Elisha & The Floating Axe

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People. 00:00:04 Speaker 2: Because the erraw by itself is nothing. It's weak, it's pathetic. But if that same error rests in the hands of his killed archer. 00:00:17 Speaker 3: It flies true. 00:00:19 Speaker 4: I have never been however, Elosia, I. 00:00:23 Speaker 3: Have never been green. I am an old, tired man. 00:00:30 Speaker 1: The wind stirred, Elisha sucked in a sharp breath. The river whispered before him, waiting. The choice was his. He exhaled, stood, stepped forward, and lifted the mantle high. His voice rang out, steady and unchanged, but no longer uncertain. 00:00:55 Speaker 3: Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God of Joseph and Moses, Oh God of Elijah, my God, I I'm your servant. 00:01:06 Speaker 4: Show me your power. 00:01:13 Speaker 5: The miracle wasn't fire from heaven. It was trust in the dark. Chalome friends from here in the holy Land of Israel. I'm yea l Exstein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. Have you been impacted or inspired by this podcast? I want to hear about it, and I would be so grateful if you leave a review for the podcast. I read all of them and they help me to gain a better understanding of who I'm speaking to. I want to know about you and what you like about this podcast, So go ahead and leave a review. And if you're interested in learning more about the countless lives being helped and saved and affected by my work at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and how we're on the forefront of biblical prophecy coming to fruition in Israel, you can visit IFCJ dot com. Now let's begin. 00:02:12 Speaker 1: The sound of axes striking wood rang out across the Jordan River. It was the kind of sound that would have been satisfying under different circumstances, maybe even meditative, but today it carried the undeniable undercurrent of inexperience. The Guild of Prophets was not built for this kind of labor. These were not craftsmen or soldiers. They were dreamers, scribes and thinkers, young men learning to hear the voice of God. It was a discipleship school of sorts, though calling it a school was generous. The students worked under the merciless sun, sweat dripping into their eyes as they swung their axes with all the grace of men who had never chopped a tree. In their lives. The air was heavy with the earthy scent of wood and the occasional grunt of frustration. Standing a safe distance away, Elisha leaned against a rock, his staff in hand, supervising with the ease of a man who had absolutely no intention of helping. 00:03:23 Speaker 4: That's Elisha. Do you think this is what Elijah head in mind when he has dismantlete? 00:03:29 Speaker 1: Elisha smirked, a faint glimmer of amusement flashing in his eyes. 00:03:35 Speaker 3: If you think this is beneath you, Reuben, wait until I send you to dig ditches. You missed the glamour of tree cutting. 00:03:42 Speaker 1: One of the younger students snorted at this, nearly loosing his grip on his axe in the process. The blade grazed the trunk, awkwardly, sending a spray of splinters into the air. Why do you even need to expand the house anyway? 00:03:58 Speaker 3: It's fine as it is. 00:04:00 Speaker 6: It's fine for you, but you're not the one sleeping next to Ruben and he's snoring. It's like trying to sleep next to a bullfrog. 00:04:08 Speaker 4: He's not snoring. It's prophetic breathing. 00:04:12 Speaker 7: If it's prophetic breathing, then yahweh must be very annoyed. 00:04:16 Speaker 1: The group burst into laughter, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten. Even Elisha chuckled softly, brushing the dust from his robe with an air of mock patience. 00:04:28 Speaker 3: Enough whining your prophets of yahweh not poets writing lamentations about how hard your life is. We need the wood, so keep chopping. 00:04:39 Speaker 1: The laughter faded, replaced by the steady rhythm of axes. 00:04:43 Speaker 3: Once more. 00:04:44 Speaker 1: Keisha muttered something under his breath, earning another smirk from Reuben. Elisha watched them with a faint smile, as though enjoying a private joke they couldn't yet understand. Keisha was Elisha's apprentice, chosen by the prophet himself, though no one could quite figure out why. Wiry and sharp tongued Keisha had a knack for asking questions that walked the line between curious and insubordinate. If Elisha found him exasperating, he didn't show it. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the boy's energy. He reminded him of his master. 00:05:24 Speaker 6: Master Elisha, I think that Jordan just swallowed my body weight in sweat. Does this count as a baptism? 00:05:31 Speaker 8: No? 00:05:32 Speaker 3: But if you keep swinging like that it might count as your funeral. 00:05:35 Speaker 4: He is just mad because he's the worst x men here. 00:05:38 Speaker 6: That's because I didn't come here to chop trees, Reuben. I came here to learn how to hear Yahweh's voice. 