to walk, to make one's way…

2 Kings 5:1-14

¹Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
²Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife.
³She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
⁴So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.”
⁵And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothes.
⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
⁷And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
⁸But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
⁹So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
¹¹But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
¹²Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
¹³But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
¹⁴So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

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Occam’s razor states; “the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory.”  A common restatement of it is “The simplest answer is usually the correct answer.”  (Both definitions are taken from Wikipedia.)

Naaman was the successful warlord for the King of Aram.  He was used to things being big and bold.  Struck with leprosy, this warrior and leader, a most important person, was told by a slave girl of all people how he could be healed.

How desperate was Naaman that he would even mention this to his King?  But he did and the King sent him to see this Prophet.  He sent him with riches, pomp and ceremony.

Naaman couldn’t have been happy with his reception.  The King of Israel saw the entire event as an attempt to start a conflict.  Elisha steps in and asks for Naaman to be sent to him.  But when Naaman, likely with his full entourage, shows up at Elisha’s door, Elisha sends a messenger to tell him,

“Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”

Naaman is furious with this additional snub.  This prophet tells him to go dip himself in a dirty river seven times?  And even sends the message with a servant?  Why didn’t Elisha did not come and wave his hand over the place?  A servant reminds him that the prophet has at least offered a way to heal him and asks him to try it.

Naaman did as was asked, and he was cured.  Why was he cured?  What was the purpose to dipping seven times in the Jordan?  Occam’s Razor.  I pray that when God sends me a message, I don’t forget that the simplest answer is usually the correct answer.