No Reward Warranted for God's Healing Gift.

Quickly, Naaman gestured the servants to back off. The last thing he wanted was to upset the prophet who had been instrumental in his healing.

Continued…

With his eyes lowered to the ground, Naaman relented to the Prophet Elisha's demand not to be rewarded. It felt wrong though, to be given the gift of renewed life free of charge when in truth, the captain would give all the treasure he had to the man before him for being instrumental in his healing.

With his voice low, but clear, Naaman took a few steps closer to the prophet and spoke, eyes still downcast. "Please, will you instead of taking a reward, I pray you, I beg you to give to me another gift. Two mules laden with the dirt of Israel, the dirt of your land, will you do this so I may no longer worship other gods, but only worship the LORD you serve? Also, If I may be so bold, may I ask the LORD to forgive me when the man I serve goes into the house of Rimmon to worship and brings me with him and leans on me when I bow down…when I bow myself in the house of that false god, Rimmon, that I will be pardoned for doing so. I…I will not worship him but worship the LORD even if it may appear that there has been no change in my worship." Naaman didn't dare look up at the prophet as he spoke. He knew that what he asked was probably too much. Surely the LORD who was mighty enough to heal him of leprosy would demand that he change outwardly in his worship now. Yet, that would mean his death and the miracle of leprosy would have been for naught. He had to ask for this favor, even as he wanted desperately to return a favor, not ask for more of them.

Elisha heard the words of the healed captain and knew there was deep sincerity in the pagan man. The LORD had instructed Elisha to heal Naaman and it wasn't senseless healing, the LORD never did anything senselessly. The LORD knew the miracle of Naaman's healing would spread far and wide and many would know the hand of the LORD was greater than all the other gods worshiped in any other land. The new life of Naaman would be the testimony of the LORD'S, and the new heart in Naaman to worship him would be known as well, but not in such a way as to cause him harm. The LORD'S ways were not man's ways and for thousands of years to come, the healing of Naaman would be spoken of, written of, studied, and used to inspire others. This healing would have a place in the written truths of the LORD as the Holy Spirit in time inspired men to record all that was needed of history- that which would provide truth to salvation for all whose hearts turned to the LORD. Naaman's heart had turned to the LORD and Naaman from this day forward would worship the LORD.

Moving forward, the Prophet Elisha lay a hand on the larger man's shoulder causing Naaman to look at him. "Go in peace," he told him softly. He'd granted the captain his request in those simple words.

Naaman gave a slow, gentle nod of his head as he looked into the prophet's eyes and saw there the peace that was offered to him. The peace of new life not only physically, but spiritually.

Elisha lowered his hand from Naaman's shoulder and turned back towards his house. The captain watched the prophet enter his house and close the door. Taking a very deep breath, as peace filled his heart, Naaman's entire countenance was softened with the love of the one true GOD he now would serve forever.

Orders for the dirt to be collected were given and the work was done swiftly. That precious earth would be placed in his home garden and the idols of Rimmon would be removed from that place. His private sanctuary would be hidden from outsiders but he and his family could worship the LORD thereupon this transplanted earth. This would be his way of life from then on.

Leaving the prophet's land and heading home, Naaman's joy was clearly displayed. He wanted to hurry back to his family as fast as possible so they could share this joyous occasion. And that little servant girl would become family, without her this never would have happened. She would be a daughter to him from that day on.

Lost in the thoughts of how his life had been changed and the many ripples that change would cause, Naaman was startled out of his deep reverie when one of his servants rode up alongside his chariot and gestured their need to halt.

As the horses slowed and stopped, Naaman didn't have to ask what was happening because a quick glance behind him revealed that one of the prophet's servants, the one who'd called himself Gehazi, was running after them.

Jumping down from the chariot, Naaman walked towards the man coming to them and quickly asked, "Is all well?" There had to be a reason for this servant to run after them, had something happened? The last thing Naaman wanted was anything to be wrong.

The servant, Gehazi, had been aghast when his master, Elisha refused the splendor offered to him freely from this Syrian captain. The gold gleamed, the silver was polished to a high sheen and the raiment was gloriously displayed, all this had caught the eye of Gehazi and he could picture himself being given some of this great wealth for his faithfulness as a servant to Elisha. He'd become a rich servant, his status would rise and he would be replete in wealth unlike many of his fellow servants whose stations would remain low and abased with little reward for their hardships.