00:05:46 Speaker 3: And do you think Jahweh's voice is going to make you a bigger house, because if it does, you're not hearing Yahweh, You're hearing your own wishful thinking. 00:05:56 Speaker 1: The students laughed, though some of them were clearly more focused on looks flitting their own feet open than on Elisha's wit. Keisha, however, wasn't ready to let it go. 00:06:07 Speaker 6: You're telling me the Lord who parted the sea and brought fire down from heaven can't drop a few trees for us. 00:06:16 Speaker 3: He is chopping trees, my boy, through the able arms of his young prophets. Praise be to God that we get to play a part in his noble work. 00:06:26 Speaker 1: And then, as if the Jordan itself had been waiting for the perfect moment to interrupt, there was a sharp crack, followed by a splash. 00:06:35 Speaker 6: Oh no oh no, no, no, no no, what did you do? It wasn't me the axe head? It full up. Look it's sinking. 00:06:44 Speaker 1: All eyes turned to the water. Sure enough, the iron axe head was now disappearing into the murky depths of the Jordan. 00:06:52 Speaker 4: Isn't it your uncle's axe? 00:06:55 Speaker 6: Yep? Why do you think I'm panicking. 00:06:57 Speaker 3: Because you don't trust the Lord? 00:07:00 Speaker 1: The group turned to Elisha, who had stepped forward. His tone was casual but pointed. 00:07:06 Speaker 6: Are you about to tell me that the Lord is going to use the. 00:07:10 Speaker 7: Able body of his young prophet to retrieve the axe? 00:07:13 Speaker 9: I'll stop you there. 00:07:15 Speaker 6: I can't swim. 00:07:17 Speaker 3: You spend far too much energy complaining, worrying, and reeling about what can't be done. It must be exhausting. 00:07:25 Speaker 1: Elisha bent down, picking up a stick from the ground. His students watched, their laughter fading into a tense, curious silence. 00:07:34 Speaker 3: What's that stick. 00:07:35 Speaker 4: Supposed to do? 00:07:37 Speaker 3: Sh I'm obviously trying to be a mysterious prophet. Quit ruining my lesson with your questions. Just watch. 00:07:47 Speaker 1: With a practiced flick of his wrist, Elisha tossed the stick into the water. The water rippled, and then, impossibly, the iron axe head floated to the surface, bobbing as though it were weightless. 00:08:01 Speaker 7: It's it's how is it even possible possible? 00:08:06 Speaker 3: Kisha, do you know the story of Moses, the man who raised his staff and split the scene two? Or did you just skim over that part when you were learning the law? 00:08:17 Speaker 9: Of course I know the story. I just this is different. 00:08:22 Speaker 3: That's because it's an axe head, not an ocean. Yahweh doesn't struggle with scale. The question isn't whether he can, it's whether you actually trust him to do it. And from the look on your face, I'd say you don't. 00:08:37 Speaker 4: Then why not summon such miracles more often? The signs like these not convinced people to turn back to the law. 00:08:43 Speaker 3: If only my master Elijah summoned fire from heaven not once, but twice, the people were stirred initially, but then went back to their ways. It's not about the sign performed, but the truth the signs communicate to us today. The lesson given to you is about trust. Trust that the Lord cares for the axe head, the small, insignificant things. 00:09:08 Speaker 1: Keisha waded into the water slowly, his movements careful, as though the river might demand payment, before giving the axe head back. When his fingers closed around the iron, he lifted it from the surface, water streaming down its sides like tears. He turned to Elisha, his face a mixture of embarrassment and wonder. 00:09:31 Speaker 6: I thought I trusted him, but maybe. 00:09:34 Speaker 9: I didn't, not like yours good. 00:09:38 Speaker 3: Now, you know, trust starts small, kisher, like an axe head in a river, but it doesn't stay there. One day you need to trust him for something much bigger, your red Sea moment, as it were. When that day comes, remember this. 00:09:56 Speaker 1: The group stood in silence, the weight of elijah words settling over them. Keisha, still clutching the dripping axe head, stared at the prophet, his earlier frustration now replaced by awe. For a moment, the Jordan's gentle flow seemed to reflect something greater, a reminder that God's power moved quietly beneath the surface of all things. Reuben broke the silence, his voice cutting through the stillness, but carrying a note of unease. 00:10:30 Speaker 4: Is it true what they say that he could hear the Lord's voice even in ben Hadad's war? That you know, Armians of plenty before they did. 00:10:43 Speaker 1: The rumors had been whispered among the prophets for weeks. But now with Israel's enemies pressing harder against the nation's borders. They felt less like gossip and more like prophecy. Elisha raised an eyebrow, his expression hovering somewhere between amusement and exasperation. 