Many people consider Charles Spurgeon to be one of the greatest preachers of all time. I am sure he was a great speaker, and there are literally millions of copies of his sermons available. He was obviously much more successful as an orator than I will ever be. So what I’m about to say may sound like sour grapes.

In at least some cases, I’m not so sure his sermons were as great as they’re made out to be. From my understanding, his goal was to preach the cross of Christ, regardless of the context of the passage about which he was preaching. Even if the passage did not talk about Christ and His cross, Spurgeon would find it there by using allegory. I suppose that one reason he was considered such a great preacher by so many is that he “magnified the cross of Christ.” Obviously, we should exalt Christ and what He did, but if we do not teach what a passage is actually teaching, how can we call it a good sermon?

I was thinking about that recently while studying a strange passage in 2 Kgs 6:1-7. Elisha the prophet tells a school of prophets to cut down some trees to build a house. One of the prophets had borrowed an ax, which was an expensive tool in those days. While the prophet was cutting down a tree, the ax head flew off and sank in the Jordan River. Elisha threw a stick in the water, the ax head floated to the top, and the man who borrowed the ax retrieved it from the water.

While this is a strange story, we can make a very educated guess as to the point of this passage. These prophets were faithful to the Lord. The nation was in rebellion. God was showing that He could provide for those who obey Him. He would bless them. He could even take care of mundane things, like our finances. Earlier, Elisha had thrown some salt into some poisonous water to purify it and some flour into a poisonous stew to make it edible for the faithful (2:21; 4:41). Here, he throws a stick into water to miraculously meet the needs of God’s people. In each case, the representative of God does an action simply to show that God can do all that needs to be done to meet whatever need.

Some will quibble over that interpretation, but it at least looks at the context of both the book, and this specific section, of 2 Kings. But other interpretations of these verses are incredible. I’ll tell you two that I’ve heard.

The ax is Israel. Like the ax, Israel belonged to another, namely Egypt. Then God borrowed her to use as a tool to proclaim His name. But Israel had sunk into the water of the nations through her idolatry.

Is that allegorical enough for you? When people try to make this about Christ, it gets even worse. Each prophet cut down a tree and carried it away to build a house. The trees represent the cross/tree that Christ hung on, and each believer is called to carry his own cross. The ax is made of wood and iron, just as wood and iron were present at the Crucifixion in the form of the cross itself and the nails. The stick that Elisha threw into the water represents the spear thrust into the side of the Lord, who is the water of life. The prophet who borrowed the ax head owed a debt he could not pay. Only God could pay that debt. Jesus paid our debt on the cross.

I don’t know if someone like Spurgeon would approve of such statements. I’m sure that an unbeliever would say such things are crazy. I suppose some Christians would say that such statements magnify Christ. They would say this interpretation manifests a deeper understanding of the Scriptures, and that they never would have seen such spiritual truths on their own.

The reason they never saw such things is that they’re not in the text. This is one of those times when the unbeliever is wiser than some Christians. All these statements about Egypt, the spear, the cross, our debt, etc., are nuts. I am sure they can be woven into an emotional message, but that message would rip the passage, kicking and screaming, out of context.

My guess is that everyone who has taught the Bible for any length of time has engaged in some allegory. At times, it might serve as an illustration of certain truths. It is clear to me, however, that things can get out of hand. As much as we might be thrilled at lifting up our Savior, we must ask ourselves if that’s what we’re really doing if we fail to teach His Word accurately.