_Now Naaman, captain of the host of the King of Syria._ THE HISTORY OF NAAMAN’S DISEASE AND CURE; ILLUSTRATIVE OF CERTAIN FORCES IN THE LIFE OF MAN I. The force of worldly position. Why all the interest displayed in his own country, and in Israel, concerning Naaman’s disease? The first verse of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Syrians had gone out by companies._ THE HEBREW MAID I. Her faith in God. Plainly she had very strong faith; and it was of the right sort. For there are wrong kinds of faith. Mere belief even of the truth may be perfectly powerless. The question is, what side does]our belief make you take?... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the King of Syria said, Go to, Go._ THE PROBLEM OF NAAMAN THE LEPER Naaman the Syrian was a brave, intelligent, resourceful, and successful soldier, but he was a leper. And that “but” was the fly in the ointment which made all his brilliant qualities of no worth. The problem was to remove the... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Naaman was wroth, and went away._ PRIDE OVERCOMING WANT The great man and all his cortege are kept outside, and God’s servant will not even come out, but sends the message, “Go and wash in Jordan.” That un-courtly reception is no piece of vulgar arrogance, like the pride of a pope that keeps... [ Continue Reading ]
_Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel._ MR. EVIL QUESTIONING TRIED AND EXECUTED Proud Self and Evil Questioning are two of Satan’s firmest allies, and two of the chief destroyers of the souls of men. Both of these adversaries attacked Naaman at once.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And his servants came near, and spake unto him._ NAAMAN, A TYPE OF THE WORLD The Syrian Naaman, whose story is contained in the chapter from which our text is taken, was a type of the world. As race answereth to face in water, so the heart of man to man; and we cannot read this story without disco... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan._ NAAMAN’S CURE The story of Naaman’s cure is a brief, yet beautiful, episode in the current of Jewish history. It is inserted in order to convey an impressive lesson. That lesson is, God’s particular interest in each individual. I. Not... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant._ NAAMAN’S MONEY This chapter contains valuable lessons concerning money; how the servants of God ought to use and to regard it. Some of our Lord’s weightiest and most solemn sayings were addressed to those who had much money, or were spo... [ Continue Reading ]
_In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant._ COMPROMISE Naaman returned to Elisha; full of gratitude and generous recognition of his own error and Elisha’s successful power, he and all his company came and stood before He paid a willing and a grateful homage to the God of the conquered Israelites,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gehazi, the servant of Elisha._ GEHAZI The name Gehazi means “valley of vision,” and is appropriate enough if we think of what Gehazi saw as to the nature of wickedness when the prophet opened his eyes. 1. Gehazi was “the servant of Elisha, the man of God.” Surely then he would be a good man? Can... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy servant went no whither._ A LIE STICKS A little newsboy, to sell his paper, told a lie. The matter came up in the Sunday school. “Would you tell a lie for a penny?” asked a young lady teacher of one of her boys. “No ma’am,” he answered very decidedly. “For sixpence, then? No ma’am.” “For a sh... [ Continue Reading ]