00:11:03 Speaker 3: Ah, so that's what you really want to learn, Not how to trust, but how to spy? 00:11:08 Speaker 4: No, just well, maybe a little. 00:11:13 Speaker 3: And what would you do with that power? 00:11:15 Speaker 8: Hmm? 00:11:16 Speaker 3: Eavesdrop on your little enemies, or perhaps listen through the walls to hear what Miriam thinks about you. 00:11:22 Speaker 1: The group burst into laughter. Elisha leaned on his staff and surveyed the group. 00:11:28 Speaker 3: Let me tell you this, Hearing God's voice isn't about knowing secrets for your own gain. It's about trust, the kind of trust that lets you act when he calls and stays silent when he doesn't. If you want that, you'd better learn to listen and stop looking for shortcuts. 00:11:48 Speaker 1: The students fell quiet, their eyes fixed on Elisha. Somewhere in the distance that Jordan flowed on its waters, carrying both the memory of the axe and the less that none of them would soon forget. In the war room of the King of Aram, the king paced like a caged animal. His heavy boots echoed on the stone floor as he gestured wildly to the array of maps and figurines on the table before him, each one marking a plan that had failed spectacularly. The throne nearby was studiously ignored, because sitting down implied composure, and the King of Aram had none left. 00:12:33 Speaker 10: Explain it to me again, How does Durham, that weavering, spineless, milk drinking welper the king always know what I'm planning? 00:12:44 Speaker 1: His generals, advisors, and assorted sycophants stood silently, their expressions frozen somewhere between fear and discomfort. 00:12:54 Speaker 4: Ah, Suram couldn't lead a parade, but somehow he manages to say, once abrehead of me. 00:13:01 Speaker 1: He slammed his fist onto the table, sending a figurine of a chariot skittering across the map. The generals flinched in unison, and one particularly unfortunate adviser let out an audible squeak. 00:13:15 Speaker 4: Ah, a spy. That's the only explanation. There's a spy in my ranks, isn't there. 00:13:24 Speaker 1: He turned on the room like a wolf circling a flock of sheep, his eyes narrowing at each face in turn. 00:13:31 Speaker 4: Which one of you is it? Who's been whispering my plans to that overgrown child with delusions. 00:13:40 Speaker 9: Of kingship, Your majesty, if I may, you may. 00:13:44 Speaker 4: Not, unless you're about looking face, in which case yes, by all means speak. 00:13:53 Speaker 1: The adviser stepped forward, cautiously, like a man approaching a very angry bear. 00:14:00 Speaker 9: It's not it's not a spy, your majesty. 00:14:03 Speaker 4: Oh no, then what is it? Sorcery? A divine intervention? Don't tell me Joram actually developed a spine. It will be the first backbone in that family for generations. 00:14:16 Speaker 9: It's Elisha, your majesty, Elisha the prophet. Yes, your majesty, it is said. 00:14:24 Speaker 8: He he hears things, everything, in fact, even the words you whisper and the sounds you make in your bedroom. 00:14:36 Speaker 1: The King's face shifted from confusion to horror, then to a kind of mortified rage. 00:14:43 Speaker 4: In my bedroom, my private conversations, my private sounds. 00:14:53 Speaker 1: A muffled snicker escaped from somewhere in the back of the room, though it was quickly stifled when the King's glare swept the table like a scythe. 00:15:02 Speaker 4: Where isla tell me where he's hiding. 00:15:07 Speaker 9: In Dothan, your majesty, A small city lightly defended. 00:15:12 Speaker 4: Lightly defended, you say, then I'll make sure it's not defended at all. Repare the army. If Elishah can hear my whispers, let him hear this. I'm coming for him. I won't rest until his head is mounted on my wall. 00:15:32 Speaker 1: Good Dathan, the king swept out of the room, his cloak billowing behind him. Far away in Dothan, Elisha remained untroubled. The prophet had already heard far more than the king realized. Keisha hauled the bucket from the well, water sloshing over the sides. The morning was quiet, the first light brushing the hills of Dothan with gold. He exhaled, savoring the calm. Then he heard it, a low rhythmic thunder, hoofs marching. The hills were alive with soldiers. Spears glinted like fire. Horses snorted their breath clouds in the cool air. Chariots stood in endless rows, dark and menacing. Keisha dropped the bucket, Dear God. The water splashed across his feet unnoticed. Keisha turned and ran, his heart pounding harder than the drums of war. 00:16:39 Speaker 6: Mister Elijah Master. 00:16:42 Speaker 1: His voice cracked as he turned sprinting toward Elisha, who was standing a short distance away leaning on his staff. The prophet didn't even glance at the army. His gaze was calm, steady, fixed on some distant point that Keisha couldn't see. 00:17:00 Speaker 7: They're here, the army. They've surrounded us. There's no way out, Master. 