2 Kings 5:6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Have you ever questioned the motives of someone who was giving you a gift? You saw the gift and it seemed too good to be true. And then the questions started. Why this gift? Why now? What do they want from me?
Some people have a difficult time accepting any gift from anyone. They are just not good at accepting gifts. Sometimes it is because they don’t think they deserve to receive a gift. But by the very nature of a gift, we don’t deserve it. It is a gift.
But can you imagine opening the gift and seeing inside the package a dated and signed IOU and it is your signature on the IOU! You didn’t sign it, but there it is right in front of you. It is only a matter of time until someone shows up to collect.
How would you feel about the gift? I bet you might question yourself, your memory, your standing with that other person, their motive, and maybe even if you will accept the gift. Hidden agendas can be hard to read.
So it is with our text today. We have been told that Naaman is in charge of an army, and he was a great man, according to the text. It seems as though he was a pretty upright guy. This is not a bad combination. Being highly regarded by those around you and someone who is open to the LORD.
But Naaman had one problem. He had a skin disease for which there was no cure. There were many skin diseases for which there was no cure in those days. Unlike today, there was no TV advertising treatments for skin diseases!
The King of Aram wanted to help Naaman, so he gave him permission to go to visit Elisha to see if he could be cured. Our text gives us the short letter the king wrote requesting assistance with Naaman’s problem. But there is an expectation of a cure!
The King’s letter is a bit too forward, too demanding, making assumptions about the willingness of an Israelite to help an a citizen of Aram. This region of Syria had not always been friendly toward Israel, nor Israel toward them. And now the direct request of healing. What is going on here? Are they trying to provoke a conflict? What if healing doesn’t happen? What will come next?
As with most powerful people, Naaman thinks he knows better when Elisha tells him how to be cured. People in his position go to Mayo Clinic, not their local hospital for treatment. And Elisha tells Naaman to go the home remedy route. Wash in our river and you will be clean.
He is eventually convinced to give the treatment a try and it works! And the reason it works? Naaman comes to know that the LORD is the only God! Something has changed in him, more than just his skin condition.
Even with Naaman’s healing and submission to the LORD, there is much he doesn’t understand. He takes dirt from Israel back to Aram so that when he sacrifices to the LORD, it can be on Israel’s soil. Superstitious, isn’t he! He would be in big trouble if he had info-mercials and a credit card.
But let’s not be too hard on him. The blessing that was promised to Abraham and his descendants, and to the nations is manifested in this blessing to the commanding general of Aram. The curing of this disease is a fulfillment of the blessing to and through Abraham.
The Arnold Journey 