The Flesh of a Little Child

One of the most interesting stories in the First (Old) Testament is that of a man named Naaman, about whom we read in II Kings 5. He was, we read, the "commander of the army of the king of Syria, [and he] was a great man with his master and in high favour, because by him YHWH had given victory to Syria." (v.1) Just a side-note that didn't come to mind until I had copied those words! The inspired writer attributes the successes of this Gentile (i.e. not of the Children of Israel) to YHWH, the God of Israel. With the presidential election day this week, I wonder if the candidate for whom I personally would be voting - Donald J Trump - is an unbeliever whom the Lord will use for His own purposes! He is the Lord of all of mankind, even if not all fully acknowledge Him as such! Actually, either candidate will be the Lord's choice - to bless the USA, or to bring judgement upon that great country!

Anyway, this familiar story of Naaman, the Syrian, was cited by the Lord Jesus himself as an example of the concern of Almighty God for all nations. "And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." (Lk.4:27). It is also, we may conclude, a striking picture of salvation!

As we have noted, Naaman was a great and highly-acclaimed military commander. However, at the end of the verse at which we looked at the beginning of this post, we learn something else about him: "... but he was a leper." Yes, this "mighty man of valour"  was also stricken with an incurable, and loathsome, disease - the disease of leprosy. Similarly, any natural man, or woman, no matter how powerful, is afflicted with the lethal disease of sin. 

Then we may note that, before this important, and proud, official could be cured of his leprosy, he had to humble himself in several ways. First, he had to accept the advice of a slave girl from an enemy nation: "Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little maid from the land of Israel, and she waited on Naaman’s wife.  She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” (vs.2-3). 

Then Naaman had to journey to that nation and its prophet, whose God his own nation had repudiated: "So Na′aman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the maiden from the land of Israel.”  And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” (v.4).

Finally, he had to travel still farther at the word of the prophet (who would not even come out to meet him); and, finally, immerse himself seven times in the despised river Jordan. Though he resented being so humiliated, his condition was hopeless otherwise, so he finally did all these things, and God marvelously healed him! "So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angry, and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of YHWH his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.  But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, if the prophet had commanded you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much rather, then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." (vs.9-14)

 

Naaman's leprous flesh became, again, as the flesh of a little child. But first he had to manifest the obedient faith of a little child. The same principle is true for every lost sinner. 

"Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will exalt you." (James 4:10). Jesus said, "... unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3-4).

An act of true kindness.

In one of my regular e-mails - that have been sadly neglected over recent days - is the following report:

As Israeli soldiers continue with the military operation [Operation Brother's Keeper] in Judea and Samaria following the abduction of three Israeli teens, Israeli doctors of Save a Child's Heart (SACH) continue to save the lives of Palestinian children at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.

Since the beginning of Operation Brother's Keeper, three Palestinian children have undergone life-saving heart surgery at Wolfson, eight Palestinian children were admitted, including two urgent cases brought by ambulances from Judea and Samaria and from Gaza, two children from the West Bank will undergo open heart surgery today at the hospital and fifteen children are expected to arrive today to the SACH free weekly cardiology clinic for Palestinian children.

The Israeli medical team of SACH is determined to continue with their activity without letting the situation around interfere or influence them. "Children are children"' says Dr. Lior Sasson, SACH chief surgeon, "for us it doesn't matter where the children come from, every child deserves to receive the best medical treatment and children. from both sides, should't be a part of the conflict".

Before entering the operating room this morning, Dr. Sasson said " We are continuing with our work, this is what distinguishes us as Israelis, the ability to ignore what is happening around and continue with our sacred work of saving children's lives".

This is, surely, an act of true kindness.  It is further evidence as to who are the real problem in the Middle East - and it is not the people of the modern state of Israel!  However, the title I typed in, a few minutes ago, was An act of grace.  There is, indeed, a sense in which that did not require the change that I then made.  So why did I make it?  Well, in my book Great Words of the Faith, there is a chapter on that word as well!  In that chapter, I use the well-known acronym: God's Riches At Christ's Expense.  That is true grace.  It is Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all that is, Who is purity and sinlessness and, above all, love in His very Being providing, through the sacrifice of God the Son at Calvary, all that He is, to sinful creatures like you and me.  

I don't know how those Palestinian children, and their families, respond to the care and expert treatment that they receive at the hands of Israeli medical staff.  I do know that the only way to respond to the grace of God, in Christ, is to submit to His Lordship in our lives.

I've done that  - have you?

Israel, Palestine, and the World Council of Churches.

My regular copy of Life & Work (the Church of Scotland's monthly magazine) arrived with the post this morning.  In spite of the fact that I have not been an official C.of S. minister for almost 35 years, it started arriving a few years back, and has done so ever since.  I'm not sure that it will be sent to France when we move there - but we shall see!

Usually, I tend to read only the parts that interest me - the deaths, retirals, and demissions (an increasing number of those known to me fall into the first of those categories!); the Letters pages; and the offerings of one or two of the regular contributors.  However, in this edition, I noticed a headline in the World News pages: "Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners", and stopped to read!  It was a brief article which I reproduce here (in the hope that it is acceptable to do so without written permission. I am assuming that with the annual meeting of the Kirk, in General Assembly, taking place this week, the editor will have more important fish to fry!).

"Observing Palestinian Prisoners' Day on April 17th, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary expressed solidarity with 5000 Palestinian men, women, and children languishing in Israeli jails.
In an open letter to the WCC's members, the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said: 'As people of faith, we are called to pray for, visit, and tend to the needs of all prisoners, no matter the reason for their detention.  For Israel and Palestine, prisoners have taken on even greater significance than in the past.
We were disappointed when the government of Israel cancelled the scheduled release of prisoners who have been in Israeli jails [since] even before the Oslo Agreement of 1993', he added."

The Reverend Doctor ought, perhaps, to use his undoubted intelligence, and research skills, to probe a little further into the situation before automatically assuming that the Israeli Government are the 'bad guys', and that the Palestinians are all as pure as the driven snow!  That cancellation of a scheduled release of prisoners was not an arbitrary move.

It was a response to the lack of progress made in the U.S.-brokered peace negotiations, or any meaningful concessions on the Palestinian side.

It was a response to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas who, while – with the support of the Arab League – is adamant in his refusal to recognize the Jewish state, but has been demanding a construction freeze in Judea and Samaria, and the freeing of terrorists, as a precondition for merely continuing the talks.

It was a response to the comment by PA Central Committee Member Tawfiq Tirawi who, as documented by Palestinian Media Watch, stated on official PA television that the negotiations are merely 'one of the methods of struggle. But the rifle is here, and it can burst forth at any moment.'

It was a response to the PA's President's receiving of released prisoners, with blood on their hands, as heroes!

Of course, the Kirk showed, at the last General Assembly, that it has little support for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but prefers to support the Philistines.  Perhaps it fits in well with the WCC!