Story: My old Chaplain (when Maddy and I were in Basle) Tom Roberts used to say that when you are stumped for a Bible passage to preach on - use the story of Naaman.
And for many of you who have gone to Sunday school, it is a very familiar and much loved story.
But the more I thought about it last Friday night, the more I realised how full it is of STRANGE incidents
-incidents that would have run countercultural to the thinking of the original audience of the book of 2 Kings - God’s chosen people Jews.
It is so full of strange incidents that you might be tempted to think that it is a fictional story rather than history.
Except for the fact that Jesus vouches for its authenticity in Lk 4, when he said
“And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time
of Elisha the prophet yet not one of them was cleansed –
only Naaman the Syrian”. (Luke 4:27)
As that great detective Sherlock Holmes is reputed to have said,
"Eliminate the obvious and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer."
(The Supreme Court and Constitutional Theory by Ronald Kahn. 1994.)
The incidents are so strange that we need to think out of the box if we are going to understand them.
Let’s look at some of them.
1. Strange Incident no 1. - God gave Naaman success
The story opens with a curious statement
5 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.
The Jews, they were God’s chosen people – so it would have grated to hear that God gave victory to their enemies - the Arameans
Why did God bless the Arameans and not them?
The Jews at the time were living in a time of general apostasy.
They were not acting as God’s special people.
They mixed in worship of false Gods with the worship of the one true God.
What can we learn from this:
If we don’t walk with God – we cannot expect his blessing on us.
Indeed God may even bring judgement on his people if they cease walking with him
2. Strange Incident No 2 is the witness of the little girl
We read :
2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.
3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said.
5 “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.
6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
This is one of the weirdest parts of the story
Have you ever thought why did Naaman and then his boss the Aramean King not only listen to - but act on the little girl’s report
Here was an insignificant servant girl – a slave dictating Aramean state policy.
Surely that is impossible?
No, not if you put God INTO the equation.
If there is a real hero to the story – it is that little girl.
And we don’t even know her name.
But there must have been something special about her – for Naaman to listen.
I think there are two characteristics of her life that I think are attractive.
2. 1. The first characteristic about the young girl was that she didn’t seem to get bitter about her captivity
As a young Jewish girl, captured and taken away from family and friends by the Arameans on a raid into Israel, she could have thought: “The only good Aramean is a dead one”.
And it would have been fair enough for her to think that about Naaman - who had been a successful general against her own people and who kept her in captivity.
But she didn’t - quite the contrary.
She was concerned enough for Naaman to stick her neck out and offer a solution to his plight.
2.2 The second characteristic about the young girl was that there must have been something about her character that made her trustworthy
I am guessing here - but why else would Naaman’s wife have listened to the young girl and then bothered to tell Naaman?
Especially as the girl was a slave.
I can only think that this young girl’s character shone out in Naaman’s household.
And it is totally in keeping with what we as the Children of God are called to BE
St. Paul exhorts us to live godly lives.
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:1&2)
That young girl’s lifestyle caused her to speak up.
And by so doing she paid a significant part in Naaman’s healing
She could have looked away and done nothing.
She might have been ridiculed – she could have even been laughed at – but she took her courage in her hands and spoke to her master’s wife.
What can we learn from this
No one is too insignificant that God cannot use him or her, if we are willing.
3. Strange Incident No 3. Is Naaman’s response to Elisha
We read in verses 8-14 how Naaman sets off to find the Prophet, with all his horses and chariots.
Naaman comes to the front door of Elisha’s house and Elisha's servant Gehazi tells Naaman:
“Sorry, mate the Prophet won't see you now.
He says: ‘Just go and wash in the Jordan seven times and you will be healed’.”
Naaman is none too pleased to be palmed off like this and fumes:
You’ve gotta be kidding, who does this bozo think he is!
I expected him to come out to me and call upon the Name of His God and I would be healed.
Anyway, that filthy stream is nothing to the two mighty rivers of Aram, the Abana and Pharphar.
So far Naaman the proud military commander is acting as one would expect but them the story takes a curious turn
His servants argued with him: “If the prophet had asked you to do something spectacular you would have done it. Well, all he has asked you to so is to wash in the Jordan seven times. What have you got to lose?”
And surprisingly Naaman LISTENS to them
He then goes to the Jordan and puts his foot into the water: It's cold.
I wonder what Naaman thought as he went six times down in the water and nothing happened.
But on the seventh time: Bingo- he hit the jackpot
He was healed.
Naaman was a changed man
He went back to the Prophet and said: Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.
He is so grateful that he offers the offers the prophet a gift but the prophet refuses to take it: “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve I will not accept it.”
Naaman then asks to take two mule loads of earth so that he can offer sacrifice to the God of Israel and none other.
He wants to start a new life serving God.
However his job requires him to bow down at times to the false god Rimmon and so he asks for an exemption:
“When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also- when I bow down in the Temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”
“Go in peace”, Elisha said.
You see when Naaman experienced the hand of God on him
IT CHANGED HIM FOREVER.
And may I leave you with the final strange incident
4. Strange incident no 4. Naaman's request.
Naaman's request for an exemption to his commitment to only serve the God of Israel is at first quite puzzling.
I think when he had to go into the House of Rimmon it was for "Occasions of State".
His request implies that his heart was NOT in worshipping the false god but he was not ready yet to give up his position.
In other words, his motivation was to honour his king not to follow a false god.
Why did Elisha agree?
Once we become saved, we are not changed and made perfect overnight.
Indeed it takes a lifetime for God to change us and I think that this would have been too much for Naaman to bear - as a new convert.
And so I guess the prophet realised this and therefore told Naaman to go in peace.
Let us beware to putting too heavy a burden on young Christians – and causing them to fall.
Conclusion
I felt as I prepared this that I would like to leave you with one thing to take away from this sermon– the witness of the little girl
Every one of us has a calling from God.
No one is too insignificant that God cannot use us – if we are willing to allow him.
If you are tempted to think that God cannot use you, think again
Remember Naaman’s wife’s little servant girl.
Her faith in God triggered her to speak about what she knew her God could do.
But note we too can have an influence in our success.
As Christians we are called to Holy Living
God’s calling together with our Christian training is the opportunity for success
And what she started has been recorded not only in the Old Testament but the New Testament too.
