Naaman said, "If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth," for from now on he would not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord (a paraphrase of 2 Kings 5:17).

Naaman experienced God's power firsthand. He was delivered from his leprosy in a miraculous way. As a result, he came to believe that the Lord was God and there was no other.

When I came to America, before I came to saving faith, I heard the gospel no fewer than ten times. At last I both understood and believed and was saved.

Yet I wonder about the many who have never heard. I wonder about those who heard only once. I wonder about those who heard but whose hearts were unprepared to receive the message. I wonder about those who heard but did not understand. I wonder about those who heard but refused to believe because they would not simply accept everything they were told.

O Lord, these things I wonder about only confirm to me the necessity of Your effective calling and work of grace in salvation. I believed because You caused me to believe. I am saved because of Your mysterious, unsearchable, and sovereign will. I was Naaman, dead in my trespasses and sins, worshiping the idols taught me by my parents, my culture, and my experience. I am Naaman, healed and saved by the word of God spoken through His prophet.

Friends, how amazing is the grace of God that saves us. It touches some and not all, and not all in the same way. And salvation is all of grace, for who in their right mind would choose eternal judgment over eternal life? Can Naaman be faulted for doubting the prophet's command about washing in the Jordan? How many have been deceived by those who make fools of them and disappear? How many have had their trust betrayed, their money taken, and been left ashamed and angry?

Am I now going to criticize my fellow human being because he does not believe? How can I be upset with anyone who fails to believe, when they cannot believe what they do not understand and cannot prove? I have had four years of Bible college, years of seminary training, and decades of daily time in God's Word, but I know that the essence of God's truth can only be discerned by the Spirit. None of my training led me to faith. It only confirmed the faith God produced in me.

Friends, our witness is neither contrived nor frantic. It is simple obedience to the command of God, who orders the universe in keeping with what brings Him the highest glory. People are not saved by our diligence in witnessing, nor by our persuasive appeals. They are saved by the inward and effective working of God's Holy Spirit. Yet we are called to preach and teach and live out the gospel. We are commanded to pray and to pursue God's revealed will as our central preoccupation.

Let us realize that it is all on the foundation of God's grace from first to last. We can boast only in His grace; any other boasting makes no sense, since it is so insignificant in light of God's indescribable gift. And every anxiety looks foolish in light of that same limitless grace. Every prayer for safety, daily provision, and happiness can seem small when eternal paradise lies just around the corner.

No wonder Solomon concludes that everything is vanity except to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

So let us enjoy the good things God has given us in our short lives, which will soon vanish like a passing vapor. Let us worship God, who has extended His grace to save even us. Let us put forth what effort we can, in keeping with His grace in us, to trust and obey His Word, by which our hope is revealed and confirmed. Let us stand as witnesses to the power of the gospel of Christ to save, without blaming or condemning anyone, for we would be no better than they apart from the sovereign work of God's grace in us.

AI-Expanded Reflection

Naaman's healing turns on a series of small and unlikely mercies. It begins with a captive Israelite girl, taken in a raid, who tells her mistress about the prophet in Samaria (5:2–3) — an act of remarkable grace toward her captors. It continues with Naaman's servants, who reason with him when he storms off in anger: "if the prophet had commanded you to do some great thing," would you not have done it? (5:13). A servant girl and household servants are the human instruments of a commander's salvation.

Naaman's request for two mule loads of earth reflects the ancient assumption that gods were tied to particular lands; he wanted Israelite soil so he could worship Israel's God at home. Elisha's reply — "Go in peace" (5:19) — shows patience with a new believer's imperfect understanding. Jesus later cited this story in Nazareth to make the point that God's mercy reaches beyond Israel: "there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha," yet only Naaman the Syrian was cleansed (Luke 4:27). On the relationship between God's sovereign grace and human response, Christians hold the range of views noted at #2142 and #1779; all agree with the comment's humility about our own salvation and its refusal to look down on those who do not yet believe.

Elisha told Gehazi to tie up his garment, take his staff, go without stopping to greet anyone on the road, and lay the staff on the child's face (a paraphrase of 2 Kings 4:29). Gehazi went ahead and laid the staff on the child's face, "but there was no sound or sign of life" (2 Kings 4:31). Then Elisha went up and lay on the child, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands, and as he stretched himself on him, the child's body grew warm (a paraphrase of 2 Kings 4:34).

