Naaman

Enemy Turned Believer

READ 2 Kings 5

Many of us struggle to wrap our minds around God’s grace and feel we need to earn it somehow. We try to make things more complicated than they need to be. Grace is so simple that it can be hard for us to understand or accept. So many of us are “doers,” and we think there must be more boxes to check and tests to pass. That was certainly the case for Naaman.

Naaman was an unlikely person to put his faith in the God of Israel. He was an Aramean general, an enemy of God’s people who was highly regarded by the king of Aram. But Naaman had a problem: He was afflicted with leprosy.

One day, hope came from an unlikely place. A Hebrew slave girl, who had been taken from Israel by Aramean raiders, lived in Naaman’s household and served his wife. We would hardly hold it against this unnamed Hebrew girl if she secretly celebrated Naaman’s leprosy, seeing it as God’s punishment upon him for the pain he inflicted on Israel. But instead, the young girl told Naaman’s wife where she believed Naaman could go to be healed: the prophet Elisha, in Israel.

Naaman brought gifts fit for a king to give to the man who could heal his leprosy. When his impressive caravan arrived at Elisha’s house, however, Elisha didn’t even step outside to greet him. He sent his servant out to Naaman, giving him such simple instructions for being healed that it sounded silly. “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed” (2 Kings 5:10).

Naaman was not impressed. We can certainly imagine that Naaman had tried time and again to wash himself clean, to no avail. Furthermore, Naaman considered the Jordan to be a rather uninspiring river to wash in. There were much grander rivers back in Aram. Naaman had hoped for a grand display, for a powerful miracle worker to wave his hands and say effective incantations. Seven dips in the Jordan sounded like foolishness, and Naaman almost walked away.

Fortunately, Naaman’s officers convinced him to at least try what Elisha had said. It seemed too simple, but what did he have to lose? Naaman acquiesced, and his skin became as pure and clean as that of a young child (v. 14). He was transformed by the experience, professing his full devotion to the God of Israel: “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel” (v. 15). Naaman even took some dirt from Israel back home to Aram so that he could worship the God of Israel on Israelite soil regardless of where he lived.

Naaman’s story shows us that even people who are powerful and wealthy, people with comfortable lives who look like they have everything they need still need God’s healing presence. We can grow complacent in our comfortable homes and with our endless sources of entertainment. We need to remember that all those externals don’t meet our spiritual need. Naaman’s problem was visible, on his skin. Our spiritual condition, however, is invisible.

As we see with Naaman, what begins as a yearning for healing ends in an experience of grace. Naaman didn’t have it all figured out when he set out to be healed; he still thought he could buy what he was looking for. When we step out with a longing to follow God faithfully, we won’t have all the answers. But once we’ve experienced the gift of grace, we, like Naaman, can live devoted lives to God, no matter where we go. Just as Naaman carried the soil from Israel home, we carry God’s presence with us wherever we go through the gift of the Spirit. We shouldn’t over-complicate what God asks of us and what he offers us. His grace is freely given when we humble ourselves to accept it. Thanks be to God!