Most of us are familiar with the history of Naaman, the leper. who came to Elisha to be cured of his leprosy, and, after being persuaded against his will, washed “seven times in Jordan” and emerged cured.
How many of us, I wonder, have given thought to the “little maid” who caused Naaman to go to Elisha in the first place.
At that time “world wars”, such as we have today, were unknown, but that does not mean that there was peace among the nations. There was almost constant war on a smaller scale with the surrounding nations and the civilian population suffered greatly. The victors either transported the people to a distant land to lessen the chance of united action in the future, or they killed the men and took the women as slaves. In this way, the “little maid” was uprooted from her home and made a slave in the house of Naaman, the leper.
How did she react? Was she resentful and nasty, doing only what she was obliged to do? Her circumstances could not have been pleasant, no matter how well she was treated. It is a cruel wrench to be taken to a foreign country, away from family and friends, and made a slave.
In 2 Kings 5:2-3, we read “And the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria. For he would recover him of his leprosy.”
The description “little maid” does not give us much information about her. I always think of her as a young girl, possibly in her “teens”, but “little maid” could mean she was a young girl, short of stature, or of little importance. We do not know her name, or age, but could we find a better example anywhere of how we can lose our enemies.
She would, inesitably, have longed for her home and kindred, but, far from wishing her captors ill, she was concerned about the health of her master. Her words were repeated to Naaman and resulted in his trip to Israel and cure
We hear no more of the “little maid”. We do not know whether Naaman rewarded her in any way, or whether she was ever reunited with her own people, but it is evident from this brief account, that she was only thinking of her master’s good when she spoke, and not of getting anything for herself.
How do we feel toward someone who has wronged us or caused us suffering and grief? It is not a natural reaction to think kindly of such a person, yet it is not impossible.
We are instructed to pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. Another hard task, totally foreign to our nature. If we try it, however, we will find it hard to hate anyone for whom we have prayed. Our prayer will not change the oppressor, but it will change our attitude towards him.
Putting the Biblical instruction into modern language, it has been said that the best way to get rid of an enemy is to make a friend of him or her. The surprising thing about this is, it works, es en when it is someone who “rubs you the wrong way” as we say.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One