Immediately after Babel, Yahweh called Abraham and the nation of Israel was created. As a result, Israel was holy ground; the territory of every other nation was not. He knew the request came from a sincere theological change of heart. Even though he would still have to help his aged king bow before Rimmon, Naaman wanted Elisha to know his heart belonged only to the God of Elisha. This excerpt about Naaman in the Bible is adapted from the original article in Dr. It has been lightly edited.
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He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. He sent the men away and they left. Is this the time AC to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves?
All rights reserved worldwide. First days on us! Font Size Font Size. Previous Next. The miracle of his healing after following the simple instructions of Elisha reminds New Testament believers of their new birth. After all, they have experienced it by simply trusting God and calling on Jesus for salvation. They are also able to identify with Naaman as a fellow sufferer. To be human is in some way to be a sufferer and no one is immune from problems, suffering and difficulties. Those who trust God and have known suffering and misery also know what it means for God to break through to their hearts and bless them with his covenantal blessing of healing that is always spiritual and sometimes physical.
However, we would argue that such an interpretation of this chapter, while inspiring, completely misses its main point. What do we mean?
Please, allow us to explain. The biblical writers used many literary techniques. For the purposes of this chapter, we must briefly introduce the current term for the technique that was used by the biblical authors. That term is inclusio. The term is self explanatory. It has to with defining the borders of the text.
For a text to be designated as inclusio it must begin and end with the same verse, be exact or at least contain the same idea. There are thousands of such examples in the Bible. One of the main reasons why inclusio was used by the original writers was so that the reader and hearer would know where the literary unit begins and ends. This helps readers and hearers not to take a story out of its context.
The story of Naaman, from the standpoint of the original author, begins in 2 Kings when a Syrian Aramean para-military group kidnaps a young Israeli woman on one of their incursions into the ancient Israelite territory. The inclusio ends with the stunning statement, however, that the Syrian para-military groups will no longer make incursions into Israel 2 Kings It is one literary unit. The healing of Naaman is only the first part of the larger story.
This gives us a clue that Naaman is not the main hero of the story. Instead, it is the young Israelite woman whose forgiving action in the beginning of the story results in the avalanche of events leading to national reconciliation by the end of the story. Without further introduction, let us start at the beginning and walk to the end of the story. We will see how this ancient story can speak to us today and influence our actions in our world as it speaks to us with prophetic power.
The first verse of the chapter alerts us to that fact that something very unusual will be told in what follows. We read:. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. Stop and read that verse again. Does everything make sense? You should notice if you read it carefully that there is something in the text that is meant to immediately alert you to something very important.
There are times, however, when His governance makes absolutely no sense to His most intelligent creation. Yet Naaman suffered from a skin disease called leprosy. She expressed that forgiveness by a heart-felt concern for the well-being of Naaman, the master of the home. Yet it is this young helpless female slave in a country that was not her own that begins the story with a twist that later becomes a powerful avalanche with unstoppable power to make peace.
He would heal him of his leprosy. The situation could have taken place only if Naaman was so hopelessly miserable from his skin disease that he could no longer tolerate the status quo. He was willing to go any length and try any alternative to be free of his affliction. What we need to keep in mind is that at that time Israel was not a strong military power as it is today.
Syria felt confident in her ability to defeat Israel in military conflict. I want you to heal him of his leprosy. Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Perhaps today most believers in the world would have agreed with him. However, when Elisha the prophet heard about the letter, his reaction was different.
In the mind of Elisha, the King was missing a wonderful opportunity to preach the gospel to Syria. Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel. What Gospel could Elisha possibly preach to Naaman? Not really, please, allow us to explain.
The Gospel good news is not just a New Testament term. For example, in Isaiah we read:. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
This is even clearer in Isaiah There we read:. The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for before their very eyes they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem.
Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has demonstrated his holy power before the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God. This means that when we understand the Gospel of Jesus we must understand it in the same context that the New Testament writers themselves would have understood it. We must always be careful not to import or read in our much later understanding into the much older texts.
Now this Good News was destined to be proclaimed not passively as before, but actively to the entire world! He continues to reign over all the earth, not just the Land of Israel, from His Heavenly throne.
In the end of all things, He will come to judge the living and the dead. Here once again it is the nameless, the small, the insignificant people that are used by God, while those with power, money and authority are unable to live wisely. In this way Naaman approached the God of Israel as a moral man who, proud of his morality, approaches God today. He knows his need for God, but wants to save his pride once this need is met by divinity. He wants to pay the price or give a very generous gift.
However, he is not looking to enter into a life-long relationship of dependency and servitude to that divinity whose temporary help he is now seeking. In the Bible, horses and chariots are usually symbols of power and authority. This is how Naaman comes to Elisha — a posture that will sharply change to one of walking and a desire to humbly serve instead of flaunting his powerful position.
Elisha no doubt heard the noise of chariots from afar.
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