A Tale of Two Servants
By Nina Kole
Life during Bible times was often intense: Battles raged, kings ruled, kingdoms were conquered, and servants and slaves were a common part of life. Some of the more recognized stories of servants or slaves we read in the Bible are of Joseph, who was sold as a slave by his brothers, and Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were taken captive and became servants of the king.
There is a servant girl mentioned who is not named in the Bible and is only referred to as “a young girl.” She was also taken captive from Israel and became a servant to the wife of Naaman, a great warrior and the commander of the army of the king of Aram (2 Kings 5:1–2). As the commander of the army, he served the king. The Bible refers to the king as his “master” and Naaman as his “servant.”
One day, Naaman discovered that he had leprosy. One can imagine how devastating this was for him and his family! He and his wife must have faced the eventuality of him being shunned by the community, losing his position and status, not being able to care for his family—not to mention enduring the painful and debilitating disease itself!
Despite the slave girl’s plight as a captive in a foreign land, God used the situation for her to be His messenger and an ambassador of His love. The servant girl told Naaman’s wife about Elisha, a prophet in Samaria, who could cure Naaman of leprosy. She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3).
Of course, the wife immediately told her husband, and Naaman went in and told the king what the girl had said. And the king of Syria, who held Naaman in high esteem, told him, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel” (2 Kings 5:5).
Naaman took with him a bag filled with six thousand shekels of gold, and another one with ten talents of silver. If that wasn’t enough, he also brought ten outfits, which would be worth a fair bit in those times! The king of Aram also wrote a letter on his behalf addressed to the king of Israel, which said, “I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:6).
Somehow the king of Israel did not connect the dots that it was Elisha the prophet who was meant to do the praying and healing! He thought the king of Aram was seeking a quarrel with him, and in his distress, he tore his robe, which we read in the Bible of people in Israel doing in dire situations. He said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy?” (2 Kings 5:7). These were all valid questions.
When Elisha heard about the robe-tearing incident, he sent word to the king, asking, “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 5:8).
Doubtless Israel’s king felt relieved to have somewhere to send this desperate man, and so he sent Naaman to see Elisha. However, when Naaman arrived at the door with his horses and chariots and gifts, rather than meeting him in person, Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed” (2 Kings 5:9–10).
This was not common etiquette for receiving the commander of an army, considered to be a great man in high favor with his king. Naaman was offended and angry that the prophet didn’t come out and wave his hand over the place and cure him with some dramatic flair (2 Kings 5:11). Not to mention that Elisha told him to wash in the River Jordan! The rivers of Damascus, Abana and Pharpar, were much nicer, and Naaman grumbled and questioned why he couldn’t have washed in those waters to be made clean (2 Kings 5:12).
At this point, one of Naaman’s servants stepped in and saved the day. He wisely pointed out, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be clean’!” Naaman pondered on this and decided that his health was more important than his pride and proceeded to dip himself in the Jordan seven times as the man of God had told him to do. His flesh was not only cured but it became as clear as a young child’s (2 Kings 5:13–14)!
After such an amazing, life-changing miracle, Naaman’s heart was filled with gratitude and awe. He raced back to Elisha, stood before him, and said, “Now I know that there is no God in the entire world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.” Elisha, being the man of God that he was, knew that he hadn’t performed the miracle, and Naaman’s healing was a gift from God for which he could not receive monetary compensation. So he kindly, but firmly, told Naaman that he would not accept anything (2 Kings 5:15–16).
Naaman then proclaimed that he would never again make any burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord and asked for two loads of Israelite soil. After he made this request, he also asked if it was okay for him to bow down when he took his master to the temple of Rimmon. Because his master would be leaning on his arm, he would naturally need to bow down with him. Since he now knew it was a false god, he wondered if the Lord would forgive him for doing this in service to his master. Elisha told him to go in peace (2 Kings 5:17–19).
Naaman’s dilemma was that he would still be required in the course of his official duties to attend the temple of Rimmon with the king. This would seem to be a compromise for Naaman to make, but God certainly knew what was best in this situation and guided Elisha in his response. Perhaps God knew that the example Naaman would set by being a good servant would cause his master to respect the testimony of his healing by the God of Israel.
After that exchange, as Naaman happily started the journey home, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
Off he went running after Naaman. When Naaman saw him and asked him what was wrong, driven by his greed, Gehazi made up a story about how Elisha had told him that two young prophets were coming to visit him and to please give them one talent of silver and two of the outfits he had brought (2 Kings 5:20–22). Naaman, of course, was more than happy to present these gifts to him, and insisted he take two talents of silver instead of just one. Once the men departed, Gehazi went and hid these things in his house.
Then, having seemingly pulled off this scam, Gehazi returned to Elisha’s house. The man of God immediately asked him where he had gone, and Gehazi responded by saying, “Nowhere.” Elisha then told Gehazi that he knew exactly what he had done and that this was not an acceptable time to take goods as a reward. It would have undermined the credibility of the miracle God had performed for Naaman. Because of his actions, Gehazi was cursed with the very leprosy that Naaman had been cured of as a warning against greed and trying to commodify God’s power (2 Kings 5:25–27).
This is a fascinating story, as many characters played a pivotal role—several of whom were servants and were integral to Naaman’s healing. Sometimes we may feel that the situation God has placed us in is not an important one, or that we are too insignificant and what we have to offer is too little to make a difference. However, we see that our example and our witness can make a life-changing difference. Likewise, we see that the bad choices, such as the servant Gehazi made, can have dire consequences, even though he, too, was a simple servant.
We can learn from this story that God can use people for His glory and to help others no matter what their situation in life or where they are at. Imagine if Naaman’s wife’s servant hadn’t told her about Elisha, or Naaman’s servant hadn’t told him to follow Elisha’s instructions, no matter how simple or impossible they sounded. The healing might never have taken place.
Naaman’s healing also showed how God’s love and mercy extended beyond the people of Israel to the foreigner, a foreshadow of Jesus’ gift of salvation for all people. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus highlighted Naaman’s faith and healing, saying, “There were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27).
Adapted from a Just1Thing podcast, a Christian character-building resource for young people.
