The Un-Named Maid Series

The Un-named Maid – 30th March 2008 am

2 Kings 5:1-3

The prophet Elijah is named 29 times in the New Testament while Elisha is named only once Luke 4:27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

Naaman was a Gentile and the commander of the army of an enemy nation., but with all his prestige, authority and wealth, he was a doomed man. Underneath his glorious uniform was the body of a leper, only the power of the God of Israel could heal him.

Ancient leprosy began as small, red spots on the skin. Later, the spots get bigger, and start to turn white, with sort of a shiny or scaly appearance. After a brief period of time the spots spread over the whole body and hair begins to fall out - first from the head, then from the eyebrows. As the leprosy worsens, finger nails and toenails become loose; they start to rot and eventually fall off. Then the joints of the fingers and the toes begin to rot and fall off one piece at a time. Gums begin to shrink and they can’t hold the teeth anymore, so each of them is lost. Leprosy keeps eating away at the leper’s face until literally the nose, the palate, and even the eyes rot - and the victim wastes away until death.

For the reasons mentioned above, leprosy is a type of sin. It starts off small and finishes big. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15).

Sin is deeper than the skin – Lev 13:3 And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and [when] the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight [be] deeper than the skin of his flesh, it [is] a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

It spreads – Lev 13:7 But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again:– Sin will always

It Defiles – Lev 13:45 And the leper in whom the plague [is], his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

It Isolates – Lev 13:46 All the days wherein the plague [shall be] in him he shall be defiled; he [is] unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp [shall] his habitation [be].

What would Namaan do? It appeared that all hope was lost. Not only was his career over but ultimately his life would be over. However, there is someone in this household who was willing to speak up, not only out of a love for her master, but out of a love for God.

I. She Had Concern For Naaman –

This young girl had been carried away captive. She was far from home. Away from her friends, her family and how does she react…. She could have said, “Good enough for him, he deserves leprosy….”

This young maid was a great example of how God can use His children even when they find themselves in a less than desirable circumstance. She could have been a very bitter captive, but instead she allowed the “Light of the Lord” to shine in the household of her captors.

She must have been raised in a home that taught her to believe in the Lord just as Daniel did while in captivity in Babylon. Notice what Clarke had to say about this little maid: “And see the benefits of a religious education! Had not this little maid been brought up in the knowledge of the true God, she had not been the instrument of so great a salvation.”

She didn’t hate this man who had captured her; she only saw his need - What a lesson for Christians

John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already for harvest.

Time is running out – the field are white for harvest – there are people dying and going to hell every second of every day. What are we doing? Are we like the maid – willing to speak up for the Lord? Willing to point people in His direction?

God doesn’t necessarily use the knowledgeable person, or the talented person, or even the pious person, but will always use the willing person. One survey reported the top five reasons why people do not reach out to others as follows:

A. "I don’t know enough."