2 Kings 5 – Day 3

2 Kings 5:15,16 – “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.”

Here we begin this final day with Naaman coming back to Elisha to offer him gifts for telling him how to be healed. Naaman acknowledged God as his Healer, but he wanted to give Elisha some of his treasures as a thank you. Elisha, however, refused. 

The problem is found after verse 16. Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, had overheard this generous offer and was none too happy when Elisha refused. So after Naaman had left, Gehazi ran after him and made up a story about travelers needing money and clothing (vs. 21,22). Naaman was all too happy to assist Elisha with his “problem” (vs. 23). But when Gehazi came back to where Elisha lived, he hid the treasures and then denied that he had left (vs. 24,25). Elisha knew what he had done and bestowed upon Gehazi the very thing that Naaman had come to have taken away – leprosy (vs. 26,27).

What’s the lesson here – 

1) When we are following after God, we should not expect a reward. When God tells us to do something, we should not expect recognition, compensation for our work or any other form of reward. When we do, it shows a problem in our heart-attude. Yep, just made that word up. It means the attitude of our heart, the reason that we do something. Elisha did not help this wealthy and recognized man because he thought he would get some kind of reward. No, Elisha helped Naaman because God told him to. And when offered a compensation for his efforts, Elisha politely declined. God should receive the glory. Additional money and fine clothes would only draw attention to Elisha and people would ask how he came into this wealth. He would have to answer honestly and then Elisha would be put on a pedestal. Elisha knew that was not what God wanted. Pride, as we learned earlier, has the potential to destroy anyone who sips from that cup. When God tells you to do something, just do it without expecting anything. 

2) Greed will come back to bite you in the rear. Gehazi thought he could pull the wool over Elisha’s eyes. I guess he forgot who Elisha was in contact with – the Almighty God. But Gehazi couldn’t stand the thought of all those nice clothes and all that money heading back to where it came from without him getting just a sliver of it. So to get a portion, he lied. Dishonesty is one thing that really lights my fire. If there is one thing that I have taught my children over and over again is that telling me the truth the first time will get you in a lot less trouble than me finding out you lied to me. I am honest with others. I expect the same from other people. Unfortunately, many people don’t feel the same way and our world is full of people who refuse the truth. Our world is also filled with greedy people. There are people just like Gehazi out in the world that will say and do anything just to get something without having to lift a finger for it. They sacrifice intergrity and honesty just to gain an easy buck. Not the kind of person I want in my life.

So on this last day of 2 Kings 5, remember this – following God doesn’t mean you need recognition from others AND integrity and honesty are way more important than wealth. Both of these are challenging lessons. We all like to be recognized and a little extra in our wallet is a good feeling. But once again, how did we get it? God will recognize our deeds one day. That’s the only One whose acknowledgement really matters. And trusting that God gives us what we need when we need it helps to keep the greed away. 

Happy Friday.

2 Kings 5 – Day 2

2 Kings 5:2-4 – “And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.”

My daughter had the opportunity to go to a birthday party this weekend at a very crowded shopping establishment for a scavenger hunt. My son had participated in one at this same place last year, in the daytime, and he had to interact with all kinds of people he didn’t know. So, when I found out that this scavenger hunt was taking place on a Saturday night, my mommy alarms went off. There are too many crazies out there and my daughter is young and pretty – the perfect candidate for human trafficking. Nope, not happening if I can keep it from happening.

So, what does this have to do with today’s lesson?

The Syrians had gone over to Israel and brought back some people, particularly a young girl. This girl was taken from her family and brought back to Syria and was now serving Naaman’s wife. I’m guessing that she was treated fairly well, just based on the information given here. But still, she was taken. My heart goes out to her parents.

But this young girl was extraordinary. When she saw the need of Naaman and his condition, she didn’t hesitate to speak up and offer a solution. She was there serving in his house. She was no longer under her parents’ roof and following their rules and yet, she did the right thing. God knew her heart. He knew that she was the right person for the job. He knew what could happen in Naaman’s life if he just listened to this young girl. 

The circumstances were rare. I’m sure that a slave speaking up to her master in regards to her master’s husband’s condition was rare. Slaves were just that, slaves. Their thoughts and opinions rarely mattered. However, God had prepared the way – both in the life of Naaman and his household and in the young girl’s life.

You see, her parents had to have raised her to love and respect God. She had listened to the stories and maybe even experienced some of the wonders that Elisha had performed. She knew that Elisha was a man of God. She knew that if her master would go to him that he would ask God to heal him. The only way she could have known this was if she had been taught or had personal experience of it. God had been working in her short life.

