A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                                      AN INSTRUMENT FOR HEALING PART IX

"I, Naaman, the commander of the army of Aram, went to the river Jordan... I was not expecting a miracle... But I went to please my servants.... Once I got to the river Jordan, I got into the water... I wanted it to be over quickly.... If this prophet was a prophet of God as he claimed, then something should at least have begun to happen after I first dipped in the water.... But I was as leprous as before when I came up out of the water after the first time... At least it seemed to prove my point that this man was a false prophet... Anyway, I should have another dip.... So I did... Still no change in my leprous condition.... I really wanted to give up dipping into the water after the fourth time since there was still not change.... But my servants encouraged me to carry on.... Only three more times they said.... So I put myself under the water for the fifth time..... Then the sixth time.... Still no change.... Anyway, this humiliating experience was nearly over.... I had to do it only one more time... So I did... When I came up out of the water I did not recognise my skin... It was no longer leprous.... It was healthy looking... And I was not dreaming... It was true... I really had been healed of leprosy!".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn what has happened to Naaman after he has dipped into the water of the river Jordan seven times....


                 
               ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                                AN INSTRUMENT FOR HEALING PART IX

When Naaman gets to the river he begins to dip himself into the water. It is true, he has been told he has to do it seven times. However, he hopes that he will be healed after the first dip already. But that does not happen for, when he comes up out of the water after the first time, he is still as leprous as ever. So he dips into the water for the second time. But still there is no change.    He dips into the water for the third time. Still nothing has happened to his skin condition. He is about to give up but his servants encourage him to go on for, after all, he is supposed to dip into the water seven times. For their sake, he dips into the water for the fourth time. Again, no change. The fifth time, still no change. Even the sixth time, as expected, there is no change to his skin condition. He really would like to give up but, it is true, he only needs to take one more dip and so he goes under the water one more time. And when he comes up out of the water this time, everything is different, for this time his skin is as smooth and beautiful as that of a young boy as you can read in II Kings 5:14

So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven time, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

The miracle has happened. He has been healed just as the man of God told him would happen.