Sunday: He Had It All . . . But
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy
(2 Kings 5:1 NIV).
Image © Jeff Preston from GoodSalt.com
This verse contains no fewer than four descriptions or titles that put Naaman in the top echelon of Syrian, or Aramean, society. He exerted major influence on the king of Aram, was held in high esteem, and was the king’s right-hand man in religious, as well as military matters (2 Kings 5:18). He was also extremely wealthy (2 Kings 5:5).
However, 2 Kings 5:1 has a major but.
All Naaman’s power, honor, and bravery paled in light of the most feared disease in those days, leprosy. And that is exactly what this poor man had, the major but
that cast a dark shadow over all else he had achieved. This ailment, however, brought him into contact with God’s prophet, and through that contact he became a believer in the true God.
Read Mark 1:40-45, Luke 8:41-56, and Mark 2:1-12. Despite the obvious fact that Jesus did miraculous healings here, what is the common denominator in these accounts? What is it that brought all these people to Jesus?
Personal life disruptions, tragedies, and transitions can make people more open to spiritual truth and set them on a search for God. Physical, psychological, political, or other disasters can open people up to the reality of the divine. Personal loss, national catastrophes, and wars are major motivators that cause people to seek a power greater than themselves. The church has long been aware that increased soul-winning results tend to come in areas in which people are struck by personal or societal suffering.
On one level Naaman appeared to have it all; on another he was a broken man without much hope. In what ways are we all like that, having good things and bad things in our life? How can we learn to allow both to keep us connected to the Lord?
(43)
Amen,in this world today we can't even walk without JESUS holding our hands. We must constantly pray for one another.
I enjoy studying the Sabbath school lessons ready for the following Sabbath. Then on Friday evenings I like to go over the lessons with you all. You are like a family to me, I have watched you so many times over the years.
I live in the beautiful country of Wales in the UK, where God is seen in everywhere I look. Here in the natural beauty of Llansaint where I live, to me it is like living in the garden of Eden, feeling God's presence everywhere I turn.
May our dear Lord bless and be with you all,
Lori Cameron your (sister in Christ)
Your county must be very beautiful...God bless you. It's good to read other comments helping me to understand the lesson better.
Happy Sabbath Dear Friends, I believe that the USA coming events will trigger an individual need for hundreds of thousands to seek our Saviour Jesus Christ.
we may gain the worldly things but without Jesus, we are nothing. The key point here is to have Jesus and everything shall be done according to his will.
What does it mean to "have Jesus", Zachary?
We often say these words but we need to understand that "having Jesus" is more than saying the words, singing the songs, and action piously. Having Jesus affects the way we interact with other people and should be a reflection of the way we interact with Him. Preaching a powerful sermon on Sabbath should be followed by living a powerful sermon for the rest of the week.
Maurice, you have said well. It is Jesus who will enable you live a christian life.
Hi Maurice, you are quite right. If we just go to church and listen but not put into practise what we have learnt but also what we know we should be doing. We need to reflect our Christ Jesus in our lives every minute of the day. We at least owe Him this in our love for Him and knowing the love He has for us.
God Bless You
When people think they have it all there is little room for Jesus. Herein lies a problem with prosperity theology, which finds its most attentive audience and committed clients in more developed countries.
Material gain easily becomes a cherished goal as believers seek to match or outdo their prosperous neighbors in the accumulation of goods that are supposed to represent Heaven’s favor. Before long Christ is crowded out of the heart (Luke 16:13). Even if Jesus gets mentioned along the way self gets preference, with only token consideration for the advancement of God’s mission and relief for the poor (Luke 12:33, 34).
Apart from territories where religious freedom is restricted the places where the church grows at the slowest pace are generally the more financially prosperous regions (Revelation 3:17). As well when the people of the world already have what the brethren seek there is little need to become Christians. To be converted they might only lose (something).
O, but this is the Savior’s plan that His followers should lose what they have that they might gain what He has, a marvelous exchange (Mark 8:35-37).
In mercy sometimes the Lord introduces a ‘but’ (2 Kings 5:1) followed by sickness, emotional crisis, financial loss, or maybe tragedy as a way to get us to see our lack of something of greater value than what we thought we had (Matthew 13:44-46). The only sad thing would be that the providential misfortune does not make a difference in the life.
The message of the Holy Spirit is “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:5-9) and practice self-denial (Mark 8:34); for by these self may decrease and Christ increase (John 3:30).
Amen brother.
Amen, Maurice,
Our daily lives should preach Jesus!
Most people are like Naaman. They have everything yet they don't enjoy them because of something they hav or practise
thank you for the add , we cannot have it all if we don't have that personal connection with God. I pray that God may lead us into knowing, but most of all doing His will. Amen
when the phrase "but" is used in a statement it changes the meaning of the subject to the opposite completely. despite nahman having every privilege and favour from the king his health status gave him a total dismissal from the duty as commander n and counted as an outcast. remember reprosy dd not allw anyone to mix with the rest until when he was set free by following simple instructions of the prophet. now how can we avoid sin? it is our major leprosy today. it as totally separated us from God
Having Jesus allows us to have peace in the midst of the storms. Living a life knowing that the sufferng of this world shall never be compared with the glory that shall be revealed to us.
Dailly meditation and reflection on the Words Is precisely about that, to decipher what the Spirit says to me in my context in relation to the challenges as posed by the Scripture!
Indeed the story of Naamam is a reflection on the life many people are living in this world. I have seen many rich people in the wealth possession but they are struggling with lifestyle diseases,Cancers,AIDS,diabetes.May the Lord heal us of all our struggles. How i pray that we may seek thee the kingdom of God and everything else according to his will.
Thanks be to God for Naaman story. We learn that having everything and not knowing and trusting God is total to having nothing. We all need Jesus with or without things no matter what they may be. We can have all things through Jesus Christ,He gives freely only the best here and now and hereafter.
We can have everything we need in life but if we try to avoid being with Jesus Christ, we are surely nothing to the community...
In Christ Jesus we have His love, for He who saved most now loves most. We might be poor as the world lives but we are rich in His love, grace and mercy. In Christ Jesus all things are possible for those who believe in Him.
The story of Naaman is a great lesson to us.. There are some things of less value which we hold dear to our hearts with both hands such that we are unable to grab what is of greater value
letting go of pride and self exaltance may be the start to letting God into your life
Little is in it when jesus is in it.we tend to forget abt jesus in pursuit of earthly perishables
how many times have we been afraid to profess our beliefs (eg) places of work we might lose our jobs or friends they may look differently and yet a Hebrew girl was so brave it makes ashamed how I have let Jesus down
If we are keen on the events shaking and shaping up the world today, we would be sure to reiterate that Jesus is coming. The entire world is in tune to the New World Order. These new order of things is going to bring about commotion, confusion and all sorts of disturbances. In the backdrop of this confused setting many are going to run searching for something more fulfilling that what the world is offering. In this setting we can understand why the Word of God says that a time of famine is coming, not famine for food but for the Word of God. As the history of the world is coming to its close, the events taking place are beyond human control but in all this we can see the hand of God passionately trying to save as many as He can.
Thank your Nicholas for your insight. I will be using your thoughts and words as my opening for our SS lesson discussion tomorrow. As Priscilla asked,how many times have I been afraid to feed the hungry because I was afraid or ashamed to be a witness.
Happy Sabbath
pj
This ailment, however, brought him into contact with God’s prophet, and through that contact he became a believer in the true God.We need to reflect our Jesus in our daily lives in all that we do having see how he loves us.