At the height of Commander Naaman’s military career (2King 5), Aram raided certain areas of Israel from time to time. One day Aram's troops captured an Israelite girl. Watch this story, second Eves.
Naaman was a decorated general. He was “great in the sight of Aram’s king.” Yet, he had one big problem he could not get rid of. Even his war skills and bravery were useless in fighting it off—leprosy. What did honors, rewards, promotions, and trophies mean when your life melted away due to gangrene?
Leprosy deadened the nerves so that a person afflicted by it lost the ability to feel pain on the skin and muscles. His hand can touch red-hot flames and not feel a thing. As the disease eats you, you gradually become a walking dead. Like a zombie. If you’ve seen zombie movies you’d see how these creatures want nothing but eat flesh. Trophies, riches, possessions, relationships, etc. don’t mean a thing to them. It’s flesh or nothing.
Spiritual Zombinism
If you suffer from spiritual zombinism you crave for flesh—anything that feeds your carnality. Everything else God shows or gives you becomes empty. Naaman didn’t just suffer leprosy—he was a walking zombie in spirit. Often, you’re spiritual condition is reflected on what people see in you on the outside. Thus, he was arrogant. His ego hurt when Elisha, God’s prophet, didn’t even care to go out and attend him personally. Is that the way God’s servant treats a person in need? Is that God’s love?
But it was God’s love; the problem was, Naaman was turning into a Zombie in spirit and could not recognize God’s love which Elisha was giving him. All he cared about was eat more flesh to feed his ego and boost his pride. Church people with spiritual leprosy negate anything of God and recognize what satisfies the flesh alone. Yet, most of them get religious trophies in church and gain riches and promotions like Naaman did.
Nothing but Glory for Her God
Now, the girl was of a different spirit. She was a war victim, her people were badly persecuted, she was taken captive, and then forced to serve Naaman’s wife. Yet, in all the misfortunes in her life, she had only one thing in heart—God’s glory.
Now this is odd—she was never named at all, yet she was among the few who believed in God and God’s holy servant, Elisha. It was a time of national backsliding with the evil King Joram son of Ahab in the lead. We see Ahab and wife Jezebel and their families highlighted in both books of Kings, and yet this young girl with an amazing faith left unsung except for a few short sentences. Here we see how God’s eyes operate. The greater you are to Him the lesser treatment you get. See, second Eves?
Anyway, Naaman and his wife and their country being the enemy, the young girl nonetheless helped them. She gave them a tip for Naaman’s leprosy: “If you could go see our prophet in Samaria, you’d be healed!” Why didn’t she just let him rot in gangrene? That could have spelled Israel’s victory. Helping the enemy was serious betrayal, wasn’t it?
To the young girl, everything boiled down to God’s glory—not who won or lost. She also risked her life recommending God’s prophet. What if Naaman went to Elisha and God refused to heal? What if Elisha refused to do anything with him? Elisha had a prejudice against the rich and famous—like the way he rejected Naaman’s gold and silver rewards, and the way he refused to see him personally.
She knew how to operate in the prophetic—believing the genuine man of God was the same as believing God. The church today needs prophetic leadership in the Spirit realms, like what Elisha had, and prophetic believers who would stake their lives for God and His anointed servants.