When Elisha refused to take the treasure, Gehazi was horrified. No, Elisha couldn't refuse such a grand reward! Hadn't he given the captain instructions on how to be healed? He deserved this! He earned this reward! His master was a fool, an utter and complete fool for turning down the wealth most dreamed of but would never own.

This wouldn't do, Gehazi watched his master go into the house and did not follow him. He stayed outside and looked on as Naaman's men dug the dirt to take with them and laden two mules with the heavy soil. He had to follow after them, he had to. He couldn’t lose the opportunity to be wealthy even if Elisha chose to be poor.

Running full out after the chariot as it left, the servant- Gehazi and two other lesser servants were grateful to be noticed. They came panting, out of breath, up to the Syrian captain and Gehazi gasped out his lies. "My master sent me, he said, behold right now from mount Ephraim these two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments" He gestured to the two underlings he'd brought with him. Were they sons of the prophets? No, but Naaman couldn't know that.

Naaman sighed with relief. Of course, Elisa the prophet did not want any treasure for himself but would allow two of his fellow prophets sons to take part in the reward. The man of the LORD was truly selfless and serving of others.

"Yes! You shall take two talents," Naaman told the servant and quickly his own servants readied the reward for them. Two talents of silver and two changes of clothes were laid upon the two men with Gehazi.

Thrilled to have been able to reward Elisha in some part for his healing of him, Naaman concluded the transaction quickly and returned to his chariot headed for home.

As the chariot and all of the Syrian men rode out of sight, Gehazi's greed-filled smile lit up the man's face, his plan had worked out perfectly!

Leprosy Gone! Naaman's Healing Story Continued...

One more time, just once more and this entire sordid ordeal would be over and he could go home and make plans to end his life while a shred of dignity remained to him.

Continued…

This time he lingered a moment to look back over his shoulder to the shore. His faithful servant was still looking at him, a mixture of anticipated hope and fear twisting his features. A simple, almost imperceptible nod came from the other man and Naaman returned the head twitch before looking away once more.

This was it, the time had come. The prophet… healer, what was the man's name? Elizi? No, Elisha, the Prophet Elisha that was the man's name, he'd given instructions through a servant without even bothering himself to meet the man he was supposedly going to heal, face to face. This farce would be over and along with it any hope Naaman possessed however brief since the beginning of his disease.

Taking quick stock of himself, Naaman knew he was trembling slightly, something that should have appalled him- a captain of the Syrian army- but it didn't. Fate was a strange thing. He could face the enemy's blood-stained swords in battle without a single qualm but this, this disease terrified him.

Inhaling deeply, Naaman held his breath and closed his eyes tighter than before. His trembling body felt suddenly weak and rubbery almost out of his control. Forcing himself to make the last plunge underneath the water, Naaman felt his feet slipping out from beneath him and instead of trying to find purchase, he allowed them to slide. This last immersion would tell-all, it may as well be deeper than any of the others. Arms waving in slow motion under that water's pressure, Naaman was almost able to keep himself submerged in a sitting position. The force of a previously unfelt underwater current, a wave from a passing large fish perhaps, pushed at his chest hard and knocked him completely backward. His head hit the thick sandy riverbed and he felt a few of the water-worn pebbles poke the back of his skull, but there was no pain from the impact. His arms started to flail weakly with the water pressure keeping his movements awkward, Naaman also used his feet digging his heels at the river bottom seeking enough purchase to propel himself upwards.

From the shore, his servant had seen Naaman's plunge take a turn out of the ordinary when his master didn't immediately jerk upwards from his descent. The ripple of water current was wild around where he'd gone under and the servant's sudden anxiety had him rush, fully clothed, into the water. Was the captain in trouble! Drowning? What sorcery had the prophet unleashed upon them? Was there a creature beneath this mucky, stench filled river that lay in wait for unsuspecting people to offer themselves to it with this ritual seven times dipping? Something was wrong, and if anything bad happened to his master because of his urging him to listen to the prophet, he'd never forgive himself, never!

Before the servant could traverse the water to him, Naaman regained his footing and pushed hard against the ground propelling his body up out of the water. As before he shook his head hard only this time he sputtered out a mouthful of the awful water that he'd managed to inhale. Coughing hard while using his hands to brush the water from his face and hair, Naaman took all of a few seconds to gather his wits before thrusting his arms outwards studying them for the familiar leper spots.

