Day 29 (3/22)
WEEK 6: Written by
BO BLUMENSHINE
husband, father, child of God
Day 29 (3/22)
Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-3
1Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.[a]
2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
It’s easy to gloss over the captive Israelite girl upon your first reading of 2 Kings 5. She is a nameless servant and clearly not someone we would conventionally think of as powerful. And there you see God’s mysterious plan at work once again.
She has just two short verses, but volumes are revealed about her in that span. It is clear that she knows God and has faith in his ability to heal. She extends Christ-like grace to her idol-worshiping captor by suggesting he could be healed by the prophet Elisha.
In Matthew 5:44 Jesus teaches the masses saying, “But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.” The Arameans had raided the Israelite girl’s village and forced her into servitude, reason enough to be bitter towards her captors. Instead, she chose love and because of this her master, Naaman, became a worshiper of the one true God.
How are we called to be examples to the people in our lives? Can we be faithful witnesses in the presence of our enemies?