Naaman was a big deal. And he knew it.
He was the commander of the army of Aram, a mighty warrior, and highly respected by his king. But Naaman had a problem that no amount of power could fix. He had leprosy.
In Naaman’s house was a young servant girl, captured in a raid on Israel. She told her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
So Naaman loaded up his chariots with ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing, and headed to Israel to see the prophet Elisha.
He pulled up to Elisha’s house with his whole entourage. And Elisha didn’t even come out to meet him.
Instead, Elisha sent a messenger: “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored.”
Naaman was furious. He had expected the prophet to come out, wave his hand, and call on the name of the Lord. Instead, he got a messenger and instructions to go take a bath in a muddy little river. “Are not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?”
So he stormed off in a rage.
But his servants were wiser than he was: “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 Naaman swallowed his pride, went down to the Jordan, and dipped himself seven times. And his skin became like the skin of a young boy.
So, what is humility? Humility is being willing to do the small, simple thing God asks, even when you think you deserve something bigger.
Sometimes the biggest step of faith is climbing down off your chariot.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank-you for the simple instructions You give me. Thank-you for giving me the humility of Naaman, so that I will swallow my pride and do whatever You ask. Thank-you for lifting me up when I humble myself before You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Wikipedia: Naaman, Elisha, Jordan River
Look-It Up:
The story is told in 2 Kings 5.
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.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Free Bonus:
The unsung hero of the story is the young servant girl. She had been taken captive from her home, yet she cared enough about her master to point him to God’s prophet. We never learn her name.
Jesus mentioned Naaman in His first sermon in His hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:27). It didn’t go over well.
Elisha refused to take any of Naaman’s gifts. His servant, Gehazi, ran after Naaman and took some anyway. It didn’t end well for Gehazi.