THE SECRET SERVICE
Greetings Church family
Most of God’s greatest acts are done in hidden places by unknown saints in complete anonymity.
Chad Bird, pastor, professor, and author.
Today I’d like to share with you a few stories from some lesser known characters in Scripture.
2 Samuel 17:27-29 says this: When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim brought beds, basins, and pottery items. They also brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, sheep, goats, and cheese[q] from the herd for David and the people with him to eat. They had reasoned, “The people must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
During one of David’s darkest seasons—on the run from his own son Absalom—Shobi, Machir and Barzillai stepped forward with generosity and courage. They provided food, bedding, and supplies for David and his weary followers.. They didn’t have to. Yet, they chose to use what they had to bless God’s anointed king, without spotlight or credit.
How about someone Paul writes about in 2 Timothy 1:16-18? It says: May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me. May the Lord grant that he obtain mercy from him on that day. You know very well how much he ministered at Ephesus.
We don’t know much else about Onesiphorous. He wasn’t a preacher, a miracle worker, or a leader of revival. He was simply a faithful friend, willing to travel long distances to find Paul in prison and serve him when others had turned away. Just like the three aforementioned men, he did so without fanfare.
Finally, consider Ebed-Melech. Jeremiah 38:7-13 says: But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-melech went from the king’s palace and spoke to the king: “My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.” So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here thirty men under your authority and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.” So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went to the king’s palace to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed-melech the Cushite called down to Jeremiah, “Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did this. They pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he remained in the guard’s courtyard.
During the prophet Jeremiah’s ministry, Judah was in rebellion, and Jeremiah was often hated for his message. At one point, the officials threw him into a muddy cistern to die. Enter Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian eunuch and royal servant—hardly a man of power or influence. But what he lacked in position, he made up for in compassion and courage. When he heard of Jeremiah’s plight, he respectfully approached the king and requested permission to rescue him. Then, without spectacle, he lifted Jeremiah out of the pit.
Jesus stresses the importance and the impact of serving others in secret. In fact, he puts it this way in Matthew 6:1-4: Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Church family, I want to thank each and every one of you for being the Shobis, the Machirs, the Barzillais, the Onesiphorouses, and the Ebed-Melechs for God’s kingdom. My guess is, you don’t always receive recognition for the numerous times and ways you show mercy, generosity, and love to the people in your life. The bright side of that possibility is that your secret service, though not seen by many on earth, is definitely seen by the Father in heaven. And no recognition on earth can match the reward He is preparing for you.
Remember, God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!
Pastor Chris
