Monday, March 16
2 Kings 5:1-15ab. The Arameans had captured from the land of Israel in a raid a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman's wife. “If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,” she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”…The prophet sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought he would surely come out and stand there to invoke his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy.” But his servants came up and reasoned with him…So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times…His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
| On first blush,
this passage looks like the same old tired “our God is the only God, and the heck
with the rest of you” thing. However, upon looking more closely, one sees: First: the fact that the girl, who was captured and is a slave, is nonetheless concerned for her Master’s well-being and wants to help him. This is an outstanding example of applying forgiveness, rather than bitterness, to daily affairs. Secondly, there are two instances where one person experiences a knee-jerk reaction of anger, only to be shown by another that their anger was misplaced. Going with your initial angry response is often not justified when one looks more deeply into a situation, and these are great examples of that. Finally, the mere fact that Naaman was willing to consider such an expedition in the first place to cure his leprosy is an admirable example of openness to what life and/or God has for you. The passage is effective in all three of these areas because it teaches by example, rather than just “preaching.” - Mark Schwalbe, Chemistry/Astronomy Instructor, Natural Science Department |