The Floating Ax Head, Jesus, and the New Covenant

The Floating Ax Head, Jesus, and the New Covenant

·        2 Kings 6:1-7 6 Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell there.” And he answered, “Go.” 3 Then one of them said, “Be pleased to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.” 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 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.

·        Deuteronomy 19:4-6 4 “This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having hated him in the past— 5 as when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live, 6 lest the avenger of blood in hot anger pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him fatally, though the man did not deserve to die, since he had not hated his neighbor in the past.

·        Exodus 22:14 14 “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution.

·        Exodus 15:25 25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.

In the Old Testament, a dislocated ax head is associated with potential charges to murder. When Person 1 goes out to cut wood and the ax head flies off the handle, and hits Person 2, which results in death. Person 1 has to flee to one of the Cities of Refuge for protection. When Person 2’s family hears about this death, one of the family members is sent out to avenge the perpetrator. This person is called The Avenger of Blood. If Person 1 gets to the City of Refuge before The Avenger of Blood runs into them, Person 1 is safe and  cannot be legally touched until an investigation is completed. If Person 1 is found guilty, they will be executed. If they are innocent, they will spend the rest of their life in witness protection with the priest. Once the priest dies, all charges are dropped and Person 1 is free to leave the City of Refuge.

In 2 Kings 6:1-7, Elisha and a group of prophets started to cut down trees for a meeting place/seminary. One of the prophets lost his ax head. It fell into the Jordan River. The ax head was borrowed and cost a large sum of money that he could not afford. Therefore, the prophet was “under judgment” by the owner of the ax head. He owed a debt he could not pay. Elijah (meaning God is my salvation) is the Christ-like figure in this story that intervenes. The prophet was able to locate the ax head. He didn’t play stupid or ignored it (like we do with our sin). He recognized his need for help in a humble manner. Also, notice that Elisha did not use the old ax handle. Instead, he cut off a new piece of wood for the handle. Similarly, the Cross represents a new work of the old Law. Christ came to fulfill the Law for His elect. The Hebrew word for stick in 2 Kings 6:6 is ets’. This same Hebrew word is also used for gallows in Esther 5:14 and for the Cursed Tree in Deuteronomy 21:22-23. When this new stick was tossed into the Jordan, the ax head supernaturally rose from the water. Just like Christ’s death, set the captives free from Paradise. This is like being baptized from death to life. We see this fulfilled in Matthew 27:53- They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Furthermore, we can see this with Christ rescuing a drowning Peter and the resurrection of Lazarus. These are the types and shadows of Christ leading to the spiritual resurrection at Calvary. This is an example of a living parable similar to The Lost Coin and Lost Sheep. It is about retrieving what was lost. What was lost is now found. In Exodus 15:25, we see Moses (The Christ-like figure) who casts a stick into the bitter water and makes it drinkable for the Hebrews (the bitter water represents Death {Wormwood}to Life-Giving Streams of water from the Holy Spirit). Only in Christ, we are truly raised from the dead and able to drink His streams of Living Water.