There are MANY lessons to be learned from the prophet Elisha. This is the 13th in a series focusing on the life and works of this great prophet.
“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”!'” (2 Kings 5:13)
Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army, stricken with leprosy, has sought healing from the God of Israel. However, when he arrives at the home of the great prophet Elisha, He doesn’t exactly have the reception he had anticipated! In his words: “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.” (2 Kings 5:11)
Prideful? Perhaps, but nevertheless, it was his response. And in anger, even his instructions to go and wash seven times in the Jordan River are looked upon with disdain: “‘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 5:12) NKJV
But Naaman is not riding alone. There are officers and servants riding with him. I can just imagine them whispering to one another behind their hands: “He’s not even going to try!” and “How can we make him change his mind? We can’t let him go back to Damascus without at least trying!” It took great courage for these men to do what they did next, for in that day and age, it wasn’t proper for a servant to speak to his master unless he was spoken to. Nevertheless, their love for Naaman spurred them to do it: “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (2 Kings 5:13-14) NKJV
Surprisingly, their words was all that was needed. The Bible tells us: “he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God . . .” (2 Kings 5:14) NKJV
We need each other, my friends! We need fellowship with other Christians. We need others around us to encourage us along our way. And God sometimes sends the encouragement He knows we need from VERY surprising sources. Our job is to humble ourselves enough in the eyes of God to listen!
We need each other, and we need to always be open to God’s messages spoken to us from any source!
See next Thursday’s edition of The Illustrator, for Elisha, Part 14.
God bless you, friends!
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.)