Servants So often we focus on the "famous" people of scripture. The celebrities of God's word. However, there is much to be gain from an occasional peek at the NOT-so-famous, at the nameless little-shots of the Word. Let's take a look at some servants of scripture. It's interesting that NO one ever wants to identify with servants. Anytime someone decides to violate God's word and enter the occult by trying to determine what their past lives were (denying what God's word says about reincarnation, of course), they almost always turn out to be a king, or prince or princess or something powerful and famous. NO ONE seems to ever have been a street cleaner or chamber maid or servant. I think that's because we don't want to identify too closely with one's lowly in power and position. However, God has no such problem. I want us to take a look at several examples of servants in scripture. For I believe that we are quite likely to find ourselves there, to learn about ourselves in those lives. It's not often that we get to be the powerful and famous ones in our own lives, so perhaps we should see how God's own quiet "extras" lived their lives, and find insight for ourselves there. The passages I hope we can examine for a few Sundays are Gen 24, II Kings 5:1-19; 6:8-23. Let's look at the 24th chapter of Genesis first. Most call this chapter something like "Acquiring a Wife for Isaac". But I want us to focus on the servant in this chapter. [HAVE THEM READ IT ALL!!] vs2-3: What kind of servant was he? What are the characteristics of this servant? The first one is that he was a trusted servant. Abraham was going to give him the duty of finding the woman who would be the mother of God's covenant promise! vs 4-10: What was the assignment given to this servant? Travel about 500 miles and LOOK for (NOT necessarily FIND) a wife for his master but ONLY from Abrahams God fearing family. Did the master make it easy for him? NO! He wasn't even allowed to take Isaac with him, so he had to get the women to take her husband sight unseen! Peace of cake, RIGHT!? Stop and consider the servants options! All he HAD to do was SAY he looked, but that she wouldn't return and he was off the hook. No one would ever know, they were all hundreds of mile away! OR, he could just take the dowry and run. After ALL, what a crummy unfair assignment his Boss gave him, ANYWAY! Isn't it easy to justify giving less than what we should to OUR Bosses? How tempting it is! vs 11-14: What does he do? Here we see the 2nd characteristic of this servant. HE PRAYS! And WHAT does he pray about? Is it "Oh GOD, make ME a success so I can complete my bosses crummy assignment"? NO! He prays FOR HIS BOSS! HIS concern with his assignment is that he be able to make his BOSS a success. He asks that God show his BOSS "kindness". This word in the hebrew is "hesed", better translated as "loyal love" or loyalty to the covenant". I think of it as "love that makes me want to be faithful and loyal". Do WE have such a burden of concern for OUR bosses? vs 15-25: And HOW does God respond to such a hearts attitude? God was answering that prayer before it was even finished! vs 26-27: How does the servant respond to God's answer? He thanks God! Here is the 3RD characteristic of the servant: he is THANKFUL. BUT WAIT! The servant doesn't even know if she'll agree yet! And yet the servant is thankful! He thanks God all along the way, he doesn't wait until he sees if he gets what he wants. He keeps short accounts! He's thankful as he goes, acknowledging God and His faithfulness at every step of the way. vs 28-32: Why Laban? In that culture, the woman's Brother was the one who gave the womqan in marriage, and therefore negotiated for the potential bride. v33: Here we see the 4TH characterisitic of this servant. See the servant's PERSONAL determination and committment to his assignment! He won't even EAT until he has conveyed his master's wishes. He was single-minded in his devotion to his Bosses need. [RELATE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AVERAGE INTERN WHO IS TRUSTWORTHY AND THE BRILLIANT BUT UNRELIABLE INTERN] Study after study in modern industry have shown how desperately a Boss yearns for an employee who he can just COUNT ON. Are WE such ones? Have we made our Bosses goals OUR goals? Our we committed to his purpose? The servant called it MY errand. v34: Here we see the 5TH characteristic: HUMILITY. The servant NEVER names himself in this entire story. He is always