2 Kings 5:1-14 (NRSV)
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Chapter 5Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Verse 2Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. Verse 3She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." Verse 4So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. Verse 5And the king of Aram said, "Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. Verse 6He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy." Verse 7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me." Verse 8But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel."
Verse 9So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. Verse 10Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." Verse 11But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Verse 12Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage. Verse 13But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?" Verse 14So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
Devotion
I remember reading an account by a Twin Cities oncologist about an Asian immigrant whom he diagnosed as having cancer. The doctor scheduled a time for him to come to the hospital for his initial chemotherapy treatment. At the appointed time, the man waited in his hospital room. To the doctor’s surprise, a dozen members of his family had crowed into the little room to be with the man. The oncologist observed that eastern cultures believe that more than doctors and medicines are involved in healing. It takes a community.
It took a whole community to heal Naaman: the young girl who brought word of Elisha, Naaman’s wife, the king of Aram, the king of Israel, Elisha’s messengers and servants. All of them had a part to play before Naaman would wade into the muddy Jordan.
This is true for us also. It takes a whole community to bring healing for our many emotional, spiritual and physical ailments. By God’s leading, we are his instruments.
Prayer
Dear Lord, make us instruments of your healing power in the life of the world. Amen.