So, despite the sad circumstances and the tragedy of losing a child, God was able to use this situation for good and for His honor and glory. 

There are times when we have to turn it over to God. We can’t worry about it. We can’t really try and do anything about it. We just have to trust that God has a plan in all of it. 

But He also gave us mommy alarms to keep our little bundles of joy from potentially harmful situations. We have to listen to those as well.

Today, you have read a portion of God’s word. You have seen how God worked in a terrible situation by providing Naaman with the opportunity to reach out to Him. God is always working in our life. He is constantly creating ways to show Himself to you and to bring you closer to Him. Use whatever circumstances you find your self in today to draw closer to Him. He will use you in ways you can’t even dream if you will just be ready and willing to serve. 

2 Kings 5 – Day 1

2 Kings 5:1,9-14  – “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it ? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

Last night, our lesson for the evening service touched on this chapter in 2 Kings. As I was reading it this morning, several things jumped out at me. I’m going to take a few days on this chapter and pick a few things out each day to talk about. Enjoy!

Let’s start out by me re-telling this story in the Melissa version – So Naaman was this mighty man of valor, super impressive dude, that somehow or another contracted this nasty disease known as leprosy. People didn’t want to be around someone with this disease. It was particularly hard on this dude – he was known as “mighty man of valour”! So, he hears about a prophet in Israel (we will cover that another day) and decides to go and see if this man can heal him. Well, Elisha, the prophet, doesn’t go and see this guy, but rather sends his servant to tell this uber important guy to go dip in the Jordan river seven times. Now, the Jordan river is nothing special. Most of the time it looks rather yucky. But this is the river in the land God had chosen to give the children of Israel, that made it special. This man who really thought something of himself considered it demeaning that 1) Elisha didn’t even have the wherewithal to come and speak with him and 2) he wanted him to dip in this yucky river. What?! At least, that was the thought until Naaman’s servant knocked him off his high horse by asking him this, “If that man had told you to do something fantastic, you would have done it. Why won’t you do something simple like go and dip in this river?” 

Pride. Pride is what almost kept Naaman from receiving his healing. He thought so much of himself and his position that he didn’t want to lower himself to dipping in this simple river. God did this on purpose. By doing something fantastic and difficult, Naaman would have perceived in his pride that he had done something worthy of praise. God wanted Naaman to see His hand at work in healing him. 

Oftentimes, God works in the small things. He works in the simple things. He works in people’s lives in such a way that His accomplishments are fantastically simple. It took a lot for Naaman to go down and dip in the Jordan. He had to put his pride away. He had to put his trust in Someone besides himself. He had to believe. All these were very simple things yet their effects are profound. 

Pride can be a major hinderance in our opportunities to see God at work. Pride can keep us from taking that leap of faith that may heal our hearts and open our life to new things. Pride can seperate us from loved ones, tear apart families and alienate us from friends. 

This week, let God show you where pride is hindering your life and growth in Him. Let God weed out those problems and allow Him to plant a new spirit within you – one that is growing ever closer to Him each and every day. 

Don’t negotiate

2 Kings 18:36 – “But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.”

Let me set up the scene for you – the king of Assyria was on a conquering conquest. The people of Jerusalem had heard he was coming. So they all ran to the walled city for protection. The leader of the group of Assyrians would go to the wall and begin verbally assaulting the people. He was trying to conquer them with psychological warfare. It’s a lot easier to conquer someone that way. King Hezekiah had given the people the command to not reply to the Assyrian. They were to hold their tongue. But all the verbal assaults were heard and the people’s hearts became heavy. They were saddened by the blasphemous words that were being spoken. Yet they held their tongue and prayed that God would protect and deliver them. And you know what, He did just that – because they put their trust in Him and not their own power.

There are times when the devil wants to get in your head. He wants to try and break you down with psychological warfare. It’s a lot easier to conquer you that way. But you can’t let him win. You have to fight back. Do you need to yell and scream at him? No. Don’t say a word. The more you talk, the more trouble you find yourself in. Don’t say a word. You can’t negotiate with this being. He doesn’t back down and he doesn’t give in. You are better off to not say a word and give it to the Lord in prayer, just like the people of Jerusalem did under King Hezekiah.

There is a children’s song that goes like this: “The devil is a sly old fox. If I could catch him, I’d put him in a box. Put him in a box and throw away the key. For all the tricks he’s played on me.” Don’t talk to the sly old fox. Don’t try and reason with him. Doing so will only get you in trouble.