam,
The axe head fell into the water, and he cried, and he said, Alas,
master, for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where
fell it? And he showed him the place, and he cut down a stick,
and cast it in thither, and the iron did swim. Therefore said
he, Take it up to thee, and he put out his hand and took it. Now in this account, this axe
head that fell off of an axe handle, we have one of the most
glorious pictures of God's sovereign, free grace in the Lord Jesus
Christ. One of the most beautiful pictures
of the gospel. that can be seen. But to enter
into this passage, we need to remember the words of our Lord
again. I bring this up so many times,
but it's so needful. When we're dealing with passages
of scripture, especially in the Old Testament, and remember when
our Lord said what he said to the two on the road to Emmaus,
He was dealing, speaking of the Old Testament. That was the scriptures.
Luke 24, 26 to 27. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, he expounded unto them and all the scriptures
the things concerning himself. Now, let's look at this passage
of scripture for a few minutes And I pray that the Spirit of
God give us some understanding on how God saves His people,
how God saves sinners. The scripture said, And the sons
of the prophets, verse 1, said unto Elisha, Behold now, the
place where we dwell with thee is too straight for us. Here are these sons of the prophets. These sons of the prophets, I
see in them types, a type of all men by nature, fallen in
Adam. And Elisha is a picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And the sons of the prophets
have have a complaint. The place where we dwell with
thee is too straight for us. It's too narrow, too tight. It's a word that means, comes
from another word that means it's just too binding for us. But considering their complaint,
when I read that, I thought to myself, was that not the evidence
of the trap into which Adam and Eve fell? After Satan, speaking
with Eve, concerning the freedom and the wisdom and understanding
that she and Adam would have, if they went ahead and ate of
the forbidden fruit, hold your place and turn back to Genesis
3. Let's look at exactly what he said to her. Genesis 3, verses
1 to 5. Now the serpent was more subtle than
any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he
said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said ye shall not eat of
every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent,
we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
has said, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it,
lest you die. And the serpent said unto the
woman, you shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the
day ye eat thereof, then your eyes will be opened and you shall
be as gods, knowing good and evil. According to Satan's lie, dwelling
in the garden with God's restriction on them concerning not eating
the fruit that was forbidden, that's just too restrictive.
That's just too straight. That's just too tight, too binding. And falling for the lie, they
died spiritually. And now, being dead, trespasses
and sins, all man seeks to cover his guilt by his own works and
his own hands. Man now believes that he's got
a will, an ability, a free will. You know when man got that? When
he disobeyed God. Genesis 3, 7, they sewed fig
leaves together and made themselves aprons. What they wanted to do
now is provide for themselves according to their own ability
and dictate. That was the desire of the sons
of the prophets. This place where we dwell with
you is just too straight, too tight, too narrow, too hard. They said in verses two and three,
let us go, we pray thee unto Jordan. Now listen to what they're
saying. And see, what do you see? 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. But one
said, be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. He
answered, I will go. Oh, how evident is man's desire
by nature to make himself a dwelling that he thinks is more suitable.
The place where we dwell with you is too straight. He wants to work him out a place
of worship, safety, for his own strength. by his own cunning
and by his wisdom. They wanted to go to Jordan and
build them a place, but they wanted Elisha to go too. They
wanted Elisha's presence, but wanted to do it the way they
wanted to do it. How deceitful is man's thoughts.
I want God, but I don't want to go to hell. But I want him on my terms. Let
us go and we'll take us some action. We'll go and cut us some
beams and we'll build us a place. A place where we're dwelling
with you is too straight. But as we behold these sons of the
prophets, I want you to consider especially as being pictures
of God's elect before they've been powerfully called out of
the darkness Man by nature, he's got it in his mind. I can build
me a place. I can build me a place better
than one that's too restrictive. Here they are, pictures of God's
people. I can see this just as clearly.
Those for whom the Lord has ever stood is surety. And consider
how he ever watches over. He watches them still in darkness
and unbelief. The Lord ever beholds his people. Turn to Ephesians chapter one,
Ephesians chapter two. They said, let's go to Jordan.
And we want you to go with us. And he said, I'll go. I'll go. Ephesians two. You're gonna go,
because they're gonna learn something here pretty soon. Ephesians chapter
two, verses one to nine. And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
you're saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages
to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith in that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works. Lest any man should boast. Let's
go to Jordan. Place is too straight where we're
dwelling with you. And we'll all take us, we'll
get us an ax. We'll fell some beams. And we'll
build us a place to dwell in. But we want you to go with us.
