The Text
Last Time on ‘The Story’
So I will start with Solomon, because I didn’t get to the ‘rest of the story’ last week. Solomon continues as king for decades, and shows increasing problems. He did build the Temple in Jerusalem, but even that was problematic. There are thorough accounts of the massive building projects that he undertook, ones which bear a striking resemblance to the forced labor of Egypt. The major problem, at least as far as the Deuteronomistic History is concerned, is that he had many wives and concubines (300+), which brought along with them various gods to worship. Not only did Solomon seek to make himself in the image of Pharaoh (rather than YHWH) and the head of a new empire, he also continued the syncretism of the nation by not only building, but also worshiping at the altars of many other gods.
Both of these issues lead to the splitting of the nation after his death. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son was crowned king, and his advisors suggested that he “lighten the hard service of your father and the heavy yoke that he placed on us,” but Rehoboam listened to the young men around him proclaiming “My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins” (which is a penis joke if you didn’t catch it). The Northern tribes give up on Rehoboam, and crown Jeroboam instead (who ironically was in charge of Solomon’s forced labor). In addition to having most of the same letters in his name, Jeroboam also had the blessing of the prophet Ahijah who ruined a perfectly good cloak to say that God was giving Jeroboam 10 of the 12 tribes. Thus the split kingdoms of Israel in the North, and Judah in the South, began.
Jeroboam then immediately sets up two golden calves (not an auspicious beginning) for the Northern nation of Israel to worship at, one at Dan and one at Bethel (where God appeared to Jacob). Things do not go better from there, and in general all of the kings of Israel are terrible (at least according to the pro-Judah account that we have). The kings of Judah, however are only mostly terrible.
The narrative then really shifts to being about kings, and having prophets as minor characters, to prophets being the primary character, and kings playing a more minor role. The first major prophet in Kings is Elijah, the powerful man of God who faces off against Ahab, the King of Israel, and Ahab’s wife, Jezebel (yes, that Jezabel). Elijah has a faceoff with 400 prophets of Ba’al at Mt. Carmel. Elijah calls on YHWH to burn up a sacrifice with heavenly fire, and then kills all of the prophets of Ba’al. Jezebel is not pleased with this turn of events, and vows revenge against Elijah, who quickly runs away to Mt. Horeb (AKA Sainai). God gives Elijah further instructions, half of which he ignores; but the thing he actually does do is name a disciple, Elisha. Ahab eventually is killed (by the Arameans), and Elijah is taken into heaven on a fiery chariot. In addition to having almost all the same letters in his name, Elisha is also granted a ‘double portion’ of the Spirit of God that was granted to Elijah, and he is now the main prophet in the land of Israel.
Today’s Story
Naaman: Today’s story starts not with Elisha the prophet, but with Naaman, commander of the army of Aram. In classic Hebrew Narrative style, we are quickly given several pieces of information about Naaman, and all of them are important.
Commander of the King of Aram: Aram was one of the major nations to the East of Israel (remember, in the Hebrew Scriptures, East is not a good direction) in modern day Syria. They have continually been enemies of the twelve tribes, in fact, they were the ones who killed king Ahab in a battle. Naaman is not only a warrior in his own right, he is commander of their army. In other words, he is (or should be) a bad guy in the scriptural narrative. There are lots of assumptions that would come with his nationality and status. Assumptions that will be purposefully messed with.
By Him YHWH Had Given Victory to Aram: These Deuteronomic histories have a clear perspective, there is nothing that is outside of God’s divine control. If Aram has had military victory, it is because the LORD must have given it to them. There is no suggestion that Rimmon or Hadad (gods of the Arameans) has given the victory, it is YHWH God. This further solidifies that the recent victory which resulted in Ahab’s death was God ordained.
Leprosy: We have here a wonderful juxtaposition, Naaman is a mighty warrior, he is able to use his body to harm others, and yet his body is rebelling against him. He has a great deal of power to influence his destiny, yet has no control over the skin disease that is slowly killing him.
A Young Girl: The second character that we are introduced to is as far from the first one as you can get. She is not a named powerful free warrior, she is an unnamed enslaved servant. Where he has power, she has none. However, she has knowledge on something that he does not, and (perhaps unlike him) she freely shares that knowledge with her enslavers, “if only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” Naaman, perhaps ironically, takes her word seriously, and goes all the way to the top with the request, and requests to be sent to Israel by the king of Aram. How remarkable that this is the person which provides the fulcrum of the whole narrative, it is ultimately her faith in the prophet and the God that he represents that brings healing for Naaman. It reminds us of the profound impact that we can have if we only share what we know.
Kingly Missives: Naaman takes the information gained from the enslaved girl to the king of Aram, who then sends Naaman, and a load of goods to the King of Israel.
