God’s Word for Children
2 Kings 5: 1-3, 9-15
Scripture:
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. [a]
2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So, he turned and went off in a rage.
13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So, he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
Lesson: God loves us and takes care of us. He is so powerful, that He can do what no one else can do, even heal people who are sick. In this event we will see how God used a man who loved Him, named Elisha. He used Elisha to heal a sick man.
Naaman was an important soldier. He led his army to victory and many people thought he was great. But he had a problem. He had a kind of skin rash called “leprosy”. His doctor couldn’t make him feel better. He didn’t know what to do.
God used a servant girl to tell Naaman about a man who could help him. His name was Elisha and he lived a long way away in another country. Naaman went to see Elisha, but when he got to his house, Elisha sent a message to Naaman, telling him to go wash himself in the river seven times. Naaman didn’t like that. He thought he could have just stayed at home and washed in the river there. He got mad and didn’t want to do it. But his servants encouraged him to do it, so he did. When he finished washing himself, his leprosy was gone! He went to Daniel and said that now he believed in God because God had healed him. God knew what Naaman needed and he used Elisha to help him
God knows what you need, too. He will take care of you. When you are frightened or sick you can talk to Him and tell Him how you feel. When you are happy and good things happen, you can tell Him, “Thank you.” He will always take care of you and He is always glad to hear your prayers because He loves you!