Have you ever been afraid and in retrospect realized it was completely unnecessary? King Joram was terribly afraid, but his fear was born of his own spiritual bankruptcy. Joram having read a letter hand delivered by his enemy’s supreme commander tore his robes. He acted out his fear. Elisha acting from spiritual maturity sent a rebuke to Joram and a call to that enemy commander.
The commander, known in that era as Naaman, had a spot of leprosy. While he was valiant, well respected, and held a post among the highest in Aram the splotch was a blotch upon him. Surreptitiously pitied at parades and dinners, courts and battlefields, like pink eye in our time people would squint and squirm, “Can I catch it?”
As it turned out this soldier had a young Jewess under his roof. She knew of his scaliness, his unhealthy whiteness, and the weight it privately anointed him with. Moved by compassion and aware of Elisha way back in Palestine she spoke up, a letter was written, and off to Israel’s king went the skin-troubled warrior.
6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this
letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am IGod ? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” 8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” (2 Kings 5:6-8–NIV)
“Am I God?!!” Well, Joram, that’s the presumed name of the King of Israel who read this letter, had that one thing right. Naaman’s skin issue was a problem God could cure but not people. After that one right thing, Joram was lost in the woods. He decided that Aram’s request was a pretext for destruction, war, a further reduction of the already impoverished Israel. Responding in error he tore his robes and flipped into a bit of a rant.
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