What Can One Little Girl Do?
2 Kings 5:1-17
The Bible has stories about young, little heroes. There is David who took down the giant Goliath with a stone in a sling. Samuel who was called by God at a young age. Daniel and his three friends risking their lives in the Babylonian court to be faithful to God. Paul’s nephew who saved the apostle by exposing a plot against him. Jesus as a twelve-year-old prodigy asking and explaining the Law in the Temple. And then, we come to our text in 2 Kings 5:1-17 where a little slave girl helps save the life of her master, Naaman.
Mary Hallet reminds us that “one of the most amazing things about Bible stories is their sheer restraint. With one or two deft strokes of a pen scene is painted, a character is sketched, or an incident described…” What can we determine about the influence of one little girl?
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She Was Considered Insignificant
She was a slave and a child. Therefore, she was of little consequence in the household. The Hebrew term for “little” refers to that which is insignificant or worth less than other things in the same environment. So insignificant is she, her name is not given. However, she knows about the prophet Elisha. In the story she is serving Naaman’s wife having been captured during a Syrian raid into Israel.
The master of the house is quite significant. He is the commander-in-chief of a powerful army in Syria. When he speaks, others jump to attention and follow his commands. But he has the fatal disease called leprosy and finds himself taking advice from a young Jewish slave girl. The king thinks enough of Naaman to write a letter for him to the enemy, the King of Israel. Hopefully, the Jewish king will help Naaman find a cure.
Just because the world might view someone as insignificant, does not mean they cannot make a difference for God in this world.
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She Felt Compassion for Others
This Israelite maiden felt compassion for Naaman. She had a sense of pity which moved her to find a way to help. It is true she could have focused on the wrong done to her by this enemy who was a Gentile. The Syrians had likely torn her away from her family at a young age. Perhaps she knew he had killed or enslaved her family members. Her dreams of a normal life have vanished. However, she did not allow these circumstances to create a kind of resentment barring her from helping.
Perhaps she was moved by seeing the far worse condition of her master. The small patch of white scaly skin and white hair had spread from his head or beard. His fingers were falling off and part of his nose was gone. He had controlled his house and an army and now leprosy controlled his life. It had cost him everything. Soon it would cost him his life. His standing in society was now below the lowest little slave in his house.
All men need compassion for their hopeless sinful condition which can lead to eternal death unless a cure can be found. Like leprosy sin starts off small and finishes big. “Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death” (James 1:15). It also spreads, destroys and isolates. These too need to be told of a prophet of God who came out of Israel. He is more than a prophet, He is the Son of God, who has the ability to remove the guilt of sin (Acts 3:22-23; I Pet. 2:24).
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She Seized an Opportunity
This little girl saw an opportunity to help and seized the moment. Life had handed her a bag of lemons and she was determined to make lemonade. As an optimist, she saw hope and a positive outcome in the midst of calamity.
Today, we need to reach out to others in sin with optimistic hope by sharing the Good News One survey reported the top five reasons why people do not reach out to others as follows: “I don’t know enough”; “I’m not an evangelist”; “I don’t want to appear to be pushy”; “I don’t know any non-Christians”; or “My walk with God isn’t all it should be.”
In the New Testament the Apostle Andrew was ready to seize opportunities to bring people to Jesus. He brought his brother, Peter, to Jesus. He brought a little boy with a sack lunch of five loaves and two fish to Jesus and 5000 plus were fed. He even brought to Jesus Gentiles who were seeking an audience with the Son of God. Most people would not even see these opportunities.
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She Demonstrated Confidence in God’s Power
In verse three notice the astonishing example of her faith: “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” Whether she had met the prophet or seen him do miracles or just heard of him, we do not know. Her faith in God to perform miracles was based on her faith in the Creator. She would have learned of the ten plagues of Egypt, Moses parting the Red Sea, bringing forth water from a rock, etc. The Master would have been amazed at the great faith of this little girl.
Her faith is even more astounding when you consider her situation and the lack of encouragement from her parents and her people.
Most would have claimed her hope to be in the impossible. But God does not know the word “impossible” and neither do those who have faith in Him. “With God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).
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She Exhibited a Great Influence
This little Jewish slave managed to have a positive influence on many. She influenced Naaman’s wife to listen to her and bring her hope to Naaman. He in turn used this to influence the king of Syria to send him to the King of Israel. She was not one to hide her light under a bushel. She let it shine, shine, shine. Without her influence Naaman would not have been cured and would have died without ever experiencing the grace of God. He also went on to have faith and worshiped the one true God.
Young people do not need to diminish the impact of their influence on others. They are not just the church of tomorrow, but an example of a new generation of little shining lights today in a dark world.
Paul told Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12).
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She Brought Glory to God
The girl’s influence brought glory to God. The Hebrew word for “glory” in the Old Testament has the simple meaning of “heaviness” or “weight”. Thus, to indicate something of value or worth. We might say something is of “great weight” in importance or that it is “heavy.” Doza is the Greek word for “glory”. It means “an opinion.” Naaman changed his opinion about the weightiness of the God of Israel. When we bring glory to God, we are making God look good. The effect of her good deed was recognized by Jesus, “There were also many lepers in Israel in the prophet Elisha’s time, yet not one of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4: 27).
Without this little slave girl sharing the good news of salvation from leprosy, we would have never had the example of Naaman’s obedience that led to salvation. At first, he rejected Elisha’s directions to go dip seven times in the river Jordan. When he obeyed God’s Word and rose up out of the water of the Jordan the seventh time, only then did he find himself completely free of leprosy. We too can have the leprosy of sin washed away in water baptism (Acts 22:16). First, we need to hear the good news of the cure from someone. Perhaps, even a little servant girl.
– Daniel R. Vess