2 Kings 5-7: God's Way...the Only Way

We encounter a few more chapters of respite, from the going's on of the kings of Israel and Judah, and instead find the story of Naaman.  Naaman was a great man, the commander of the army of the king of Aram.  He was a valiant soldier and highly regarded, but he had leprosy. 

Naaman's wife had as a servant, a young girl from Israel who had been taken captive by roving bands and brought to Aram.  She could still remember the prophet in Samaria, Elisha, and tales of his miracles.  'If your husband could see the prophet, he would be healed,' she told her mistress.  So Naaman told the king what the servant girl had told him and the king of Aram sent Naaman off with a letter of recommendation to the king of Israel, asking him to heal Naaman's leprosy.  The king of Israel's response was to tear his robes, because he knew he had no power to heal. 

On hearing of this, Elisha sent a message to the king, that if Naaman would come to him, he could heal him.  So Naaman went to see Elisha, but all he saw was Elisha's servant who relayed the message from his master that Naaman should wash in the Jordan river seven times.

Naaman went away incensed.  He was expecting a spectacular production from Elisha, a waving of his hands, passionate pleas to God extolling all of Naaman's virtues, and a touch from Elisha on the diseased spot.  To be told to wash in the filthy Jordan river, when there were better rivers in Aram, was downright insulting.  To have to go down into that dirty water to be cleansed made no sense.

What does this have to do with Easter?  It is the same story.  God provided a way that we might be cleansed of our sins, our leprosy.  But Jesus was not the king the people were expecting.  They wanted power, someone who would demonstrate his power so that everyone would fall down and worship him.  They weren't looking for someone who would die a horrible death, go down to the depths of hell with all of their sins, and then rise again leaving them all behind.  They weren't looking for the miraculous, but that's what Easter is all about.