Long ago there was an army commander of the king of Syria named Captain Naaman. The king liked him very much, but Naaman was not happy inside. There was something wrong. This great army captain knew that he had an incurable disease called leprosy and that he would eventually die from it.
There was a little slave girl from Israel working in Naaman’s house who believed that Elisha, the prophet of the Lord in the land of Israel, could heal Naaman, and she told Naaman’s wife about this. When his wife told Naaman what the little slave girl had said, he only half-listened. However, he told the king about what the slave girl had said.
The king said, I’ll send you to the king of Israel, with a letter to him. Naaman took the letter, along with ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of fancy clothes to pay the king of Israel. Naaman couldn’t even carry everything; he had to have animals carry all that treasure.
When the king of Israel read the letter from the king of Syria, he knew that curing Naaman of his leprosy was something he could not do! Taking away even one spot of leprosy was impossible, and he was angry! That king of Syria is just looking for a fight! ... He knows I can’t do this!
Did you notice that Naaman went to the wrong man? The little slave girl had not said to go to the king of Israel; she said to go to Elisha, the prophet of the Lord. The Lord had given Elisha the power to do miracles. That little girl knew more than captains and kings knew, because it was the power of God that she believed in. And here’s something else that kings and captains often do not know! God can take your sins away, all of them, not for money or any kind of payment, but with the precious blood of His Son Jesus. Nothing, absolutely nothing else will do. He tells us it is Jesus— “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
Elisha heard of the king’s problem in not being able to heal Naaman’s leprosy, and he asked the king to send Naaman to him.
Naaman listened to the message that was sent to him from the prophet Elisha. But he didn’t get his healing right away, because he thought that an important person like himself should have a face-to-face meeting with the prophet. Elisha didn’t even come outside of his house to talk to him. He sent a message instead: Dip into the Jordan River seven times, and you will be clean.
Not me! Naaman didn’t want to wash in that river! He was furious about this! I think he would have gone home, leprosy and all, but one of his servants had a wise word of encouragement. His servant said, You would have done a hard thing, but this is easy! Why not do the easy thing?
So Naaman went down to the River Jordan as the prophet had told him. Seven times he dipped into that water, and when he came up the seventh time, his skin was as healthy as a little child’s! His leprosy was completely gone! But something else wonderful also happened. Naaman came up out of that water with not only new skin but a new heart too. He truly believed in the God of Israel!
Naaman didn’t have to pay anything or do any work or special deeds to be cured of his leprosy. He only had to believe and do what the prophet of God told him. And you don’t have to pay anything or do any work or special deeds to be washed clean from your sins. All you have to do is truly believe in your heart that Jesus died for you, taking the punishment for your sins. Tell Him that you are sorry for your sins and you want Him to wash them all away in His blood. Jesus won’t make you wait. He’ll wash every single sin of yours away immediately, and you’ll know they are gone! You can do that right now!
“Unto Him [Jesus] that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5).
You may read this story with its happy ending in 2 Kings 5:1-17.
MEMORY VERSE: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” Revelation 1:5
ML-02/09/2014