00:17:06 Speaker 6: Do you hear me? 00:17:07 Speaker 3: I hear you, Kisha. I also hear your knees knocking together. It's distracting. 00:17:13 Speaker 4: How are you this calm? 00:17:15 Speaker 6: Do you not see what's out there? 00:17:18 Speaker 3: I see it, then, why aren't you panicking? 00:17:21 Speaker 7: They'll they'll kill us, They'll kill everyone. We are outnumbered, one hundred no, one thousand to one. 00:17:28 Speaker 1: Elisha finally turned to him, his face unreadable, but his voice firm. 00:17:35 Speaker 3: You're wrong, what how can you We're not outnumbered. 00:17:41 Speaker 1: Keisha froze, his fear momentarily overtaken by confusion. Elisha stepped closer, his gaze sharp, almost piercing. 00:17:51 Speaker 3: There are more on our side than theirs. 00:17:54 Speaker 8: More. 00:17:55 Speaker 9: What are you talking about? 00:17:58 Speaker 6: It's just us the city. It's you, me, the other students, and a few farmers and herders. 00:18:05 Speaker 1: Keisha gestured wildly toward the hills where the Aramian army stood like a silent avalanche, waiting to fore. Elishah placed a hand on his shoulder, steady and unshakable. 00:18:18 Speaker 3: Remember the Red Sea, Kisher. Remember Moses standing before the waters with Pharaoh's army at his back? Did he panic? Did he run? 00:18:28 Speaker 6: No? 00:18:29 Speaker 3: But but nothing? The lawd didn't abandon Moses, and he hasn't abandoned us. This is your moment of faith, Kisher, your Red Sea moment. Stop looking at what frightens you, and trust in what you cannot see. 00:18:45 Speaker 1: Keisha's breathing slowed, but his face remained taut with fear. Elishah closed his eyes, lifting his head toward the sky Lord God. 00:18:56 Speaker 9: Open his eyes so that he might. 00:18:58 Speaker 1: See The air shifted heavy and electric, as though the world itself held its breath. Keisha blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, everything was different. The hills that had seemed full of enemies now burned with light. Horses and chariots of fire stood upon the ridges, their forms glowing with an otherworldly brilliance. The Army of Heaven surrounded the Army of Aram, their numbers vast, their presence overwhelming. The site was so magnificent, so utterly beyond comprehension that Keisha stumbled backward, his legs giving way beneath him. 00:19:41 Speaker 3: It's hits Jahweh's army, angelic beans, each with more power and a single finger than all the armies of the earth combined. They've always been here, kish Are. You just couldn't see them until now. 00:19:56 Speaker 1: Kisha knelt on the ground, his eyes wide, tears streaming down his face as he stared at the heavenly host Master. 00:20:06 Speaker 3: I didn't know. Now you do, remember this, Kisha. Trust isn't about seeing, It's about believing in what you cannot see. Jahwezoha has been fighting for his people. 00:20:21 Speaker 1: A horn blared from the Aramian camp, breaking the moment. The enemy army began its march, their footsteps shaking the earth. Keisha scrambled to his feet, his awe replaced by renewed panic. 00:20:36 Speaker 6: They're coming. What do we do now? 00:20:39 Speaker 3: We pray? 00:20:41 Speaker 1: Elisha stepped forward, raising his staff as the first ranks of the Aramian army drew closer. His voice rang out clear and commanding. 00:20:52 Speaker 3: Lord of Heaven's Armies, strike them with blindness. 00:20:56 Speaker 1: The shift was immediate. Soldiers stopped midcharged, stumbling and clutching their faces. Cries of confusion rippled through the rants as the once mighty force dissolved into chaos. The Aramians groped at the air, their weapons falling uselessly to the ground. Keisha stood frozen, his jaw slack as he watched the miracle unfold. Or faith, trust, it was all there, blooming like fire in his chest. Elisha turned back toward the blinded army, his staff in hand, his voice steady and sure. 00:21:39 Speaker 3: Let's go, my boy. They're not done learning their lesson yet. 00:21:43 Speaker 1: The two walked forward, stepping into the chaos with the confidence of men who knew exactly who was fighting for them. 00:21:56 Speaker 5: What would you do if you were surrounded not just by enemies, but by itself? What if your whole world? What if your very breath felt pressed in by something that you couldn't escape. Today, in Second Kings, chapter six, we find the Chosen People at the edge of panic, an axe head lost in a river, an army of Aramaeans encircling the hills. It should be a chapter of despair, but it's not, because this episode, this moment in our people's history, crackles with something strange and wild. Trust, but not the easy kind. Of trust. Here we find the kind of trust that's forged in sweat, in silence and fear, the kind of trust that asks, do you believe He's still with you? Even here? And the prophet Alicia stands at the center of it, all unmoved, untouched, teaching those around him to open their eyes to what's been there all along. This