The kindness of God in the ordinary

One of my students whom I taught at Bible college moved up to Auckland with her family from another part of the country, so she could study and be prepared for future ministry. The move and her study involved a financial sacrifice that led to rather a tight budget. Christmas was almost upon us, and she and her husband wondered how they could afford to buy presents for the children and what else they could economise on. What they did not realise was that the energy company they signed up with was a consumer owned trust that paid dividends at the end of each year. A few weeks before Christmas, they suddenly received a direct debit of several hundred dollars in their account! This unexpected provision from God gave their finances the needed boost to put something under the tree for their children.

An ordinary building project

Our reading records such an act of provision and it was probably put here in the story line because it links two miracles in the locality of the Jordan river (Naaman’s healing and our incident). It is not a spectacular story but deals with ordinary life. The prophetic community has outgrown their meeting place and needs a new one (2 Kings 6:1). Despite the translation that suggests living quarters, this is a building where the prophets gather for instruction. It is evident from the Hebrew (v.1) that reads, ‘Look now the place where we are sitting/living before you is too cramped for us.’ The phrase ‘before you’ involves a posture of submission to Elisha as leader.[1] Why the Jordan valley is chosen as the new location is unclear, but in any case, Elisha is asked to join them (2 Kings 6:2-3).

An ordinary accident and an extraordinary resolution

A loose axe head that falls off the handle is rather an everyday occurrence, but its falling into the water is a serious loss evident from the user’s distress (2 Kings 6:5). Iron was still scarce at this time, and an axe was a valuable asset. Since it is a borrowed item (v.5), this is doubly worrying. It not only hinders the building project but also incurs restitution from the borrower (Exod 22:14),[2] a cost that the prophetic community could no doubt ill-afford. Once again, trying to work out a natural way of how such a miracle could have happened (e.g. Elisha used a stick to fish out the iron) goes against the grain of the story. If it had been that simple, surely Elisha’s special powers would not have been needed; any of the people could have salvaged the axe. The point is that God intervened through His kindness where human strength and ingenuity fell short and provided for this struggling band of faithfuls.

Remembering God’s kindness when life is tough

No doubt, many of us can recall these moments of kindness from God in our ordinary life. It may have been another Christian speaking a word from God that lifted our hearts at a time of distress, a financial provision, an unexpected job offer, a narrow escape from an accident, a skilled and understanding surgeon who resolved a health issue. Some of these incidents have rational explanations, others may be extraordinary and miraculous. No matter what form they take, we can recognise the Lord’s kindness in our circumstances. Not every difficulty is resolved by God’s intervention, however, and we do experience hardship, even tragedy at times. In these situations, we can only trust His wisdom in letting such things happen. Nevertheless, it is important that we remember those occasions when we have seen God’s hand and kindness. These remind us that no matter what we are going through, the Lord knows every detail of our lives and His presence is with us even in our struggles.

[1] By contrast, when Gehazi comes to Elisha after gaining gifts from Naaman by deception, the Hebrew reads that ‘he stood towards his master’ (2 Kings 5:25), rather than the usual ‘before his master’. This is a subtle clue that his attitude is not one of submission to Elisha’s authority.

[2] Although the passage cited refers to borrowed animals, it is typical of such case law that the specific example demonstrates a general principle, which then can be applied in other situations.

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