Elisha seemed unhospitable and unwelcoming to Naaman, especially after intentionally asking the king to send Naaman to him!!! However, I think Elisha was behaving this way to make sure all the glory went to God Most High!
II Kings 5:10-13 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself
seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be
cleansed.”
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would
surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and
cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana
and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?
Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the
prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How
much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”
Our Faithful God
used even more servants to accomplish His purposes and plans in this situation!
He had them be bold and brave to challenge their master in his fit of rage. Maybe
the servants knew the character of the Israelite servant girl and had believed
what she had told them about her God.
The way God was
responding to the need was certainly different than what anyone expected. I
think God was using these frustrations to prepare the heart of Naaman and the
hearts of those around him to receive a greater blessing than mere physical
healing!
I know I can act
like Naaman and get angry when prayers don’t get answered my way or in my time.
However, God is still actively working! We can anticipate His greater purposes!
