Friday Faithfuls Two - 2 Kings

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi     

So, our little weekly skim looking for a verse that resonates has brought us to 2 Kings...some amazing stores, some appalling stories, and Israel and Judah going into exile; a very sad ending.

But there is something that caught my eye as I read through...in the story of Naaman.  Naaman was THE commander of the army of the king of Aram....kinda the equivalent of Joab in David's day.  He was a Somebody in the Aramean kingdom...and he contracted leprosy, which was a slow, miserable death sentence.  He had a slave serving girl who told him that the prophet in Israel (Elisha)  would be able to pray to his god and cure him.  So Naaman got permission to go to Elisha, with a letter to the King of Israel.  Naaman went to the king of Israel and gave him the letter...which caused the King of Israel to tear his robes, because he knew HE couldn't cure him and he didn't know what to do.   Elisha heard about it and sent a message to him, saying 'Send him to me...and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel' (2 Kings 15:8)  So Naaman, his expectations undoubtedly high, went down to see Elisha.

Who wouldn't even come out and greet him, but just sent his servant to the door, who simply said, 'My master says for you to go wash yourself in the Jordan seven times and you'll be healed,' then shut the door in his face.  Which leads us to the passage that jumped out at me...

 2 Kings 5:11-15

But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel?  Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?"  So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed!"  So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God.  He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.  Please accept now a gift from your servant."

 Here's the thought...we all have preconceived notions of how God is going to work in our lives, and we tend to get angry if he doesn't move when and how we expected.  Often we write it off completely...God didn't act right, we didn't get the recognition we felt we deserved (just the servant delivering the message!  Not even a personal greeting!)  so there must not be anything to this crazy stuff anyway!

Fortunately, Naaman had some good thinkers with him, who reasoned that he might as well  do the stupid thing...it was simple, it would cost him nothing...why not try it?

So he did, rather petulantly, I expect,  and found himself cured.

And what was his conclusion then?  "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel!"

He was now a believer in the true God.

Your attitude doesn't have to be perfect...but your obedience does.  Just do the stupid thing that doesn't make sense...it will do what God has said.

If you let your personal opinions determine your obedience...you'll never know what God could've done for you...