Seven Ducks in Muddy Water (Part 2)
by Barbara Wilmerton Haas
Text Version | Afrikaans | Italian
Josh opened the door and then SLAMMED it in Matthew's face!
Now that was not at ALL what Matthew was expecting.
Josh could have at LEAST called him on the phone and told him not to come over.
He would have just stayed home in the first place to avoid this kind of trouble.Have you ever been very disappointed because you were expecting one thing…
…but got SLAMMED with another?
“Go and wash in the Jordan River seven times,” Elisha's servant told Naaman, “and your skin will be cleaned, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”
Everything was going so well for Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, until the day that he discovered he was a leper and was going to DIE!
The young girl who waited on Naaman's wife had told her about the Prophet Elisha, and Naaman had come ALL the way from Damascas to be healed from his leprosy. But now Elisha would not even come out of his house.
“Look! Did you hear THAT?” Naaman asked his servants. “I thought surely the least he would do would be to come out and talk face-to-face with me! I figured he would call on the name of the Lord his God, strike his hand over the leprosy on my body, and CURE me!
“Aren't the rivers back in Damascus better than all these muddy rivers here in Israel? If it's rivers I need, why can't I just go home, wash in our OWN rivers, and be clean?”
The Bible says,“He turned and went away in a RAGE.”
Well, Naaman's servants weren't going to just let him turn around and go back home after coming all THIS distance! They gathered around him and respectfully pleaded with him: “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? How much more then should you listen to his words and simply go wash and be cured?"
So Naaman went down to the muddy Jordan River and began to dip himself into the water, as the prophet had told him to do.
ONE…TWO…THREE…
Nothing was happening.
“Don't stop now!” his servants called to him.
…FOUR…FIVE…SIX…
“Still no change,” he called to them on the shore.
“The prophet said SEVEN times,” they answered back.
Muttering to himself, “See! This is NOT going to work. Not even one spot of leprosy has BEGUN to leave,” Naaman dipped himself into the muddy Jordan River one last time.
…SEVEN!
As he came up for a breath of air, his skin changed right before his eyes, into skin that looked like it belonged to a healthy little child, and he was —
HEALED!
How exciting! He was instantly cured from the leprosy that had plagued him. He wouldn't die, after all!
Naaman couldn't wait to show the Prophet Elisha, so he and all who were traveling with him returned to the prophet's house.
This time, Naaman met Elisha face-to-face. “Look at me!” he told the prophet. “At last, I now KNOW that the God of Israel is the…
…ONLY God in ALL the earth!
“Now please accept these gifts from me,” he told the Prophet Elisha.
But Elisha replied, “As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none of them.”
Naaman urged him again to take them, but he flatly refused.
“Well,” Naaman said, “all right. From now on I will never again offer any burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other gods except the Lord.”
“Go in peace,” Elisha said. So Naaman climbed up in his chariot and began the journey home.
Gehazi, Elisha's servant, watched the departing chariot and said to himself, “My master shouldn't have let this fellow get away without taking the presents he brought.” He decided right then and there to run after him and get something from him since he offered it anyway.
So Gehazi caught up with him. When Naaman saw him running after him, he climbed out of his chariot to meet him.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes. Everything's fine,” he said. “My master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets just arrived at our house. He wants to know if you could please give them some silver and two changes of clothing.”
“Here. Take this silver and a little more,” Naaman insisted. He reached into the chariot for two bags, put the money in them, and tied them up. Then he took two expensive robes out of the chariot, and had two of his own servants carry all the gifts back to the house for Gehazi because it was too much for him to carry by himself.
When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. Then he let the men go, and they left.
Afterwards, he went in and stood before his master. Elisha asked, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”
“I haven't been ANYWHERE,” he answered.
But Elisha knew better. “Don't you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, and olive farms and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and servants? Because you have done this, Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and your children, and your children's children FOREVER.”
And Gehazi walked out of that room, his skin white as snow with leprosy.
THINK!
1. How did Naaman expect Elisha to heal him?
2. Do you think Naaman would have been healed if he had ducked seven times in the river back home in Damascus instead?
3. What did Gehazi do when he heard Elisha refuse Naaman's gifts?
4. What happened to Gehazi?
REMEMBER
Sin is much worse than leprosy and only the Blood of Jesus can wash us clean from our sin.
A VERSE TO LEARN
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away: behold all things are become new”
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
ALTERNATIVE VERSES TO LEARN
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all
his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:2-3).
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that ye may be healed. The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much” (James 5:16).
“…God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto
the humble” (James 4:6b).
