2 Kings 5

Syria’s commander goes to Israel seeking healing

The commander of Syria’s military was a good man named Naaman. His boss highly favored him because the Existing One had given Syria many victories. He was a strong, courageous man, but suffered from leprosy. Now on one of their raids, the Syrians had captured a little girl from Israel, and she worked as a sercant to Naaman’s wife. One day the girl told to her boss,

“If only my master were with the prophet in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

So Naaman went and told his boss what the girl had said.

Syria’s King replied,

“You should look into it; I’ll send a letter to Israel’s king.”

So Naaman went, bringing with him 750 pounds of silver, 145 pounds of gold, and ten pairs of clothing. He brought the letter to Israel’s king which read,

“This is my servant, Naaman, who comes seeking to be cured of his leprosy.”

When Israel’s king read it, he tore his clothes and said,

“What am I, God now? Do I look like I’m capable of creating and destroying life, that this man comes to me to be cured of leprosy? It doesn’t take much common sense to see that this guy is trying to instigate me.”

Naaman healed

But when Elisha the man of God heard how Israel’s king had torn his clothes, he sent him a message saying,

“Why did you tear your clothes? Send him to me, so he’ll know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

So with all his horses and chariots, Naaman came to Elisha’s doorstep, and Elisha sent a messenger saying,

“Go bathe in the Jordan seven times and your body will be cleansed and restored.”

Naaman went away angry saying,

“What the heck? I thought he would come to the door, call on the Existing One his God, wave his hand over me and heal me. Aren’t Damascus’s rivers Abana and Pharpar better than the Jordan? Couldn’t I have just bathed in those to be cleaned?”

So he turned around and stormed away in a rage. But his servants confronted him,

“You got a message from a prophet; aren’t you at least gonna try it? Did he actually say, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

So Naaman went down and submerged himself in the Jordan seven times, just like the man of God instructed, and his body was restored like that of a newborn, and he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God with his entire fleet, stood in front of him and said,

“Now I know that there isn’t another God like Israel’s in the entire earth. Please accept this gift from your servant.”

But he said,

“As surely as the Existing One lives who I represent, I will not accept your gift.”

Even though he urged him to take it, Elisha refused. Then Naaman said,

“If you won’t take it, then let me give you two mule loads of dirt, because from now on I won’t sacrifice burnt offerings to any god but the Existing One. I just hope that the Existing One can pardon me when my king takes me to worship at Rimmon’s temple and expects me to bow.”

Elisha said,

“Don’t worry about it.”

Gehazi seeks payment, gets leprosy

But after Naaman had left and only gone a short distance, Elisha’s servant Gehazi said,

“My master spared Naaman the Syrian by not accepting his gift. As the Existing One lives, I’ll run after him and get something from him.”

So Gehazi followed Naaman, and when Naaman saw him approaching, he got off his chariot and asked,

“Is everything okay?”

And Gehazi replied,

“Everything’s fine. My master just sent me to say, 'Just now, two young men from the prophets guild came to me from the country of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two pairs of clothes.’”

And Naaman said,

“Please accept 150 pounds of silver.”

He tied up two 75 pound bags of silver with two pairs of clothes and assigned two servants to deliver them. They carried them in front of Gehazi. When they got there, he put the bags in the house and sent the men away. He went to Elisha who asked him,

“Where have you been, Gehazi?”

And Gehazi answered,

“I didn’t go anywhere.”

But Elisha said,

“Wasn’t my heart with you when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was this the time to accept money, clothes, olive orchards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, male servants and female servants? Now the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever.”

When Gehazi walked away, his skin was pale with leprosy.