speaking about his master. Who is always on our lips? Is it "I I I" or do we have our Boss's interests at heart? Obviously this ALSO applies to the One Who is our Ultimate Master, the Lord. Do we have HIS name on our lips, constantly identifying ourselves with HIM? v35-48: See how reliable and trustworthy he is! He accurately and completely gives the account, neither adding nor subtracting, again giving glory to God and his master. v49-56: See his appeal on behalf of his master! "Show faithful loyal love to my master". He doesn't fool around! ALL he cares about is COMPLETING HIS MASTER'S MISSION! NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! v57-66: He wasn't done until he had made his report to his master. Having traveled 500 miles, he would not rest until he made sure his Boss was satisfied with the job. Let's look now at another example of Godly servants and what their actions caused. [READ II KINGS 5:1-19] Naaman Here, as in the other stories, it is too easy to concentrate on the "Leading Men" of this story, the characters who get Charlton Heston or Sean Connery to play them. I would like to view this story from the perspective of servants. Here is story of many different kinds of servants, of pagan servants and believing ones, of a man who seemed or acted like a servant who in fact wasn't one at all, and of a man who started out to command and became a servant instead. 5:1 Naaman! What a guy - although he probably would have taken exception to the statement that his "victories" were actually gifts from the Lord; after ALL the build up "...but he had leprosy"; obviously Aramians did NOT follow Mosaic law about isloation and quarantine; Here was a man who COMMANDED, his ONLY master was the King himself, and no one else. A man used to victory and control...but NOW? A slave indeed, a slave to a terrible disease, one that would not hear his orders, one that would not obey his commands, one that was slowly destroying him, one piece at a time, taking away from him the one thing he must have truely desired, the one thing he may have really believed in: his control over his own life. A disease was reducing this second most powerful man in his world into nothing. A disease that had NO cure EVER in the history of humanity: a living death sentence. BUT, was this the ONLY enslavement of Naaman? NO. Who was his god? [Hadad-Rimmon, a god of rain and thunder] Naaman worshipped a dead demonic god. His flesh may have been dying, but Naaman was ALREADY DEAD: SPIRITUALLY DEAD. For all his power, he was as enslaved as any man without God can be, regardless of his "position" in his world. Slavery is NOT about social position or rank, it's about WHO DO YOU SERVE? Make NO mistake, just like Naaman, YOU ARE GOING TO SERVE SOMEONE, THE ONLY REAL ISSUE IS WHO?? 5:2-3 In spite of this terrible fate, did he take it out on those around him? Apparantly NOT; he must have been a good man for a captive slave to desire HIS healing; What kind of servant was she? SHE WAS A CAPTIVE. Did she have any reason to be kind to or desire good for her enslavers? NO! BUT PERHAPS SHE was a truely GODLY servant who desired to honor God by and through her servanthood of excellence; She was a servant who trusted God, who believed in Him. She was a servant who was willing to tell about her God. She would know the story of Joseph, a captive, too. [ASK THEM IF THEY REMEMBER JOSEPH?] She didn't hedge her bets - it was NOT "IF you find him, he MIGHT be able to help you", or "MAYBE he, y'know, MIGHT COULD help you...", NO!! It was "IF You SEEK Him, He WILL HEAL You"; it was "WHEN You FIND Him, He CAN Heal You". NO room to manuver, NOT like other gods prophets who HAVE to sort of "hedge" abit - even today they DARE not committ thenselves OR their gods; We cannot make God do what WE want, BUT we CAN declare ABSOLUTE truth about Him! I can and do declare this: IF YOU SEEK HIM, HE WILL FIND YOU!! IF YOU ASK HIM, HE WILL ANSWER YOU!! It maybe "Yes", it maybe "No", BUT it's ALWAYS w/ "I will be w/ you, to comfort you"; No matter WHAT may happen to you in your life, NO MATTER how painful, how terrible, how dreadful it seems to you, HE CAN AND WILL REDEEM IT! Redeem means to exchange one thing for another - to make the BEST good out of it for us, for you!! Did she demand reward for her information? NO! Did she try to barter with her info? NO! [*note* ASK THEM: WHAT HAPPENED TO HER AFTER ALL THIS? Naaman NEVER released her for her kindness in leading him