2 Kings 4-6

What an awesome day of reading!!!! I love the stories of Elisha. His prophetic power was incredible. We always think about Elijah when we think about the great prophets of the OT, but for some reason Elisha is often neither mentioned, nor his stories remembered. But in today's reading alone, Elisha multiplies oil to provide for a widow, prophesies the birth of a son to a barren old lady, raises that child from the dead, purifies a stew, cleanses a leper, turns another into a leper, makes iron float, and "blinds" an enemy army seeking to kill him then after feeding them lets them return to their land never to bother him again! Who ever said the OT was boring! These are some of the coolest stories of all!

But you know what? The story that I love the most is the story of the cleansed leper requesting two loads of dirt to take back with him to his land. Elisha's ministry was not for kicks. It was not self-centered. It did not seek his own glory. It was to point people to the one true God, the God of Israel.

So why dirt?! In OT times, many believed that gods were territorially bound. When they went to another land, they called on that god for help. Wherever they were, there was a god in that territory to whom was due homage. To be in that land was to be under the leadership of that particular god.

This is why Naaman asks for dirt. He has experienced the power of the one true God. He testifies to that point, "Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel" (2 Kings 5:15). His desire is to worship this true God. So in his mind, because he will not be able to travel to Israel to worship and sacrifice consistently, the next best thing is to take Israel back with him in the form of two loads of dirt!

It is interesting that Elisha doesn't reprimand him. He doesn't try to straighten out the guy's theology. He is more concerned with his desire to worship God than getting his theological ducks in order. We all know that God is not bound to a certain domain, He is Lord of all! But Elisha doesn't push the issue. And that absence of theological training can still preach! Today we often get caught up in the theological debates rather than just pointing people to worshipping Jesus.

Don't get me wrong, there is much good in having the correct theology, for "how" we worship stems from our understanding of "Who "we worship. But sometimes we sound too much like the Pharisees and not enough like Elisha.

Where are you today? Is your theology perfect, but your worship despondent? Begin again worshipping Jesus and let Him take care of the transformation of your theology! Then just keep pointing others to Christ and let Him do the same in their lives. It isn't necessarily our job to correct every error, but it is our job to reflect Jesus to the world. Shine like stars so that the biggest star is the Son, and not the verbiage which so often can cloud Him out.