Monday: Naaman
Daily Lesson for Monday 27th of November 2023
Christ died for all, regardless of their background, wealth, ethnicity, or status. God ceaselessly draws all humanity to Himself, incuding those individuals classed among the powerful non-Christians of the world (see Ellen G. White, The Acts of Apostles, p. 416).
Read 2 Kings 5:1-19. What can we take from this story about reaching people for the Lord?
In 2 Kings 5:17-19, Naaman made two unusual requests after God healed him of leprosy. First, he asked to take two mule-loads of earth from Israel back to Syria for the purpose of worshiping the living God. He states, “For your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to the other gods, but to the Lord” (2 Kings 5:17, NKJV). Though Naaman is clearly now a believer in the only true God, his first request shows that pagan influences still held sway over his thinking to a degree. The Syrian commander regarded the God of Israel as a divinity who must be venerated on soil native to that land. Although Naaman acknowledged the reality that there was no God aside from the Lord of Israel, he had not whollly dispossessed himself of the notion that God was, by some particular means, connected to the land of Israel. Thus, in his own country he desired to worship God on Israelite soil.
Naaman’s second petition shows the sincerity of his faith. While he resolved to serve only the God of heaven, he realized carrying out such a reso-lution in his own idolatrous country wouldn’t be easy. Moverover, the king of Syria still worshiped the god Rimmon, and in this occupation Naaman would serve as the king’s escort. While Naaman had no intention of forsaking his duties to his earthly king, he did not wish to be deemed as bowing in worship to Rimmon. Having surrendered his heart to Jehovah, Naaman desired not to make any concessions to idolatry by worshiping the heathen god. Nor did he want word to get back to Elisha that he was doing so.
Elisha responded to Naaman’s entreaty by saying “Go in peace” (2 Kings 5:19, NKJV). “These words must not be thought of as either expressing approval or disapproval of Naaman’s parting request. He was to depart in peace, not in doubt or restless uncertainty. God had been kind to him, and he was to find happiness and peace in his knowledge and worship of God. Naaman was a new convert, a man with conscientious scruples, who would grow in strength and wisdom if he clung to his new-found faith. God leads new converts on step by step, and knows the appropriate moment in which to call for a reform in a certain matter. This principle ought always to be borne in mind by those who labor for the salvation of souls.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 2, p. 878.
What lessons should we learn from this story about not pushing people too quickly, especially those who come from a non-Christian background?
(29)
I am somewhat surprised the author of today's study did not mention the real hero of this story.
She did not even get a name - just the captive maid. But she was observant enough to see the stress of her mistress's husband and brave enough to make a suggestion.
The rich and powerful get their names in the history books but it is often the "little people" who make the little changes that change the course of history.
Obviously, I have to think of a mathematical example as an illustration. In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. In simple terms, the flapping of a butterfly's wings in one part of the world has the potential to develop a hurricane in another.
In teaching, it was interesting that often, after teaching a heavy concept to my students, it was often not the clear logical presentation, but a chance remark in a casual conversation after class where students really got it!
Naaman's Wife's little captive maid was a seed-sower, putting the right idea in the right place at just the right time.
That is a great point. The little maid had learned how to forgive and how to love even her enemies. Despite her situation she did not let her own pain or bitterness prevent her from seeing the need of her capture.
Matthew 5:44-45 "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven."
Although the slave girl was the true hero the author keeps to the theme...witnessing to the powerful ...the latter being the king , Naaman .
To me, it is also amazing, how Naaman refused to listen to the Prophet’s instructions, but was willing to listen to his urging servants- who also play a big role in the healing process.
Normally, servants follow the commands of their master, but in this case these men showed so much courage, out of a desire to see their master being healed- addressing him as „father“, surely they really loved him.
2Kings 5: 13-14 KJV
And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
God works all things together for good (Romans 8:28). There really were many "players" in this story that had a part in the success of Naaman's healing and I am sure it impacted each of them in some way. God not only works out our good, but the good of many others who are impacted by our story.
