![2 Kings 5:1-15a, [15b-19] , Elisha Heals Naaman](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/672fdae1-935d-4b23-aaab-622512461dcb/22.11.06.jpg)
Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, November 6, 2022
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Sometimes the values held by our work and personal lives are in conflict. God gives us room to make a living, even as we wrestle with the dissonance of conflicting values.
Naaman was a commander of an army of the king of Aram. Elisha was a prophet of the king of Israel. While not exactly enemies, they certainly were not the same. Syria had its own gods; the God of Israel lived on the land in Israel.
Through a series of I-know-a-guys, Naaman learned that a prophet in Israel could cure him of his leprosy. Being one of the favored leaders, his king let him go seek relief from his affliction.
But when Naaman approached Elisha’s house, Elisha didn’t even bother to come outside. He simply sent a message that Naaman could wash in the Jordan seven times and be healed.
This angered Naaman, in part because he deemed himself more important than Elisha’s absence indicated. But he was also put out that Elisha’s prescription included a recognition that Israel’s Jordan River was more powerful than Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus. Elisha in a sense, was asking Naaman to acknowledge the power of Israel’s God.
Naaman nearly missed his chance for healing, but a few wise servants gently led to him consent. Naaman washed and was healed. In response, Naaman tried relentlessly to give gifts to Elisha, but Elisha refused. His entanglement with the commander from Aram would end here.
When Naaman saw that this was truly a holy man following a more powerful God than his, Naaman requested two mule-loads of earth to be brought home with him. Since the dirt of Elisha’s God was holy, Naaman wanted some of this holy earth near him even when he returned home. It seems his desire was to worship Elisha’s God from here on out. He would still have to bow to his master’s god Rimmon, but he asked Elisha for pardon since refusing to worship Rimmon would have caused him a great deal of trouble. Elisha agreed. “Go in peace.”
Naaman’s personal suffering led him to be introduced to God, whom he hadn’t really known. Despite Naaman’s political allegiance, his life was irrevocably touched by this God of a foreign land. Naaman found a way to maintain his job and standing in his society while also making an internal shift to Israel’s God.
We don’t always have the luxury of having aligned ideologies between work and at home. Sometimes the values in our work and personal lives conflict. If Naaman’s story tells us anything, we learn that it can work if necessary. While it’s not ideal, we all sometimes have to uphold the values of our jobs to keep our jobs. Perhaps God offers us room to make a living, even as we wrestle with this dissonance.
