11/26 Naaman
This is a pretty rich episode replete with useful spiritual insights. Naaman’s obedience brings about his cure from the diseases of both body and mind. His cure coming from his repeated return to the healing water mirrors our cure from Sin and worldliness through our repeated trips to the Living Water through prayer and Bible study. Yet
while the spiritual truths regarding the named people in this chapter are obvious and well-amplified upon by Spangler, I am most taken by the truths suggested by the unnamed participants. A captured Israeli servant girl becomes the servant of the wife of the king of Syria%, and it is she who suggests that the great military hero Naaman go to seek out the prophet of God for healing. How likely is that? Her natural desire for his painful death for the pain he brought to her and her people is replaced by an old testament version of Christ’s admonition to love your enemies. Then, when Naaman finds Elisha’s servant’s message to wash seven times in the Jordan to be ridiculous, his unnamed servant encourages him to obey the instructions. Why should the servant care? Would not he be more likely to have wished to getback home himself and be done with this fruitless journey? These two anonymous servants are used by God to transform the pagan Naaman into a man who insists on carrying back Israeli soil to Syria because he will only offer sacrifices to the God he has come to know and to proclaim: “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.” Naaman’s message would be powerful in scope due to his renown, but it never would have happened without the work God gave two people whose names we will never know this side of eternity. Are you not encouraged to know that God may use our faithful service to do great things?
- well said Norm.
- That is some great insight. The call to be faithful no matter where and what position we are put in. Thank you