Shock filled him and he stumbled almost off his feet again, but this time his servant was there to keep him standing.

"They're gone! They're gone!" Naaman gasped in shocked disbelief. He twisted his arms, he looked frantically for the diseased spotted flesh and found none on his arms. He grabbed at his waist as he looked down upon his torso, not a single mark! His flesh was smooth, soft, new! "It's gone!" He shouted and gave a loud whoop of pure joy. "I'm healed! It worked! He healed me! It worked!"

The rest of the servants still on the shore turned to look in amazement at the sight of their master, they joined in the chorus of happy shouting and grabbed at each other happily thumping one another on the back before rushing into the water's edge to meet their master as he and his favored servant came rushing out of the river to the shore.

There were unceremonious hugs and congratulations all around as they studied the pure flesh of Naaman's. It was as if his flesh was that of a young child, not a grown man. They'd never seen such unblemished, soft flesh-like this before on one with this many years of life behind him.

Over the course of just a few minutes, things settle a bit and the favored servant started barking out commands for the captain to be dried and redressed in a fresh set of clothing, the old set would be burned and along with it any remainder of the disease that had marked Naaman.

Disbelief and joy clouded the captain's mind. The happiness had him laughing and continuously touching his arms, his chest all the places the leprosy had marked him, places he'd stopped touching since the disease was first noticed.

"We have to go back to the prophet! We have to! He healed me, His God healed me! Surely there is no God such as His!" Naaman shouted the words that were shockingly true, words he'd never thought he'd utter. Only moments before he'd briefly entertained the thought of going back and harming the false prophet, and now, well…now he wanted to praise him and worship the obviously true God the man served! None of the gods he'd served all his life had been able to heal him, none, they were useless, powerless, truly false prophets of the world but not the Prophet Elisha's God, he healed him! It was a miracle unlike any other he'd ever known, healed of leprosy and left with not a single scar from the blemishes! None would have known he'd ever been disease-ridden if they hadn't seen it for themselves.

Redressed, all the servants in dry apparel as well, Naaman and his entourage made their way back to the prophet's home.

"Prophet Elisha! Prophet Elisha!" Naaman called out for the man as his chariot approached his dwelling.

This time the prophet pushed open the door himself and stepped outside to stand before the captain. There was a slight knowing smile curving the lips of the prophet, a certain light of his own joy gleaming in his eyes. God had a purpose here in this healing he'd wrought through Elisha and God's work was joyful in its revealed miraculous ways.

Jumping down out of the chariot, Naaman rushed to stand in front of the prophet. Clearing his throat with a deep cough, trying to contain some of his unseemly, inappropriate behavior for a man of his station, the captain bowed his head with his arm across his chest showing the man high regard, the respect of a Syrian captain.

Head raised, arm at his side a moment later, Naaman spoke loud and clear. "Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now, therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant."

With a wave of his arm, several servants revealed the treasure of fine raiment, the chests filled with silver and gold, surely a small price to pay for the return of his health, and in truth, his life.

The sheer wealth before the prophet was unlike anything he had ever been offered before, but without a single thought of taking possession of it, the prophet shook his head and held his arms up, his palms outward as if to ward off the offered blessing. "As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none." He told the captain. He hadn't healed Naaman, God had healed him. To take a reward of any kind would be taking the glory for the healing he had not done. He was a vessel to be used by the LORD, without any power of his own. Elisha wanted all the glory to go to God, every bit of it, not a single bit of glory would be his.

Naaman was wide-eyed with shock. The man was refusing enough wealth to set him up for the rest of his life in luxury and status. Surely he had to change his mind!

"You have to take it if it weren't for you my life would be over. You must let me reward you! I have to do something for you!" Naaman insisted and waved his servants forwards as if to force the treasures upon the man.

"No," Elisha spoke the single word adamantly and took a step backward, his face losing all of its previous peacefulness, replaced with a brow furrowed deeply, his expression stern.

Quickly, Naaman gestured the servants to back off. The last thing he wanted was to upset the prophet who had been instrumental in his healing.

To be Continued...

Naaman's Healing Story Continued....

