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| Naaman Leaving for Samaria courtesy Free Clip Art |
Naaman’s wife had a young Israelite maid servant who had
been captured in one of their raids.
This
insignificant girl remembered the man of God in Israel who had worked many
miracles.
She told her mistress, “If only my
lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his
leprosy.”
Word went to
Naaman, and he asked the King for permission to travel to Samaria.
The King said, “Yes, and I will write the king of Israel a
letter telling him to cure you of your plague.”
When Naaman arrived with the letter, the King of Israel tore his garments
and declared, “I am not a God to heal leprosy, and this King of Syria is trying
to pick a quarrel with me.
When Elisha heard that the King had torn his clothes, he
sent word that Naaman should come to his humble abode, but Elisha sent his
servant to meet Naaman with the prophetic message.
“Go and wash in the Jordan River seven times
and you will be healed.”
This message did not set well with Naaman, and he was very
angry and offended, for he knew the Jordan River was muddy, and there were
better rivers in his land.
He expected
Elisha to wave a magic wand, say some incantations, or perhaps thunder and
lightening would flash and boom he would be well.
In his rage, he almost missed his miracle, because of his
pride. His servants approached him and
suggested that this was a simple command, and if the prophet had asked him to
do a difficult thing he would have joyfully cooperated. So why not do this uncomplicated easy
instruction to wash and be clean?
As Naaman cooled down, he decided to obey the prophet’s message,
and as he dipped the six times, on the seventh washing, he was made entirely whole.
Naaman glorified the God of Israel and said that he would no
longer sacrifice to any God, except the God of Israel.
That day, there were unexpected prophets. The young maiden servant, who gave her testimony that spoke truth to Naaman.
Then there was Elisha’s servant who was the spokesman, and Naaman’s
servants who convinced him to obey the prophet’s directive.
Each had their part to play as they were prompted to speak
out “Truth.”
Like Naaman, God asks of us to do simple things, and we
become agents of the Lord.
Let us act in obedience to that still small voice, and be
the unexpected prophet in our world.
This post is shared with Charlotte
This post is also Linked with
Michelle’s Hear
it on Sunday Use it on Monday
3 comments:
So many lessons... The world struggles to grasp with our pathetic flesh that God doesn't need anything to do miracles. He used things like dirty water I believe to make that point. Our Savior was born in a barn, was a carpenter, served and loved; the opposite of what the world and we sometimes think of. And He uses others to make His sovereignty shown to bless those, maybe in even more powerful ways... His ways are higher than our ways... Excellent post. Thank you.
"Let us act in obedience..." may it be so, in Jesus' name.
Beautiful post, thank you. Glad I linked behind you at Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday.
Peace and good to you in Jesus' name,
Chelle
To add a postscript - and all we need to do is follow simple instructions. Thanks, Hazel!
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