to his healing/cleansing!] WHO ultimately recieved the glory because of her? God. Do we ever learn her name? NO! Obviously they had never heard of Elisha or of his "power"; 5:4-6 Thats 750 POUNDS of silver and 150 POUNDS of gold, folks! The king highly prized Naaman and figured all that loot was a small price to pay indeed on such a wild gamble as this; note: No Hebrew lepers were EVER healed!! ALAS! What a bitter proof of their national lack of faith! THEY had the WORD of God as testimony! They had the PROPHET of God as LIVING testimony! AND YET THEY WERE BLIND TO WHO GOD IS! WE ARE NOT IMMUNE TO THIS BLINDNESS! Naaman must have figured he had nothing to lose - he was WRONG of course...there was his PRIDE still left to lose...AND his enslavement to a false god, too! 5:6 Maybe the King of Isreal was right in his suspicion that Aram King just saw another opportunity to pick a fight; on the slight hope that Naaman would be healed, he sent him; But then maybe figured "Oh well, it's pretty unlikely, but it can't hurt Naaman AND I'll at LEAST get a chance to go to war w/ Israel if all else fails..."; either way, the Aramian King wins! pretty crafty guy! 5:7 What utter blindness! sure the letter directs him to "do" the healing, but all the Godly people in this time always took the impossible problems to the Lord WHO ALWAYS ANSWERED! HOW TERRIBLE FOR A NATION WHEN SLAVES AND SERVANTS KNOW MORE OF GOD AND HIS POWER THAN THE KING! 5:8 How did Elisha always "hear" the latest news at Court?? Here we have another example of someone willing to be a servant of the Lord. Clearly God had placed a Godly unknown and unheralded person there to keep Elisha up-to-date; What a risk! God's SPY!? Are WE willing to take such a risk? A bit of a poke at the king - "well, send him here and at least HE'LL know there's a real prophet in Israel"; ie "since YOU clearly do NOT know this...!" 5:8 What a glorious sight Naaman and his military retinue must have made! The very model of a proud man who knows his own abilities, battle tested, unafraid even of this horrible wasting disease, ready to face off, AS AN EQUAL w/ this powerful prophet - He arrives in a manner as if to say I AM A SLAVE TO NO MAN, NOT EVEN THE ONE GUY WHO JUST MIGHT SAVE MY LIFE; [contrast him to the centurian who asked Jesus to heal his servant...] Picture the glittering scene of barbaric war-like splendor, the sun reflected of the polished armour like from many diamonds; need to realize that in those days stealth was NOT the preferred technology; the greater the leader, the brighter and more glorious his apparal - 1ST so his scattered armies could ALWAYS see him even at a distance and be able to rally to him; 2ND, so he could awe and humble his enemies (as if to say: Here I am, come and take your best shot!) Naaman was THE ultimate warrior of his nation; the prancing horses, the jangle and clinking of armour against armour, the smell of the leather and horses and sweat - the sounds and smells of men of war... 5:10-11 Imagine Naaman's indignation at his very...eh...unusual and er...irregular reception by God's man! God did NOT slam Naaman for his pride, BUT He DID require that he drop it in the river in order to recieve His gift for him; This was the FIRST step for Naaman's deliverence from much MORE than his leprosy; AND the result was even more impressive to a pagan like Naaman - w/o fanfare and by LONG-distance, Elisha brought healing of an incurable disease! 5:12 note, Naaman indignantly wants to know why HIS rivers wouldn't do (how often men ask this still!)...an analogy of the inadequancies of other men's religions, of the incompatability of other false religions w/ God's true worship! Naaman ALSO did not understand the God Who was going to heal him; He did not realize that MORE than his HEALTH was at stake here; It was his ETERNAL DESTINY hanging in the balance; The RIVER did not heal him, it was OBEDIENCE to God's commands; 5:13 Here again we see the nameless servants! How precious is a wise servant! How wise it is to heed their advice! Note: "My father..." perhaps a desire to express their true love for the man, in order to better persuade him to do this! only the humble can appreciate how little a thing pride is compared to what really matters; it took servants, men stripped of pride to see the value in giving up pride in order to gain something infinitly more valuable; perhaps this is one reason why Jesus Gospel is so more greatly recieved by the meek and