According to Enduring Word/ Dilday the value of these gifts are an estimated $1.2 million, which is like 10 Model X Teslas.
You also note the implicit assumptions:
The Aramean king assumes that this healing is something that can be bought.
Both kings assume that this is ultimately a political action (he sends the letter to the king) with all of the implications for peace in the case of healing, and war if there is no healing.
The king of Aram assumes that the king of Israel has this power, or control over this power.
Naturally, this freaks the king of Israel out, because he knows that he does not possess such power. He sees it as a political trap, and rips his clothing (a sign of mourning).
So imajine that Xi Jinping sends General Li Zuocheng, and a bunch of gifts to President Biden to be healed from stage 4 Leukemia. There might be a slight amount of pressure.
Elisha: The man of God also sends a letter to the king of Israel, asking Naaman to be sent to him “So that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” I highly suspect that this lesson is not for Naaman alone, but for the king of Israel as well. Much like the strikes/plagues against Egypt, they are designed to show the power of the God who does them, not only to those it is targeted against, but to the ones called by God’s name.
Couldn’t This Have Been an Email?: So Naaman has been sent with this entourage from Aram to Shechem, and now to Elisha’s house (presumably in Sameriah) at Elisha’s own request, and Elisha sends a message out to Naaman. It is absolutely a power move. In this message, he is saying that Naaman is not worth his time in person, even when he is right outside the door, this triggers Naaman’s ego (which is a character in its own right in this story). So in our imaginary translation Li Zuocheng goes with the ten Teslas to some woman’s house in Compton, and she has him wait on her doorstep while some kid comes out and tells him to wash in the Los Angeles River.
Naaman’s Ego: Naaman’s ego almost gets in the way of his healing (boy does that sound familiar). Even though the request is a relatively easy one, to wash off in the Jordan river seven times, Naaman almost doesn’t do it. His ego is bruised because Elisha doesn’t come out to meet him in person. He is offended because he was expecting more pageantry (likely this is an assumption he has based on interacting with Canaanite prophets). His assumptions about the proper behavior is definitely tied up in Naaman’s estimation of himself, “I thought for me…” Namman is high on his own supply, and is incensed that Elisha doesn’t seem to share that high estimation.
I tend to not do particularly well with old white men, especially business men who are used to being given deference. More specifically, they tend to have a problem with me. To be clear, as a white-bodied hetero cys-male, I do not face nearly the push-back that others do, but maybe that is the problem, I should be part of the club, but I’m not. They expect that ‘for them’ I would at least (agree with their theology/ give extra weight to their advice/ kowtow/ etc.) and then I don’t, and they get butt-hurt. However, if I am honest, I can do that too; I can easily fall into a place where I expect to be the recognized authority on things, and when someone bucks me and I get offended. As an elder Millennial, I can easily see things in a very different way than the Baby Boomer (or Builder) folks with power, but I am not always very good at explaining the way that I see the world, and can get frustrated when they just don’t ‘get it.’ We all suffer from competency bias (the assumption that we know more than others) and many have an inflated view of their own importance. There are also many who have the opposite problem, who have been put down in their lives so much that they feel worthless. They will not believe that they have anything worthwhile to contribute to the situation. There are other stories about Elisha where he does spend time with these people, where he cares for the nameless widow of one of the prophets, or the Shunammite woman (also nameless).
Naaman’s ego is not just for himself, it is for his ethnic and geographical position. “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?” He thinks that the healing comes purely from the washing, since the prophet has not spoken in the name of YHWH God. ‘Don’t you think I have tried washing off already?’ he seems to be asking. He has not discerned that it is not the washing in the Jordan that will do the cleansing, but the act of faith behind that washing. Naaman stomps off in a huff, his ego not allowing him to see what is being asked of him.
How often do we let our own egos get in the way of what God may be doing in our own lives? How often have we mislead by giving our own (or even the ‘right’) answer, without admitting the mystery of unknowing? How often have we gotten in our own way, and not allowed God to do something, because it is not the thing that we were expecting? How often have we allowed our assumptions and biases, our expectations and need to be told that we are special, get in the way of God’s truth and action from a place we did not expect it?
The Voice of Reason: Once again, an unnamed enslaved person (or persons) is the major lynchpin for the story. Some servants call Naaman based on his ego and assumptions. They note that if the prophet had come out with pageantry, a wave of the hand over the spot, and some difficult task, Naaman would have done it. The quest was a common trope in ancient literature, as it continues to be today. Greek Mythology is full of examples of the great tasks like retrieving the Golden Fleece, or navigating the Labyrinth. The Bible in other places has impossible tasks, like Saul asking David to get one hundred Philistine foreskins (gross) in order to marry his daughter. The basic point from this servant/s is that if you had been asked to do some impossible feat in order to gain healing, you would have at least tried; so if the thing that is asked is easy, why not give it a shot.
