Richard Roberts
In 2 Kings 5, Naaman, a commander of the king’s army, suffered from leprosy. Being told that the prophet Elisha could heal him, he stood outside Elisha’s door with his horsemen, his chariots, and his fine clothing, expecting Elisha to come out and do some great work. Instead, Elisha sent out his servant, who said to Naaman, “Dip in the Jordan River seven times, and you will be healed.”
When he heard this, Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would surely come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me!” (v. 11 NLT.) Naaman had his own preconceived idea of how Elisha would heal him, and it didn’t include a muddy river. But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply to go and wash and be cured!” (v.13)
Finally, Naaman must have said, “You’re right. The prophet knew all about me–about my arrogance, my pride, and my haughty spirit. I will humble myself and do what he told me to do.” So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his flesh became as healthy as a young child’s, and he was healed! (v.14)
Now there was no healing in that river. Naaman’s healing was in his obedience. It was when he did what the prophet of God said to do that he was healed. It’s the same with us. Our obedience creates the atmosphere for God to perform the miracle we need.
