Naaman

                                                                                                                             

Aloha Dearest Family.

Today we will look at the record of a man from Syria named Naaman. (To read this record for yourself go to II Kings 5). To find out who this man was we will start in verse 1,

"Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour..." 

Here we learn a little bit about Naaman. He was the Captain of the great Syrian army. He was very important and respected. A great man in Syria with much authority. But the next words in the verse tells us a bit more about him, "...but he was a leper." Now if you don't know about leprosy, this was horrible disease. This, in the ancient East, was a death sentence. It was a very contagious, incurable disease and people who had leprosy were forced to live way outside of the city limits in leper colonies. You were forever shunned from society, friends and family. Naaman must have thought that his life was suddenly ripped out from under him and all that he had worked for would come to nothing. And what would become of his family? He was truly in a desperate situation.

"And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord (Naaman) were with the prophet that is in Samaria (the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) for he would recover him of his leprosy." 

This little statement was a sign of hope for Naaman and his family. He would do just about anything to be cured of this horrible, horrible disease. Well, Naaman told the king of Syria about what the little maid had said and he decided to send Naaman to Israel to be healed, for the king wanted him healed as well. So the Syrian King sent Naaman with a letter to the king of Israel with a request for Naaman to be healed. But Naaman did not go empty handed, 

"And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment." 

I guess he thought the King of Israel could just command the prophet to do this. (It just so happens that the king of Israel was not on very good terms with the prophet, Elisha). After reading the letter from the king of Syria, the king of Israel became very upset and torn his clothes. Tearing of the kings clothes was, in eastern culture, a sign of great distress. Elisha, the prophet of God, had heard that the king had torn his clothes and he sent word that the king was to send Naaman to him to be healed. In so doing, Elisha would show the king that there was still a prophet in Israel.

"So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha." 

Here was this great company of soldiers, horses and chariots (along with the gifts Naaman had brought) arriving right outside of Elisha's house. You would think that Elisha would have been impressed. You think he would go out to him, bow before him and do for him whatsoever Naaman wanted. 

"And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." 

Well, this did not sit well with Naaman. He was used to being reverenced and respected. This is not at all what he was expecting, and he said as much. 

"But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage." 

He felt that surely the prophet himself should have at least come out to see him instead of sending his servant out. And he surely did not wish to wash in the dirty Jordon river. This would not do at all! Didn't this prophet know that he was the great Naaman, captain of the host of all Syria. But Elisha knew that the one that he worked for, God Almighty, was much greater than any man. He was not impressed with Naaman or his greatness.

I guess the servants of Naaman had a little more sense than Naaman did, 

"And his servants came near, and spoke unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, would thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he said to thee, Wash, and be clean?" 

This made sense to Naaman and he finally agreed to do as Elisha had commanded. Naaman swallowed his own pride and humbled himself to do as God had commanded and went down and washed in the Jordon river seven times, 

"Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." 

Healing can be just this easy if we do it God's way. God still wants us to be healed today. If He can do it for Naaman, He can do it for us, God's children.

"And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant." 

Naaman came back to Elisha's house and offered him the gifts that he had brought with him, but Elisha refused to take them. (Elisha's servant however really wanted the gifts and let greed sway his thinking, You can read about him through the rest of the chapter). God doesn't require gifts to receive His blessings. All He asks us to do is believe Him and obey His instruction.

And this all started with the words of a little maiden. She was so convinced of the power and abilities of the prophet to deliver Naaman, she had no problem telling other's about him. She became a witness to God's goodness. Jesus told his apostles that when they received God's gift of holy spirit that they would be witnesses unto him (Act 1:8). This is who we are called to be today; witnesses of the truth about God and His son. It's easy! All we do is tell others how great God is and all the great things He has done for us. It really doesn't matter how people respond. They may choose to reject your words, or they could be like Naaman and his family who desperately needed to hear some good news. The people you speak to may be dying to hear words of hope, words of love, and words of healing.

Love Always, Ray