NAAMAN, a captain in the service of Ben-Hadad II, King of Syria, suffered from leprosy.
Naaman’s wife had a Jewish maid, and one day she remarked that if only the prophet Elisha were here, Naaman would be better in no time.
So the King himself wrote to Joram, the King of Israel, asking politely for a miracle. At first, Joram thought the impossible request was a pretext for war. But Elisha quickly sent word that all Naaman had to do was wash seven times in the Jordan.
The Captain, who had been expecting Elisha to come in person and make long prayers, was inclined to resent this remedy. After all, what was wrong with the rivers of Syria? But his servants persuaded him, and the Jordan gave him skin like a baby’s.
Naaman now gladly took Israel’s God for his own, and Elisha thoughtfully allowed him to continue waiting on the Syrian king, even during his pagan rites.
Précis
The Syrian king wanted to help a captain in his army called Naaman, who suffered from leprosy. He sent Naaman to see Elisha, who told him to wash seven times in the Jordan. Naaman was disappointed at this simple remedy, but his cure quite changed his mind, and he converted to Judaism. (52 / 60 words)