Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Friday, November 30, 2012 Read – 2 Kings 5 & 6 The miracles of Elisha continue in chapters 5 & 6. First there is the familiar story of the healing of Naaman, the leper. This story finds its echo in Jesus healing lepers as well. Like Elisha, Jesus will instruct a blind man to go and wash and be healed. The connection between Jesus and these Old Testament miracle stories is clear. One note in the Naaman story worth thinking about is the demise of Gehazi, Elisha’s servant. Greed causes him to take from Naaman what Elisha has refused. The price he pays is to suffer the leprosy from which Naaman once suffered. This is a difficult story to understand. In fact much of what we have been reading for awhile does not connect well with our experience. These are interesting stories but what is their final value? As we turn to chapter 6 we hear of another – the finding of the ax head that has fallen in the water. How we wish that we might have such power! Are these stories simply meant to highlight the importance of Elisha? What do they have to do with God? Two more war stories close out chapter 6. We’re going to look at the first one which has to do with the Arameans who have been battling off and on with the people of Israel. This is an interesting story mostly for its outcome. God uses Elisha to enable the Arameans to see the horses and chariots of fire around them and as a consequence they are blinded and led right into the center of Samaria where they might easily have been killed. Once inside the city they are given back their sight. What fear must have overwhelmed them! The king of Israel wants to do what any sensible leader would do if his enemy was delivered into his hands. The king wants to kill them. Elisha does not allow the king to do this and suggests what must have sounded like a strange thing. Elisha says to give them something to eat and send them on their way home. They eat and go home and the story ends with the remarkable statement that “the Arameans no longer came raiding into the land of Israel.” We might protest that such an outcome is too good to be true. But, we need to be reminded of the words of Jesus – “If you enemy is hungry, give them something to eat…Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Jesus and Elisha are a lot alike.