But I will tell you what they had in Syria--they had one of G.o.d"s children there, and she was a little girl, a simple captive maid, who waited on Mrs. Naaman. Naaman knew nothing about this little Israelite, though she was one of his household.
I can imagine that one day, as she was waiting on the general"s wife, she noticed her weeping. Her heart was breaking because of the dark cloud that rested over her home. So she told her mistress that there was a prophet in her country that could cure her master of his leprosy. "Would to G.o.d," she said, "my lord were with the prophet in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy."
There"s faith for you!
She boasted of G.o.d that He would do more for this heathen than He had done for any in Israel; and
G.o.d HONORED HER FAITH.
"What do you say? A prophet in Israel that can cure leprosy?"
"Yes."
"Why, did you ever know any one that was cured?"
"No."
"Well, then, what makes you think there is a prophet that can cure leprosy?"
"Oh, that isn"t anything to what Elisha can do. There was a little child that lived near us that died, and he raised him to life. He has done many wonderful things."
She must have had a reputation for truthfulness. If she hadn"t, her testimony would not have been taken.
Some one told the general of it, and he made it known to the king.
Now, Naaman stood high in the king"s favor, for he had recently won a great victory. He stood near the throne. So the king said:
"You had better go down to Samaria, and see if there is anything in it. I will give you letters of introduction to the King of Israel."
Yes, he would give Naaman letters of introduction to the king.
That"s just man"s idea. The notion was, that if anybody could help him it was the king, and that the king had power both with G.o.d and man. Oh, my friends, it is a good deal better to know a man that knows G.o.d! A man acquainted with G.o.d has more power than any earthly potentate. Gold can"t do everything.
Away goes Naaman down to Samaria with his kingly introduction. What a stir it must have made when the commander of the Syrian army drove up! He has brought with him a lot of gold and silver. That is man"s idea again; he is going to pay for a great doctor, and he took about five hundred thousand dollars to pay for the doctor"s bill. There are a good many men who would willingly pay that sum if with it they could buy the favor of G.o.d, and get rid of the curse of sin. Yes, if money could do it,
HOW MANY WOULD BUY SALVATION!
But, thank G.o.d, it is not in the market for sale. You must buy it at G.o.d"s price, and that is "without money and without price." Naaman found that out.
My dear friends, did you ever ask yourselves which is the worse--the leprosy of sin, or the leprosy of the body? For my own part, I would a thousand times sooner have the leprosy of the body eating into my eyes, and feet, and arms! I would rather be loathsome in the sight of my fellow-men than die with the leprosy of sin in my soul, and be banished from G.o.d forever! The leprosy of the body is bad, but the leprosy of sin is a thousand times worse. It has cast angels out of heaven. It has ruined the best and strongest men that ever lived in the world. Oh, how it has pulled men down! The leprosy of the body could not do that.
There is one thing about Naaman that I like specially, and that is his earnestness of purpose. He was
THOROUGHLY IN EARNEST.
He was quite willing to go one hundred and fifty miles, and to take the advice of this little maid. A good many people say:
"Oh, I don"t like such and such a minister; I should like to know where he comes from, and what he has done, and whether any bishop has laid his hands on his head."
My dear friends, never mind the minister; it is the message you want. If some one were to send me a telegraph message, and the news were important, I shouldn"t stop to ask about the messenger who brought it. I should want to read the news. I should look at the message, and not at the boy who brought it.
And so it is with G.o.d"s message. The good news is everything, the minister nothing. The Syrians looked down with contempt on the Israelites, and yet this great man was willing to take the good news at the hands of this little maiden, and listened to the words that fell from her lips. If I got lost in New York, I should be willing to ask anybody which way to go, even if it were only a s...o...b..ack; and, in point of fact, a boy"s word in such a case is often better than a man"s. It is the way I want, not the person who directs me.
But there was one drawback in Naaman"s case. Though he was willing to take the advice of the little girl, he was not willing to take the remedy. The stumbling-block of pride stood in his way. The remedy the prophet offered him was a terrible blow to his pride. I have no doubt he expected a grand reception from the King of Israel, to whom he brought letters of introduction. He had been victorious on many a field of battle, and held high rank in the army; perhaps we may call him Major-General Naaman of Syria, or he might have been higher in rank even than that; and bearing with him kingly credentials, he expected no doubt a distinguished reception. But instead of the king rushing out to meet him, he, when he heard of Naaman"s arrival and his object, simply rent his mantle, and said:
"Am I G.o.d, 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."
Elisha heard of the king"s trouble, and sent him a message, saying:
"Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
I can imagine Naaman"s pride reasoning thus: "Surely, the prophet will feel very much exalted and flattered that I, the great Syrian general, should come and call upon him."
And so, probably, full of those proud thoughts, he drives up to the prophet"s humble dwelling with his chariot and his splendid retinue.
Yes, Naaman drove up in grand style to the prophet"s abode, and as n.o.body seemed to be coming out to greet him, he sent in his message:
"Tell the prophet that Major-General Naaman of Syria has arrived, and wishes to see him."
Elisha takes it very coolly. He does not come out to see him, but as soon as he learns his errand he sends his servant to tell him to dip seven times in the river Jordan, and he shall be clean.
That was a terrible blow to his pride. I can imagine him saying to his servant:
"What did you say? Did I understand you aright? Dip seven times in the Jordan! Why, we call the river Jordan a _ditch_ in our country."
But the only answer he got was, "The prophet says, Go and dip seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall become like the flesh of a little child."
I can fancy Naaman"s indignation as he asks, "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?
May I not wash in them and be clean? Haven"t I bathed myself hundreds of times, and has it helped me? Can water wash away leprosy?"
So he turned and went away in a rage.
It isn"t a bad sign when a man gets mad if you tell him the truth.
Some people are afraid of getting other people mad. I have known wives afraid to talk to their husbands, afraid of getting them mad.
I have known mothers who were afraid to talk to their sons because they were
AFRAID THEY WOULD GET MAD.
Don"t be afraid of getting them mad, if it is the truth that makes them mad. If it is our foolishness that makes them mad, then we have got reason to mourn over it. If it is the truth, G.o.d sent it, and it is a good deal better to have a man get mad than it is to have him go to sleep. I think the trouble with a great many nowadays is that they are sound asleep, and it is a good deal better to rouse them even if they do wake up mad.
The fact was, the Jordan never had any great reputation as a river.
It flowed into the Dead Sea, and that sea never had a harbor to it, and its banks were not half so beautiful as those of the rivers of Damascus. Damascus was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is said that when Mahomet beheld it he turned his head aside for fear it should divert his thoughts from heaven.
Naaman turned away in a rage. "Ah," he said, "here am I, a great conqueror, a successful general on the battlefield, holding the very highest rank in the army, and yet this prophet does not even come out to meet me; he simply sends a message. Why, I thought he would surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his G.o.d, and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper."
There it is. I hardly ever knew a man yet who, when talked to about his sins, didn"t say:
"Yes, but I _thought_ so and so."