The Jordan River came into view and Naaman's heart twisted just a little bit with the tiny bit of hope he allowed. Disgust also rose up vying for the foremost spot. The war within the captain was visible in his expressions. He was about to do something he did not want to do. Everything in him all but demanded he stop this foolishness, that he turn back and just go to his homeland. He was about to demean himself on a level he'd never had to do so before. He was a Captain of the Syrian army! A great captain, revered by many, praised by his King, and here he was about to strip down and walk into a muddy river on foreign soil. It wasn't bad enough he had to put a single foot into the river, he had to submerge himself fully, and not once but seven times! He had to go under the water completely seven times, totally covered by the reviled water. He couldn't do this thing, and yet he had to try, he had to.

Walking to the water's edge, Naaman steeled himself for what he had to do. His servants surrounded him and reached out waiting for his permission to help him take off his clothes. Taking a deep breath, Naaman gave a curt nod signaling them to begin. With each article of clothing removed Naaman's jaw tightened until it was clenched so hard he thought his teeth might break at any moment.

Stripped of all but a loincloth, Naaman forced himself to look down upon his exposed flesh. He had to see the reason he was doing this, he had to look at the blemishes on his skin. Leprosy. He could still remember his first suspicious mark and the horror that overtook him. It wasn't long before his suspicions were confirmed as the marked flesh expanded and grew more loathsome. Unable to deny what was happening to him he'd confessed to his king and the shame-filled him. He'd fall on his sword before going into a leper colony, it was just a matter of how long he could hold off before that had to happen. He had a family to consider and wanted them taken care of before the inevitable.

Conversations at home about his condition grew more frequent and spilled over into the ears of the servants, and soon that little Israeli captive felt bold enough to speak to his wife about the prophet in her land, the healing prophet. His wife, in turn, brought the information to him, with such hope in her gaze he held back his initial reaction to scoff at her falling for the little maid's lies. Her pleading with him to seek help from the prophet was at first refused, but her tears broke his reticence easily enough. He could never fight those tears they fell so seldom but when they did it was always out of the deepest love for him. Agreeing to go to the king with the request, Naaman told his wife softly to wipe away her tears, wishing he dared to touch her to do so himself. He longed to kiss her tear dampened cheeks and comfort her but he couldn't, and it had been a long time since he'd done so. Leprosy had separated them from the intimacy they were accustomed to and he missed her touch desperately. Such a man as he was, a strong Captain of a great army, the victor in many a skirmish and yet at home he'd always melted into the tender touch of his wife. For her, he had to try to save his life, even if it was a fool's undertaking.

The white blotches across his torso, the lesions moving to his extremities, Naaman knew it wouldn't be much longer before he lost fingers, toes, his nose. Oh yes, he'd seen lepers and their many disfigurements- always from a great distance, but close enough to know what this disease would do to him sooner rather than later. This wretched disease would be the death of him, he knew that, but here he stood not quite close enough for Jordan's water to touch his bared feet. The fool's errand had to be seen through to completion. He had to be able to tell his wife he'd done all that was asked of him. To go back to her and tell her his pride had kept him from following the prophet's instructions would only result in more tears and pleading for him to go back and try again.

As the wind brushed over his exposed flesh, Naaman's body shuddered hard. He had to get this over with now, there was no reason for any more delay, none.

The men surrounding him took a step back and all but his most trusted servant turned their backs on him, giving their master the privacy his rank required. They didn't have to witness his humiliation first hand and if they could, anyone of them would fight to keep any others from seeing their master this way. They'd protect him, and give him all the honor he deserved. Did they think their master a fool for undertaking this journey? No. They all hoped for only the best outcome.

A step forward and the cool water touched his feet. Naaman kept a gasp from escaping his clenched jaw, sparing himself the humiliation of such a noise. With his feet wet he instantly just wanted to get this whole ordeal over with as fast as he possibly could. One long stride and then he forced himself to take shorter steps, he hadn't a clue when or if the ground beneath would give way and he'd go under the water. He didn't want a sudden dunking, he wanted to be in control of his submersion.

The water moved up over his knees, his thighs and to his waist, this was far enough, he had enough room to completely submerge himself. Did he turn around and look back at the shoreline where his most trusted servant alone stood watching him, or did he keep himself facing away? Did he want to see the only other witness to his degradation? No. No, he did not.

