The Maid of Naaman's Wife

It's a story of human trafficking.

So it's a very contemporary story. She has no name, and that's fascinating. She's lost forever. Her parents never saw her again. But she does one thing and it changes history.

Who is she? And what did she do? Welcome to Renewing Your Mind on this Monday as we begin a brand new series from Derek Thomas on some of the lesser-known characters of the Bible. We know the big names, the big characters who are recorded for us in the Bible. Abraham, Moses.

David. Deborah and Mary. but there are many people who get a passing mention. Yet their contributions under the sovereignty of God are significant. and you'll meet one such individual today.

This series has just been released. And if you'd like access to all 12 messages, along with a Renewing Your Mind notebook to keep all of your notes from your study, or perhaps to use as you take notes in church, you can request this resource bundle today when you donate at renewingyourmind.org.

So who was she?

Well, here's Dr. Thomas to introduce us to the maid of Naaman's wife. Yeah.

Well, today we begin a series of lesser known characters from the Bible. And today we are in Second Kings chapter five. And I want to focus on Naaman's wife's. Made.

Now, the chapter is long and it has 27 verses, but I'm just going to read the first three verses. Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria. was a great man with his master, and in high favour. because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valour.

But He was a leper.

Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel. and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress. Would that my Lord were with the prophet, who is in Samaria. He would cure him.

of his leprosy.

So Naaman is a Syrian. General. And in the Old Testament, Syria is sometimes translated or called Aram. And you might remember the Arameans, the Arameans and the Syrians are one and the same. We're talking about a piece of land.

Northeast of Israel. Israel is the northern kingdom, Judah is the southern kingdom after the Two kingdoms divided, and you've got Israel, and then up in the northeast. Uh you have Syria. And at one time, well, Syria had its capital in Damascus, the same Damascus that you can read about today. It is often said that Damascus is the oldest capital city in the world.

And David had conquered Syria at one point, but by this time in 2 Kings. Chapter five, it is back in Syrian hands.

Now Naaman is in favour with the king. Is it general? There's been some kind of military raid into Israel.

So they've gone southwest into Israel, and we read of the capture of this little girl. One assumes there were many captured, and they were enslaved and put into service in Syria, for sure. And this little girl is put into the service of Naaman's wife. She is. Naaman's wife's Made.

But Naaman is a leper. Um One assumes he contracted this disease after this raid. Uh It had all kinds of medical and social consequences and his job as a general would be very much uh in doubt.

So first of all, I want to ask the question, why is this story here? And it's a story about the providence of God. It's a story about international politics. This is nothing to do with Jerusalem. It's to do with the the rebel kingdom of Israel in the north and Syria or the Arameans.

And the writer, I think, just wants you to know something that's very important. that God is sovereign. over everything. And he's sovereign even over pagan kings and generals. And then The story focuses on a little girl.

The maid of Naiman's Wife. Who's been captured in this raid?

So you've got Big things? And you've got small things. You've got Naaman the Great General. And you've got A little girl whose name We don't know. It's a story of Well, human trafficking.

So it's a very contemporary story. She has no name, and that's Fascinating. She's lost forever. Her parents never saw her again. I'm sure there were no milk cartons with her face on it.

But she does One thing, and it changes. History. And what is this?

Well, the big picture is the providence of God. God ordering All events, nothing happens without God willing it to happen. And without God willing it to happen before it happens, and without God willing it to happen in the way that it happens. God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm Deep in unfathomable minds Of never failing skill He treasures up his bright designs And works his sovereign Will.

That's a hymn that we sing. By William Cooper, troubled psychologically troubled as he was, and a neighbor to the great John. Newton. God moves in mysterious ways and Uh Mm-hmm. We see here the providence, the providence of God over big things and little things.

Well, secondly, God's servants can be Pathetic. Mm-hmm. This servant girl tells her mistress that there's a prophet. A servant of the Lord who can Heal him. And Um That's all she does.

Hmm. Master Naaman, the general, has Leprosy. And she says in verse Um Three would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy. We're talking about the prophet Elisha. who followed The prophet Elijah.

And so she tells Naamans She tells her mistress and then her boss, who in turn tells Naaman, who asks the king. Uh permission to go and see this this prophet Elisha. And uh the king uh gives Hymn letters. Uh safe a passage and a change of clothing. Several changes of clothing.

