God’s hand in our circumstances

It is always fascinating hearing people’s testimonies about how they came to faith because the journeys can be so diverse. God reaches us through as many different ways as there are individuals in this world. A secular Jew whose testimony I read describes his first interest in the Bible as a means to understand the Christian underpinnings of great Western literature.[1] Others may be driven to the Bible to disprove some aspect of it or dissuade a loved one from joining what they consider a sect. Yet others are drawn by the love Christians demonstrate or the reality of God in their lives. Again, others come to God with a felt need in the hope of help. Whatever our reason, we often have no idea where the road will ultimately lead and how it will transform our thinking, heart and motivation.

Distinguished but dead

Naaman’s is such a story, where this highly esteemed and successful army commander could not have imagined at the beginning how God would change his whole outlook on life. Like so many in our Western culture who are well-to-do with great careers and connections, it does not seem like he has any need or use for the god of another and subjugated nation (2 Kings 5:1). Yet there is a chink in his armour though he is a valiant warrior (v.1). ‘Leprosy’ is not Hansen’s disease here but some scaly skin condition (the meaning of the Hebrew tsaraʿat), which still allows him to interact with others (e.g. the king, 2 Kings 5:4), and enter his god’s presence (2 Kings 5:18).[2] Skin conditions in the ancient Near East often carried a stigma and signalled divine displeasure. For an Israelite audience, however, Naaman’s skin disease symbolised death, not because the condition was medically fatal but because the scaly nature of tsaraʿat was reminiscent of a decomposing body, with its first defence of the skin breaking down (cf. Num 12:12).[3] Naaman does not know his spiritual condition, but without God he is a walking dead.

God’s power through the weak

Yet God seeks out the dying and will offer life and healing through the testimony of the vulnerable in the great commander’s household. This nameless girl was kidnapped from Israel during one of the Aramean raids and became a slave to Naaman’s wife (2 Kings 5:2). Torn from her family and catapulted into a lowly existence in the enemy’s land, she makes a striking presence as she testifies to God’s power (2 Kings 5:3) despite her personal tragedy. Most of us in such a scenario would question the Lord’s might and His love, and helping our captors would be the last thing on our minds. As so often in God’s plans, the weak and those of no account are used to shame human power and significance and demonstrate God’s wisdom and strength (1 Cor 1:26-31). To his credit, Naaman listens and, in desperation, he is willing to try anything. As he takes his news to the king, the wheels are set in motion for the encounter with the prophet and for healing (2 Kings 5:4-5).

God in our circumstances

It is not difficult to see how this story can speak to us. While not every human being carries an outward sign of dying, or is experiencing a fatal illness, we are still the walking dead without God, even in our comfortable or distinguished lives. The incident can also encourage us to know that no matter how inadequate and insignificant we feel or are, God can use us in His purposes. The young girl’s testimony further challenges us to ask where our faith is. Can we testify to the Lord’s power even if we have experienced disappointments and felt let down by God? Do we care for those who do not love us and who may have contributed to hardship in our lives? May we take heart that our circumstances are directed by God. Our need (like Naaman’s) can remind us of our dependence on the Lord. Even when placed in a hard situation (like the slave girl), we may realise that the Lord put us there for such a time as this (Esther 4:14), as an opportunity to serve Him.

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[1] Andrew Klavan, The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ (Nashville: Nelson Books, 2016), 92-95.

[2] Although the statement in 2 Kings 5:18 refers to Naaman’s future action after he has been healed, the way it is phrased suggests that he describes his customary action that he performed even before his healing. Leprosy as Hansen’s disease in the ancient Near East was not known before Alexander the Great (300s BC), whose army was thought to have brought it back from India. Many earlier studies that argued for its presence in the area before this are extremely ambiguous. The Hebrew tsaraʿat translated as ‘leprosy’ in Leviticus 13 refers to scaly skin conditions whose symptoms do not correspond to Hansen’s disease. For instance, the latter develops slowly over several years and cannot be cured except by medication, while Leviticus describes the quick developments of symptoms and requires periods of seven days’ quarantine (Lev 13:4, 5, 21 etc.), as well as anticipates the potential for recovery from tsaraʿat without intervention. There is also no mention in Leviticus of Hansen’s disease’s very prominent symptoms in its late stages, of loss of feeling in body parts or of the necrosis and destruction of hands, feet and facial bones. David P. Wright and Richard N. Jones, “Leprosy,” Anchor Bible Dictionary 4:277-82.

[3] Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 3 (New York: Doubleday, 1991), 819-21.

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