lowly and humble than by the high and mighty...they are so much more experienced at recieving grace than in giving it; What an example to US as the servants or employees of other men (perhaps pagan men) how easy it would have been to have just sat back and let him do whatever he wanted, after all, it's not as if it were their/our problem - why run the risk of increasing his already fired up wrath? remember, this guy KILLS people for a living!! but as Godly servants, our calling is to always seek our bosses best good - to seek the success of those that God has placed in authority over us - remember Joseph?? well, these servants were faithful to their master and wisely encouraged him to do the right thing! 5:14 what an interesting man - near absolute ruler, certainly possesses a most complete and profound power over all he has, and yet, inspite of his rage, he is approachable AND he listens, even to the lowly that serve him; no wonder he seems to inspire such love and devotion from his own slaves; No evidence that this cleansing was gradual/progressive, Naaman was just as leprous as he went down for the 7th time as he was when he walked into the river, and yet, he understood obedience, he did it all w/o any further questions, and when he rose up the 7th and last time, he wasn't just healed, he was totally and utterly transformed and renewed! 5:15 WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO NAAMAN? [NOT just "healed", NOT just saved from a lingering death! NO! HE HAS BEEN SAVED ETERNALLY!] WHAT HAS HE BECOME? [A SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD!] He could have left right from the river to go home, after all, he HAD what he had ORIGINALLY come for; but he was able to see beyond the gift to the giver and because of the tremendous value of the gift, he realized it wasn't the prophet, it was the God of the prophet! that's what salvations is like: God ALWAYS gives us more than we could expect; He could have gone back to Elisha ALONE, but NOT our man Naaman! He always led his men; he had led them into battle and death w/o flinching or hesitation, and NOW he is determined to lead his mean into life and salvation - even unto declaring himself PUBLICALLY a believer in and a SERVANT of a foreign God! He made sure there was NO doubt in ANYONE'S mind, including the King's, as to WHO he would now worship, no matter the cost; Naaman was able to see how BIG God is - having been cleansed of much, he was able to see much - how BIG God is, a God over ALL the world! Even over his OWN former national gods; 5:16 HERE we see God's PROTOTYPE of a faithful servant. Elisha wants to insure that there is no confusion or question as to God's motivation, and as to the character of the servant of God which was a direct reflection ON God's character; perhaps, too, he wanted to impress upon Naaman that he could NEVER "payback" the debt he owed God for his cleansing/salvation; 5:17 OK, OK, so Naaman's a NEW servant of God, and new in his understanding of his new God and Lord. Pagans often believed that a god could only be worshipped on "his own" soil, so he wants somehow in his still new understanding of his new God, to do the right thing, his hearts 1st and immediate desire is to honor and please his saving God; what a servant! There is no hesitation in him, no half measures for him! No sharing his worship/commitment - it is ALL God and nothing left for his old gods - Oh that Israel could see that! OH, that WE would live our lives in such a way!! Servants of such committment! 5:18 Poor Naaman, he is a servant of deep and intense loyalty; although he will always honor God, he does not wish to dishonor his king; to have him arm-in-arm can be the kings way of constantly re-affirming to his people his absolute confidence and reliance upon his #1 man: Naaman! It was a political statement and it was meant to honor Naaman and he KNEW that; Sure, there are a dozen other better alternatives to Naaman's request - see Daniel's method; and yet remember, Naaman has only been a believer for a few hours and he has NEVER had teaching concerning his new God; all he knows is that he doesn't want to be/act disloyal to his king and yet wants to publically proclaim before his own men that no matter what they may see, he is SOLD OUT to God, his heart is totally given over to Him; he wants to insure they know his heart; see this! he already knows his new God of salvation is a forgiving God! an understanding God! 5:19 How does Elisha