We can only be instruments. Sometimes, we may want people around us to think like us regarding religion. But the power of convincement comes from the Holy Spirit. We don't know the right time when a light can hit someone's heart and suddenly "make things fall into place." Our job is to be connected to the Vine and work for the vineyard's Owner! Fruits will naturally come! Everyone is free to decide.
At times God allows us to be placed in trying circumstances to reach someone who would otherwise be unreachable. It is for us to ask Him to help us to look beyond our uncomfortable situation and to do His biddings .
For me, one of the most interesting—and important —parts of this incident (in the context of mission work) is Elisha’s response to Naaman’s requests because it applies to any kind of situation where we are ministering to new believers.
Elisha did not try to correct Naaman’s misunderstanding of how the true and living God should be worshipped, nor did he try and tell Naaman that hanging out in pagan temples for any reason is probably not a good choice. Instead, Elisha allowed him to be at peace with his new found faith at that level. Elisha trusted in the power of the Holy Spirit to continue working in his heart.
We don’t have to worry about the final outcome. We can trust that “… he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phillipians 1:6)
Amen Sarah!
The story of Naaman, mission-wise speaking, shows that God can use anyone to reach the greatest status and often does. So repeatedly, we see this in Scripture that the lowest-status person was the one who helped out the high-status people. Naaman had first gone to the King, who couldn’t help him. It was the servant, the slave, who brought him to the prophet Elisha to be healed. Let's not underestimate the power of our influence on people around us, regardless of their social, wealth, or influential status.
And even Ellen G. White counsels us to never push as foremost for souls, our points of Doctrine that others may not have in common with us but to push first and foremost the Grace of the Salvation we all have in Jesus Christ.
Amen!
It is the Lord that saves, we only need to do for others as He leads us to do.
Thank the Lord.
‘Naaman was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria.’ I see the writer of this account to highlight the involvement of the LORD in the success of the commander because He was part of His Plan. When we read such accounts, we get a glimpse into the mysterious ways our Lord works to benefit man.
I am certain that He was also involved in the ‘capture of the young girl from the land of Israel which loved her God and was willing to share what she knew about the work of the prophet Elisha as she served as maid of Naaman’s wife.’ This reminds me of Joseph the son of Jacob, sold into slavery only to become the protector of his family’s tribes. God provided a safe and prosperous land to grow and multiply even though the people of this land worshiped other gods.
Only our God can know and judge the heart of man. We are called not to judge, but to share kindness with all we meet. Ultimately it is our God who directs and works out the conversion of those who follow Him by faith, as He directs our heart and mind according to His will. All we are called upon is to express our love for Him in that we show kindness to our fellow man.
Demanding new converts to follow creeds and principles and statutes formulated or established by man is in my understanding a form of coercion by threat of expulsion from fellowship if not obeyed. All our Lord admonishes us is to consecrate our heart to only love our heavenly Father, and to express this love through the respect and kindness we extend to our fellow man - Luke 10:27.
Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. It is Him who started the faith in Naaman through His prophet Elisha, we do not need to "push" on the faith, He will cultivate and grow it to the end.
How is the Church addressing issues to do with chronic illnesses?
Hi Dishon. I think it is all to easy for us to pass the buck to "the Church" about doing certain tasks. But perhaps it is better to ask how we personally are doing something about the issue. We are the church and if we want anything to be done then we should start with us.
As a related side issue, one of the most cronic disease groups today are lifestyle diseases such as heart and blood pressure disease, diabetes and so on. And individuals within the church are reaching out with education programs about lifestyle improvement. It is very rewarding to be involved with these programs at a personal level and meet people with real needs. If your local church is not already involved in one of these programs I suggest you agitate until they do run one and get involved yourself.
Hi Maurice, thanks a lot.Be blessed.
The social and political landscape of Naaman should be presented as a background to this
I have seen Churches demand that new converts remove hair extensions (fake hair), ear rings and necklaces as a condition for baptism. It has always troubled me because I think there is a risk of rushing new converts into hard food when they are supposed to be on porridge. I think Elisha recognized this when he told Elisha go in peace. The prophet recognized that Namaan had his own time table with the Holy Spirit.The LORD is gracious indeed.