The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 73

Ian~ of_ Israel." This little girl, who bad been tom from hor nativo country, and carried 11;1to the land of strangers by the ruthless hand of war, told her mistress of a prophet 1~ Israel who_ ~ad the power to ~ea\ lepers. 'l'his l~d the King ot Syrie. to persuade Naaman to VISlt Jud1011, and to give the leprous captain an intrc.duction to tho ~ing, who, in _his_ turn, intr~uced him to the prophet, who effected his healing, The influence of this little slave-girl should tea.eh us three things. 1. The magnanimity of young natures. Though she was an exile in the la.nd of her oppressors, instead of he.vine, that revenge which wo~1ld have led her to rejoice in the sufferings of her captors, he~ young heart yearned with sympathy for one of the ruthless conquerors. A poor child, a humble servant, a. despised slave, may have a. royal soul. 2. The powe1· of the humblest individual, This poor girl, with her simple intelligence, moved her mistress• her mistress, the mighty warrior; then Syria's king was moved; by him the King of Israel is interested; and then the prophet of the Lord. Thus the little maid may have been said to have stirred kingdoms. No one, not even a child, "liveth to himself." Each is a fountain of influence. 3. The dependence of the g1·eat upon the small. The recovery of this warrior resulted from the word of this captive maid. Some persons admit the hand of God only in what they call great events I But what are the great events? " Great" and "small" are but relative terms. And even what we call " small" often sways and shapes the "great." One spark of fire may burn down all London. III. 'l'hc force of SELF-PRESERVATION. "And the King of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the King of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the King of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." It would seem that Na.aman at once consulted Benha.da.d, King of Syria, on the subject snggested by the captive maid, and, having obtained an introduc- tion to the King of Israel, hurried off, taking with him "ten talents of silver," etc.-great wealth-which he was prepared to sacrifice in the recovery of his health. The instinct of self-preservation is one of the strongest in human nature. " Skin for skin, yea, all that a man bath will he give for his life." Men will spend fortunes and traverse continents in order to rid themselves of disease, and prolong life. This strenuous effort for recovery from disease reminds us of: 1. The value of physical health. This man had lost it, and what was the world to him without it? Bishop Hall truly says of him, "The basest slave in Syria would not change skins with him." Health-this precious blessing-is so lavishly given, that men seldom appreciate it till it is lost. 2. Tbe neglect of spiritual health. This man was evidently morally diseased-that is, he neither knew of the true God nor had sympathy with him. He was a moral invalid. A worse disease than leprosy infected his manhood and threatened the ruin of his being. Yet there is no struggling here after spiritual recovery. This is a gonera.l evil. IV. The force of CASTE FEELING. "And the King of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letterunto the King of Israel." Why did the King of Syria send Naaman with the letter to the monarch of Israel? Was it because he was given to understand that the king would work the clll"e? No; for mention was made by tbe captive girl of no one who could effect the CW"e but "the prophet that is in Samaria." Or was it because he thought that Israel's monarch would discover the prophet, and influence him on behalf of the afflicted officer? No ; for in bis royal Jetter he says, "Behold, I have . . . sent Na.a.man my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." Why, then? Simply because of caste feeling. He, forsooth, was too great to know a prophet- too great to correspond with any one but a king. What was a prophet, though full of Divine intelligence, and nerved with Divine energy, compared even to a soulless man if a crown encircled his brow ? 1. Caste feeling sinlcs the real in the adventitious. The man who is ruled by it so exaggerates external things as to lose sight of those elements of moral character which constitute the dignity and determine the destiny of man. He lives in bubbles. 2. Caste feeling curtails the regwn of human sympatliies. He who is controlled by this feeling has tbe circle of his sympathies limited not only to what is outward in man, but to what is outward in tbose only in his own sphere. All out- lying his grade and claea are nothing to him. 8. Caste feeling is antagonistic to the gospel. Christ came to destroy that middle wall of partition that divides men into CH, V, 1-27.) THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 111