EGW Writings2 Kings 5

My Life Today

A Little Maid Witnesses for God, August 6

ML 222.1

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master ...: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. 2 Kings 5:1-3.

Conflict and Courage

Even a Child, August 9

CC 227.1

And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 2 Kings 5:2.

CC 227.2

A slave, far from her home, this little maid was nevertheless one of God’s witnesses, unconsciously fulfilling the purpose for which God had chosen Israel as His people. As she ministered in that heathen home, her sympathies were aroused in behalf of her master; and, remembering the wonderful miracles of healing wrought through Elisha, she said to her mistress, “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” She knew that the power of Heaven was with Elisha, and she believed that by this power Naaman could be healed.

CC 227.3

The conduct of the captive maid, the way that she bore herself in that heathen home, is a strong witness to the power of early home training. There is no higher trust than that committed to fathers and mothers in the care and training of their children. Parents have to do with the very foundations of habit and character. By their example and teaching, the future of their children is largely decided.

CC 227.4

Happy are the parents whose lives are a true reflection of the divine, so that the promises and commands of God awaken in the child gratitude and reverence; the parents ... who by teaching the child to love and trust and obey them, are teaching him to love and trust and obey his Father in heaven. Parents who impart to the child such a gift have endowed him with a treasure more precious than the wealth of all the ages, a treasure as enduring as eternity.

CC 227.5

We know not in what line our children may be called to serve. They may spend their lives within the circle of the home; they may engage in life’s common vocations, or go as teachers of the gospel to heathen lands; but all are alike called to be missionaries for God, ministers of mercy to the world.11Ibid., 244, 245.

CC 227.6

He who sent ... the little Israelitish maiden to the help of Naaman, the Syrian captain, sends men and women and youth today as His representatives to those in need of divine help and guidance.12The Ministry of Healing, 473.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 20—Naaman

PK 244.1

“Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper.”

PK 244.2

Ben-hadad, king of Syria, had defeated the armies of Israel in the battle which resulted in the death of Ahab. Since that time the Syrians had maintained against Israel a constant border warfare, and in one of their raids they had carried away a little maid who, in the land of her captivity, “waited on Naaman’s wife.” A slave, far from her home, this little maid was nevertheless one of God’s witnesses, unconsciously fulfilling the purpose for which God had chosen Israel as His people. As she ministered in that heathen home, her sympathies were aroused in behalf of her master; and, remembering the wonderful miracles of healing wrought through Elisha, she said to her mistress, “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” She knew that the power of Heaven was with Elisha, and she believed that by this power Naaman could be healed.

PK 245.1

The conduct of the captive maid, the way that she bore herself in that heathen home, is a strong witness to the power of early home training. There is no higher trust than that committed to fathers and mothers in the care and training of their children. Parents have to do with the very foundations of habit and character. By their example and teaching the future of their children is largely decided.

PK 245.2

Happy are the parents whose lives are a true reflection of the divine, so that the promises and commands of God awaken in the child gratitude and reverence; the parents whose tenderness and justice and long-suffering interpret to the child the love and justice and long-suffering of God, and who by teaching the child to love and trust and obey them, are teaching him to love and trust and obey his Father in heaven. Parents who impart to the child such a gift have endowed him with a treasure more precious than the wealth of all the ages, a treasure as enduring as eternity.

PK 245.3

We know not in what line our children may be called to serve. They may spend their lives within the circle of the home; they may engage in life’s common vocations, or go as teachers of the gospel to heathen lands; but all are alike called to be missionaries for God, ministers of mercy to the world. They are to obtain an education that will help them to stand by the side of Christ in unselfish service.

PK 246.1

The parents of that Hebrew maid, as they taught her of God, did not know the destiny that would be hers. But they were faithful to their trust; and in the home of the captain of the Syrian host, their child bore witness to the God whom she had learned to honor.

PK 246.2

Naaman heard of the words that the maid had spoken to her mistress; and, obtaining permission from the king, he went forth to seek healing, taking with him “ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.” He also carried a letter from the king of Syria to the king of Israel, in which was written the message, “Behold, I have ... sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read the letter, “he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.”

PK 246.3

Tidings of the matter reached Elisha, and he sent word to the king, saying, “Wherefore has thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

PK 246.4

“So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.” Through a messenger the prophet bade him, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.”

