Cast of Characters

Cast of Characters

2 Kings 5

            When I go to see a play, one of the first things I do is read the cast of characters in the program.  It gives me an idea of who I’ll be seeing.  I know I probably won’t be able to tell the lead characters from the minor ones at that point, but at least I’ll have a feel for the names.  I’ll have a good idea how the characters will relate to each other as the action moves forward.

            Most of us have minor roles in the play of life.  Few of us get to strut our stuff on the major stages of history.  We fall into the category John Milton describes in his sonnet, On His Blindness:  “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

            The story of Naaman gives us a good opportunity to see this principle in action.  The story involves four very important people—people whose position guarantees that they will have major roles in this story.  There are also three minor characters.

            The first major character is Naaman himself.  He is the commander of the army of the king of Syria.  Throughout history this country has played a major role in the affairs of the Middle East.  Certainly the commander of Syria’s army is an exalted position, then as well as now.  But Naaman has a problem.  He has a skin condition—leprosy—and because of this he cannot go places and associate with people.  Commander of the army or not, he is an outcast.

            The second “lead character” is the king of Syria.  He obviously thinks highly of Naaman, because he wants his general healed.  He even writes a letter to his counterpart, the king of Israel, asking him to heal Naaman.  The Syrian king goes to great trouble and expense to help one of his favorites.

            The third person is the king of Israel, who panics when he receives the letter, since he does not have the power to heal.  What will he do?  More important, what will the Syrian king do when he learns that Naaman can find no help in the Israelite court?

            The final main character is God’s prophet Elisha, who does have the power to heal Naaman, and offers to do so.  The only trouble here is that he does not treat Naaman with the respect the general feels he deserves.  Elisha practically ignores him, sending his servant to deliver the instructions for healing.

            As important as these characters are, the story would never move forward if not for three minor figures who make things happen.  It is their efforts that connect the main characters together and make a positive outcome possible.

            The first is a young Israelite girl, captured in a raid, who is a slave in Naaman’s household.  She tells her mistress that there is one in Israel who can make her master whole.  Connection #1.  The second is Naaman’s wife, who transmits this information to her husband and in doing so sets the healing process in motion.  Connection #2.

            The third is the servant who calms Naaman down and talks him into bathing in the Jordan River.  Naaman, offended because he has been slighted by Elisha, is ready to turn around and go home—willing to pass up a cure because of his pride.  The servant helps him see that what Elisha has asked is a very small matter indeed.  Why not try it?  What can it hurt?  And in fact, it not only doesn’t hurt, it does the trick.  Connection #3.

            In life there are many small parts.  Not all of us can be kings, or generals, or prophets, but all of us can serve where we are called to serve, and perhaps affect history in ways we can’t even imagine.  Even minor characters can move God’s story forward.