It’s Too Easy! Naaman & Elisha
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was 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.
Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
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So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the River Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will 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 Pharpar, 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.
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.”
-II Kings 5:1-3; 9-15
Sometimes the answer seems too easy. Naaman suffered from leprosy. It was debilitating to his health, his life, and his work as a commander from the army of Aram. A Hebrew servant girl from his household knew of the great stories of Elijah and Elisha the prophets. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” (II Kings 5:3) So Naaman went with the blessing of the king of Aram to the king of Israel. This terrified the Israelite king, thinking that it was a trap to begin a war between them. “When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: ‘Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.’” (II Kings 5:8)
Naaman expected a big showy spectacle of healing. He thought Elisha would wave his arms over Naaman’s body and the sores would disappear before their eyes… but Elisha just told him to go wash in the Jordan River. This upset him! It was offensive to him that the prophet didn’t DO ANYTHING! Naaman had to do the work, go take a bath in that little river.
Are there times in our lives when the solution seems too easy? God doesn’t want to make life more complicated or difficult for us. God wants the best for us. Sometimes that means the simple answer is the right one. I often try to make the solution to my problems more complicated and stressful than they need to be. This week, try to see the direction God is leading, it might be a more simple answer that you first thought. It might seem too easy. Trust God to be with you and give God the glory.
Please join us in worship this summer as we explore some perhaps unfamiliar stories from the Old Testament. They may bring insight and challenge our understanding of God’s work in the world… There’s trouble brewing in the Old West-ament.
Forgive us, God of life. Help us set you always before us, and sustain us in your righteousness. Let our hearts be glad, our spirits rejoice, and our bodies rest in hope, for you do not abandon us to our sin or let your chosen ones dwell in the pit. In Christ you show us the path of life; you welcome us into the joy of your presence; you feed us with pleasures forevermore. Amen.
