Naaman the Leper
It’s gone from a Sunday School story to Days of our Lives!
Reference: v.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. (TNIV Bible)
Explore: I can remember hearing about this particular 2 Kings story in Sunday School when I was a child. “Naaman was a good man but he had leprosy – a terrible disease. He went to see the prophet Elisha and was told to wash in the river seven times. Naaman washed himself seven times and was completely healed. He thanked Elisha and believed in God because he had been healed.” That’s the basics of the story that I remember. But now, as I read through this story many years later, I see that there is a lot more to the story. Naaman has to travel to a separate nation to seek healing, it is through his servant that he finds information about God’s prophet Elisha, he is almost turned away due to political tension, he gets angry because the process of healing seems too simple, he offers a great deal of wealth to Elisha but it is turned down, he has to go back and serve a man who does not believe in the God he now believes in and then Elisha’s servant gets leprosy because of his dishonesty and betrayal!! It’s gone from a Sunday School story to Days of our Lives!
Application: Sunday School is a great place to gain a good foundation of God’s love and grace. However it’s so important that we don’t leave our faith back in Sunday School. The wisdom we can gain from going back to these great stories as adults is out of this world. As we can greater explore the intricacies of the stories and the faith journeys of other people it is a great encouragement to our own personal faith. And the Bible is filled with hundreds of stories that can help us deepen our faith in God. Don’t be content with a Sunday School understanding of God but let’s really explore who God is and what difference He makes in our lives.
Prayer: Lord, there are so many people who have gone before us and experienced Your greatness. May we learn from their lives and apply their experiences to our own lives. Amen.
What is a simple Bible story that you heard as a child? Look it up and read it again.
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.
2 comments:
Linda – thank you for this insight. As I read this I laughed. You talked about learning this story in Sunday School…and that is exactly what I’m studying for, a Sunday School lesson!!
My goal is always to make the stories many of the kids have heard before more interesting and rich…more ‘life like’ thank you for your insight here.
The mentions of:
– going to a completely separate nation
– political tension
– the process seems too simple
are very insightful.
Just passing along my thanks to you. Keep up the good work.
Nathan
http://www.betterbibleteachers.com
Thanks so much for your message, Nathan. A Sunday School teacher is a high calling. Thanks for your commitment in helping other people to connect with God.
Your encouragement was greatly appreciated. Linda.