Naaman Washes in the River Jordan circa 1521, Master of St. Severin, Germany |
For me, it's interesting to see God work around "the establishment" in this story. He is not inactive in times when culture has gone bad and leadership has lost its way. Instead, we see Him working through the faith of this young, female, servant girl. God patiently works around Joram, honors Elijah and the servant girl, and blessed this Syrian commander...mercy upon mercy in this story, but to the unlikely.
It's also a story of "the losers" amid this mercy. Elisha's servant clearly misses the point, and we find him chasing after the physical rewards that Elisha turned away.
On the attention paid to Naaman's case of leprosy (lovely wording and word choice here):
"It has ever been a sad fact in our history that we magnify both the trims and the virtues of the grandees, and think but little of the griefs and graces of the lowly." -Biblical Illustrator
Quite true. I think most of us have a subtle prejudice in this regard. We value the opinions of the more affluent or those in elevated leadership positions over the thoughts of the common man. In truth, although leaders should be more discerning, many get lost in their reputation and in the approval of man. And wealthy men generally seem to be a morally weak lot from my experience. In contrast, the common sense of the common man has been honed by life and his humbler vision is often the clearest.
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