In the days prior to October 7, I had discussions with my mom about a certain story in Scripture. We someohow foucsed on one of the Bible characters who is usually overlooked, a person who today I would say is “hidden in plain sight”. After October 7, the story of this individual took on new meaning and  jumped into the pages of the 21st century. Her story is told in 2 Kings chapter 5, verses 1-6. This chapter  describes the healing of Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army. But, the character to which I’m referring is not Naaman, but rather a little Jewish maid, his wife’s servant.

In Luke 4:27, we read of the Lord Yeshua speaking in a synagogue and saying how of all the lepers in Israel, only one was healed, Naaman the Syrian. Of all people who need healing from Israel, this enemy of Israel, a man who kidnapped a little Jewish girl, was healed. The men at the synagogue were outraged, they didn’t understand the grace of God. Neither did Naaman at first, which led to him being angry as well, when he first heard the instructions from Elisha. Yet, unlike the men in the synagogue, Naaman humbled himself and eventually placed his trust in God.

 As the head of the Syrian army, Naaman was number two in status in his country after the king. Yet with all his prestige, honor and power, he suffered from one major problem: He was a leper. He had no hope. This illness is one only God could heal. God began to work in Naaman’s life when He gave through him, victory for the Syrian army. Through this story, we see once again, how God can use any person to fulfill His will.

It is difficult to think of that situation as grace, but God did in fact show grace to Naaman when He allowed a young girl from Israel to be taken captive and brought to the house of Naaman to be a servant to his wife. We don’t know much about this girl. In fact, we don’t know anything about her.

In Israel’s present war in the Gaza Strip, in an unfathomable reality where so many children, boys and girls, teenagers, were kidnapped by the enemies of Israel, this story is all too real and familiar. As details are shared more and more of what these children went through, our hearts ache for them. They were torn from their homes and families and saw things unimaginable for the human soul to comprehend. The medical teams treating those who escaped from capture and those who were hostages and were released, report of children who physically seem fine, but their eyes are full of sadness, their minds are distracted. One can only imagine what this young girl, from the story in 2 Kings, went through, what she felt when she realized she would never see her family again.

Yet, despite this girl being taken into captivity, she continued to trust the God of Israel, and by doing so, she remained spirituality free. Moreover, she was a witness and a testimony of God’s lovingkindness to her mistress, Naaman’s wife, as she said: “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.”

The words of this servant child were so convincing that they were passed on to the king of Syria. We should never underestimate the power of a simple testimony, or the influence that a child can exert.

After Naaman hears the suggestion of this servant girl to go to Elisha, he tells the king about it and receives permission to embark on a journey that he hopes will bring about his healing from leprosy. In accordance with his understanding of how this would take place, he takes with him loads of silver and gold on the assumption that he would need to present gifts to the one who heals him. But gifts were not part of the servant girl’s suggestion. She simply pointed to Elisha and who he was representing. What a genuine, child-like faith she had.

Many of us know the rest of the story. Naaman arrives, gets upset when Elisha doesn’t even meet him in person and sends him instructions through his servant. Naaman thought there were better rivers than the Jordan in Syria and that this journey was a waste of time. Naaman’s servants pursuade him to do what Elisha instructed and so, he obliges, goes into the Jordan river and is healed. Even his servants were obedient to the suggestion of the servant girl, as they, too, sought his healing. Naaman’s life is transformed from that point on, as he acknowledges the God of Israel and chooses to obey Him.

But, let’s go back to the story of this young servant girl. There are several points of differences between her and Naaman. She was a Jewish girl from Israel – he, a Syrian. She a young girl, he – a great man. She remains nameless- he is known by his name. She was a girl taken captive to enemy territory – he, the head of the Syrian army. He was a leper, she – a vessel for his healing. Nothing here is left to chance. God directed this girl’s path to the house of Naaman. She was a connecting link in the chain leading to his healing, not only physically, but spiritually, as well. As difficult as it may sometimes appear to be, God has a reason for every trial and crisis, even if we don’t see it at that moment. This girl’s family, if alive when she was taken, would have endured severe anguish and emotional distress as she was taken captive.

Yet, if there is one thing we can learn at this point from the story, it is that through those hardships, the grace of God is often revealed.

It would have been very natural and expected that this young girl would resent her captor, to hate Naaman and rejoice in his illness. After all, he was the man responsible for her kidnapping. Yet, instead of harboring hate towards him, she was concerned for him. From the few details we read in this chapter, we can deduce that this girl grew up in a God-fearing home and that she exhibited the fruit of the seeds sown by her parents. It is easy to look at this girl and think she was naive, that she was young and didn’t understand much of what was going on or the situation that she was in, thus explaining why she would offer advice to help Naaman. I think that children who recently returned from captivity understand and know more than children should know and experience.

I don’t think this girl was naive or so young that she didn’t understand. She knew enough about Elisha and that he was representing God and that by turning to him with faith, even leprosy could be healed. All this, without a man in Israel ever being healed by leprosy. Her faith would put many of us to shame. She was placed in an impossible situation, but we don’t see her expressing complaints or hatred toward God. Instead, she was full of compassion toward her captor. How easy it is for us to focus on our hardships and be a stumbling block to others, instead of a blessing. This girl rememberd God in her captivity. She could have been silent, not seeing a point in offering her help, but she decided to speak and was decisive and convincing in her words. Her faith resulted in a hardened soldier eventually coming to faith in the God of Israel.

God uses even the smallest, seemingly unimportant things, in this world. May we be faithful wherever we are, in whatever circumstance we are in, to bear fruit and be a blessing to others.

Scipture doesn’t tell us when this girl was kidnapped or what happened to her after this story. But the things she was taught and learned from her home, she accepted and internalized. It is similar to Daniel and his friends, whose hearts were rooted in faith and in the the truth of God’s Word, which allow them to bear witness to others of how great and powerful God is.

When thinking of the children and adults who were held hostage by Hamas and who have been released from captivity, one can only imagine how they are now coping. News channels keep saying how their souls are hurt and need healing. A lesson from this girl’s life shows how only with God, even a captive’s soul can become truly free.

Although there are similarities between the story in 2 Kings 5 and the present hostage situation, it should be understood that the two situations are vastly different from one another. In the story of the young, servant girl, she had no expectations that anyone would come to rescue her, or that she would be freed and certainly did not expect to be part of a prisoner exchange. The uniqueness of her story, her total removal and isolation from family and friends, her “adjusting” to her life as a captive with no demonstrations taking place back in israel demanding her release at any price is what distinguishes her story from the present situation. Her story is not intended to indicate that she should forgive the invasion into the land of promise and her being taken captive by a marauding army. Rather, it is to show that this young girl demonstrated faith in God in the midst of what appears to be a hopeless situation. We never know what one person’s faith is able to accomplish. God sees the end result. We only know part of the story and don’t know how it will end until it actually does end. Nor do we know how many soldiers Naaman was able to lead to faith in the God of Israel, as a result of his own miraculous healing.

Please pray for those who were physically released from captivity, that they would also be freed spiritually, that God would reach them and heal even in the darkest places that need His tender, loving touch of grace. Pray for those still in captivity, that God would reveal Himself to them wherever they are, above ground or underneath it, as no place is beyond His reach.