2 Kings 5:11-15: a reflection

11But Naaman was angry, 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 wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.’ 12Aren’t Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13His servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, “See now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”

When the great commander Naaman came to be healed of his leprosy, and the prophet's simple instruction was to wash seven times in the Jordan, Naaman was offended and nearly went away unhealed, because the cure was too plain for his pride. I thought he would surely come out to me, Naaman said, and do some dramatic thing; and he scorned the humble Jordan, going away in a rage. His pride wanted something grand, impressive, worthy of his station; the simple command to wash seemed beneath him, and he nearly missed his healing because of it. Only when his servants gently reasoned with him did he humble himself, obey the simple command, and find himself healed. Pride can despise the simple way God provides, wanting something grander; and humbling ourselves to obey God's simple command, rather than scorning it, is often the way to the blessing we seek. Naaman almost lost his healing to his pride.

Notice what nearly cost Naaman his healing: pride that despised the simple command. He wanted a dramatic cure, something worthy of his greatness; the plain instruction to wash in the Jordan offended him, and he nearly turned away in a rage. His pride could not stoop to so simple a thing. But the healing was in the simple obedience, not in some grand act. When he humbled himself and obeyed the plain command, he was healed. This exposes a real danger: pride that despises the simple ways God provides, wanting something grander, more impressive, more suited to our sense of ourselves, and nearly missing the blessing because of it. God's way is often simple, humble, plain; and pride can scorn it, looking for something more dramatic. But the blessing lies in humbling ourselves to obey the simple command, not in the grandeur we might prefer. To humble ourselves and do the plain thing God asks, rather than despising it in pride, is often the way to what we seek. Naaman was healed only when he humbled himself.

That is worth taking to heart, for we should humble ourselves to obey God's simple command rather than despising it in pride. We can, like Naaman, want something grand and dramatic from God, and despise the simple, humble way he provides, nearly missing the blessing because it is too plain for our pride; but Naaman was healed only when he humbled himself and obeyed the simple command to wash. God's way is often simple, and pride can scorn it. The blessing lies in humble obedience, not in the grandeur we might prefer. Do not despise the simple way God provides, wanting something grander; humble yourself and obey the plain command, as Naaman finally did and was healed. Humble yourself to obey God's simple command rather than despising it in pride and looking for something grander, as Naaman nearly lost his healing by scorning the plain command to wash in the Jordan but was healed when he humbled himself and obeyed; for God's way is often simple and humble, and pride can despise it and nearly miss the blessing, while the blessing lies not in the grandeur we might prefer but in humbling ourselves to do the plain thing God asks.

Lord, when the great commander Naaman came to be healed of his leprosy, and the prophet's simple instruction was to wash seven times in the Jordan, Naaman was offended and nearly went away unhealed, because the cure was too plain for his pride. I thought he would surely come out to me, Naaman said, and do some dramatic thing; and he scorned the humble Jordan, going away in a rage. His pride wanted something grand, worthy of his station; the simple command to wash seemed beneath him, and he nearly missed his healing because of it. Only when his servants gently reasoned with him did he humble himself, obey, and find himself healed. Show me what nearly cost Naaman his healing: pride that despised the simple command. He wanted a dramatic cure; the plain instruction to wash offended him. But the healing was in the simple obedience, not in some grand act. This exposes a real danger: pride that despises the simple ways you provide, wanting something grander, more suited to our sense of ourselves, and nearly missing the blessing because of it. Your way is often simple, humble, plain; and pride can scorn it. But the blessing lies in humbling ourselves to obey the simple command. Take that to my heart, for I should humble myself to obey your simple command rather than despising it in pride. I can, like Naaman, want something grand and dramatic from you, and despise the simple way you provide, nearly missing the blessing because it is too plain for my pride; but Naaman was healed only when he humbled himself and obeyed. Keep me from despising the simple way you provide, wanting something grander; help me humble myself and obey the plain command, Lord, as Naaman finally did and was healed.