PK 246.5

Naaman had expected to see some wonderful manifestation of power from heaven. “I thought,” he said, “he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.” When told to wash in the Jordan, his pride was touched, and in mortification and disappointment he exclaimed, “Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?” “So he turned and went away in a rage.”

PK 249.1

The proud spirit of Naaman rebelled against following the course outlined by Elisha. The rivers mentioned by the Syrian captain were beautified by surrounding groves, and many flocked to the banks of these pleasant streams to worship their idol gods. It would have cost Naaman no great humiliation of soul to descend into one of those streams. But it was only through following the specific directions of the prophet that he could find healing. Willing obedience alone would bring the desired result.

PK 249.2

Naaman’s servants entreated him to carry out Elisha’s directions: “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing,” they urged, “wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” The faith of Naaman was being tested, while pride struggled for the mastery. But faith conquered, and the haughty Syrian yielded his pride of heart and bowed in submission to the revealed will of Jehovah. Seven times he dipped himself in Jordan, “according to the saying of the man of God.” And his faith was honored; “his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

PK 249.3

Gratefully “he returned to the man of God, he and all his company,” with the acknowledgment, “Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.”

PK 250.1

In accordance with the custom of the times, Naaman now asked Elisha to accept a costly present. But the prophet refused. It was not for him to take payment for a blessing that God had in mercy bestowed. “As the Lord liveth,” he said, “I will receive none.” The Syrian “urged him to take it; but he refused.

PK 250.2

“And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

PK 250.3

“And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.”

PK 250.4

Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had had opportunity during the years to develop the spirit of self-denial characterizing his master’s lifework. It had been his privilege to become a noble standard-bearer in the army of the Lord. The best gifts of Heaven had long been within his reach; yet, turning from these, he had coveted instead the base alloy of worldly wealth. And now the hidden longings of his avaricious spirit led him to yield to an overmastering temptation. “Behold,” he reasoned within himself, “my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but ... I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.” And thus it came about that in secrecy “Gehazi followed after Naaman.”

PK 251.1

“When Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well.” Then Gehazi uttered a deliberate lie. “My master,” he said, “hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.” To the request Naaman gladly acceded, pressing upon Gehazi two talents of silver instead of one, “with two changes of garments,” and commissioning servants to bear the treasure back.

PK 251.2

As Gehazi neared Elisha’s home, he dismissed the servants and placed the silver and the garments in hiding. This accomplished, “he went in, and stood before his master;” and, to shield himself from censure, he uttered a second lie. In response to the inquiry of the prophet, “Whence comest thou?” Gehazi answered, “Thy servant went no whither.”

PK 251.3

Then came the stern denunciation, showing that Elisha knew all. “Went not mine heart with thee,” he asked, “when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed forever.” Swift was the retribution that overtook the guilty man. He went out from Elisha’s presence “a leper as white as snow.”

PK 252.1

Solemn are the lessons taught by this experience of one to whom had been given high and holy privileges. The course of Gehazi was such as to place a stumbling block in the pathway of Naaman, upon whose mind had broken a wonderful light, and who was favorably disposed toward the service of the living God. For the deception practiced by Gehazi there could be pleaded no excuse. To the day of his death he remained a leper, cursed of God and shunned by his fellow men.

PK 252.2

“A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.” Proverbs 19:5. Men may think to hide their evil deeds from human eyes, but they cannot deceive God. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:13. Gehazi thought to deceive Elisha, but God revealed to His prophet the words that Gehazi had spoken to Naaman, and every detail of the scene between the two men.

PK 252.3

Truth is of God; deception in all its myriad forms is of Satan, and whoever in any way departs from the straight line of truth is betraying himself into the power of the wicked one. Those who have learned of Christ will “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” Ephesians 5:11. In speech, as in life, they will be simple, straightforward, and true, for they are preparing for the fellowship of those holy ones in whose mouth is found no guile. See Revelation 14:5.

PK 252.4

Centuries after Naaman returned to his Syrian home, healed in body and converted in spirit, his wonderful faith was referred to and commended by the Saviour as an object lesson for all who claim to serve God. “Many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet,” the Saviour declared; “and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:27. God passed over the many lepers in Israel because their unbelief closed the door of good to them. A heathen nobleman who had been true to his convictions of right, and who felt his need of help, was in the sight of God more worthy of His blessing than were the afflicted in Israel, who had slighted and despised their God-given privileges. God works for those who appreciate His favors and respond to the light given them from heaven.

