Lessons in God’s Sovereignty from a Little Girl

by Bruce Mills

I have been studying and teaching on the life of Elisha, the Old Testament prophet.  I have arrived at 2 Kings 5 which records the story of the healing of Naaman the leprous Aramean (Syrian) military commander.  As I began studying the story, I encountered one of the characters in the story who I have never heard anyone talk about to any significant degree, yet this person plays a significant role in the story. This person is found in 2 Kings 5:2 and it is the unnamed little Jewish slave girl who informs Naaman’s wife about Elisha being able to heal Naaman of his leprosy.  She had been taken captive during one of the many raids which the Arameans had carried out against Israel. She was selected to be the slave girl in waiting for Mrs. Naaman.

Now think about this. Here we have an incredible story of God’s sovereignty at work. This little girl had been forcibly taken away from her home and her parents and forced to work as a slave for the top military commander’s wife in a foreign land. Who knows—perhaps her parents were even killed by the Aramean raiders when they went pillaging through Israel and captured her! So she had, at a very young age, become a slave. The text doesn’t tell us how old she was when she was taken captive, but she was probably there for at least a year or two because she had apparently learned the Aramean language, as she was able to express to her captors the information about Elisha.

Here we have God’s sovereignty at work again in what seems to us to be a negative manner. After all, God could have protected this little girl from being captured and carried away from her parents and put into service as a slave in Naaman’s household. But He didn’t. He let her be captured and hauled away. He certainly doesn’t seem like a God of mercy and love when you look at it that way. But God doesn’t look at things like we do (cf. Isaiah 55:9). Her story is very similar to that of Joseph, whose brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, and years later when he has risen to be the prime minister of Egypt, he is reunited with his brothers and tells them, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Gen. 50:20).

So here is this little girl—young, far from home, enslaved to serve Naaman’s wife—and yet she maintains a positive attitude of humble submission to those over her. This is seen in her statement to Naaman’s wife regarding Naaman’s leprosy. She says, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3).

Now you might think, “Hmm, I’ve never heard of someone who had been captured and enslaved, speak with such thoughtful, kind terms about her captors. Instead of saying, “I wish my master would die of his disease. After all, he deserves to, since he snatched me away from my home and made me a slave. I wish God would help me escape and get back home to my family,” she says, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.”

This is clearly the work of God in her life. She had a positive attitude despite her circumstances. She cared for her master and had his best interest at heart. There is no hint of dissatisfaction or discontent with her situation in life. Even at her young age, there was a maturity beyond her years in terms of understanding that God had sovereignly placed her in her circumstances and had a purpose in doing so.

Now, someone might argue, “Well, perhaps her circumstances in Syria as Naaman’s slave were better than her family’s circumstances back in Israel. Maybe that’s why she didn’t complain.” I will admit that it is certainly possible that her circumstances as a slave may have been better than her life had been back in Israel, but it is also true that in general the circumstances of the average African slave here in America in the 1800s was better than the average African living in Nigeria at that time. Yet those slaves yearned and longed for freedom from their slavemasters. You see, when you take away a person’s freedom, it doesn’t matter how much better their circumstances may be. Apart from an understanding of God’s sovereign work in their lives, they will rebel against that slavery; if not outwardly, at least internally. Yet in this young girl’s words we see the desire of her heart that her master would be healed by God’s prophet Elisha back in Samaria. No complaining about her own situation; just concern for her master’s situation.

Iinterestingly, this story doesn’t have a Hollywood happy ending for this little girl. There is no reward of freedom for her after Naaman is healed. We would like for there to be a verse thrown in somewhere in the chapter which tells us that when Naaman got home, he set the little girl free and sent her home to live with her parents back in Israel. After all, she is the one who brought up the possibility of Elisha healing Naaman, but after verse 4, this little girl is never mentioned again in the story. She may have spent the rest of her life as a slave, working for Naaman’s wife.

What this teaches us is the need to be content in our circumstances, because they may never change. In fact, they may even get worse from a human perspective. But no matter what happens, we must rest in the truth of the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. Do you remember what Paul said in Phil. 4:11-12? He wrote: “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” The writer of Hebrews instructs us, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you’” (13:5).

Far too often we behave sinfully when the providence of God goes against our will and we find that God has placed us in situations which we hate and dislike. But God is trustworthy to stand with us in those difficult circumstances, no matter what they may be. He promises to never desert us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), so it doesn’t matter how bad our circumstances may be, He has promised to be with us every step of the way. Therefore, we can be content in that situation, knowing that God is in control and will not permit us to suffer more than we are able to endure.

