The General Who Got Clean

Naaman was a VERY important man. He was the leader of a whole army! Everyone respected him.

But Naaman had a big problem. He had a bad skin disease called leprosy. Nothing could fix it.

A little girl who worked in his house said, 'There's a prophet in Israel named Elisha. God could heal you through him!'

So Naaman traveled to Israel with lots of gifts. He went to Elisha's house with his horses and fancy chariots.

But Elisha didn't even come outside! He just sent a message: 'Go dip yourself in the Jordan River seven times, and you'll be healed.'

Naaman was MAD! 'That's it? Just go swim in a river? The rivers back home are WAY nicer than this muddy Jordan River! Why should I do this?'

He started to leave. But his servants said, 'Sir, if Elisha had told you to do something hard, you would have done it. Why not try something easy?'

Naaman thought about it. Then he went to the Jordan River.

Dip one. Nothing. Dip two. Nothing. Dip three, four, five. Still nothing. Dip six. Nothing. Dip SEVEN...

When Naaman came up from the water, his skin was PERFECT! Clean and healthy like a little kid's skin! The leprosy was completely gone!

Naaman rushed back to Elisha. 'Now I know—YOUR God is the only real God in the whole world!'

Naaman had to stop being proud and just obey. When he did, God healed him. Sometimes God asks us to do simple things. The important part is obeying!