To the Jordan in Search of Beams

To the Jordan in Search of Beams

“And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘See now, the place where we sit with you is too small for us. Please let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we can sit together.’ So he answered, ‘Go.’” 2 Kings 6:1-2 (Norw.).

Here in Horten, where we “sit together” has become too small for us. God has blessed the work and added to the church so that in our hall where we “sit together,” we hardly have room to breathe. So now we have bought some property, and we are all on our way to the Jordan in search of beams.

May God give grace and success. He has richly blessed us with spiritual goods, so is it such a great thing for us to give of our temporal goods? You won’t find a miserly person by the Jordan (death). The trees there are just perfect for use in the temple. One of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please consent to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.” They felt safe because Elisha himself was going with them. This was their guarantee that God was with them and would bless the work.

When the Ark of the Covenant was to be built, the Lord spoke to Moses and said, “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze . . . .” But the gifts were to come only from those whose hearts compelled them to give.

In Horten, it seems that everyone, men and women, want to give with all their hearts. They certainly have not been pressured. We don’t support that kind of approach. If anyone’s heart moves him to join us in building the hall, we certainly will not hinder him. The homes where we have had meetings for more than 20 years have become too small, and the use of a hall is an absolute necessity for conferences. Renting a suitable hall is difficult.

Building regulations require us to build with bricks here, so we don’t need as many beams for our building as bricks. But at the Jordan, you can find just about anything.