Pardon Me, Please

2 Kings 5:1-19

Naaman was a general in the service of the king of Aram. Naaman was also a leper who learned there was a prophet in Israel who could cure him. Elisha was that prophet who did in fact heal Naaman of his disease. Afterwards the general acknowledged that the God of Israel was the one true God in all the world and the only God that Naaman would worship. “But,” said Naaman to Elisha, “may the Lord pardon your servant on one count: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one count” (2 Kings 5:18). Elisha then assures Naaman that he may go in peace.

I find this to be an odd moment. On a number of occasions God has claimed to be a jealous, insistent that the people of God have nothing to do with other deities. (Exodus 34:14 even says “…the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” And Exodus 20:5 specifically mentions bowing to other gods as unacceptable.) So why is it that Naaman is given permission to do these things, to attend the worship of another god and to bow with the king of Aram on those occasions? Frankly, I have no idea. When it comes to worshiping the God of Israel it would seem like Naaman should be “all in” or not, as opposed to “in (with exceptions).”

And yet clearly God meets us where we are and our relationships with God are not “one size fits all.” My needs are not necessarily the needs of another, my situation in life is not identical to anyone else’s. For this reason I take comfort in knowing that God relates to people within the community of faith just as we should relate to one another, recognizing the strengths and weaknesses we each carry, offering to do those things for which we are best suited. In his healing Naaman found the truth about God who already knew the truth about Naaman. What a blessing to know that God pays more attention to us than we do to God.

Prayer: Lord, you know us better than we know ourselves. Bless us with what we need to live as your people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.