Some Folks are Hard to Please

“So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean”.  II Kings 5:9-10

In yesterday’s blog, we saw where the king of Syria sent his military leader, Naaman, to the king of Israel to be healed of his leprosy by Elisha, God’s prophet.  With his all-important entourage of soldiers, horses, and his officer’s chariot, Naaman arrived at Elisha’ house.  Stepping out of the chariot, he went to the door and waited for Elisha to come out.  His position as head of Syria’s army had no influence at Elisha’s house.  Naaman was now a beggar looking for help, but, even so, he apparently expected Elisha to come to the door, greet him, and invite him in.  After all, he was an important man, but to Elisha, Naaman was no more important than anyone else.   Elisha saw him as a sick man needing a touch from God.

Elisha didn’t go to the door.  Rather, he sent his servant to answer the door and greet Naaman.  Imagine Naaman’s thoughts.  Doesn’t this Elisha know who I am?  I am the great military leader of the nation of Syria.  I certainly should receive more respect than to be greeted by a lowly servant.  This is purely speculation because Naaman didn’t say any of this, but knowing how folks who have big egos react when they are not given preference, it wouldn’t be beyond the possibility that he was thinking such thoughts.  We do wonder, though, why Elisha didn’t go to the door.  It is likely that Elisha saw this event as not being about Naaman, nor himself, but about the LORD and His power to show Himself strong to a Gentile who didn’t worship Him.  Since the power to heal was not in Elisha, he didn’t have to present himself personally to the one who needed healing.  God can work when and where He chooses without anyone’s help.  I am reminded of those in the New Testament, the Roman centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:13) and the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:28), who were both healed by Jesus from a distance.  In Naaman’s case, it would be the word of the LORD and Naaman’s obedience to God’s word that would bring about his healing.

By his attitude, it was obvious that Naaman was a proud man and accustomed to pomp and circumstance as the head of Syria’s army.  He expected a grand exercise in order to be healed.  Elisha’s servant gave him Elisha’s message: go wash in the Jordan River seven times and his leprosy would be gone.  It doesn’t get any simpler than that.  Shouldn’t he be grateful that he didn’t have to do some really difficult thing in order to be healed like jump off of a cliff or run 100 laps around Jerusalem?  However, he became angry.  He thought surely Elisha would come out to meet him, call on the LORD his God, wave his hand over him, and “wa-la”, he would become free of leprosy.  He even objected to having to wash in the Jordan River which was not on par with the rivers of Syria in his estimate.  He wanted a cure, but he wanted it his way.  He was insulted, as prideful people often are, and he was mad.  He left Elisha’s doorstep in a rage.  What he didn’t understand, because he was an idolater, was that the Jordan River was unique because it ran through the promised land that God gave to Israel.  In Deuteronomy 8:7, God had called Israel the “good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills”.  Naaman thought that he was too “good” for such a menial task.

Thank the LORD that Naaman’s servants, who were not so full of themselves, were traveling with him.  They began to speak to him, respectfully calling him, “father”, and asked him if Elisha had told him to do some great thing in order to effect a cure, would he not have done it?  Elisha’s instructions were easy.  Why not just wash and be clean?  These servants had more confidence in Elisha and in the LORD than Naaman did.  Would he let his pride keep him from a cure?  Will people allow their pride to keep them in their sin?  When folks come to realize that there is absolutely nothing that they can do to be right with God except to come to Him His way, then there is hope for them to be forgiven and receive salvation.  Matthew Henry wrote that when sinners come to that point, “Then they will take Christ on His own terms when they are made willing to have Christ upon any terms”.  In other words, a truly desperate man or woman will do whatever is necessary to relieve their guilt of sin rather than carrying it around day in and day out.  Forgiveness of sin first requires an admission that one is a sinner, a hard task for most, but the only way to effect a cure.  Naaman’s pride almost kept him from the cure.

After hearing from his servants for whom he likely had a good deal of respect, he decided to do what Elisha had told him to do, probably reluctantly and perhaps to pacify his servants.  They had faith that he would be healed, but did he?  Maybe not, but the cure would be based on his obedience.  God does not tell someone to do something and then not follow through when that person obeys.  Many times, we obey with reluctance and/or doubt.  And sometimes we don’t obey at all.  Naaman made the decision to obey, dipped himself down into the Jordan seven times, and when he came up the seventh time, his flesh was as clear and clean as that of a young child.

Next time:  Naaman obeyed but Elisha’s servant disobeyed.