If you read 2 Kings 5:1 (mentioned in the previous article), describing how a successful Aramean army commander (called Naaman) had contracted leprosy, the next verse might seem unrelated. (However, it all gets tied together later in the chapter, if you want to read ahead.)
Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.
2 Kings 5:2 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2ki.5.2.NIV
There was a “young” [NIV] or “little” [NASB] girl who was taken from Israel, and who now served Naaman’s wife. Naaman’s role doesn’t sound like he was part of a roving raider band, so he may have purchased this Israelite girl as a slave.
Today, we would call that human trafficking, and it wasn’t any less bad back then. (Now, I suppose we could imagine a situation where Naaman was actually rescuing this girl from someone else having abducted her, and somehow providing the best life he could for her, but I don’t think that we have to “cover” – or make excuses – for Naaman’s wife having a captured girl from another country as her servant. It may have been more common in that culture, but cultural norms can still be wrong…even today!) The good news is that God can work even through bad things that are done by people, groups, and nations. An example of how He did so can be found later on in this chapter.
Before reading more, though, let’s pause and consider the country of Aram in this era. Geographically, picture the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, both generally residing between the Mediterranean Sea to the west of them and the Jordan River to the east. At this time, Aram was on the other side of the Jordan river from the Northern Kingdom of Israel, east of the Jordan River. Wikipedia says that Aram was opposite the northern part of the Northern Kingdom (i.e., Israel), with the country of Ammon being on the other side of the Jordan River from the southern part of Israel. And, if you’re interested, the country of Moab was on the other side of the Jordan River from the nation of Judah to the south. Then, Edom was to the south of Judah. I realize that certain parts of the Bible talk about a lot of these countries, but I’m lousy with geography, so a nice map was helpful.
According to GotQuestions.org, the ancient country called Syria was the same as Aram, with Damascus as its capital. In fact, while country borders have changed over time, Damascus is still the capital of modern-day Syria, although the ancient kingdom of Aram seems to have included portions of both modern Syria and Jordan, as well as the Golan Heights (which we might hear about in the news).
Aram/Syria had a history of conflict with the people of Israel, especially in the book of 1 Kings. External (non-Biblical) sources [Josephus and the Targum, per Long, p.319 footnote] even say that Naaman was the one who killed Israel’s previous King Ahab at the battle of Ramoth Gilead (see 1 Kings 22:29-38), but we aren’t sure of that.
Of course, God loved – and still loves – the people of Syria, Aram, and Damascus, too, and we might remember that [per GotQuestions.org, cited above] Paul was on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him. Furthermore, the city of Antioch where followers of Jesus were first called “Christians” was in this region.
Having said that, the connection between these first two verses hasn’t yet been explained (if you just only read them by themselves). More on that later in the chapter, but for today, let’s remember that God can make good things result from bad human decisions. And, God loves the world (see John 3:16-17), not just one people group or another. So, don’t give up if you’re in a bad situation, or even if you caused bad things to happen to someone else. Remember that God loves you, and He has a plan and a purpose for you.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for June 29, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1 & 2 Kings, by Jesse C. Long, Jr. © 2002 College Press Publishing Co.
- Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). Matthew Henry. 1706, via BibleGateway.com.
Those Who Sin Differently 