In this case, God intended and sovereignly placed that little girl in Naaman’s household so that He could use her as the link in the chain that led to the healing of Naaman’s leprosy and the magnification of God’s glory as He is seen reaching out to the Gentiles and providing cleansing and salvation from the awful condition of sin. What tremendously important lessons about how to respond to the seemingly negative circumstances of our lives we can learn from this young unnamed slave girl.  The next time you begin to complain about your particular situation, remember that God has sovereignly placed you in that situation, and He has done so for His glory and your good.

A Lesson in True Integrity

by Bruce Mills

In the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance” released in 2000, Matt Damon plays Rannulph Junuh, a former golfing great. One of the final scenes of the movie demonstrates personal character and integrity in a way rarely seen in today’s secular films.

Junuh, who has been greatly impacted by his experiences in World War I, is living as an alcoholic bum until Bagger Vance becomes his caddy and helps him regain his golf swing as well as teaching him several important life lessons. Once Bagger sees that Junuh has learned those lessons, he disappears from the scene and a young boy named Hardy takes his place as Junuh’s caddy.

At the end of the movie, Junuh is playing in a two-day tournament against Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, two of the greatest golfers to ever pick up a club. On the final hole of the match, the three golfing rivals are all neck and neck. Junuh is preparing to chip onto the green when he reaches down to remove a twig from beside his ball. As he picks up the twig his ball moves slightly. The young caddy Hardy was the only one to witness the ball move.

Junuh reveals tremendous courage as he admits, “The ball moved.”

Hardy immediately begs him not to say anything, as he is sure it would mean defeat. Hardy tells him, “No one saw it move but me and you. I promise I will never tell. No one will ever know.”

Junuh displays even more resolve and courage as he instructs Hardy, “I’ll know and you will know.”

Naturally, the movie ends happier than we can always expect in real life, but the message is clear that our response should be the same regardless of the outcome. Many times in life—whether at work, school, home, or in the marketplaces of our society—we have opportunities to cut corners or get ahead because our actions go unnoticed, but to live a life of integrity requires faithfulness in the small things. If we don’t practice our integrity when alone, we will be less likely to do the right thing when someone else is watching.

Jesus said it best in Luke 16:10, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” What about in your workplace, classroom, or home? Have you had any balls move lately that you haven’t told anyone about? Do what is right even when no one else is doing it, and never do wrong, even when everyone else is doing it.

An Open Letter to Brian McLaren

Posted by Bruce Mills

This link is to a post of an open letter by Frank Turk over at Pyromaniacs to Brian McLaren, one of the founders and primary protagonists of the Emergent Church movement.  It is lengthy, but it hits the spot so perfectly, I just had to link to it for others to read.  Thanks, Frank, for calling things as they truly are.

http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2011/01/open-letter-to-brian-mclaren.html

A Man Named Elisha

by Bruce Mills

After almost three years, I finally finished teaching through the book of Romans in my adult Sunday School class.  It was a massive undertaking which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Before I jump into my next major undertaking (the Gospel of John), I am taking out a few weeks to study the life and ministry of Elisha, one of the Old Testament’s great prophets.  As I’ve been studying this week, I found that there is much about Elisha’s call to ministry that is important for all believers to understand. 

Elisha’s call to the prophetic ministry is found in 1 Kings 19:15-21.  The text reads as follows:

The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

Now notice that here, as always, God takes the initiative. Elisha was not seeking Him, but the Lord through Elijah sought out him. It wasn’t because Elisha was already prepared to be a prophet, but because God in His sovereignty chose him and called him. God would take care of the preparation after he called him. But once again, we see the doctrine of the sovereignty of God coming into play here. God is the one who selected Elisha and set him apart for ministry. And He continues to do the same thing today. He selects men and sets them apart to do his work.