It interests me that Elisha's first instructions did not work. I expect that when someone is sent by God, they will have great power and great effect. Elisha gave instructions, presumably from God, but they failed. We see in the New Testament a time when the disciples failed to cast out a demon (Matthew 17:14–20).

The disciples were unable because of their "little faith." I take this to mean something like what is taught in James 1: when you ask, make sure you are trusting only in God; the double-minded, caught between this world and the kingdom, should not expect to receive anything (cf. James 1:6–8).

Later we find Gehazi trying to profit from the foreign commander Naaman, a symptom of his little faith. So we can say that this failure to revive the child perhaps reflected not on Elisha but on Gehazi.

AI-Expanded Reflection

The comment connects two episodes that the narrator also seems to link. Gehazi appears in chapter 4 as the servant who pushes the grieving mother away (4:27) and whose use of the staff produces nothing; in chapter 5 he runs after Naaman to take the gifts Elisha refused, and leaves with Naaman's leprosy (5:20–27). The reading that the failure lay with Gehazi rather than with Elisha is a reasonable one, though the text does not say so directly, and other interpreters suggest the point is simply that God's power does not transfer mechanically through objects.

That second reading is supported by the story itself. The mother refuses to leave Elisha and go with Gehazi — "As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you" (4:30) — as if she knew a staff was no substitute for the prophet's own presence and prayer. When Elisha arrives, he shuts the door and prays to the Lord before doing anything else (4:33), and even then the child's revival is gradual. Jesus' answer to the disciples in the parallel account of Mark 9:29 makes the same point: this kind comes out only by prayer.

The comment's application — that faith must rest on God rather than on method or position — fits both readings.

When she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said, "Let her alone, for her soul is troubled," and that the Lord had hidden it from him. Then she asked whether she had ever asked him for a son, and reminded him she had begged him not to deceive her (a paraphrase of 2 Kings 4:27–28).

As I read about this woman's distress over her dead son, my heart was moved. Then, when Elisha raised him, I was elated. But then I considered how many countless other mothers throughout the world have suffered the same loss as this woman, and their child stayed dead.

To hear stories of the sick being healed and potential catastrophes being averted, we listen to preachers. To hear stories of the sick dying and catastrophes happening, we listen to the news. Preachers speak once a week and repeat the same stories again and again. The news brings current events every moment, twenty-four hours a day. Certainly there are many more calamities than "miracles."

What am I saying here? Even when miracles were authentic, they were few and far between. Today, anything and everything is called a "miracle." "Faith healers" abound, telling stories of "real" miracles that are actually nothing of the sort. They are more politically correct today than in times past. Before, they used to blame their failed miracles on the other person's lack of faith. Discovering that this was an unpopular explanation, they now blame it on "God's will," never considering that it might be their practice of "faith healing" that was against God's will.

Jesus opened the eyes of a man born blind (cf. John 9). The Scriptures document this healing with eyewitness evidence from neighbors who knew him, people who had seen him begging for years, and even his own parents. This was a bona fide miracle.

I wish we had this level of scrutiny to verify claims of miracles today. Why not invite the local news to cover it? Instead, the stories are vague, and usually only the one telling the story can vouch for it. When others try to verify it, they discover that the people supposedly healed have relapsed, grown worse, or died. For example, when investigators tried to verify the healing claims of one well-known televangelist, this is the kind of result they found. Yet even though the claims did not hold up, thousands still follow him.

There are similar claims made by self-proclaimed prophets associated with some prominent prayer and prophetic movements, and even by some leaders in well-known missions organizations, who make miraculous claims without documentation. In this way they diminish the worth of the authentic miracles in the Bible, leading people to presume that biblical miracles are just as undocumented and counterfeit as the claims made today.

How convenient it is for claimants today that the truly miraculous only occurs in remote villages, jungles, or out-of-the-way towns, where there is no television coverage and no eyewitnesses.

I appreciate the writing and preaching of a popular Christian author, but near the end of one of his best-known books he records a number of testimonies that he goes out of his way to insist are all true. Why is this necessary?! He was not present for these events. He did not document their veracity. It has the same effect as someone saying something and then following up with "trust me," as if that should give greater credence to what was said. It does just the opposite.