We had a dear family friend that was an amazing faithful woman, and a true saint. She grew a ministry as a spiritual speaker and singer, blending her wisdom and beautiful singing voice together for audiences around the world. She also suffered from Post-Polio, and was always on the look-out for a cure for her pain. This made her an easy mark for sharlitans promising healing and wholeness (for just three easy payments of $9.95). Her house was full of cures, elixirs, tonics, devices, etc., anything that promised to bring healing, she got. Luckily she was in a position where purchasing these things did not put a financial strain on her, but still, she always had hope that the next bottle of healing water, or Miracle2 soap, or Red Light Therapy lamp would help. God never healed her from Post-Polio, but she never stopped doubting that God could.
Healing: Finally, Naaman sees past his ego, does the thing, and is healed. But this is not just the healing of his body, but a spiritual healing. He overcomes his cynicism, and claims that despite the lack of pageantry and the simplicity of the request, that “there is no other God in all the earth except in Israel.” His next request (beyond our paricape) is to take some soil back from Israel so that he is able to worship YHWH even in Aram. This request is rooted in the ancient assumption that gods, like kings, had certain territories, and could not be heard outside of their land (with the possible loop-hole of praying on dirt from that land). He also asks forgiveness for entering the house of Rimmon with his master, and helping him to kneel. Naaman is a true convert.
We in the modern age tend not to expect miraculous healing, but I know that I have heard many stories, and seen some myself where healing occurs, and modern medicine is unable to explain it. Perhaps it is coincidence, and perhaps we are limited to an overly materialistic metaphysic that only accepts certain answers to certain questions. Perhaps, as Hamlet said, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
The Rest of the Story
Naaman tries to give Elisha (who apparently has come out to meet him this time) the gifts that he has brought from Aram, But Elisha refuses with an oath. Naaman then makes the above requests regarding the worship of YHWH, and goes in peace.
Gahazi, Elisha’s servant (and potentially a disciple?) realizes that Elisha has let go of a golden opportunity, and runs after Naaman with a story of visiting prophets who need some cash money and a change of clothes (or maybe one of those Teslas). Naaman happily gives some of the gifts to Gahazi, who hides him. Elisha knows, however (the downside of serving a prophet of God), and gives Gahazi the leprosy that Naaman was healed of.
Elisha continues living that prophet life, and instigates a coup with the anointing of Jehu. Jezebel is finally killed when her own servants throw her out the window, and her body is torn up by wild dogs (fulfilling the words of Elijah). There is a bloody ‘cleansing’ of Israel with the massacres of Ahab’s family and the worshipers of Ba’al. The Temple is repaired under king Jehoash. Finally, Elisha gets sick, and is grieved over by king Joash of Israel who is given an oracle of his victory over Aram. Elisha dies, and his body is given credit for a post-mortem miraculous healing.
Pop Culture References
Sometimes wisdom comes from the most unlikely of places. In The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings Gandalf and the rest of the party are unable to access the doors to Moria; the answer, however, comes from Frodo, the Hobbit.
Pop culture is full of examples of arrogant self-made people who have a hard time trusting others. A subtle example is in Star Wars: A New Hope when Luke and Obi-Wan are trying to book passage to Alderaan and find Han Solo and Chewbacca. Luke balks at the asking price, claiming that they could buy their own ship for that, and Luke could pilot it. Han’s ego, of course, is epic as well, and is seen (and gets in the way) throughout the series.
There is no greater quest in media than the quest for a shrubbery (one that looks nice, and is not too expensive)
Hymn Suggestions
Called as Partners in Christ’s Service (GTG 761, PH 343)
We Cannot Measure How You Heal (GTG 797)
Just As I Am Without One Plea (GTG 442, PH 370)
There is a Balm in Gilead (GTG 792, PH 394)
O Christ, the Healer (GTG 793, PH 380)
Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy (GTG 415)
For the Healing of the Nations (GTG 346)
Live Into Hope (GTG 772)
When Hands Reach Out and Fingers Trace (GTG 302)
Links
Bible Project 1st and 2nd Kings Video
Prayer of the Day
God of Healing, you offer your healing free of charge, but we let ourselves get in the way. We struggle with hearing about those who are healed in the Bible, when we have not experienced such healing for ourselves and loved ones. We want your healing to look certain ways, but you sometimes heal in other ways that we were not expecting. Heal us Lord God, quickly and slowly, miraculously and through the miracle of medicine, and in ways that don’t look like healing at all. Amen.