It’s amazing to see God miraculously provide for the needs of His people and His followers (like we have the last few weeks), but what about the enemy of His people? Does God ever miraculously provide for them?
If you know the
story of Elisha and leprous Naaman, the answer is “Yes!”
I’d like to pick
apart this familiar story over the next few weeks, focusing on how God used
many people in small ways as part of His compassionately BIG restoration
of Naaman, the foreign enemy.
II Kings 5:1-4 Now Naaman was commander of
the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his
master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He
was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.
2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive
a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She
said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in
Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had
said.
Several things stand out to me about the servant girl. She
was compassionate and caring (rather than bitter and revengeful about her
plight). She was bold and brave to speak up. She was confident in the God of
Israel and what He could do through the prophet Elisha. She also must have been
trustworthy for Naaman to even consider what she said (as a foreign and female
slave).