If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? (2 Kings 5:13)During a time of uneasy detente between Aram and Israel, Naaman - one of Aram's most valued generals - came seeking help for his leprosy from the prophet Elisha. Naaman was a proud man, who had earned his position and commanded respect from both his subordinates and his superiors.
When his entourage stopped at Elisha's house, the prophet didn't even come out to meet him. He sent word that in order to be healed, Naaman was to wash himself in the Jordan seven times. Naaman was offended. It would be like expecting to see the doctor and having the receptionist hand us some pills through the glass: Take two aspirin and call us in the morning.
At the very least, a man of Naaman's standing deserved a face-to-face. He expected Elisha to make a big deal over his visit and summon his very best magic to heal his leprosy. Not only did he want the answer to be harder than Elisha made it out to be, he wanted to play a role in his own healing. Give me a quest; I'll do anything. Go wash in the river?... Are you serious?
We're just the same. Give me step-by-step instructions. I'll follow any rule to make myself right with God. But it's not about proving ourselves worthy. It's about accepting God's free gift of grace.
How are you trying to earn God's favor?
42 One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh-baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, "Pass it around to the people to eat." 43 His servant said, "For a hundred men? There's not nearly enough!" Elisha said, "Just go ahead and do it. God says there's plenty." 44 And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how you can read through the Bible and still find passages you don't remember reading before? You would think with this so closely paralleling Jesus feeding the multitudes that this would have stuck with me too!