Without another thought, Naaman spread his arms slightly out to the side and bent his knees dropping his body downwards and the water rushed over his chest, up to his arms, and to his neck. Pausing only long enough to take a deep breath Naaman forced the rest of himself underneath the water until he was sure not a single hair on the top of his head remained dry. Less than a moment later he shot up out of the water, the force of his push upwards causing him to stumble slightly before regaining solid footing. Water cascaded down over his face and he blew a hard breath outwards and shook his head displacing the water as best he could. One down. Only six more submersions to go. Did he pause to look at his flesh? No, he just wanted to get this over with. Down he went for the second time, a repeat of the first plunge. Up again, another hard shake of his head and expulsion of his held breath. Two. He could do this, only five more. After the next four plunges, Naaman paused, taking a deep breath as he brushed the water from his face. His stomach was a knot of hot anger and desperate hope. This time he did take a moment to look at his disfigured flesh. The wet skin distorted things a bit but he could clearly make out the marked skin twisted lesions still there on his arms. One more time, just once more and this entire sordid ordeal would be over and he could go home and make plans to end his life while a shred of dignity remained to him.

To be continued….

Naaman's Healing.

The gentile, heathen, Syrian- Captain Naaman wanted desperately to be healed of his leprosy. Given hope by a young girl taken captive from Israel that there was in Israel a man who could heal him, Naaman jumped at the chance. The King of Syria also wanted his amazing captain to be healed. The man was an asset to him except for leprosy that would ultimately keep him from doing his job. A letter from one king to another desiring help. However, the receiving king thought he was being asked the impossible, to heal someone of leprosy?! Impossible! This was a ploy, a set-up, he was being manipulated into what would be a war and already the Syrian army had taken Israeli captives from his land. Distraught the Israeli king was at a loss, he didn't know what to do. The word spread quickly and the prophet, Elisha stepped up. He would show the power of God to this disease-ridden, idol worshiping, enemy captain.

Relief filled Captain Naaman when he heard the news! Could it be true? Had his slave girl- captured from Israel- truly led him to a path of healing? He'd do anything to be healed, the alternative was a slow death as leprosy ate away at his flesh and incapacitated him, forcing him from life as he knew it and into a camp of diseased people such as himself. Surely he would go before this healing man and the healer would perform his elaborate ritual of healing. Isn't that what healers were supposed to do? All the supposed healers, soothsayers, and the like of his land, of his religion, put on great shows with their magic god-given powers. Unfortunately, they had yet to find a prophet, healer, soothsayer from their own religion that would heal him.

Sent for, he arrived at the home of the healing prophet who worshiped the one God, the unnamed God, the supposed God of all gods. Oh, yes, Naaman knew of the religion of these people. He studied history, he knew their backstory. Naaman was familiar with their temple worship dedicated to the one God, he knew all about their sacrifices to one God. He knew they had been captives of Egypt at one point and their God supposedly freed them by great miracles and brought them into occupied land, and enabled them to conquer the land He'd chosen for them. The kings- Saul, David, Solomon… oh, yes, Naaman knew of these famous kings of Israel and he also knew of the divided kingdom history, that's what you did as a good captain, a successful captain of an enemy army you studied and knew your enemies. There was no secret about the God of these people, and Naaman had nothing to do with Him, why would he? He wasn't Israeli and he was raised to worship is own particular god, Rimmon, otherwise known as Baal. To have to go to a prophet of another god was disappointing but obviously necessary. Hadn't his own king sent him to this land to be healed because there were no healing prophets of his own god in his own land?

Hope flared deep inside Naaman as he and his treasure-laden entourage arrived at Elisha's home. What would the prophet ask of Him? Would he have to undergo elaborate and intricate ceremonies? Would he need to be brave in the face of being asked to do something out of the ordinary? Did this prophet want of him a blood sacrifice? It wasn't uncommon to sacrifice humans to gods, though Naaman had never heard of this as common practice for this particular God. He like animal sacrifices, well, Naaman had animals with him for such things, or enough money and goods to buy anything he might need for this very special healing ritual to take place. Ready for anything, Naaman approached the house and after announcing his presence he expected to be shown into the prophet's home, but that didn't happen. Perplexed, as a servant of the prophet stood before him, Naaman's brow furrowed deeply. What kind of trickery was this?! Where was the prophet?! He'd been told the prophet would heal him and the prophet wasn't even inviting him into his home?! Why was this lowly servant speaking to him other than to show him the deference he deserved while leading him to the master of the house? This wasn't right, this wasn't how it was supposed to be done. Where was the respect he deserved?

The servant was only following the orders of his master and relaying the message given to him for the captain.

"My master said you are to go to the River Jordon and wash in the water there seven times and your flesh will return to normal and you will be clean."

Fury filled Naaman instantly. Wash in a filthy river?! What kind of sick joke was this?! Where was the prophet? Why wasn't he out there to meet him? Why hadn't he invited him inside? Why wasn't the healing ceremony being undertaken? Did he think him a fool that he would go into his filthy Israeli river not just once but seven times?! Would he have spies, or lay in hiding somewhere to watch him make a fool of himself by listening to such idiotic instructions? No! Naaman would not be made a fool of! He would not be dismissed by a messenger and sent on a fool's errand designed to humiliate him and not heal him. This wasn't the way you healed someone, it just wasn't! Where were the spices, the special herbs, the waving thrushes, the sacrifices and possibly painful tasks for him to undergo to appease the god being called on to heal him? Surely he at least deserved the prophet's presence and the prophet's grand gestures as he called on his God on Naaman's behalf! Wash in a river, this was lunacy. There were much better rivers, cleaner and pure in his own land. If he were going to be healed in a river surely it would be in his lands superior rivers. Enraged completely he turned away to leave, to go back to his own home- a leper still. He would not be made a fool any more than he had been already.

Before he could get far though, a few of his own trusted servants stopped him. "Why not at least try what the prophet said to do, what do you have to lose? If he'd asked you to do something fanciful you wouldn't have hesitated and you know it, but he didn't. You should listen, it won't hurt you. We won't tell anyone about this if it fails. Isn't it actually a good thing he doesn't want you to suffer a blood-letting, or painful needles, or bites from leeches, or worse? This won't give you any pain at all except to your pride."

Such bold servants, but their words didn't fall on deaf ears. Captain Naaman's fury began to abate. The things they were saying were all true. He had nothing to lose at all by listening to the instructions. It wasn't as if the prophet told him to cut off his own arm in order to be healed. A rush of resignation filled him as the anger subsided. He'd do it, he'd go to that dirty river and follow the instructions of the prophet given to him by the man's servant. His own servants were right, who was going to know about all this? And even if they did find out, who would blame him for trying anything to be healed?

Relenting to his servants' pleas, Naaman started for the Jordan River. The entire way to the river his thoughts were filled with conflict. He felt anger and yet a small glimmer of hope allowed itself to take root. What if this were the proper way to be healed here in this land of the One God? What if the filthy, disease-ridden river water had some special power. No, it couldn't have the power of its own, that would be impossible. If the river were the source of healing people would fill it all the time with their sick. Kings would fight to own the river as much as anyone could own an entire river. Such a prize as a healing river would be famous, not completely unheard of. That's was the truth of the matter, wasn't it? This river was not known at all for any kind of healing. Yet still, if he were healed… did he dare allow himself that hope, maybe just a little bit? The skeptic in him was in the forefront and yet to go home without at least trying to be healed by this ludicrous means would also be foolish and he'd always wonder what might have happened had he listened to the healing prophet. Surely that little captive girl had no reason to deceive him, in fact, things would be quite dire for her should this prove to be a fool's errand. She was a nice young girl, perfectly suited to serve his wife. In fact, his wife had nothing but great things to say about her. The girl wanted to help him so to lie to him about a healing prophet wouldn't be in character. The girl had nothing to gain from a lie, nothing.

The Jordan River came into view and Naaman's heart twisted just a little bit with that hope he allowed. The disgust also rose up in his thoughts vying for the foremost spot. The war within the captain was visible in his expressions.

To be continued…. By the grace and the will of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Healing.

When I was young, many years ago now, I remember reading from a set of books called, "My Bible Friends." You can still find them to order online if you want to get a great set of kid-friendly bible books that will give your kids lasting memories- as I can attest to. The set of books was one that had the story of Naaman, a man who gets leprosy and whose little captive servant girl- who believes in God- tells him she knows someone who could help him. As I write this I can recall the very vivid pictures from the book, I can see the young girl wanting her master to be healed, and I can remember his austere expressions as he set about listening to the young girl, having nothing to lose, but filled with doubt.

This man was the captain of the house of the king of Syria, a very important man held in high regard by his superiors. The LORD favored Captain Naaman by giving Syria deliverance from their enemy. This Captain was a mighty man in valor, and honorable, but he was still a leper.

