2 Kings 5 "Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master..."

Naaman, 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 clothing. 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.  15Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant." 16But he said, "As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none." And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17Then Naaman said, "If not, please let there be given to your servant two mules’ load of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD. 18In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter." 19He said to him, "Go in peace."  But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him." 21So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is all well?" 22And he said, "All is well. My master has sent me to say, 'There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.'" 23And Naaman said, "Be pleased to accept two talents." And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi. 24And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. 25He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" And he said, "Your servant went nowhere." 26But he said to him, "Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? 27Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.

Question:

About a month ago I went to the supermarket and while in line for the cashier, I took a Bible that was on a stand and started seeing it. With nothing special on my mind, I stopped at this chapter and start reading it. Since then I have read and reread this chapter at least once or twice a week. I feel very attracted to this chapter; this is the reason I will like to know the metaphysical interpretation of 2 Kings, Chapter 5.

Comment:

It's easy to understand your attraction to this chapter. The story itself is very powerful, and if we realize that each of its characters represents an aspect of our own consciousness, it really contains several metaphysical messages.    First we have the willingness of Naaman to travel any distance, pay any price to be cured of his leprosy. Ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold represent an enormous amount of money, and a journey from Syria to Israel would have been long and arduous. And yet, despite all that willingness, his immediate reaction to the direction of the prophet Elisha to go and wash in the Jordan seven times is to turn away in anger, because the healing seems too simple.   I think Naaman is that part of our consciousness that can be almost arrogant about our own healing needs. Those needs seem enormous to us, and we assume that epic and complicated cures will be needed. (The king of Israel seems to express that same consciousness in his panicked reaction to the request for healing.) Indeed, some of our diseases are expressions of that very sense of false pride and rigid expectations. But nothing is complicated to the Power of God. What is needed is simple surrender to that Power. It is in the humility of obeying the simple guidance of the prophet that Naaman's healing is found.  When our own needs – healing needs, financial needs, any needs – seem overwhelmingly complex, one of the most important instructions we can remember is "Keep it simple!"  The healing and prospering Power of God does not need to express on an epic scale.  All it needs is our humility and willingness to surrender to its energy and follow the simple steps that will allow it to flow into our lives.   And then there's Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, who represents our efforts to use spiritual gifts for selfish ends.  What is given from God is given freely, as Elisha knows and makes clear in refusing Naaman's gifts.  If we allow it to flow freely, it will bless and prosper us abundantly. To falsely claim its good for ourselves, as Gehazi does, is a choice made from a sense of lack and need – a sense of “dis-ease” in consciousness.  Naaman came to Elisha with just such a sense of “dis-ease,” and was cured. Gehazi's efforts to profit from a transaction of which he had no part come from fear, which is the root of that sense of dis-ease, and it ultimately expresses as the same leprosy with which Naaman had suffered. The Gehazi in our own consciousness always feels unworthy, and thinks it needs to manipulate the Power of God. The consequences of such thoughts are always painful and unnecessary. Now it is Gehazi who must surrender to the Power of God, and thus be healed of the negative consequences.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed