2 Kings 5:18-19 In this thing the LORD pardon your servant, that when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand… On Naaman's bowing in the house of Rimmon, and Elisha's non-interference (2 Kings 5:18, 19), Dean Farrar writes thus: "Elisha's permission must not be misunderstood. He did not hand over this semi-heathen convert to the grace of God... The position of Naaman was wholly different from that of any Israelite. He was only the convert, or the half-convert, of a day... To demand of one who, like Naaman, had been an idolater all his days, the sudden abandonment of every custom and tradition of his life, would have been to demand from him an unreasonable, and, in his circumstances, useless, and all-out impossible self-sacrifice. The best way was to let him feel and see for himself the futility of Rimmon-worship... But the general principle that we must not bow in the House of Rimmon remains unchanged." Parallel Verses KJV: In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing. |
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