Long story short, Naaman listens to the young servant and goes to see the prophet of God and the prophet tells Naaman what to do to be healed- he doesn't simply heal him. Naaman is very angry at what the prophet wants him to do. It seems silly to him, demeaning, beneath his rank and dignity to do this thing being asked of him by this prophet belonging to another people. In fact, Naaman leaves angrily. But servants of his convinced him to listen and do what the prophet told him to do. Sure enough, Naaman was healed by following the instructions of the prophet.

I can picture the young servant girl with the captain and his wife all of them praying together at the end of the story, as Naaman came to believe in God after that, denouncing the false gods he previously worshiped.

This story's meaning conveyed in the child's book was that God might ask us to do things we might not want to do, that we might think are silly, but if we listen and follow God's leading we will do well. God wants to heal us. God wants us to comprehend His healing power.

Now, let's read the Bible passage this children's story is based upon-

2Ki 5:1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

2Ki 5:2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

2Ki 5:3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

2Ki 5:4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

2Ki 5:5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

2Ki 5:6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

2Ki 5:7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

2Ki 5:8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

2Ki 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

2Ki 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

2Ki 5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

2Ki 5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

2Ki 5:13 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?

2Ki 5:14 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.

2Ki 5:15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

2Ki 5:16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

2Ki 5:17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.

2Ki 5:18 In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.

2Ki 5:19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

*

Go wash in the river Jordan seven times. How many of us right now today would gladly wash ourselves in the river Jordan seven times if it would heal us of our ailments? We would, wouldn't we? There would be a flood of people at the Jordan River right now if the river itself had that power of healing for all. The King of Israel had received from the King of Syria the charge to have Naaman healed. The King of Israel was very upset, how could the King of Syria ask of him something that was impossible for him to do? The King of Israel was so upset that he tore at his own clothes in despair. He didn't have this sort of power! Surely the King of Syria was asking this thing just to start a fight between them. The upset of the King of Israel reached the ears of Elisha, a prophet of God and it was the prophet of God who had God on His side, willing to heal this man who didn't even believe in God at all, but worshiped false gods.

The faith of the young captive servant girl set this all in motion.

We have a God who heals.

Over and over Jesus healed people by the thousands. Jesus even said these words- "Thy faith hath made thee whole."

Mat 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

Mat 9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

Mat_9:22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

We seek healing today, healing for others, healing for ourselves. We long for a time such as when Jesus walked the land of Israel healing when prophets of God could heal. We pray for healing and yes, sometimes we can witness the hand of God as a person is healed, but often there is no healing. We've no prophet to go to, Jesus is not going from city to city healing all who come to Him, and the apostles are long gone who continued this healing after Jesus died, rose and returned to heaven.

We are told to seek healing-

Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord

Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Are you sick?

Call for those you believe are of God.

Let those believing of God pray over you.

Let those believing of God anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord.

Confess your faults to each other.

Pray for each other.

So you may be healed.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

The prayer that produces the intended effect, the extremely passionate enthusiastic prayer of a man right with God will help a lot.

Healing.

To be continued tomorrow by the grace of our Lord and Savior, may His will be done always!

The Spiritual Kingdom.

To be called by the name of the LORD God of host, how wondrous that has to be! To belong to God!

Jer 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

If the words of the LORD do not bring us joy and rejoicing in our hearts what a sad state we must be in. The words of the LORD are so precious. We can't appreciate enough how incredibly blessed we are to have the word of the LORD. I go look on the news today and find in some country, in someplace on this earth there are those being persecuted STILL for reading the word of the LORD. It seems medieval, it seems barbaric that people today born in certain countries are not allowed to own a Bible. We read the history of the Bible and how it was kept from the masses by the clergy who wanted to retain control of how people interpreted the Word. The clergy at the time did not want people to have the Word of God to read for themselves because to do so would open their eyes to the truth of God's word, the freedom of God's word, the salvation found in the Word of God. It wasn't until the Protestant Reformation that the Word of God was spread far and wide in the hopes that it would never be repressed and kept from people again. The Bible is mass-produced and widely available in so many places and yet still you have some countries and the rulers of those countries forbidding people from reading the Bible.