One story concerned a man who reportedly went without food or water for seventy-four days. While the author admits this would be medically impossible, he simply asserts, without evidence, that God sustained him. He also records as fact that the same man walked out of a locked prison on legs that had been broken. Again, no evidence is given. Such loose claims make it harder to trust the rest of what a writer says.

I love to hear about miracles, but when they fail to hold up under scrutiny, it distresses me that some Christians feel they have to resort to fabricated stories to gain an audience for the Gospel.

I remember a dynamic preacher who once lived in my hometown of Dallas, Texas. I first heard him at my alma mater, Liberty University, and at the time I thought he was the best preacher I had ever heard. He had a very moving story of growing up homeless with only a Bible. It turned out that the story was fabricated, according to the woman who raised him. He was later removed from several churches over misconduct toward women in his congregations, and was eventually convicted and imprisoned. As gifted as he was, he bore false witness, and it was many years before he was exposed. I recently heard that he has returned to the pulpit and has already gained a large following.

Friends, this is a reflection of our times. I know that many of you will readily follow dynamic speakers with miraculous stories, but I pray that God will help you use discernment. At least examine their claims. And certainly test what they say to see if their teaching remains within the boundaries of God's Word (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:6).

AI-Expanded Reflection

The comment's opening instinct deserves to be held onto, because it is the most pastorally important thing in it. For every Shunammite mother whose son was raised, there are many whose child was not, and Scripture does not hide them. David's infant son died despite his fasting and prayer (2 Samuel 12:15–23). Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20), nearly lost Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25–27), and asked three times for his own thorn to be removed and was told no (2 Corinthians 12:7–9). The Bible's miracles are real, but they are not presented as the normal outcome of faith, and a reader who has buried a child needs to hear that clearly.

The account itself is instructive here. Elisha does not know what has happened — the Lord has hidden it from him — and his first attempt, sending Gehazi ahead with his staff, produces nothing (2 Kings 4:31). Even the prophet's miracle is neither instant nor formulaic, and it is preceded by a mother's anguished protest that the text lets stand without rebuke.

On testing claims, the comment has solid ground: Deuteronomy 18:21–22 makes accuracy the test of a prophetic word, and 1 John 4:1 commands believers to test the spirits. Paul pairs the same caution with its counterweight — do not despise prophecies, but test everything and hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:20–21). Faithful Christians disagree about whether miraculous gifts continue today (see the discussion at #1283 and #1518), and that disagreement is a good-faith one. But both continuationists and cessationists can agree on the comment's central point: a fabricated or unverified story told in God's name does real damage, and honesty about what we do not know is part of bearing true witness.

Elisha asked Gehazi whether he did not realize that he had been there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet him — and whether this was the time to accept money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, and servants (a paraphrase of 2 Kings 5:26).

Friends, with the end of April we have completed one-third of the year. I am wondering how you are doing. I would love to hear that you have been faithfully meditating on God's Word. In some ways this is easier for those of us who feel called to this ministry, since we are compelled by both the Spirit and duty. But many of you have no such calling, and you do it because you know there is nothing better to prepare you for a life that pleases Him. So I encourage you to persevere. Your efforts are not in vain.

This week I watched three small children playing in the church play area, each carrying a volleyball — one white, one pink, one blue. The girl with the pink ball wanted a different color and tried to take the blue one from the boy holding it, and they struggled. I told them to be content with what they had, but they were upset. Then the other girl, holding the white ball, with no prompting, went over and offered hers to the girl with the pink one. My heart was touched. Soon all the volleyballs were set aside and they went back to playing together.

Reflecting on it, I have seen nearly the same thing happen between adults.

AI-Expanded Reflection

The two halves of this comment connect more tightly than they first appear. Gehazi's problem was wanting what had passed by — Naaman's gratitude, offered and refused, and Gehazi went after it. The children's episode is the same appetite in miniature, and the resolution comes from a third party who gives something away rather than from anyone winning the dispute.

Worth noting the detail in the Naaman story that makes Gehazi's calculation so misjudged. Elisha had refused the gift specifically so that Naaman would understand the healing was not for sale — the Syrian commander had arrived with silver, gold, and clothing, expecting to pay, and the refusal was the lesson. Gehazi's private transaction did not merely enrich him; it undid the point of the whole encounter, which is why Elisha's question is about timing rather than about the money itself.

