There are MANY lessons to be learned from the prophet Elisha. This is the 14th in a series focusing on the life and works of this great prophet.
“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. Please accept now a gift from your servant.'” (2 Kings 5:14-15)
It’s all about humility.
Naaman, captain of the Syrian army, was a man of status, used to being obeyed, used to being honored. To be stricken with leprosy was already humiliating enough. But when his own physicians could do nothing, and he was forced to turn to his enemy, Israel, for help, it must have been even more humiliating. But Naaman went along with all of this. Then the king of Israel couldn’t help him and he was forced to go to the home of some poor “prophet” for healing. Humiliation must have dripped from him by this time! Nevertheless, he conceded. But when the prophet himself refused to come out and heal him, and some lowly servant was his only contact, and when no one came out and laid hands on him and commanded the illness to go away, but instead he was told to go wash in some muddy river, the humiliation became more than Naaman could bear: “But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, ‘Indeed, I said to myself, “He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.” Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage.” (2 Kings 5:11-12)
You can’t really blame the poor guy. I mean, he did the humiliation thing longer than most of his importance!
But there was just one little snag. If Naaman refused to humble himself further by obeying the command of the prophet’s servant, then all hopes of being healed would be gone. Completely gone!
And so, despite his little fit of rage, Naaman further humbled himself. He “went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times”, and when he came up from his seventh dip, “his flesh was restored “!
What stands in the way of you and your blessing, my friend? Could it be just a little bit of pride? Could it be that you have already suffered far more humiliation than anyone should be required to suffer, and you intend to maintain as much pride and dignity as possible? And could it be that in failing to humble yourself in the eyes of the Lord, you are missing out on your blessing?
It’s ALL about humility, my friends!
See next Thursday’s edition of The Illustrator, for Elisha, Part 15.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org
(To access the entire “Lessons From Elisha” mini-series, please click here.)