As Much Dirt as Two Mules Can Carry

“If you will not,” said Naaman,“please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.”

“Go in peace,” said Elisha. - 2 Kings 5:17-19

This is the passage we looked at yesterday in service. It’s a strange one for sure. Who asks for dirt?

Naaman knew he’d be back home in Aram (Israel’s enemy) soon enough and that he’d be accompanying his King to the worship of their god. When Naaman bowed down next to the king, he wanted the dirt he knelt on to be dirt from Israel, because it was there that he’d met God. He would go to worship at the temple of the god Rimmon, but he would only worship Yahweh.

While this passage may seem strange, the truth is that we each have to make compromises when it comes to our faith. Maybe it’s going to a bachelor’s party to support a friend, and you don’t support everything that goes on there. Maybe it’s working at a place that doesn’t share your values or even violates Christian values. Maybe it’s paying taxes to a government that wages wars you don’t think are just. At so many levels, we are invited to think about Naaman and the sorts of real life compromises that need to be made to exist in this world. What are some of the tensions this text brings up for you? Where in your life are you feeling those tensions?