2 Kings 5:10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
Naaman had an idea of what he thought Elisha, acting on God’s behalf might do, but Elisha doesn’t go that route. He proposes a very simple cure and Naaman is livid. This is not the way he pictured or imagined. Doesn’t that reaction sound frighteningly familiar? It does to me.
2 Kings 5:11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought 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.”
I am struck by so many things in this chapter. 1. The simplicity of the healing—wash seven times in the Jordan. 2. That Naaman is invited to take an active role in his healing. 3. That his healing is, in part, a measure of his faith. Had he walked away in his anger he would not have been healed. 4. The fact that when all was said and done, he came back to express gratitude.
2 Kings 5:12 “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 went off in a rage.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for Your sovereignty and for inviting me to take part in my own healing. Thank You for the open invitation to lay my troubles, my stress, my anxieties at Your feet and find rest. Give me the strength to comply with this simple task. Draw me closer. Amen.
2 Kings 5:12 Naaman’s servant 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”!”
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.