Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)
We all know someone who has had something awful happen to him, yet he is still filled with joy and kindness toward others. It is always such a testimony of God’s grace when we see someone like this. These people help us realize that our problems really aren’t so bad and that maybe we too can offer forgiveness rather than becoming embittered about our circumstances.
Last week, we delved into the topic of Job’s wife and her bitterness regarding her situation. Job’s wife lost everything dear to her and blamed God for it. The unnamed young lady that we’ll discuss today also lost everything she held dear; let’s see how she responded to her circumstances.
The Little Maid
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. (2 Kings 5:1)
Naaman was a man who seemed to have it all: position, power, leadership, wealth, honor, bravery, and so much more. His king considered him a great and honorable man because he fought well for his country. It is safe to say that many of the soldiers admired him for his wealth and position. However, he had a major problem: He was diseased with leprosy.
What a terrible disease leprosy was and is! Surely, the disease affected Naaman’s ability to serve his country and perform his duties; it undoubtedly caused him great pain as well. Leprosy had no cure or even viable treatments; it was a death sentence for anyone who contracted it. Naaman was on a slow and very painful road to death.
And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. (2 Kings 5:2)
The fact that the Bible refers to her as a “little maid” implies that this is a fairly young girl, most likely younger than 12. Imagine if someone stole you from your home, family, friends, everything you’ve ever known or loved at such a young and tender age. Then, the very people who had conquered her land and possibly killed people she knew, carried her off to a foreign land.
Naaman gave her to his wife to wait on her and serve her. She went from being a free young girl to being someone’s servant. It would have been so easy for her to be an emotional mess after all of that. She was undoubtedly afraid and worried about her future. She could have easily chosen to harbor negative feelings towards her master and mistress, possibly even delighting in the fact that Naaman was afflicted with leprosy, yet we see no evidence of such feelings. In fact, she felt compassion toward her master and his plight.
And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. (2 Kings 5:3)
She wanted him to be healed—The man who had stolen her away from her homeland and turned her into a servant! It is clear from this verse that this maid had a love for her master…and for God because only God can help someone be so compassionate towards an enemy. She also, obviously, knew who God’s man was and knew that he had God’s power on his life. She wanted nothing more than for her master to receive that power and be healed.
And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed… (2 Kings 5:4-5b)
Because the maid shared her desire with her mistress, another servant overheard it and told his master. Then she passes out of the story, and we don’t hear about her again.
Naaman, however, immediately goes to his king, asking for permission to go to Samaria to see this prophet. The king readily agrees and sends Naaman to Israel.
As the account continues, we read that Naaman eventually found his way to Elisha the prophet who told him that if he washed in the Jordan River seven times, he would be healed. Naaman, at first, balks at the idea, but his servants convince him to do it:
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. (2 Kings 5:14)
Naaman was healed of his leprosy! God completely took it away and made his skin even better and healthier than it was before he had leprosy! Yet, as amazing and miraculous as that was, what happened next was even better:
And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel… (2 Kings 5:15)
Naaman believes in God! We don’t know anything about Naaman’s life after this account, so we cannot say with certainty that this was his “salvation experience.”. However, the fact that a man raised in idolatry came to recognize the one true God is amazing all on its own! One can only hope that Naaman chose to serve God after his healing.
What We Can Learn
And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. (Luke 4:27)
Why was Naaman the only leper that God cleansed during Elisha’s time? It is not too much of a stretch to say that it was partly because of the kindness and compassion of the little maid. Yes, Naaman had to have faith, and he had to obey Elisha’s directives. However, had the maid chosen to be bitter and unforgiving, she would not have told her mistress that Naaman could be healed. Naaman would never have had the chance to see that amazing power of our God.
Imagine the people around us that might be missing out on a chance to meet God because of the way that we react to our circumstances. That little maid lost everything! When was the last time something that awful happened to us? Yet, sometimes, we experience one little thing not going our way, and we become bitter and angry towards God. That resentment, if allowed to remain in our hearts, will eventually come out of our mouths, ruining our testimony before others.
We must learn to forgive, to accept our circumstances as being part of God’s plan for our lives. We must be kind and compassionate to others, even our enemies. Our good attitudes could be the very thing that brings those enemies to salvation in Christ. What an amazing testimony that would be!
To read the full account of Naaman’s healing, please click here.