“If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy”
2 Kings 5:3
This story is amazing. It tells of a young servant girl who cared about her master enough to urge him to go to Elisha for healing. Why is that amazing? In verse 2 we read that this young girl had been taken captive by bands of raiders from Aram. They had dragged her away from her family in Israel and taken her to a strange place to be a servant. The story goes on to tell how Naaman is healed. His servants had to encourage him to humble himself and obey Elisha’s instructions because he was offended by them. . The man was fortunate to have these servants, without them he would have died a leper. If the young girl had been bitter about her captivity, hating her master, she would not have helped him. She might have thought the commander who had brought harm to others deserved to suffer himself. This man was an enemy of Israel and yet she helped him, and so did Elisha. Why? It was God’s direction, His opportunity for Naaman to turn to Him. He reaches out even to wicked men in love.
God revealed His name and His nature to Moses.
And He (the Lord) passed in front of Moses proclaiming
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished.”
Exodus 34:5-7
If Naaman had not responded to God’s love he would have faced judgement and punishment when he stood before God at the end of his life. God used His servants to reveal His love to Naaman and save him from his sins.
When he was healed he went back to Elisha and said “Now I know there is no God in all the world except in Israel” v 15. He said that he would never make offerings to any other god and asked the Lord to forgive him when he helped his master in the temple of Rimon. His attitude had changed completely. He came expecting Elisha to serve him and was angry when he didn’t do what he expected. Now he calls himself Elisha’s servant. God’s touch had healed him and humbled him.
Jesus taught us to love and forgive our enemies. He demonstrated this in his own life.
You have heard that it was said “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy” But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:43-45
We may not realise what the effect our actions are having on our enemies but we can be sure that we are doing what God does. Where would we be if God had not reached out to us when we were still His enemies?
