Elisha takes it very coolly. He does not come out to see him, but as
soon as he learns his errand he sends his servant to tell him to dip
seven times in the river Jordan, and he shall be clean. Now that was a
terrible blow to his pride. I can imagine him saying to his servant,
"What did you say? Did I understand you aright? Dip seven times in
Jordan! Why, we call the river Jordan a _ditch_ in our country." But
the only answer he got was, "The prophet says, Go and dip seven times
in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall become like the flesh of a little
child." I can fancy Naaman's indignation as he asks, "Are not Abana
and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?
may I not wash in them, and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a
rage.
The fact was, the Jordan never had any great reputation as a river. It
flowed into the Dead Sea, and that sea never had a harbour to it, and
its banks were not half so beautiful as those of the rivers of
Damascus; for Damascus was one of the most beautiful cities in the
world, and it is said that when Mahomet beheld it he turned his head
aside for fear it should divert his thoughts from heaven.
Naaman turned away in a rage. "Ah," he said, "here am I, a great
conqueror, a successful general on the battlefield, holding the very
highest rank in the army, and yet this prophet does not even come out
to meet me; he simply sends a message. Why, I thought he would surely
come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God,
and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper."