Holy Ground

A MIRACULOUS healing led to a Syrian warrior carrying mule loads of dirt from Israel back with him to Damascus. Why did Naaman the Syrian do that? In the ancient world, it was understood that every nation had a patron deity. For Syria, that was the storm-god Hadad, better known to us as Baal. For Israel, it was Yahweh—although Jezebel and her children tried hard to replace the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Baal, Astarte, and the rest of the Canaanite pantheon. When the prophet Elisha instructed Naaman to wash in the Jordan to be healed of his leprosy, Naaman was angry, expecting something more elaborate—a ritual of some kind. But after following the prophet’s instructions and being restored to full health, Naaman realized the true God was Yahweh, not Baal, and Israel was His home. So, Naaman loaded two mules with dirt and carried it back to Syria—not because it held magical properties, but because it was a reminder of the one God with the power to heal. The concept of “holy ground” was established after the Tower of Babel, as described in Deuteronomy 32: When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,    when he divided mankind,  he fixed the borders of the peoples    according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD’s portion is his people,    Jacob his allotted heritage. (Deut. 32:8–9, ESV) In other words, God allotted the people of Earth to angelic representatives who were tempted into receiving worship themselves, but He chose Israel as the conduit through which He would bring forth the Messiah to save the world from those fallen entities. We also discuss the way God delivered the northern kingdom of Israel from a prolonged siege of Samaria by the Syrians—despite the continued apostasy of Samaria.