react? w/ accusations and tirades about mixing pagan worship w/ true? NO, he saves that for men who should (AND DO) KNOW better; for innocent still naive Naaman, he doesn't tell him "oh, that's OK, go ahead" but he does tell him he can go in peace, secure in the knowledge that God will continue to grow and mature Naaman's understanding and faith, but that for NOW what Naaman is trying to do in his imperfect knowledge is enough; how strange to see the Bible scholars squirm uncomfortably w/ this one - so many w/ "prophets", so few w/ "mercy" that they are unable to see that a child can only shoulder so much burden and no more, that God is patient w/ those who do truely want to honor Him even if imperfectly at 1st; that He can "let" someone go in peace until they grow into a more complete understanding; His prophet's curses are reserved for that tragic generation that should have known better but then refused to do right; 5:20 Oh Gehazi! what a perfect contrast between the one who HAD all the advantages and training and did know better and the new convert, eager for any chance to obey; What a tragic contrast between the PSEUDO-servant and the TRUE servant! Naaman who, though lost, was good on the inside but corrupted by disease on the outside VS Gehazi who, though supposedly saved, was corrupted on the inside and only superficially "good" on the outside; WHO WAS THE TRUE SERVANT? 5:21 leave it to the military man to want to know that everything was "alright". Please understand what Naaman must have considered: An already UNpopular Prophet has JUST HEALED the greatest general the King of Israel has ever had 5:22 the 1ST lie - to Naaman 5:23-24 the "getaway" 5:25 the 2ND lie - to Elisha; what a sad and bitter truth! Naaman's pagan servants were better and more true to their master than this supposedly "saved" servant was to God's own prophet! a warning to us ALL who would be servants! 5:26 the truth! you can't hide sin from the Lord, alas, He see's us all! the issue was NOT the $'s, but rather the possible compromise of God's character, the 2andary confusion created for others about WHO God is and what kind of God He is; I so OFTEN see myself doing this at times, creating confusion because of my failed and flawed servantship; 5:27 and NOW, the corruption that before was hidden, now is revealed; what was inside is now also outside; Gehazi NEVER repents of his actions, he NEVER seeks forgiveness from a forgiving God; He TAKES THE MONEY AND GOES! How SAD! He'd apparantly rather be a rich leper than a Godly servant. we never hear from Naaman again... [READ GEN 39, 40] Joseph as a servant Luke 7:36 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him. And He entered the Pharisee's house, and reclined at the table. Luke 7:37 And behold, there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, Luke 7:38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet, and anointing them with the perfume. Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner." Luke 7:40 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher." Luke 7:41 "A certain moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Luke 7:42 "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him more?" Luke 7:43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him," You have judged correctly." Luke 7:44 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. Luke 7:45 "You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. Luke 7:46 "You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. Luke 7:47 "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." Luke 7:48 And He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven." Luke 7:49 And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?" Luke 7:50 And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Consider the scene - those reclined eating at the table, those standing around, looking in the windows, all waiting to see what would happen, the woman weeping, weeping, weeping...a deep wrenching steady rain of tears, enough to wet a man's feet, enought to wash a womans soul dark w/ sin, long term sin upon sin, ground in sin, as it were... The pharisee, haughty, distant, formal, rude, probably Sr. religious big-shot in the town of Nain, curious about this man who they say raised the dead son of a woman he knew in town. he watchs the scene w/ open contempt and undisguised disgust. REMEMBER, ritual cleansing demands he not even TOUCH an article of clothing of the unclean, otherwise