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Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. The itinerant prophet Elisha often traveled through the Jezreel Valley also called the Plain of Megiddo in the Northern Kingdom. A prominent childless woman from the village of Shunem noticed the that this oftentimes wonderer was a prophet of God, so her and her husband who were part of a small remnant who had not gone the way of Jeroboam decided to offer him hospitality whenever he passed through. They added an extra bedroom on the roof of their house which they equipped with a bed, a chair, a table, and an oil lamp. (The first Hebrew letters of each of these elements in the room spell the word: Mishkan which is the term used for the area where the Ark of the Covenant used to rest. This teaches us the very important principle that he who practices hospitably transforms his house into a Sanctuary for the Divine Presence to dwell in.) Our Master relates to this Shunamite woman when He said, The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward (Matthew10:41) . Against the woman’s protests, knowing how God rewards those who care for His saints without personal motives but just because they are God’s people, Elisha desired to reward the woman for her kindness. When Elisha’s servant pointed out to him that she was barren, the prophet proceeded to tell her that by next year, at the time of life (same Hebraic expression used by the angel who spoke to Abraham about Sarah in Genesis 18:10) she will embrace a son, a son which Elisha later raises form the dead. These carry an uncanny resemblance with those told in the Book of Genesis about Sarah after Abraham practiced hospitality to strangers (Genesis 18), but they also follow closely those that Elijah, Elisha’s master performed in that very same area. These local stories were still recounted in those towns of Israel when the Master arrived on the scene. They were still fresh and people encouraged each other with them as they waited for the final Messiah who would deliver them. They knew that He would do the same miracles and even more. What a surprised then it must have been for the people of Nain when this new prophet who was born not too far from them in Nazareth crashed one of their funeral procession and being moved with compassion brought a young man back to life (Luke 7:11-15). If you want Hashem’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven; if you desire to make a Sanctuary of your heart and of your house for the Presence of God to dwell in; if you want to see the life-giving blessings of the Almighty fill your life: practice hospitality, especially on the Sabbath!
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James 4:6
"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." At a time when Elishah was prophet in Israel Naaman, a proud general of the Assyrian Empire, was afflicted with leprosy. A young Israelite girl in the service of his wife told him about the prophet in Israel that could heal him. The Assyrians looked down at Israel and at what seemed to them their backward religion, so this must have been a hard saying for this proud general. If that was not enough, Naaman also had to ask permission from his enemy the King of Israel before approaching Elishah. But Naaman, desperately seeking healing decided to give it a try. He took with him monies and rewards and set himself to visit the prophet in Israel but to the general's great humiliation, Elisha did not even come and see him, but rather sent Gehazi his servant. Here is how the story goes, 'And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean." But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?"' Somehow it seems that Naaman's leprosy was related to his pride. What leprosy does to the flesh, pride certainly does to virtue. The story continues and says, 'So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came near and said to him, "My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean (2 Kings 5:10-14).' What a miracle! But the greatest miracle of all is that Naaman 'returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel (2 (Kings 5:15)." God always seems to get good mileage out of things, and these are just a few 'miles' He got associated with that event. God did heal the general of his sickness, He addressed the pride issue that created the disease, and he got the Naaman toi recognize the God of Israel. That my friend is complete healing! |
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