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.”
Elisha's students have outgrown the house they share with him. So they ask to fetch timber from the Jordan and build somewhere larger. Commentators read their words in two ways: as a healthy sign of growth, or as restlessness with the place God gave them. The verse then turns on Elisha's one-word reply.
A crowded house as evidence of blessing
One reading takes the overcrowded house as a compliment to the teacher.
J T MawsonThese sons of the prophets were highly favoured men. They were the companions and disciples of Elisha. His words must have been good to listen to. No wonder they crowded to hear him until the place where they lived with him could not hold them, and they felt they needed more room. It was a healthy sign, and their desire for enlargement had the full approval of the prophet.
Or a restlessness with the place God gave
Others read the same request as a warning. What makes a place feel cramped depends on what brought you there.
Leslie M. GrantThe sons of the prophets tended to live on the reputation of their fathers. That was not personal faith. Elisha had drawn these young men, and they were living with him. But the time came when they felt too confined. If faith has not brought us into the place where we enjoy the Lord's presence, we too will begin to feel too confined. It is natural to want a larger place for ourselves than the one God has provided. Many today put their energy into building something that will satisfy them.
Notice the two halves of their sentence: they dwell with him, and it is too small for us. One writer presses that contrast.
A J PollockThey were dissatisfied with the room he could give them, and they thought they could do better for themselves… We may find that to dwell with the Lord is too strait for us. It is not too strait for the Spirit. There all is blessed width and true liberty. But it is narrow, even intolerable, for the flesh.
The one-word answer
Elisha does not argue or forbid. He lets them go, and one writer sees wisdom in that.
A J PollockThe prophet replied, "Go." He would not stand in their way. He was a wise old man. He saw that they must learn their own lessons, and not draw their strength from tradition or anything second-hand.
Why the Jordan
Even the errand for timber carries a lesson, because of the river they went to.
J T MawsonThese young men went to the Jordan for the material to build their larger home. There is no place like the Jordan for enlarging the soul, because the Jordan is a picture of death. Death is a great and effective teacher. It teaches us how great the fall of man is, for death is the measure of it. It also teaches us how great the love of God is, for He "shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Death shows us the way God has taken to recover His fallen creature for Himself. It is the way that brings him into larger blessing than was possible before he fell.
A great man in a small errand
The scene is a small one: logs, a building site, a house to make. That is what makes it striking after the accounts of kings and armies.
Hamilton SmithOnce again the story of Elisha passes from kings and great men to a simple home scene: the building of a place for the sons of the prophets to live… He is ready to meet the difficulties of kings and their armies. In due season he can also concern himself with felling a tree and building a house. With the greatest ease he can deal with a great man of the world. With the same ease he can fit himself to the simple affairs of the lowly sons of the prophets. In the greatness of his way he can stoop to small matters and walk with humble people.
Summary
- Crowded — the house was too small because the teaching was worth hearing. Growth fills a room, and the wish for more space had the teacher's full approval.
- Or cramped — the same feeling can mean something else. If faith did not bring you there, you will soon feel confined and start building something of your own. The young have energy, the old have experience, and we need both.
- Released — Elisha's answer is one word: "Go." He will not block them. Second-hand lessons give no strength, and each man must learn for himself.
- Jordan — they go for timber to the river that pictures death. No place enlarges the soul like it. Death measures how far man fell, and how far God's love reached to recover him.
- Stooping — the prophet who handled kings and armies can turn to felling a tree and building a house. He stoops to small matters and walks with humble people.