So what was the big deal about an ax head?
From 2 Kings 6:1-7 -- A group of men gathered down at the Jordan River for a work day to cut trees to build their homes for a little homesteading activity. It appears that Elijah did not want to go with them, but due to their urging he relented and went with them. It turns out that it was a good thing he did.
In the course of their labor one of the men was cutting down a tree when his ax head fell in to the river. He cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.” Elijah sympathetic to his plight, threw a stick into the river where the ax head had fallen and the ax head floated to the surface so the man could retrieve it.
Why was the ax head so important? A couple things come to mind. 1) An iron ax head was probable very expensive and not easily replaced. My guess is that he was poor and could not afford to replace it. 2) The Law of Moses, the Torah, required him to replace what he lost so he would be in debt to the man of whom he borrowed the ax. Elijah understood how big this problem was and worked a miracle.
The law states that if you borrow something and it is lost or damaged you are to replace it. However, if the owner is present when it was lost or broken you have no obligation to replace the item. (Ex 22:14)
A moral to the story is to be careful what you borrow and take really good care of it. What do you think the moral of the story is?
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