2 Kings 5: Elisha heals a leper

Synopsis:

One of the captains of the king of Syria is noble in valour, but he has leprosy. His wife has a maid from Israel and she says – oh, there is a prophet in Israel who could heal him. So the king of Syria inquires to the king of Israel on behalf of his leprosy ridden captain. The king of Israel tears his clothes – I have no idea how to cure him.  When Elisha hears of this he tells the king to let the captain of Syria come to him.  The captain comes and Elisha sends a messenger to tell the captain to wash in the Jordan 7 times and his flesh shall become new again.  The captain is furious. He was expecting to meet the prophet and to be prayed over.  And besides, aren’t the rivers in Syria better than the Jordan?  The captain’s servants calmed him down. If the prophet had told you to do a great deed to clean yourself, you would have done it. So why not just wash and be clean. So he did. He went to the Jordan and dipped in 7 times and his flesh was clean and like that of a child.  The captain returns to Elisha thanking him and tries to give him a gift, but Elisha refuses. So the captain is sent away. Elisha’s servant Gehazi follows the Syrian captain and asks him for 2 talants of silver and 2 changes of garments. Elisha finds out about this and curses Gehazi with leprosy.

In other words:

Elisha heals a leper by having him wash in the Jordan River.

Favorite bit:

2 Kings 5:10-14 Naaman, the Syrian captain is cranky. I thought , He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. But nooooo. The healing is done without the laying on of hands.

Least favorite bit:

Gehazi taking money from the captain and being turned into a leper by his boss. (2 Kings 5:17-27)

Moral lesson Learned:

Flashy solutions aren’t necessarily the best solution. (2 Kings 5)