“‘Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean?’ So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, ‘Not I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.’” 2 Kings 5:8c-15c
Naaman, Commands the army of the king Aram. He is a successful commander, has won many battles by the will of God though he doesn’t realize it (2 Kings 5:1). Naaman suffers from leprosy, a skin disease that keeps him apart from society and the soldiers of the army he commands. He suffers from the disease and being cutoff. His wife’s servant, a young Israeli girl suggests he go to a prophet in Israel. With his king’s permission he presents himself to the king of Israel, not a prophet, with a letter asking for healing. The king of Israel, who obviously has not clue about God’s power is shaken by the request. The prophet Elisha sends word for Naaman to come to him. Naaman is greatly put off by the lack of reception and recognition of who he is and even more that the instructions he receives are so simple. Yet, with encouragement from his aide he goes and washes in the Jordan River, is cleaned of the skin disease and most importantly recognizes the healing comes from God even though at first he was not impressed with the simplicity of the instruction delivered by a messenger from, at that point, an unseen prophet.O, that I/we would always “trust what God can do in even the most mundane places through the most ordinary people” instead of denying the fullness of the potential of possibilities available from God.