Today’s passage: 2 Kings 5:1-27
Helpful thoughts:
- The king of Syria would not have attributed Naaman’s victories to the Lord. But, in truth, it was the Lord who sovereignly gave Naaman these victories.
- God does not only pay attention to the Jews or to Christians. He is the God of all creation and His Kingdom will consist of saints from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
- After his healing, Naaman the Syrian was one of the only people in Israel who only believed in the one true God.
- Elisha, desiring to set himself apart from other “prophets” would not accept anything in return from Naaman. He wasn’t in a “business” for profits.
- It was believed that a person could only truly worship a god of any nation on that nation’s soil. Naaman wanted to take some Israel back to Damascus so that he could worship the Lord.
- Naaman’s position required he assist with the king’s pagan idolatry. He would not be worshiping in his own right and did not want his duties to be misconstrued as divided loyalty.
Questions to consider:
- How would the false doctrine of only being able to worship the gods of a particular nation when on their soil have impacted worship in that day and region? Why do you think that false doctrine ever emerged? What would it prevent the nations from doing? What happens when patriotism gets mixed with false worship?
- Gehazi decided he would try to take something from Naaman behind Elisha’s back. What did he actually receive? Why were Gehazi’s actions wrong? How could he have impacted Elisha’s testimony and the ministry of the Lord if they were acting like the other false prophets who were in it for the money?
- What is the irony of this narrative? Compare and contrast the beginnings and endings of Naaman and Gehazi.