“Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable... he was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had brought away captive a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy” ―2 Kings 5:1-31Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper. 2And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 3And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. (2 Kings 5:1‑3).
THE blight of sin is set forth in a striking way in the disease of leprosy. In the case of Naaman we have human nature at its best in many respects. He was evidently a kindly, gracious man, though proud and sensitive, as his attitude toward the prophet’s message indicates. A soldier of renown, he was honored by his sovereign and looked up to by the nation to which he belonged. He was blessed with an affectionate, solicitous wife, who sought his well-being, “But he was a leper.” And this dreadful fact blighted everything else. So one may be admirable in many things and his circumstances generally be pleasing and satisfactory, but if he be a sinner, unsaved and uncleansed, all else counts as nought.
The little captive maid who waited upon Naaman’s wife is a precious example of faithfulness under adverse circumstances. Torn away from her home and loved ones, instead of giving herself over to grief and despair, she maintains a bright testimony to the power of Israel’s God and becomes the honored instrument of bringing her afflicted master into touch with the prophet of Jehovah, through whom he finds, not only healing for the body, but the knowledge of the one living and true God whom he will worship henceforth (vs. 17).
“Lord, Thou hast given to us a trust, a high and holy dispensation,
To tell the world, and tell we must, the story of Thy great salvation.
We all are debtors to our race, God hold us bound to one another;
The gifts and blessings of His grace were given us to give our brother.”