PK 253.1

Today in every land there are those who are honest in heart, and upon these the light of heaven is shining. If they continue faithful in following that which they understand to be duty, they will be given increased light, until, like Naaman of old, they will be constrained to acknowledge that “there is no God in all the earth,” save the living God, the Creator.

PK 253.2

To every sincere soul “that walketh in darkness, and hath no light,” is given the invitation, “Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.” “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember Thee in Thy ways.” Isaiah 50:10; 64:4, 5.

From Splendor to Shadow

Chapter 20—Captain Naaman Healed of Leprosy

SS 132.1

“Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.” RSV.

SS 132.2

Ben-hadad, king of Syria, had defeated Israel in the battle which resulted in the death of Ahab. Since that time the Syrians had maintained against Israel a constant border warfare, and in one of their raids had carried away a little maid who, in the land of her captivity, “waited on Naaman’s wife.” A slave, far from her home, this little maid was one of God’s witnesses, fulfilling the purpose for which God had chosen Israel as His people. In that heathen home, her sympathies were aroused in behalf of her master, and, remembering the wonderful miracles of healing wrought through Elisha, she said to her mistress, “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” Verse 3. She believed that by the power of Heaven Naaman could be healed.

SS 132.3

The conduct of the captive maid in that heathen home is a strong witness to the power of early home training. There is no higher trust than that committed to fathers and mothers in the care and training of their children.

SS 132.4

Happy are the parents whose lives reflect the divine, so that the promises and commands of God awaken in the child gratitude and reverence, parents whose tenderness and justice and long-suffering interpret to the child the love and justice and long-suffering of God, and who teach the child to love and trust and obey his Father in heaven. They endow him with a treasure as enduring as eternity.

SS 133.1

Our children may spend their lives in common vocations, but all are called to be ministers of mercy to the world. They are to stand by the side of Christ in unselfish service.

SS 133.2

Naaman heard of the words that the maid had spoken to her mistress, and, obtaining permission from the king, went forth to seek healing, taking “ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.” He also carried a letter from the king of Syria to the king of Israel: “I have ... sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.”

SS 133.3

When the king of Israel read the letter, “he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.”

SS 133.4

Tidings of the matter reached Elisha, and he sent word to the king: “Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

SS 133.5

“So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.” Through a messenger the prophet told him, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.”

SS 133.6

Naaman had expected to see some wonderful manifestation of power from heaven. “I thought,” he said, “He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.” When told to wash in the Jordan, his pride was touched: “Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.”

SS 134.1

The rivers mentioned by Naaman were beautified by surrounding groves, and many flocked to the banks of these pleasant streams to worship their idol gods. It would have cost Naaman no humiliation of soul to descend into one of those streams. But only through following the specific directions of the prophet could he find healing.

SS 134.2

Naaman’s servants urged him to carry out Elisha’s directions: “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” The haughty Syrian yielded his pride and seven times dipped himself in Jordan, “according to the saying of the man of God.” And his faith was honored: “His flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

SS 134.3

Gratefully “he returned to the man of God, he and all his company,” with the acknowledgment, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.”

SS 134.4

In accordance with custom, Naaman asked Elisha to accept a costly present. But the prophet refused. It was not for him to take payment for a blessing that God had bestowed. “So he departed from him.”

SS 134.5

Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had had opportunity to develop the spirit of self-denial characterizing his master’s lifework. The best gifts of Heaven had long been within his reach; yet, turning from these, he had coveted instead worldly wealth. And now the hidden longings of his avaricious spirit led him to yield to an overmastering temptation. “My master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: ... I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.” In secrecy “Gehazi followed after Naaman.”

SS 135.1

“When Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well.” Then Gehazi uttered a deliberate lie. “My master,” he said, “hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.” To the request Naaman gladly acceded, pressing upon Gehazi two talents of silver instead of one, “with two changes of garments,” and commissioning servants to bear the treasure back.

SS 135.2

As Gehazi neared Elisha’s home, he dismissed the servants and placed the silver and the garments in hiding. This accomplished, “he went in, and stood before his master.” In response to the inquiry, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” he answered, “Your servant went nowhere.” RSV.

SS 135.3

Elisha knew all. “Did I not go with you in spirit,” he asked, “when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, menservants and maidservants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you, and to your descendants forever.” Swift was the retribution that overtook the guilty man. He went out from Elisha’s presence, “a leper, as white as snow.” RSV.