Uh There's no Amazon? Dot com. There's no endless clothing catalogues coming in the mail. And evidently at this period in history in the Middle East, clothing was an important and perhaps an expensive item. And he comes to the king of Israel.

Now, we don't know who the king of Israel was. We speculate that it might have been Jehoram. And there's a problem. Because The king of Israel, if it was Jehoram, the king of Israel. Suspects A plot.

The king uh of Syria is sending his Most revered general. To his opponent and adversary, the king of Israel. Over whom he has been victorious in recent days in a great raid against the king of Israel.

So you've got. On the one hand, you have the faith. of the little girl. And in contrast, you've got the fear. of Israel's King.

And in verse 7, we read, When the king of Israel read the letter, He tore his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? only consider and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.

Well, there it is. He suspects a plot, and he's fearful. He's a politician. is in the world of compromise and intrigue and suspicion. It's a plot set up by the Syrian king.

to let his guard down and be vulnerable to attack. The whole thing is a ruse. A man, a king, who fails to trust God. And a little girl. who has faith.

that God through this prophet Elisha could cure him of his leprosy. He's the king. Of God's Covenant Nation.

Now In a period of Apostasy. You can belong to the body. Outwardly. But inwardly, you... A far away.

and in rebellion. You can use the buzzwords. but not know their power. You may have an outward profession of faith, but inside there's nothing. but emptiness.

And fear. and disbelief.

Well, thirdly. God's ways are sometimes Humiliating. The king of Israel is pacing up and down. He's talking to his advisors. He's convinced it's a plot.

And the message comes to Elisha. And Elisha says, Send the general to me.

Now where did Elisha live? He didn't live in the palace. He lived probably in a very Humble little home. Perhaps made of mud. and straw.

uh somewhere on the outskirts of the city. And uh Naaman comes. with an entourage of uh chariots One imagines there might have been twenty or thirty or forty chariots. to accompany the great General? The street is blocked.

The neighbours are unhappy. Is this the start of an invasion? Are there other chariots over the hills ready to come and pounce? And Niemann's Pride is triggered. Because Elisha, first of all, Elisha says, Come and meet me.

He didn't. he didn't go to the palace to meet him. He asked Neyman to come to his house. But Elisha Doesn't come out. He sends One of his servants.

To tell the general to go and perform Some ritual Dipping himself seven times in the River Jordan. And uh Neyman is uh He is outraged. Um There are two great rivers in Damascus. Albana and Farper. And uh He says, aren't these these rivers in Damascus are way better than than than this little little river of of the Jordan.

Um And we're at a point where it's the very beginning of the River Jordan, so there isn't much to the River Jordan. Lower down, the River Jordan might be a substantial river, but at this point point in the geography of things, the River Jordan is nothing at all. And so, um Naaman is uh is out of sorts. You see, Elisha is treating Naaman Like a leper. He doesn't come anywhere near him.

It's God's way. To humble us to the ground. It's this way or Not at all. If Naaman was going to know the grace of God, it was going to be. God's way And not Naimans.

Wait. Don't you see a little foreshadowing? of the gospel? Every now and then when you read the Old Testament you get a little A little story that reminds you that this is This is God's way this is what He does. Before we can experience the grace of God, He has to humble us.

We have to feel the need of it. We have to bow the knee and acknowledge that we are unworthy of his mercies and grace. Pride. Like a balloon. Needs to be Burst.

Pride will keep you. From the favour And grace. Of God. The fourth thing that we see in this passage is the gratitude. and faith of Naaman.

He goes to the river Jordan. He dips himself. Verse 14, he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan. The word dipped, the verb dipped. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament is His baptism.

He baptized himself seven times in the River Jordan. And uh A change occurs. You notice in the second half of verse fifteen, Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.

So accept now a present from your servant. This is the great general, but he's referring to himself as Your servant. And that little expression occurs five times in this narrative.

Something has changed. The balloon of pride has been burst. And he's admitting that there is only one true God, and it's the God of Israel, the God of the Israelites, whom the Israelites have abandoned and forgotten. The God of Elisha the prophet.

Now the seventeen. Naaman said, if not, Uh he offers uh Elisha a gift and and Elisha refuses it. He urged him to take it, but he refused. End of verse 16. And then verse 17.

