Elisha and Naaman

Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram (Syria)—a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. This disease, probably referring to a serious skin condition, made him ceremonially unclean and would eventually rob him of his position, health, and life. All his power, prestige, and military prowess couldn't cure his condition. He had everything the world offers except the one thing he desperately needed—healing.

During one of Aram's raids into Israel, they had captured a young girl who became a servant to Naaman's wife. This nameless Israelite slave girl said to her mistress, 'If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.' Despite being a captive in a foreign land, she showed compassion for her captor and faith in God's prophet. Her simple testimony set remarkable events in motion. Naaman told his king what the girl had said, and the king of Aram sent Naaman to the king of Israel with a letter and expensive gifts—750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing.

The letter said, 'With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.' When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes in distress and exclaimed, 'Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this man send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!' The king thought this was a political trap, a pretext for war. He completely missed that God had a prophet in Israel who could meet this need.

When Elisha heard that the king had torn his robes, he sent word: 'Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.' Elisha's confidence wasn't in himself but in the God he served. So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. This powerful commander arrived with an impressive entourage, expecting the prophet to come out, perhaps perform some elaborate ritual, call on the name of his God, and wave his hand over the affected spot to cure the leprosy.

But Elisha didn't even come out to meet him. Instead, he sent a messenger to say, 'Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.' Naaman's expectations were completely upended. He 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 all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?' His pride was offended on multiple levels—the prophet didn't come out personally, didn't perform any impressive ritual, and told him to wash in Israel's muddy Jordan rather than Damascus's clearer rivers.

Naaman turned and went off in a rage. His servants, wiser than their master, approached 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"!' They appealed to his reason and his desperate need. If Elisha had demanded some heroic quest or difficult task, Naaman would have done it gladly. Why refuse when the requirement was so simple? The issue wasn't the difficulty of the command but the humility it required.

So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him. This act required humbling himself completely—stripping off his fine clothes, getting into the muddy Jordan, and submerging himself repeatedly while everyone watched. It required precise obedience—seven times, not six, not eight. It required faith—trusting that God would work through this strange method. And his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. The healing was complete and dramatic, reversing years of disease in an instant.

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.' His healing led to conversion—he recognized Israel's God as the only true God. He urged Elisha to accept a gift, but the prophet refused. 'As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.' Elisha wouldn't let Naaman think the healing could be purchased. God's grace cannot be bought; it can only be humbly received.

Naaman asked if he could take back to Syria two mule-loads of earth to worship the Lord on, showing his desire to worship Israel's God even in a foreign land. He also asked for pardon when duty required him to accompany his master into the temple of Rimmon and bow down. Elisha said, 'Go in peace,' neither condemning nor fully endorsing, recognizing Naaman's genuine but imperfect faith. When Gehazi, Elisha's servant, ran after Naaman and deceitfully obtained gifts, he was struck with Naaman's leprosy—a sobering reminder that attempting to profit from God's grace brings judgment. Naaman's story teaches that God's gifts require humble obedience, that His methods often offend our pride, that healing comes through simple faith, and that God extends grace even to foreigners and enemies when they approach Him in humility.