04.08.03 Biblical Story of a Value-Adding Employee : Naaman and the Slave Girl

Naaman and the Slave Girl

In 2 Kings 5, the bible narrates how Naaman, a highly distinguished commander of the army of the King of Syria was suffering from leprosy. He and his family most probably lived in Damascus. After a raid on Israel (2 Kings 5:2), one of the captives, a slave girl, was given the responsibility of waiting on Naaman’s wife. Writers assert that the girl probably performed the usual household chores such as cleaning, cooking, laundry and much more. However, it did not take long before the girl discovered that her boss (Naaman) had leprosy. The bible reports how she alerted her mistress that back in Israel, there was a prophet who could heal the commander of that debilitating disease. That was how Naaman sought permission from Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria to travel to Israel. So, armed with a letter from the king and loads of gifts, the commander met the king of Israel who was so furious that the Syrian king could imagine that he (king of Israel) could heal leprosy. Word got to Elisha who invited Naaman, then instructed a messenger to ask the commander to wash in the Jordan seven times, to which Naaman was grossly displeased since he had expected that the prophet would show up in person and at least touch him while calling to God in his (Naaman’s) presence. But as the furious commander was going back home, his servants pleaded with him to heed Elisha’s instructions which he did, then got healed. That was how the slave girl added value to the bosses that she was working for.