Then Naaman said, If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth. For from now on, your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifices to any God but the Lord. He wants a piece of earth. to take back with him. He wants a peace of Israel, God's covenant.

land and he wants to take it back with him.

Now politics is a It's a messy business, and Naaman realizes that, and I think Elisha realizes that. He's going to be in the service of the king of Syria. And there'll be occasions when the king of Syria will be offering sacrifices to pagan gods, and Naaman will be standing right next to him. You either quit your job. Or you ask forgiveness and he asks forgiveness.

For in this matter, may the Lord pardon your servant when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter. And Elisha says to him in verse 19, Go. In peace.

Now commentators uh disagree. What does Elisha mean when he says go in peace? Is he granting him forgiveness? Is he granting him the right to compromise because he's in the world of international politics and to forgive the outward gesture, even if inwardly he's not worshipping these foreign gods? Jonathan Edwards didn't believe that Naaman was a converted man.

But John Calvin compared him to Cornelius, the Roman general in Acts chapter 10, who gave alms and those arms were acceptable. Um Go in peace, Elisha says, God's grace. Healed. and transformed him. But there's a fly in the ointment, as there often is, and the second half of Second Kings 5 is the story of Gehadze, who is a servant of Elisha.

And uh Gehazi is um Greedy. And corrupt Man. Elisha had refused a gift of silver and a change of clothing. And uh when uh Neyman's Chariots have gone a couple of miles. Gehazi comes running after them and suggests that Elisha has changed his mind.

Some seminary students have come down from the north and they need clothing. And it would be great if there were a few silver coins to support them and give them some help. All of this, of course, is a lie. Two talents of silver and two suits of clothes. But then when he gets back to Elisha's house, Elisha is a prophet.

And profits new stuff. The Holy Spirit told prophets stuff that you otherwise wouldn't know. And so Elisha knows exactly what Gehazi has done. And Gehazi Uh Becomes a leper. That was his punishment.

And there's irony in it, isn't there? That Naaman was healed. and experience the grace of God. But Gehazi Um Got Naaman's leprosy. for his greed and unbelief.

Um But you say to me. Wait a minute. I thought this lesson was all about Uh the servant girl. Of Naaman's wife, the little girl who had been captured in a Syrian raid into Israel. This little girl, She she is by this time perhaps Yeah.

A teenager? Who knows how old she is? Um She hasn't seen her parents or grandparents. or friends and she never will. She's in a foreign uh land with foreign customs and she's in the the service of the wife of one of the greatest generals in Syria.

We don't know her name. And she's hidden. In the story of Naaman and Elisha and Gehazi, and you get all embroiled in the drama. Uh of that story. And then You remember none of this would have happened.

If it hadn't been for the faith of that little girl. Naaman would never have come to know the grace of God. This this Foreign general. of all people And God Had a plan. To save him.

To humble. Hmm. to bring him to himself. To have a prophet say to him, Go in peace. To know the shalom of God upon his life.

A difficult life. Christians in Politics Christians in military service. And uh It's a difficult life. And there would be moments of great tension and opposition and difficulty, issues of. Conscience.

And Elisha seems, I think, to say to him, Mr. Neyman. The grace of God will be with you. The peace of God will be with you. You'll know what to do.

And All of this has come about. Because of an act. of a little girl. who says to her mistress, Woods That's My Lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him. of his leprosy.

She had one thing to do and She did it and did it.

Well Isn't that what we long for our lives as well? that we would do what God has called us to do. and to do it well. Lord, may you grant us the wisdom and the strength to be found faithful in our circumstances. This is Renewing Your Mind.

I'm your host, Nathan W. Bingham. Yeah.

Easily lost in the pages of Scripture are these lesser known characters. They're easy to skip over, he said. hidden in the shadow of people like in today's account Naaman. but their stories are recorded for us to instruct us and to guide us. That's why this focused series from Derek Thomas, simply called Who Are They?

is so helpful. Over twelve messages, doctor Thomas examines these characters and shines a spotlight on them and what we can learn. Own the entire series and its study guide, along with a Renewing Your Mind notebook, when you donate today at renewingyourmind.org. Or when you call us at 800-435-4343. You'll be able to stream all of the messages in the free Ligonier app and use the notebook to engage with the material and aid your study.

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