He was the Captain of the Host in the Syrian army, basically the right hand man of the King and in II Kings chapter five Naaman was called, honorable, a mighty man of valor. He had everything going for him, except the one thing he could do nothing about, his leprosy, and only God could heal his leprosy. So the King of Syria sent a letter to the King of Israel looking for a prophet to heal Naaman, but the King of Israel wanted no part of it, so in mourning he tore his clothes thinking the King of Syria was seeking to start a war with him. So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes that he sent to the king saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let Naaman come unto me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”  When Naaman arrived, Elisha sent him a messenger saying, go dip seven times in the river Jordan.

That was not what Namaan was expecting. So  Naaman said, Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. Naaman was expecting Elisha to come out and call upon God and the leprosy to be gone.  But through the messenger, Elisha told Namaan to take a 25 mile journey and go dip in the muddy waters of Jordan seven times. Namaan had preconceived notions of how God would heal him.  Namaan wanted the miraculous. God wanted faithfulness. Namaan was filled with pride. God required humility. Only after Naaman did what was required did he find healing.  Are we faithful in the day in day out, mundane, routine of life, or are we too, too busy looking for the miraculous from God?

In John chapter nine we have a similar story.  Jesus and the disciples are walking along and come across a blind man from birth. The disciples asked Jesus, was he blind because of his sin or his parent’s sin. Jesus told them the man was blind that the glory of God might be revealed. So in John 9:6  When Jesus had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. 

When Jesus came across the blind man, Jesus bent down and spit on the ground and made clay out of the spit and the dirt and then put the clay on the blind man’s eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.  Back in those days, it was a common belief that saliva had a healing power to it, but in this case Jesus didn’t acknowledge such healing power of the saliva.  He just simply made the clay, put it on the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.  He was blind and a beggar. He could do nothing to fend for himself.  He was helpless and hopeless, and then Jesus came along.  So when the man dipped in the pool of Siloam, he received his sight. The man was desperate to see, so there was no hesitation, no disobedience, so in believing, he just did what he was commanded to do. He was humble, obedient and faithful and he came back seeing.

Two men desperate in need of God, one a leper, one a blind beggar, one on top of his world, one on the bottom. We too are in desperate need of God, if we are on top of our world, or on the bottom, or somewhere in between.  Ever sense Adam and the fall of man we have been inflicted with an incurable disease, and it’s called sin. The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Sin has infected our lives and only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away our sin.  The Bible says without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Jesus went to the cross that we might be washed by His blood. There is no other way to heaven and eternal life except through Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote, moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.