Child becomes witness for God even in captivity
Originally published: November 22. 2009 3:01AMLast modified: November 19. 2009 9:11PM
First, let me say I am sorry about missing the second weekend of this month. I really messed up -- I wrote down my column would run the Sunday after that instead. That was not the first time I've messed up, really.
Anyway, our study today is about another unnamed woman of the Bible. Her story can be found in 2 Kings 5:1-27. This was a little girl that was taken in a raid by Naaman, the captain of the army of the king of Syria. Naaman was a mighty man of valor, a warrior of high regard, but he was a leper. He's the one many scholars credit with shooting the random arrow that killed Ahab, the king of Israel.
The little girl was the maid to Naaman's wife. She told her mistress that if he was "with the prophet that was in Samaria, he would recover him from his leprosy" (verse 3). This was told to Naaman, and he went to the king of Syria. The king said, "Go, I will send a letter to the king of Israel," so Naaman departed and took gold, silver and 10 changes of raiment.
When the king of Israel read the letter, he rent his clothes because the king of Syria thought he, the king of Israel, could cure Naaman. He said, "Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me" (verse 7).
When the prophet Elisha heard all the news, he said, "Send him to me that he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." Think about it: This little maid knew about God's man and the king of Israel acted like he didn't have a clue.
Well, the prophet sent word to Naaman and told him to go and dip seven times in the river Jordan and he would be clean. Of course, Naaman threw a hissy. In verses 11 and 12, he said, "Indeed, I said to myself, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy. Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?"
On and on he raved, but his servants finally talked him into washing in the Jordan. When he came up the seventh time, his skin was like a little child's. Please read the rest of the story; I want to get back to the little girl who was the reason for this.
We can only imagine what happened when Naaman got back home. Did he grab her up and hug and thank her? Did he reward her? Did he set her free? We will never know about that, but we do know that even in the circumstances she was in, she was still a witness for God.
Gerald Ivey is pastor of Crossroads Missionary Baptist Church, Walland. His column runs the second and fourth Sundays of each month in the Women's Section. Mail comments to Gerald Ivey, The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37802-9740 or e-mail Women's Times Editor Linda Albert at linda.albert@thedaily times.com.
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