Poor Naaman. After journeying for days with his entourage to meet the prophet Elisha in Israel, he expected a reception befitting of a dignitary. After all, he was the commander of the Syrian army. But Elisha didn’t even give him the courtesy of a personal welcome. Instead, he simply sent a messenger to greet him (see II Kings 5:1–14).
As if that weren’t enough, the prideful commander was coming to Elisha to be healed of leprosy. He expected his healing to be a spectacle—something dramatic—in keeping with the monumental transformation it would bring to him. Instead, Elisha instructed the messenger to tell him, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.”
Now, Jordan was known to be a dirty river and, in Naaman’s opinion, too lowly for a noble Syrian to enter. To be told to do something so despicable was an unimaginable insult and a shameful display of disrespect, he thought. Unable to contain his anger, he turned and left in a rage.
