Denver Seminary

Most biblical characters who have impacted lives and done great things for God are left unnamed.  Yes, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Deborah, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, Nehemiah, Peter, Paul, Timothy, Priscilla, Phoebe, and many more accomplished great things for God, but what about those who are entitled ‘the messenger’, ‘the young man’, ‘the maidservant’, ‘the official’, ‘the commander of the army’, etc.?  Where they not important also?

In 2 Kings 5, we are told of a young Israelite captive girl who revealed to Naaman’s wife that her husband could be healed of his ‘skin condition’ through the prophet in Samaria.  Intrigued by this prospect of a cure for his leprosy, Naaman visited the prophet, (reluctantly) obeyed his instructions, received healing and ultimately declared, “I know there is no God in the whole world except in Israel” (2 Kgs 5:15).  Who was this ‘young Israelite captive girl’ whose simple message resulted in the conversion of a Syrian Gentile?

In Esther 6, we are informed that king Ahasuerus suffered from insomnia and ordered that the book of the chronicles of the day be read to him.  In the chronicles, they found and read the record of Mordecai’s disclosure of the plot to assassinate the king.  The king asked his personal attendant if Mordecai had been honored for this act of bravery.  The attendant’s answer, “Nothing has been done for him” (Est 6:3) changed the course of events and resulted in the hanging of Haman, the promotion of Mordecai and the glorious victory for the Jewish community in Persia that was doomed to annihilation by the evil decree of Haman.  Who were these men who found and read the chronicles, and who was this personal attendant whose simple answer changed the course of Jewish history?

We could add to this list the ‘officials of Moses, able, God-fearing, trustworthy and bribe-hating men’ who provided counsel for the Israelites in the wilderness (Ex 18:17-26), Isaiah’s wife who served as ‘a prophetess’ for Yahweh (Is 8:3), ‘the priests’ who could not continue to minister in Solomon’s Temple because the glory of the Lord had filled the Temple (1 Kgs 8:10-11), the ‘choir members’ who sang glorious praises to God when the ark of the covenant was brought from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David (1 Chron 15:22-28), etc. 

Are you an unnamed hero?