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lengthy discussion between Job and his three friends, finally spoke up, “I am young in years and you are old; therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think . . . But it is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding” (Job 32:6,8). This spirited young girl certainly had an understanding from the Almighty.Yet, unlike Elihu, she goes unnamed. Like the widows before her and the lad with the lunch that came much later, she made a huge ministerial impact and we don’t even know what to call her. Chances are you and I possess names that will not go down in history, yet we can share some food, build a room, and pass along life-saving information. Note carefully, however, that this life-saving information was met with a faulty interpretation. Two glaring errors emerge. First, whereas the girl told him to reach out to the prophet, the king of Aram contacted the king of Israel. “As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said,‘Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life?Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!’” (2 Kings 5:7).Talking about casting your pearls before swine! Adding insult to injury, the king thought the cure was for sale. “So Namaan left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing” (2 Kings 5:5). Soon after Pentecost and the establishment of the church in the New Testament, Peter and John came to Samaria, laying hands on the people and bestowing upon them the Holy Spirit.There they encountered Simon, a new believer and local magician, whom we mentioned briefly in chapter seven.When he saw what was happening, he offered to pay for the ability to do what they were doing.To which Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God” (Acts 8:20,21).

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