I could go into a book store or go online and order all the Bibles I want to order, no one would stop me. I have several Bibles in my house right now at this very moment. I am free to sit down with the Bible and read it all day and all night if I choose and no one would stop me, not a single person. There is NO threat over my life if I read the Bible constantly, I am so blessed- blessed beyond measure to have this privilege, this access to JOY that can only be found in the Bible.

This is a truly supernatural book, the guide to eternal life is found in the Bible. The miracle of its existence has been denied by many, labeled as fiction and fantasy. The Bible holds prophecies most have come to pass already as it was deemed they would. The Bible was a book whose words were given to men to write by the HOLY SPIRIT, one of the three God's who agree as one in the truth we believe.

The SAME HOLY SPIRIT will open the understanding of those reading the inspired words. The words in the Bible are written for-

2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction.

Is it any wonder a ruler who wants their people to only follow their rules and no others would prohibit their people from reading the Word of God?

Oh, the JOY of the WORD OF GOD! The precious sweetness of the WORD OF GOD! To know the wonder of the WORD OF GOD! To have revealed to you the wonder of this WORD is a blessing that is beyond full comprehension.

Eze 3:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Psa 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

Pro 24:13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

Pro 24:14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

The words of God are more necessary than the food we eat to survive.

The sweet honey tasting WORD of GOD can satisfy us in a way nothing else can. Spiritual life, spiritual existence, eternal life with God is found on this plane, in this realm. Is it any wonder we can be transported by fictional worlds and allow ourselves to be dragged down into worlds that don't exist- it is because our spiritual longing knows there is a TRUE spiritual existence for us beyond all we know as our lives right now. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, came and preached of this Spiritual Kingdom. Freedom unlike any other is found in the Word of God. A freedom that cannot be jailed, not ever! Freedom that not even our temporal deaths can take from us! The knowledge of the Spiritual in Christ, in God the Father, through the Holy Spirit!

We are BLESSED.

Words Like Honey.

Jer 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

Feasting on the word of God!

Prophets and prophecy, these men of God, guided by God to know the truth and reveal it to others talk about eating the words given to them by God.

Eating figuratively is our way of relaying our desire for something, isn't it?

I've heard people say as they gently pinch a baby's chubby, cheeks, "I could just eat you up!" Now, of course, the people who say this do not mean it literally. The point they are conveying is how wonderful that baby is to them.

I've also heard people say something along these lines- "If that were food I would eat it up!"

When a person has a good appetite they find food appealing to them. Food will delight the senses- the sense of smell, sight, sometimes sound (think of sizzling favorite fried foods, or the roiling boil of a broth, or the popping noise of popcorn, to name a few.) The sense of touching food can be appealing as well. Taking a nice warm loaf of freshly baked bread and breaking it into pieces, picking up a palmful of your favorite nuts, plucking a juicy apple from a tree, or grapes from a vine, all these are very tactile and add to the enjoyment of the food to be consumed. The last sense - the sense of taste is a given when we are talking about food so I purposefully left it for last. Eating is more than just putting the blandest nutrients into our bodies without any consideration for our senses.

When Jeremiah writes of eating the words of the LORD that he found and that eating of the words created joy and rejoicing in him- this is something we can all use our imagination to comprehend fully. He perhaps devoured those words ravenously and joy filled him. Have you ever read a book that you found so overwhelmingly good that you could honestly say you devoured it? Some might say they devoured it in one sitting, staying up all night just to finish reading the book, it was so good. We can comprehend the delight in words and how they can fill our hearts with joy. Who among us hasn't received, or longed to receive, a love letter? The love you feel for someone can be revealed in words they speak to us. We can feel our heart overjoyed, the emotions so intense simply from the words a person writes to us. The greeting card industry knows this and makes a lot of money from people who want to say things to those they love, but don't quite have the time, inclination, imagination, skill, etc to do this themselves. I receive a birthday card with a special message from my spouse, or from my children and it gives me joy. It doesn’t matter that a thousand other mothers and wives may have received this exact same card, what matters is my child, my husband took the time to get me the card to share their feelings with me, to bring me happiness, to give me joy.

We know how powerful words can be, and it is no wonder that metaphorically eating them is something that men, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote down in the Word of God. Jeremiah wasn't the only prophet to speak metaphorically of eating words.

Eze 2:8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

Eze 2:9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein

Eze 3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

Eze 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

Eze 3:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Eze 3:4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Psa 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

More on this tomorrow… all by the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.