Stick

Literal uses of a stick of wood

For fuel

Amos 4:11 See also 1 Kings 17:8–12; Zechariah 3:1–2

“Some of you I overthrew as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

For beating

Isaiah 28:27 See also 1 Samuel 17:41–44

Surely caraway is not threshed with a sledge, and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin. But caraway is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.

To extend one's reach

Mark 15:33–36 parallel Matthew 27:45–49

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

Elisha and the axe-head that floats

See also 2 Kings 6:1–7

As an expression of contempt

Hosea 4:10–12 See also Ezekiel 21:8–12

They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned the LORD to give themselves to promiscuity, wine, and new wine, which take away understanding. My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.

Sticks used figuratively

Symbolic use

Ezekiel 37:15–28

Dry as a stick

Lamentations 4:8

But now their appearance is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.