wasn't a story about noise and spectacles. Was about trust, the kind of trust that I want to have. And then there's that axehead sinking into the Jordan, taking a young prophet's borrowed at dignity with it. And what does Alisia do. He doesn't scold, he doesn't panic. He tosses in a stick and iron, well, it floats. What if trust was heavier than iron. Here's the problem. Iron sinks because of gravity. It's a law as old as rivers. Throw iron into the water and it disappears beneath the surface, vanishing, heavy, gone. So when the young man's axe head flew off, when it plunged into the Jordan, his panic made perfect sense. He was powerless, he didn't own the tool. He was borrowed like his strength, like his hope, and then it was gone. But this Bible story isn't about physics, It's about faith. The Hebrew word for axehead is actually barzel, which means iron. It's the same root word we find in Deuterotomy when God calls Egypt the iron furnace, the place of trial of heat and pressure of shapey In Egypt, our people were forged in the Jordan, a young man's faith is forged. We're meant to remember something here. The River Jordan is no ordinary river. It's where Joshua crossed into promise. It's where the chosen people stepped out of the wilderness and into inheritance. And it's where our profits again and again returned to be shaped. Alisha's moment with the axe wasn't just a miracle. It was a whisper, a lesson. Trust begins small with what you drop, with what you think can't be recovered, and then with God it can be, because when we trust in God, anything is possible. Alisha was a great prophet, but he was also a great teacher of faith. We see this again in this chapter Second King six. Immediately following the story of the iron axe head, the Herameean army was closing in on Alisha and his servant, and the servant panicked. The Bible tells us what happened next. It says, Alisha prayed open his eyes Lord so that he may see. The Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots a fire all around Alisha. Some of our sages say that these horses and chariots of fire weren't real. Instead, they were a vision that God provided in response to Alisha's prayer. And God's message through this vision was a message of faith that even those situations may be difficult, he is always watching over us, even if we can't see him doing so, and that, well, that's a very important lesson for us today, isn't it. We all find ourselves in difficult situations from time to time, situations where there seems to be no way out and we pan it, but we don't have prophets to pray for God to show us horses and chariots of fire. We can remember this story during our own difficult times and remember that even though we can't see it, God's protection is always with us. There was a moment in this story that I can't shake. It's not when the axe had floated, or even when the angels of fire filled the hills. It's something Alicia said to the frightened servant. Alicia said, there are more with us than with them. He doesn't argue, he doesn't give statistics or strategies. He just states it as if it's always been true. This is the kind of faith that the Chosen People have carried through generations, through warsaw ghettos and Soviet prisons, through exile, and through return. It's a faith that clings not to outcomes, but to God's presence, to the quiet convey that God is still there even when everything else says He's gone. And that's what I hear echoing through this story. We don't need more miracles, we need more trust. So what does this mean for you listening right now? Well, maybe something has fallen apart, something you borrowed, something you built on hope. Maybe it slipped through your fingers and sank fast and no one seemed to notice but you. But I want you to be sure that God noticed, and he's not just watching. He's working right now. Even in the silence. You may feel surrounded by fear, by failure, by enemies, but there's a greater power around you, even if you can't see it yet, Trust that it's there, that God is there. Take one small step today, a prayer, surrender, a whispered help, And if you feel like you're standing in a Jordan moment, don't rush to cross it. Look around, listen. There might just be a prophet nearby tossing a stick into the water, and who knows, you might just watch iron rimes. 00:28:12 Speaker 1: You can listen to The Chosen People with Isle Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the prey dot Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabager and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, Edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland, Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith. Written by Aaron Salvato, Bree Rosalie and Chris Baige. Special thanks to Bishop Paulinier, Robin van Ettin, KAYLEB Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, Rabbi Edward Abramson, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.