In this passage, we see two misconceptions which overtake many people in ministry: (1) the feeling that they are the only person who is standing for the truth and (2) that they are indispensible. Elijah was no different. Earlier in this chapter, he had fled from Jezebel who was out to kill him, and he lays down under a juniper tree and pleads with God to take his life (19:4). But instead God provides an angel to cook him some food and Elijah goes on for 40 days on the strength that the food provided him. But when God questions him as to why he is hiding out in the mountains, Elijah says in verse 10, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” He had concluded that he was the only person who was still faithful to God. But God reveals Himself to Elijah in a gentle breeze and basically says, “Elijah, it’s time to get to work. You’re not the only one left—there are 7,000 people who haven’t bowed the knee to Baal. And another thing, Elijah, you’re not indispensible. In fact, I’m going to have you appoint your replacement.”  So many times men in ministry begin to listen to and believe all the accolades that come their way as they preach and teach. And when they see all the moral failures and false teachers that are assaulting the church around them, they begin to think that they are the only people who are standing for the truth.

Another problem many pastors experience is never planning for their replacement. By that, I don’t mean that they need to handpick their successor. But I do mean that they need to be discipling men and teaching men what to look for in a pastor, so that if they suddenly die or become gravely ill, there are other men who are able to step in and take over the teaching and leadership responsibilities. But many pastors believe they are indispensible and that the church simply can’t get along without them. Well, that may be true of their specific church, if they haven’t trained and developed other leaders who are capable of teaching the Word. But in terms of the church universal, Jesus said that such will never be the case. No one person is so crucial to God’s work that the church will collapse if they are not there. The church, the body of Christ, will continue and even the gates of hell cannot overwhelm it.

But this does raise the point that every local church ought to be developing leaders for the future. Men who meet the biblical qualifications for elder should be identified and then trained. Training does not have to include Bible college or seminary, although those are beneficial. But a man who has a heart and passion to learn and teach the Word should be taught and exposed to the ministry in such a way that he learns what is involved and what is expected of a pastor as a teacher and shepherd of the flock. He needs to be placed in a position of exposure to the ministry in which he spends time learning how to respond biblically to crisis situations so that the elders can observe whether his approach to problems is biblical or not.  He should be given teaching opportunities so the elders can listen and confirm whether or not he is sound in the faith and able to communicate truth clearly.  He should be required to write and defend his doctrinal position in every major area of theology. This process is so crucial because the protection of the flock is at stake. Pick a man who is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and the church can be divided and destroyed.

Well, that’s just a little bit of what I will be teaching this next Sunday on the calling of Elisha.  As I dig into the Old Testament narrative about him, I am amazed at how much our great God communicates to us through Elisha’s life.  I’m looking forward to what God has to teach me over the next several weeks.

Unworthy Slaves

by Bruce Mills

It’s been quite a while since I last posted anything, but I’ve been tied up with some other projects and the busy-ness of the Christmas season made it impossible to find the time to sit down and write something worth reading.  But I hope to get back into the swing of things and hopefully challenge your thinking about biblical and theological issues and how they impact our daily Christian walk.

It is the matter of our Christian walk that I want to write about today.  In my daily quiet time, I recently came across Luke 17:10 and it challenged my own thoughts about how I serve the Lord.  Jesus had just finished teaching His disciples about forgiveness, faith, and having a slave’s mentality, and He concludes the passage with these words: “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’ ”

As I thought about that verse, I was struck by how many times I have often found myself focusing on how busy I am for the Lord, and I start defining and evaluating my ministry, faithfulness, and even who I am by how much I am doing.  After all, it feels good to have my hard work recognized.  It’s nice to see my “to do” list getting shorter and shorter. I’ve even been known to think to myself, “Just look at how much I am doing for the Lord and the church.”

But this verse puts a new twist on my service for the Lord and others.  Do I consider that I am actually undeserving of any recognition and honor, even though I’m so busy and do so much at my church?  Do I see myself as an unworthy slave who is only doing what I ought to do for my Master, and not someone who deserves any special treatment?  Do I see my service and faithfulness to the Lord as my expected duty as His slave?

Truth is a hard pill to swallow and no one else can take it for us.  Be courageous, swallow hard, and let God’s Word begin to do its work on your heart disease called “self.”  See yourself as an undeserving, unworthy slave who is only doing what you ought to do for your Lord.  So chew on this verse and call on the Great Physician in the morning.

The Hole in Our Holiness

Posted by Bruce Mills

It’s been quite a while since I posted anything because I’ve been involved in another project which has been taking up all of my available free time.  However, I read this article after Phil Johnson over at Pyromaniacs tweeted about it.  It is well worth the time to read it.  Kevin DeYoung is a great young pastor who has authored several great books, including titles such as Why We’re Not Emergent, Just Do Something, and Why We Love the Church.  So rather than write an article of my own, here’s one for you to read that I wish I had written.

The Hole in Our Holiness