Scripture says back in 2 Kings 6, verses 4 and 5. So he went
with them. And when they came to Jordan,
they cut down wood. But as one was filling a beam,
the axe head fell into the water. And he cried and said, alas,
master, for it was borrowed. And here we begin to see the
marvelous workings of God's grace. Elisha beheld the sons as they
were doing exactly what they wanted to do. They were cutting
down wood to build what they thought was going to be a tremendous
place, tremendous dwelling. He was going to have them a wonderful
place to dwell in and to be able to worship. And while one of
them was working, the axe head fell into the water. Strength
of the tool that he was using. That axe head that pictures that
which man thinks is his ability. Strength, the very thought of
the vessels of God's choosing before the Lord calls them out
of darkness. They think, I can handle this,
I can do it, I can do it. Those lost in Adam's transgression,
that axe head He pictures us lost in sin, and the man realizing
now something that he didn't realize before. He cried out
to Elisha, and he said, alas, master, it was borrowed. You know what that man knew right
now? I'm in debt. I'm in debt now. That axe head
was borrowed, it fell off the handle, it sank into the place
of darkness, where humanly speaking, he didn't know where to get it.
Went in the water. What a picture set forth. The
strength of the man is dead, and he's been made to realize
it. There's a beautiful picture of the Spirit of God coming and
crossing the man's path, stopping him, just like the Lord stops
all of Tarsus. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? Who are you? I'm Jesus, the one
you're persecuting. Man, by the grace of God, one
that God Almighty's gonna call out of darkness, he's gonna bring
that man to realize something. You don't have any strength.
What you thought you could do, what you thought you could accomplish, Without me, you can do nothing.
A last master, it was borrowed. Now I'm in debt, and it's gone. Help me, help me. Man, by the
grace and power of God, is going to be made to see his need because
of his inability, because of his depravity. The sons of the
prophets. He had to do what every vessel
of God's mercy is gonna do. He's gonna have to cry out. David
said in Psalm 141, when I cry unto thee, make haste unto me.
Give ear unto my voice when I cry unto thee. This young man was
in trouble. And there was only one who could
help. And he cries out to Elisha, a
picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the last master. And the scripture
says, verse six, and the man of God said, where fell it? And he showed him the place.
And he cut down a stick and cast it in thither, and the iron did
swim. This man was going to have to
confess, where's the problem? Where did it go in? Where did
the axe head hit the water? Because of what you were doing,
because of your former thought, that axe head fell off. Where
did it go in? Almighty God is gonna bring his
people to confess. When Adam fell in the garden,
we all fell in him. There's the problem. Man is a
rebel against God, and I'm a rebel against God. Where did the axe
head? I'm an unclean thing. I'm the
one that was going about to establish my own righteousness. Where did
the axe head go in? Right here. All of my righteousnesses are
as filthy rags. Master, I'm in trouble. He was
borrowed. The son of the prophets was made
to confess the problem. And then Elisha did something
which magnifies the marvelous display of God's grace to needy
sinners. The scripture says, the man of
God, when he asked him where it is, he showed him the place,
and he cut down a stick. Now, you look this up. That word stick right there,
when you read the word stick, I'm just thinking of a, you know,
something. It doesn't mean a stick. It means a standing tree. It's the same word as, when Scripture
speaks in Psalm 1-3, the tree planted by the rivers of water. It's a tree, he cut down a tree.
And here, Elisha was moved by the Spirit of God to set forth
in picture and type the only hope of the recovery for that
which was lost. Remember, that axe head, talking
about the strength, that's man by nature. And he's gone. He's in the darkness, he's in
the deep of despair. And that stick, that standing
tree is what it was. Represented the Lord Jesus Christ
who willingly laid down his life upon Calvary's tree, dying for
us, paying the debt of our guilt, which was against God and his
law to rescue us from the depth of our sin. What was it gonna
take to get that axe head back? Elisha in picture and type showed
it's gonna take the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. That tree
was cut down and it was in the depth of the water. It was gone
there. He's gonna have to shed his blood that we might be redeemed
from the curse of the law. And this he did, this the Lord
did. He laid down his life He cast himself willingly upon the
altar of his cross itself. He bore the debt that we owed. And that tree went into the water.
And the scripture says, and the iron did swim. The iron came up, brought up.
It was recovered, miraculously recovered. And the scripture
says in verse seven, then said he to the man, Take it up to
thee. And he put out his hand, and
he took it. Now here's what I know in closing.
That son of the prophet, he didn't recover the axe head. God did. That iron was caused
to float. That's what, when it says it
did swim, it was caused to float. just as we were caused to float. In the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ, all who were chosen in him from before the
foundation of the world, redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, by
his shed blood, called out of the darkness by regenerating
mercy and grace, that axe head floated, and then Elisha told
him, he said, now you take it, you take it. That made me think
of this verse, and I'll close right here. John 1, 12. How did he take it? He took it
by faith. Did his taking it make it effectual? No, sir. The ax
head floated. The iron did swim. John 1, verse
12 says this. Let's just read. I'll 10 to 12. John 1, 10 to 12. He was in the
world. And the world was made by him,
and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, his own
received him not, but as many as received him. To them, here's
what was evident, is what it's saying. As many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name. That axe head floated. When that
tree went in, the axe head floated. Then Elisha told him, he said,
you take it. And that's what we do. We believe that almighty
God has been pleased to rescue his people from the depth of
their depravity and sin, deadness. And he himself was plunged into
the very hand of God's justice. and he rescued us and we did
float in him. I pray God bless this to our
heart for Christ's sake. Amen. All right, let's take a
few minutes break. We'll come right back.