(4-7) Naaman comes to the king of Israel looking for healing.Īnd Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.” Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. “And see the benefits of a religious education! Had not this little maid been brought up in the knowledge of the true God, she had not been the instrument of so great a salvation.” (Clarke) 3. She cared enough to speak up, and she had faith enough to believe that Elisha would heal him of his leprosy. If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria: This young girl was an outstanding example of a faithful witness in her current circumstance. Yet, she was greatly used in a simple way.ī. It was an irreplaceable loss for her parents, and one they no doubt grieved over every day.
She was probably raised in a godly home, yet taken from her family at a young age. The young girl illustrates the mysterious ways God works. Yet God allowed the tragedy of her captivity to accomplish a greater good. Had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel: This girl was an unwilling missionary, taken captive from Israel and now in Syria. Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.”Ī. (2-3) The testimony from the servant girl.Īnd the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. Leprosy kept eating away at the face until literally the nose, the palate, and even the eyes rotted – and the victim wasted away until death. Gums began to shrink and they couldn’t hold the teeth anymore, so each of them was lost. Then the joints of fingers and toes began to rot and fall off piece by piece. As things got worse, fingernails and toenails become loose they start to rot and eventually fell off. Pretty soon the spots spread over the whole body and hair began to fall out – first from the head, then even from the eyebrows. Before too long the spots got bigger, and started to turn white, with sort of a shiny, or scaly appearance. Ancient leprosy began as small, red spots on the skin. “Here was a heavy tax upon his grandeur he was afflicted with a disorder the most loathsome and the most humiliating that could possibly disgrace a human being.” (Clarke) No matter how good and successful everything else was in Naaman’s life, he was a leper. He was a leper, which meant that he had a horrible, incurable disease that would slowly result in his death. But a leper: Naaman had a lot going for him, but what he had against him was devastating. According to Jewish legends, “The Rabbins tell us that it was he who shot the arrow wherewith Ahab was slain.” (Trapp)ī. It seems that this is the only specific Gentile mentioned as a mighty man of valor. This same title was applied to Gideon (Judges 6:12), Jephthah (Judges 11:1), David (1 Samuel 16:18), Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:28), and Eliada (2 Chronicles 17:17). His position and success made him a great and honorable man, and personally he was a mighty man of valor.
As recently as the days of Ahab and Jehoshaphat, Syria had fought and won against Israel (1 Kings 22:35-36). Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man: Naaman was the chief military commander of a persistent enemy to both Israel and Judah. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.Ī.
Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria.