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Although they weren’t anywhere near this massive, we did undergo seven building programs over nearly two decades at the church I served in Northwest Georgia. Most were geared more toward remodeling than expansion. Nevertheless, it was great to see God work and the people excited. There’s something about new projects, especially building, that encourage and motivate people. No doubt those students at the school of prophets experienced such elation, especially since Elisha was all in on the project. Before going out to look for wood, they invited him to go along. “‘I will,’ Elisha replied, and he went with them” (2 Kings 6:2). This may seem small to us, but it wasn’t to them. Elisha, a hero among them, was willing to roll up his sleeves and join in the work (a good leadership lesson for all times). Emotions were surely running high until frustrating misfortune put a damper on their building project. “As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water. ‘Oh no, my Lord!’ he cried out. ‘It was borrowed’” (2 Kings 6:5). Carefully observe that the ax headwas: Borrowed- We’ve all borrowed tools from time to time. Usually the problem is forgetting to return them rather than losing one. Yet, imagine that feeling you get when you lose it or the tool breaks while you’re using it. Valuable- This was first century Palestine and not 21st century America. Tools were much harder to produce and far less available. There wasn’t a Lowes or Home Depot in sight. And even if there was, these students couldn’t have afforded it. Most were poor, accustomed to leaving meagerly, willingly sharing what they had with one another. Necessary- It’s hard to imagine such a project today without a chainsaw, or even large earth moving equipment. They would have felt the same way about metal axes then.

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