The Importance of Servants

No man is an island, this we know and those who have known this would get to know it while in the world when they need something.

The book that I want to use to explain this is the second Kings chapter five. In the account of this book we shall see the roles played by different servants in the book, interestingly their names are not stated in the book except one of them, for I have excluded one (Gehazi) because he served as useless servant and would by his malfeasance incur curse on himself (2 Ki 5: 21-27).

Servants are people who works in another person’s house and cooks and cleans etc. for them. Or a person or thing that is controlled by something.

We shall see that this little maid, a captive of war from Israel, spoke to her mistress the word of salvation. And through her discussion with her mistress the message of deliverance got to Naaman and was healed.

“And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

“And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” (2 Ki 5:2-4)

Maybe when this servant was speaking to their mistress at home, the wife of Naaman, one of them heard what she was saying and went to the lord of the house who is Naaman their master to tell him what she or he has heard the Maid from Israel said.

Or it may be that after the maid has finished talking with her mistress, the mistress called one of them to go to her husband and brief him of what the little maid has just said.

“And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.” (2 Ki 5:4)

The person briefed eventually went in to Naaman to brief him of what was said and the probability of him regaining his health back if he can try that.

I said the second option is a possibility because we read in the account of Esther in her book that there are some stringent measures for women seeing their husbands those days, and I think such is practiced by some powerful people in the world, at least in the part to which this writer hails from such is still being practiced by them. Women and wives cannot just go in and see their husbands anyhow without being approved to enter.

“Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;

“All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.” (Est 4:10-11)

So, as Naaman was also a powerful man in the land, he was like a King in how he rules in his home, thus, this may be the reason for the wife calling one of the servants to tell him what she has been told by the little maid and that her husband should try and explore that option, that possibility for he may be delivered through that means.

By doing this, it shows that the wellness of the person is paramount in our lives but not the fame of being the person who delivered it as it is common today, because the people have been conscious of money, everyone wants cheap reputation which was not common those days.

He eventually became servant to two people, the King and the prophet.

(a) Servant to the Prophet: Naaman was a servant to the King of Syria, and the bible says through him the deliverance has been given to the people of Syrian by God.

This indubitably means, he is a veritable tool in the hand of God, he was special like Cyrus was in the hand of God and he was using him to save the people of Syria from their numerous enemies. This shows that, God has been overseeing the affairs of humanity, those who do not belong to Israel too, God has been there and has been raising people up there to serve his purpose as he wills.

“Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

“And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.” (2 Ki 5:1 & 6)

We shall see that the deliverances he got for the people of Syria was said to have the hands of God in it, he did not get those deliverances through the use of some gods, but through Yahweh himself, the Lord of Israel, little wonder he could overcome their armies because God was with him.

The Lord used in verse one of this book is in Hebrew written as “יהוה”, Romanized form is y^ehôvâh (pronounced as yeh-ho-vaw') which means self-Existent, eternal, Jehovah. It is Yahweh that the Israelites are calling unto that also gave the Syrians their numerous victories, we can thence see why he couldn’t be changed, perhaps they have tried other captains before Naaman and the warriors of Syria have been overtaken in battle, but when he assumed position of authority, leading the Syrian army, he always bring them victory because Yahweh gives him unflinching support for that.

By this again we know that God has the gentiles in his plan, therefore it is not surprising that Jesus comes to the world to die for the salvation of mankind.

(b) Servant of Prophet: after he was healed, in his speech of thanksgiving to the prophet he also called himself the servant of the prophet, which in other words mean he says he has accepted Yahweh into his life. He receives physical and spiritual healing and becomes integrated into the family of God by faith in the Lord of Israel who have been bringing him victory though without his full knowledge of him before the time he was healed.

“And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.” (2 Ki 5:15)

On this note shall we discover the truth that resides in the word of apostle Paul that those who were living in the time past, those whom we think were worshipping idols, some of them have their hearts in the lord of Israel and they would be saved at the resurrection day.

“(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

“Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)” (Rom 2:13-15)

The man within him renounced all forms of things that linked him to idols and embraced the Lord of Israel which is what the little maid desires that should happen to him.

In looking at the servants sent by Prophet Elisha, I shall not group them together because of the message sent and the events that surrounded their actions.

(a) First Servant: After Naaman got the message he went to the king his master to brief him of what he has heard and of the need for him to embark on a journey to the land of Israel, he has to take permission for the journey because he was also a man under authority.

After discussing with the king, the King gave him nod to go to the King of Israel by sending a covering letter that would back the trip up so that the king of Israel would not misconstrue the trip.

When they got to the King of Israel and delivered the message unto him, the king was disturbed of the news heard and was thinking it was a ploy devised by the Syrians to attack them, but unknown to him and his cabinet members that nothing of such was in the mind of the King and the Syrians.

While they were in this position, prophet Elisha heard of the position of the king and his cabinet members and sent one of his servants (sons of the prophets perhaps) to the King that he should direct the visitors to him.

“And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” (2 Ki 5:8)

- Intermediary Messengers: This probably may have transpired after the messenger delivered the message to the king of Israel.

The King and his cabinet members remembered their folly that they have completely forgotten prophet Elisha and after hearing the message sent perhaps sent the messenger back to the prophet or send another messenger that he should be expecting the team from Syria.

The messenger got to prophet Elisha and delivered the feedback from the King of Israel to him. While king of Israel contacted Naaman through his messengers that he and his team should follow the messengers to the person they have come to the nation of Israel for.

They followed the servant to Prophet Elisha and when they got to the prophet’s abode, another messenger perhaps goes unto the prophet to tell him that Naaman and his team are around.

Or it may be that the prophet sees that they have arrived and send messenger to Naaman. The messenger sent, may not be the one sent to the palace and he may be the one sent to the palace. I assume that he may not be the one sent to the king, thus, I called him the second servant of prophet Elisha.

(b) Second Servant: When the prophet discovers that Naaman and his team have arrived, he sent another servant to the warrior of what he needs to do to be healed.

“And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” (2 Ki 5:10)

(c) Gehazi, Third Servant: This third servant of prophet Elisha does not behave well, therefore, I have not included him among the important servants in this book. (2 Ki 5: 21-27)

The number of the retinue of servants that accompanied the captain to the land of Israel were not stated. But those people proved their worth because by their advice they were able to bring the head of their master down, they were able to make him reason well and have a rethought to his decision and thence become healed.

“And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

“Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” (2 Ki 5:13-14)

here that good servants will always bring good news to his master because he will be doing the will of his master always. That is why Jesus says he always makes the heart of God merry because he does his will always. We are God’s servants should always do the will of God to make his heart merry.