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2 Kings 5: 1-15
Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,
was highly esteemed and respected by his master,
for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.
But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel
a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.
“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”
she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went and told his lord
just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
“Go,” said the king of Aram.
“I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”
So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,
six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:
“With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,
that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
When he read the letter,
the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:
“Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”
When Elisha, the man of God,
heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,
he sent word to the king:
“Why have you torn your garments?
Let him come to me and find out
that there is a prophet in Israel.”
Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.
The prophet sent him the message:
“Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”
With this, he turned about in anger and left.
But his servants came up and reasoned with him.
“My father,” they said,
“if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.”
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.”
The Word of the LORD.
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Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is attacked by its neighbors. Quests for power and domination then were no different than they are today.
Often nations would go into battle with competing gods. The gods of the victor were the ones to be worshiped, because they were seen to be the most powerful.
In our first reading, Israel has been attacked by the Syrian army, and one of its respected commanders is named, Namaan. Though victorious in battle and respected by his peers, Namaan has contracted leprosy – not only a threat to his status, but also to his life.
Desperate for a cure, he’s told by a captured Jewish servant girl that her God is the one true God and that his prophet, Elisha, can cure Namaan.
Desperate, Namaan listens.
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He gathers a cadre of horses and chariots, six thousand pieces of gold, and elaborately weaved garments as gifts.
But when he arrives at Elisha’s tent, the prophet won’t even greet Namaan. He doesn’t want all of Namaan’s “stuff.” He simply tells him to wash seven times in the Jordan.
At first, Namaan struggles to accept the simple task. But he learns that what God wants from him is not a load of stuff; God wants Namaan to trust.
So, off he goes. He bathes and is healed.
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What does this story say to us?
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Often when we want something from the Lord, we can make it complicated by making a laundry list of promises, reciting a bundle of prayers, and fasting until we feel that awful twinge in our stomach.
While the Lord must appreciate the effort, the one thing he wants from us is: trust.
As we read in the Book of Proverbs: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
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Image credits: (1) Got Questions (2) JW.org (3) iBelieve