Reading the Bible through with me? Then grab your pen and jour-nal and
read 2 Kings 4-6. Namaan was a man whose life seemed all to-gether except for the fact that he had an incurable skin disease. He was a Gentile military
leader who had a young Hebrew servant girl. She encouraged told Namaan’s wife that he should see Elisha the prophet. Namaan was at the point where he was willing to try almost anything to be cured of his leprosy. He filled his bags with silver, gold, and ex-pensive clothing as a payment for the prophet’s
service. Surprisingly, when he arrived at Elisha’s home, Elisha didn’t greet him. He simply sent instructions through his servant, Gehazi. “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River and your flesh will be restored and cleansed.” Namaan felt insulted and angry. Not only did he feel disrespected, he believed the wa-ters of the Jordan were far inferior to the clearer rivers near Da-mascus. He left in a rage. Those closest to him knew this was a pride
issue. Look at their gentle confrontation in 5:13. When Namaan went back to Israel, dipped himself in the Jordan, and on the sev-enth time, he surfaced free and clear of the leprosy. He was so grateful that he still wanted to shower
Elijah with the gifts, but the prophet refused. In verse 17, we see that Namaan became a believer in the one true God.
How often are we like Namaan, wanting to experience the spectacu-lar, feeling the need for affirmation, and unwilling to stoop to do the lowly things that Yahweh might want us to do. In our walk with God, He gives us greater
responsibility and blessing only when we have been faithful in the lesser things He has commanded of us. What blessings you have missed because of pride and disobedience? Humility, submission, and obedience will always lead to
cleansing, forgiveness, greater responsibility, and blessing. To read Jesus’ words about this prin-ciple, read Matthew 25:14-30.
