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Naaman
'... though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.' 2 Kings 5:1
Naaman was not just any Commander of the King's army but a great one! The King thought he was absolutely brilliant (look it up: 2 Kings 5). He was 'a mighty warrior', winning many battles. But hidden underneath the armour of this great commander was a secret. Naaman suffered from leprosy. Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases. It is a chronic, infectious disease that attacks the nervous system, particularly the nerves of the hands, feet and face. Sufferers feel no pain in these areas and are therefore likely to injure themselves without realizing.
It wasn't until the 1980's that a cure was found for leprosy and Naaman lived way before then; around 840 BC! Back then, sufferers were excluded, shunned, chucked out of their communities to stop others becoming infected. This is why Naaman would have hidden his illness, but even so, he knew that no matter how much he ignored or hid his problem, it was never going to go away.
Thankfully for Naaman we read how he stopped hiding his illness and went and asked for help. He found Elisha who told him about God who could heal him and Naaman was healed. Amazing! Sometimes, just like Naaman, we can hide things that we don't want people to know about, because we're scared of what might happen if people really knew us. Ask God to help you to stop hiding. God helped Naaman and He wants to help you too.
written by Bob Gass
'... though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.' 2 Kings 5:1
Naaman was not just any Commander of the King's army but a great one! The King thought he was absolutely brilliant (look it up: 2 Kings 5). He was 'a mighty warrior', winning many battles. But hidden underneath the armour of this great commander was a secret. Naaman suffered from leprosy. Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases. It is a chronic, infectious disease that attacks the nervous system, particularly the nerves of the hands, feet and face. Sufferers feel no pain in these areas and are therefore likely to injure themselves without realizing.
It wasn't until the 1980's that a cure was found for leprosy and Naaman lived way before then; around 840 BC! Back then, sufferers were excluded, shunned, chucked out of their communities to stop others becoming infected. This is why Naaman would have hidden his illness, but even so, he knew that no matter how much he ignored or hid his problem, it was never going to go away.
Thankfully for Naaman we read how he stopped hiding his illness and went and asked for help. He found Elisha who told him about God who could heal him and Naaman was healed. Amazing! Sometimes, just like Naaman, we can hide things that we don't want people to know about, because we're scared of what might happen if people really knew us. Ask God to help you to stop hiding. God helped Naaman and He wants to help you too.
written by Bob Gass