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Why did Naaman get angry? Did he finally do what
Elisha asked him to do?
What made Elisha so angry with Gehazi? What did he
do wrong?
What is the first thing you should do when you've
done wrong?
[After discussion:] At first, Naaman was angry and
too proud to obey. Thankfully, his servants were
able to help him change his mind. When he finally
followed the prophet's instructions, God healed
him of his leprosy. Then Gehazi had to spoil it
all with his lies, bringing Naaman's leprosy upon
himself.
Next time anger or pride tempts you to lie about
something you did wrong, remember the story of
Naaman and Gehazi. Admit you're wrong, confess
your sin to God and ask Him to forgive you. Then
go, do what's right, and God will bless you with a
clean and happy heart that will make others want
what you have.
LET'S PRAY
****************************************************
Dear God, thank You for making me clean
from the ugly spots of sin.
Remind me to tell others
about your wonderful power.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************
CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
2 Kings 5:11-27
Naaman Does What the Man of God Says (online)
Memory Verse Coloring Page (online)
Naaman The Leper (online)
Naaman coloring Book (online)
Butterfly (online)
Naaman Color by Number (online)
Action Bible Coloring Book
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Beginner's Bible Super-Duper Mighty Jumbo Coloring Book
Bible Stories Kids Love Coloring Book (ages 2 to 4)
Big Book of Bible Story Coloring Pages for Elementary Kids
God Loves You Coloring Book:
A Read-aloud Coloring Book About God's Plan for Salvation
Jesus Loves Me, This I Know, Coloring Book
My Bible Coloring Book
My Gospel Story by Colors--Activity Book
The Awesome Coloring Book of Bible Comics
The Super-Sized Book of Bible Coloring & Art
The Super-Sized Book of Bible Verse Coloring Pages
Children's Bible Coloring Books
A Little Slave Girl Helps Naaman (read online)
A Reason For Guided Reading (includes Naaman)
Famous Bible Stories: Naaman The Soldier:
Good News for Naaman, Arch Book Series
How a Little Girl Helped to Cure a Leper (read online)
How a Little Girl Helped To Cure A Leper (read online at Hurlbut Story of the Bible)
Naaman Picture Story (online)
Naaman (listen or read online at Garden of Praise)
Read the Bible story of Naaman online
Samuel/The Little Maid Flip-Over Book
The Influence Of A Little Slave Girl (online)
The Mystery of the Missing Spots: The story of Naaman - eBook
365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories
365 Activities For Kids:
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100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs w/2 CD
Beginner's Bible
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Word Search (online)
Butterfly Dot-to-Dot (online)
Decode a Slave Girl Helps Her Sick Master (online)
Fill In The Blanks test (online)
Naaman's Leprosy Is Healed (online)
Elisha's Greedy Servant (online)
Elisha and Naaman Multiple Choice (online)
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Naaman Song (online)
Naaman Go Dunk Your Head [Music Download]
Naaman Is Healed [Music Download]
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The Lord Listens When I Pray to Him (listen online)
The Lord Listens When I Pray to Him [Donut Man Music Download]
100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs
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Bible Crafts: Naaman (online)
Elisha Healed an Army Captain Bible Craft (online)
Leprosy Naaman Craft (online)
Naaman Bible Craft (online)
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Naaman Is Healed Craft (online)
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The Big Picture Bible Crafts:
101 Simple and Amazing Crafts to Help Teach Children the Bible
Adventures in Odyssey® 461: B-TV: Obedience [Download]
Amazing Bible Puppet Theater:
Naaman's Leprosy Is Healed (watch online)
Bible on the Go Vol. 20: The Story of Elisha
(2 Kings 4-5, 17; 2 Chronicles 24) - Unabridged Audiobook [Download]
Little Kids That Made a Big Difference: Naaman's Servant (online)
Listen online to the Bible story about Naaman (online)
Naaman Bible Story Cartoon (watch online)
Superbook: Naaman and the Servant Girl (watch online)
Superbook: Naaman and the Servant Girl DVD
All the Shows, Volume 1: 1993-1999
Do You Wonder Why? (online)
God's Story from Creation to Eternity (online)
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RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
GAMES Workshop - Lessons and Ideas for Elisha and Naaman (online)
Lessons in the Story of Naaman (online)
Compassion for the Apparently Incurable (online)
Naaman Is Healed (online)
The Butterfly (online)
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KidMin ToolBox: Boxed Book Set
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Leading Little Ones to God:
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Lord Teach Me To Pray For Kids
Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours
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What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know
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