NAAMAN-THE MAN WHO WASHED AND WAS CLEAN (15 OF 16)
Scripture: II KINGS 5:14
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Naaman-The Man Who Washed and Was Clean (15 of 16)
Series: The Wisest Fool
Clarence E. Macartney
2 Kings 5:14
Naaman, the captain of the Syrian Host, was dressing one morning to present himself at court. Stretching out his muscular, well-braceleted arm, his eye fell on something there which he had never seen before. He looked at it carefully, and as he did so the bronzed face of the veteran of many campaigns began to pale. But Naaman was a soldier, and, throwing his robes about him, he went to the court and performed his duties with the King Benhadad.
Some weeks later when he looked again the spot had grown larger. Another week or two passed by, and there was a spot on the other arm, and then one on his thigh. There was no doubt about it. Naaman was a leper! He had fallen a victim of mankind's oldest, most dreaded, most exclusively human, and most loathsome disease.
Unsuspected Sorrows and Burdens
Naaman was a great man, but he was a leper. He was wealthy. He lived in a beautiful villa in the midst of a grove of fruit trees and sweet-scented bushes on the banks of the swiftly flowing Abana. He was famous as the leader of the armies of Syria and as the deliverer of his nation. The king honored him and whenever he appeared in public the people hailed and saluted him. And yet he was a leper! Although he occupied the second place in the kingdom, he would have been glad to have exchanged places with any healthy soldier in his army.
There is always a ''but'' to human greatness and fame and pleasure. Many who may be the object of envy would be glad to part with all they have for a body free of disease, or a mind free of the reproach of conscience, or a life unshadowed by remorse or loneliness.
Whatever the lot of man may be, there is always the other side, and the hidden side. In this respect Naaman is typical of human experience. Under the gorgeous robes of the satrap of Syria there were the hideous marks of the ...
Series: The Wisest Fool
Clarence E. Macartney
2 Kings 5:14
Naaman, the captain of the Syrian Host, was dressing one morning to present himself at court. Stretching out his muscular, well-braceleted arm, his eye fell on something there which he had never seen before. He looked at it carefully, and as he did so the bronzed face of the veteran of many campaigns began to pale. But Naaman was a soldier, and, throwing his robes about him, he went to the court and performed his duties with the King Benhadad.
Some weeks later when he looked again the spot had grown larger. Another week or two passed by, and there was a spot on the other arm, and then one on his thigh. There was no doubt about it. Naaman was a leper! He had fallen a victim of mankind's oldest, most dreaded, most exclusively human, and most loathsome disease.
Unsuspected Sorrows and Burdens
Naaman was a great man, but he was a leper. He was wealthy. He lived in a beautiful villa in the midst of a grove of fruit trees and sweet-scented bushes on the banks of the swiftly flowing Abana. He was famous as the leader of the armies of Syria and as the deliverer of his nation. The king honored him and whenever he appeared in public the people hailed and saluted him. And yet he was a leper! Although he occupied the second place in the kingdom, he would have been glad to have exchanged places with any healthy soldier in his army.
There is always a ''but'' to human greatness and fame and pleasure. Many who may be the object of envy would be glad to part with all they have for a body free of disease, or a mind free of the reproach of conscience, or a life unshadowed by remorse or loneliness.
Whatever the lot of man may be, there is always the other side, and the hidden side. In this respect Naaman is typical of human experience. Under the gorgeous robes of the satrap of Syria there were the hideous marks of the ...
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