Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and be cleansed." 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 Pharpa, the rivers of Damascus, better than all 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.
Brief overview: Naaman was an important person in his country. He was the commander of his army and the King of Aram (where he lived) admired him greatly because he was a mighty warrior. However, he suffered from leprosy which was a really bad disease that affected the skin back in those days. Most people with leprosy was actually quarantined in places because it was a contagious, and often times incurable disease that ended in death. Naaman's leprosy could have been in the early stages which explained why he still had his post as commander. Nonetheless, leprosy was anything but cute or enjoyable, early stages or not, so he wanted to be healed. It was Naaman's wife's servant girl, who happened to be an Israelite, that served the role as the person to tell him about the prophet that could heal him. Naaman decided to do this and traveled to Israel to meet Elisha.
Now let's get back to this. So Naaman arrives at this prophet's (Elisha) house and is shocked and in fact angry that he does not step out of his house to meet him. Remember, this was an important man. Not only was he used to being treated with the utmost respect, but in his head he's probably thinking "I even brought gifts for this man and he's not even coming out to MEET ME??" In addition to that, Naaman could not believe what he was hearing. Elisha wanted him to wash in the Jordan river. He was expecting him to say some fancy prayer perhaps, look into the heavens, make him repeat a few things, maybe rub some special holy ointment on his body or something. No way did he expect this man to tell him to dip in the Jordan River. The Jordan river? This river was small and dirty. He was used to clean, beautiful, big things.
Naaman was heated. He was beyond angry. I am sure I would be too. I traveled all this way for this? There is no way I am going to be healed. Thankfully, Naaman had a pretty smart servant. Scroll back to the top and read what he said, I actually bolded it. Long story short he pretty much said, "With all due respect sir, this man has told you to do something really simple. This task should be much easier than if he asked you to do something bigger or more difficult. If it was hard, you would have done it, how much easier should it be for you to obey because it's simple?" We were not told Naaman's response or reaction, perhaps he resisted for a bit or maybe he came to his senses and simply obeyed. Regardless of what happened during that conversation we do know that Naaman dipped in the Jordan river, not once, twice, but seven times and he came up healed on that seventh time!!!
There were so many things I took away from this short story when I read it this time around. I've heard the story as a child in Sabbath school, but reading these stories and studying the bible after you've experienced some bits and pieces of life and gaining spiritual maturity is another story. I want to share some things I took away and some things for you to think about as well.
Firstly, obedience begins with humility. Naaman had to lose his pride before he dipped in the Jordan. If he never humbled himself to wash in the Jordan, he would not have received his healing, his blessing. Is pride a struggle for you? It may not come in the form of dipping in a river, but maybe you have a job that you think is below your qualifications and intelligence, but God is trying to show you that you are there for a reason. Or maybe you're working too many jobs because you like buying expensive things and God wants you to have only one job so you can do volunteer work on the side, but you refuse to because of the money. Perhaps you are holding onto a grudge with someone that you should be reconciling with, but you can't because you don't want to look weak or be the first one to apologize. Our pride can hold us back from so much, maybe at that job that's below you, you'll meet a really good friend, or maybe if you started working for free and doing some volunteer work, you'd do such a great job and get hired for something else with a better pay. And maybe, if you called that friend up that you don't speak to anymore, you could rekindle a relationship that will bring you comfort in the future. The fact is we don't know what will be the end result of our obedience. Seek humility, and obedience becomes that much easier. Also, good things don't always have to come in packages that "look" good. God could have commanded Elisha to tell him to use a larger, cleaner river, but he did not. Why the Jordan? I think it's because the message behind that is more important. God can use anything and any situation, poor, rich, ugly, gorgeous, clean or dirty. He'll use it. If we sought humility more these things would not be pressing.
God's ways are best and he wants our obedience more than anything. To love God is to obey God, remember? Don't forget it. We can scream I love you Lord from the rooftops, but our actions will show whether we truly do or not. Naaman also expected his healing to "look/be done a certain way". How many times do we allow our expectations and what we want to step in the way of our healing or blessing? This one was a big one for me. I had so many expectations and plans and guess what, 9/10 of my expectations did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I needed that lesson. At times we think way too highly of ourselves than we ought to and we act like gods of our own lives. You are NOT God. There is nothing wrong with having plans and creating goals. Have plans, have goals, but ALWAYS make sure it's what God wants and if you are not sure, then leave room for him changing it a few times.
What i mean by that is this, don't let your expectations keep you from your blessing just because it did not come packaged the way you thought it would. God is a God of wonder. He works in mysterious ways and uniquely in all of our lives. In Isaiah 49:23 God himself says, "Those who hope in me will not be disappointed." God can use anything to accomplish his purposes, even the dirty Jordan river. :)
So today I encourage you to reflect on your life, thoughts and actions you take on a daily basis. Who or what are you placing your hope in? If God wanted you to do something extraordinary, something that appears so challenging to our visible eye would you do it? Or what if he wanted you to do something really simple, like apologize to someone, to give a 20 dollar bill to a stranger in need would you do it? Naaman was cleansed from leprosy that day as he dipped in the Jordan River. We too need daily cleansing. Thank God for the blood of Jesus. Purify yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. Dip seven times. It's so simple and on the other side of your obedience is healing for your body, mind and soul. God bless you all!!
Zake
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