SS 135.4

Solemn are the lessons taught by this experience. Gehazi placed a stumbling block in the pathway of Naaman, upon whose mind had broken a wonderful light and who was favorably disposed toward the service of the living God. For the deception practiced, there could be no excuse. To the day of his death Gehazi remained a leper.

SS 136.3

If those who are honest in heart follow what they understand to be duty, they will be given increased light, until, like Naaman, they will acknowledge that “there is no God in all the earth,” save the living God, the Creator.

From Splendor to Shadow

Elisha’s Servant Has the Spirit of Judas

SS 135.5

“A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.” Proverbs 19:5. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:13. God revealed to His prophet every detail of the scene between Gehazi and Naaman.

SS 136.1

Truth is of God; deception in all its forms is of Satan, and whoever in any way departs from the straight line of truth is betraying himself into the power of the wicked one. Those who have learned of Christ will be straightforward and true, for they are preparing for the fellowship of those holy ones in whose mouth is found no guile. See Revelation 14:5.

SS 136.2

Naaman’s wonderful faith was commended by the Saviour as an object lesson. “There were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha,” the Saviour declared; “and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:27, RSV. God passed over many lepers in Israel because their unbelief closed the door to them. A heathen nobleman who had been true to his convictions of right was in the sight of God more worthy of His blessing than the afflicted in Israel who had despised their God-given privileges. God works for those who appreciate His favors and respond to the light given them from heaven.

Reflecting Christ

Captive Maid Shows Concern for Naaman, November 19

RC 337.1

The Syrians ... had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. 2 Kings 5:2, 3.

Conflict and Courage

God’s Ways, August 10

CC 228.1

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8, 9.

CC 228.2

Naaman the Syrian consulted the prophet of God as to how he could be cured of a loathsome disease, the leprosy. He was bidden to go and bathe in Jordan seven times. Why did he not immediately follow the directions of Elisha, the prophet of God? ... In his mortification and disappointment he became passionate, and in a rage refused to follow the humble course marked out by the prophet of God. “I thought,” said he, “he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.” His servant said: “My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash [merely], and be clean?” Yes, this great man considered it beneath his dignity to go to the humble river Jordan, and wash. The rivers he mentioned and desired were beautified by surrounding trees and groves, and idols were placed in these groves. Many flocked to these rivers to worship their idol gods; therefore it would have cost him no humility. But it was following the specified directions of the prophet which would humble his proud and lofty spirit. Willing obedience would bring the desired result. He washed, and was made whole.13Testimonies for the Church 2:309, 310.

CC 228.3

Our plans are not always God’s plans.... In His loving care and interest for us, often He who understands us better than we understand ourselves refuses to permit us selfishly to seek the gratification of our own ambition.... Many things He ask us to yield to Him, but in doing this we are but giving up that which hinders us in the heavenward way....

CC 228.4

In the future life the mysteries that here have annoyed and disappointed us will be made plain. We shall see that our seemingly unanswered prayers and disappointed hopes have been among our greatest blessings.14The Ministry of Healing, 473, 474.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Lt 123, 1904

19LtMs, Lt 123, 1904, par. 40

“Then went he down, and dipped himself in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” [2 Kings 5:10-14.]

Christ Triumphant

Anger Can Cause Us to Miss God’s Blessings, June 12

CTr 170.1

And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 2 Kings 5:13.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 117, 1907

22LtMs, Ms 117, 1907, par. 20

What was it that constituted the power of Elijah? “As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand” [2 Kings 5:16]—this was ever the watchword on his lips; and in these words lay his power. His message was from God; it filled his whole being.

Christ Triumphant

The Tangled Web of Sinning, June 13

CTr 171.1

But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said ... I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. 2 Kings 5:20.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Lt 22, 1893

8LtMs, Lt 22, 1893, par. 11

The Lord God hath a witness to every transaction. Elisha’s reproof to Gehazi when he denied having left to follow Naaman [was]: “whence comest thou Gehazi?” The answer is, “Thy servant went no whither.” Then the stern reproof came which showed he knew all. “Went not my heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men servants, and maid servants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed forever.” [2 Kings 5:25-27.] The Lord had revealed the whole matter. The interview with Naaman, the minutest incidents of the scene were accurately presented before him. O the workings of the powers of darkness are so deceiving!