The volleyball observation stands on its own. What ended the conflict was not an adjudication of who was entitled to what, but someone deciding the object mattered less than the playing.

Reading today's passages, I was struck by the similarity between Elisha's ministry and Jesus's own — restoring a dead child to life, miraculously feeding the hungry, healing lepers. It seems Elisha was foreshadowing the future Messiah's life.

Similarly, Elijah foreshadowed John the Baptist's ministry. Jewish tradition holds that Elijah's return would herald the Messiah's coming, based on Malachi's prophecy that God would send the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives (a paraphrase of Malachi 4:5). What was Elijah's own ministry? He preached coming judgment through drought, calling people who'd gone astray back to repentance — challenging Israel directly, asking how long they'd waver between two opinions, following the LORD if He's truly God, or Baal if he is (a paraphrase of 1 Kings 18:21). John the Baptist's message was strikingly similar — repentance, calling people back to the LORD, preaching in the Judean wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord exactly as Isaiah had foretold (a paraphrase of Matthew 3:1–3). Even before his birth, an angel told his father Zechariah that John would go before the Lord in Elijah's own spirit and power, turning parents' hearts to their children, and the disobedient to righteous wisdom, preparing a people ready for the Lord (a paraphrase of Luke 1:17). Jesus Himself testified that John was "the Elijah who was to come" (Matthew 11:14).

When Elijah is taken up in the whirlwind, his mantle passes to Elisha. Rather than doom and gloom, Elisha brings a message of mercy and grace, bringing hope to the people — today's reading describes several of these miraculous events. What's amazing is that Elisha's power didn't even end with his own death — his bones later restore a dead man to life (2 Kings 13:21). His power didn't "die" with his body. Jesus takes this one step further still — while Elisha's own body remains in its tomb, Jesus's tomb was found completely empty on the third day, since death itself couldn't hold Him. Elisha's bones brought someone back to physical life, but that man would still eventually die again. Jesus, though, overcame death itself, bringing those "dead in sin" into everlasting life instead.

AI-Expanded Reflection

The Elijah-to-Elisha and Elijah-to-John parallels this comment traces so thoroughly are worth naming as one continuous pattern rather than two separate observations, since both pairs share the identical structure — an intense, confrontational, wilderness-based ministry of judgment (Elijah, John the Baptist) preparing the way for a gentler, more expansive ministry of restoration and mercy that follows directly after it (Elisha, Jesus). That structural repetition, spanning roughly nine centuries between the two pairings, suggests this wasn't simply a convenient literary comparison later readers noticed after the fact — it's a pattern deep enough in Scripture's own logic that God appears to have used it twice, deliberately, as a recognizable template for how forerunner and fulfillment relate to each other.

Once again in today's reading, we see God's love and mercy weren't limited to Israel, as we might assume. The LORD's name is glorified through a Gentile general, Israel's own enemy, at a time when God's own people weren't showing Him any reverence at all. Blessed is the heart that truly seeks after God! Gehazi, by contrast, having witnessed so many of God's wonders performed through his master Elisha, showed no real faithfulness to the Lord, and his greed brought disaster on himself. Reflecting on my own life through today's reading, I ask myself whether I'm actually concerned with God's kingdom, or simply my own agenda. In every decision, I should seek His kingdom first, since I never know when God might use me to bring someone to Himself, just as Elisha's reputation reached Naaman. Every word we say and deed we do matters, unless we're living on some deserted island alone. If we try to live righteously through our own strength, we'll fail without question — but we'll be used by God to bear fruit when we're genuinely obedient. Have a great week!

AI-Expanded Reflection

The contrast this comment draws between Naaman and Gehazi is worth sharpening with one detail — Naaman, a foreign military commander with every reason for pride, is the one who ends up genuinely humbled and transformed, while Gehazi, a servant who'd spent years directly witnessing God's power through Elisha, is the one whose heart remains unchanged and ultimately corrupted by greed. Proximity to genuine spiritual power and personal transformation turn out to be two entirely separate things in this story — an outsider with everything to lose by humbling himself does so completely, while an insider with every advantage of long exposure to God's work squanders it entirely.