Wesley Word – June 22, 2022
To go along with service on: Sunday, June 26th
Experiencing Grace
- Contemporary Song: That’s Why We Praise Him
- Traditional Hymn: #117 O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Exploring Truth
2 Kings 5:1-14
Humility Leads to Healing
This week we are still in the Old Testament as we pick up the story of Elijah’s successor, Elisha. We are still in the Northern Kingdom of Israel but now, instead of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, we have their younger son Joram who took the throne after his older brother died without an heir.
The king of Israel had long been in an on-again-off-again conflict with Aram, in modern-day Syria. At this time, you might even say that they were what we would call “Frenemies.” The commander of the army of Aram was a man named Naaman and he suffered from leprosy.
Naaman had a captured Israelite servant girl who told him he should go see the prophet in Samaria, the capital of Israel, and be healed. So, the King of Aram sent Naaman to the King of Israel, assuming that the prophet would be under his control. The King of Israel, however, thought that the King of Aram was just trying to pick a fight with him.
When Elisha heard about Naaman’s arrival, he sent a message to the King to have Naaman sent to him. When he arrived at Elisha’s house, Elisha did not even go out to see him. Instead, he sent his servant out to tell him to go and wash seven times in the Jordan River and be healed.
Naaman was angry, first of all, because Elisha did not come out to see him personally, and second because Elisha told him to just go and wash in the river. After all, he had better rivers than the Jordan at home to wash in. One of Naaman’s servants convinced him to give it a try, so he went and washed and was healed.
I think that Naaman had a much bigger problem than his leprosy, and that was his pride. He was offended that Elisha did not come out to meet him and he thought he was too good to wash in the Jordan River. To add to his humbling, notice the role of the servants in the story. It was his Israelite servant who told him to go to Samaria, the enemy country. Also, it was one of his servants who convinced him to try what Elisha had told him to do. It was in this humility that Naaman found healing. Perhaps, being humble, being obedient to what God is asking us to do, will help us find healing in our lives as well.
New Testament in a Year: https://wesleyonline.org/biblereading/
- June 22 Acts 14:8-28
- June 23 Acts 15:1-35
- June 24 Acts 15:36-16 :15
- June 25 Acts 16:16-40
- June 26 Acts 17:1-34
- June 27 Acts 18:1-22
- June 28 Acts 18:23-19 :12
- June 29 Acts 19:13-41
Expressing Love: Family/Mission Activity
Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Syria. Because he’d won many battles for his country, Naaman was famous. You might think he had everything he wanted, but he had a serious problem. Naaman had a disease called leprosy. One of his servants suggested he go see a prophet, which is a religious leader. She said the prophet could heal his leprosy.
So Naaman’s king sent him with a letter to the prophet’s king, the king of Israel, to ask for help.
So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger out to him: “Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River to be healed.”
That sounds simple. We often face problems in our life. Sometimes we’re willing to try almost anything, except what God’s Word tells us to do. God’s Word has the solution to all of life’s problems if we will just follow the directions. Many years later at the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus referred to the healing of Naaman (Luke 4:27). Jesus also healed a Gentile from that same region (Matt. 15:21-28).
Discuss what might have happened if the little girl (servant) would not have been in the story. Buy a box of instant pudding: Follow the 2 step directions, easy and simple when followed, just like our faith in God’s word
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