Naaman was a great man — commander of the Syrian army, 'a mighty warrior' — but he suffered from leprosy. A young Israelite captive serving his wife told her mistress: 'If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.' Naaman went, bringing gold and silver and ten changes of clothes, with a letter from the king of Aram to the king of Israel.
Elisha sent word to Naaman: 'Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean' (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman was furious. He had expected the prophet to come out, call upon his God, and wave his hand over the spot. His servants reasoned with him: 'Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?' He went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, and his flesh became clean 'like the flesh of a young boy' (2 Kings 5:14).
Naaman returned and confessed: 'Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.' Christ Himself cites this story in His first sermon at Nazareth (Luke 4:27), as evidence that God's saving work reaches beyond the borders of Israel.