HE is made "unclean" and is forbidden from temple worship until the Mosaic rituals of cleansing are done, often taking several days. Thus it is for men who have no righteouness apart from their own efforts...BUT JESUS, He was and IS righteousness INCARNATE, He could NOT be made unclean because by it's very contact with Him, HE doesn't become unclean, but rather what was unclean is MADE clean; Even when He took upon our sins and became sin for us all, it resulted in righteousness for us ALL! He took it and WASHED it away once for ALL...a Divine Midas touch of righteousness! THIS is why HE never recoiled from sin and death, THEY recoiled from HIM! (remember the man possessed with many demons? they howled and writhed in anguish and terror at his very presence...begging to be released from His closeness) The woman KNEW this as well! What could she have hoped for from Jesus BUT THE VERY SAME REACTION? NO! She KNEW that He was NOT like this Pharisee, she dared hope that she would not be recoiled from but somehow MET and healed. Had she seen Jesus meet the funeral procession of the Widow? She may have seen Jesus reach out to that Unclean funeral casket, which to touch was to become ritually unclean, and instead of recoiling from the death in it, HE gave it LIFE instead! Knowing this, did she perhaps dare to hope He would not recoil from HER dead and blasted soul, BUT RATHER, PERHAPS HE COULD "GIVE" HER LIFE INSTEAD??? So it would seem... (Lev 21:1-4, 11 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, (2) except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother, (3) also for his virgin sister, who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may defile himself. (4) 'He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself...(11) nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; See now Jesus, not even paying attention to the waves of disapproval pouring off the Pharisee, the uncomfortable murmurings of the crowd, but rather gently tenderly considering the broken woman at his feet. How did she GET there? How could she have gotten through the crowd gathered at every opening to this man's house? THEY ALL recoiled from her. NO ONE there, once they saw who it was would want to touch her to prevent her moving right to the front...HER VERY SIN OPENED HER A WAY TO THE VERY PRESENCE OF JESUS, instead of it impedeing her, it blew open a path wide enough to drive a truck through, and thus it STILL is today! Our sin does NOT block our access to Jesus and His forgiveness, IT CLEARS THE WAY to Him. Do you think your sin is so terrible that it keeps you from entering into His presence? NO! It is your ticket to the very FRONT of the line! The greater the burden you feel, the more EAGER He is to see you, to greet you, to embrace you and hold you while you hurt out you pain and grief and fears and sin; and then He'll take it and wash you clean, forgiven by the ONLY One who CAN forgive now and forever. NOTE THIS: He did NOT stop her until she was done. He could have interrupted her and quickly dispensed her forgiveness like a hurried pharmasist shoving bottle after bottle of pills to a long impatient line of antsy customers. BUT NO, Jesus LET her FINISH, NOT for His sake, but for HERS. It had NOTHING to do with His willingness to forgive her, either. She did not HAVE to do this to extract forgiveness from Him. This was NOT payment for Him to be willing, even yearning to give her His forgiveness. But rather, He knew SHE NEEDED to do this, SHE needed to be able to pour out her heart, to grieve before her master and Lord, to vent her full measure of heart ache to Him and HAVE HIM ACCEPT IT. Oh how PRECIOUS are the tears of a penitent soul at the Throne of His Grace. He VALUED those tears, she who knew no worth could now SEE how greatly valued she was, AS IS, to the Son of God. He is NEVER in a hurry when we come before Him, weary and sin sick; He is NEVER too busy to let us cry out ALL our grief and heart ache and tears; He is ABLE to receive our FULLEST measure of hurt and fear and all that burdens us so terribly. The woman was not forgiven because of her love, but rather she loved Him because she was forgiven. The woman learned that that day, but, alas, the Pharisee may not have. We never learn what the Pharisee had to say to Jesus' gentle rebuke of his ungracious manner, of his own desperate but unseen need for forgiveness. But CLEARLY this story shows us the contrast between TWO servants of the Lord.