The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1909-10-30
4 Scripture Text WIlh i Moral to the
Cotton Farmer.


host Of the King of Syria, was
a great man with his master. and
honorable. because BY him the
Lord had given deliverance unto
Syria; be was also mighty man
in valOr:: but he was leper.
And the Syrians had gone out by
companies and had brought away
captive out of the land of Israel a
little maid and she waited on
Naaman's wife
And she said unto her mistress.
Would God my lord were with the
prophet that is ID Samaria q for he
would recover him of his leprosy.
And one went in and told his lord,
saying, Thus and thus said the
maid that is of the land of Israel.
And the king of Syria said, GO
to, go, and ! will send letter unto
the King Of Israel. And he depart
ed and took with him ten talents of
silver, and six thousand pieces of
gold. and ten changes of raiment.
And he brought the letter to the
King of Israel saying. Now when
this letter is come unto thee. be-
hold, have Herewith sent Naaman
my servant to thee, that thou may
est recover him of his leprosy.
And it came to pass, when the
King of Israel had read the letter,
that he rent his clothes, and said,
Am / God, to kill and make alive,
that this man doth send unto me
to recover a man of his leprosy?
Wherefore, consider. pray you,
and see how he seeketh a quarrel
against me.
And it was so. when Elisha the
man of God. heard that the King
of Israel had rent his colthes, that
he sent to the king, saying. Where
fore hast thou rent thy clothes? let
him come now to me. and he shall
know that there is prophet of
Israel.
So Naaman came with his horses
and his chariot and stood at the
door of the house of Elisha.
And Elisha sent a messenger
unto him. saying. Go and wash in
Jordan seven times, and thy flesh
shall come again to thee. and thou
shalt be clean.
But Naaman was wroth, and
went away, and said. Behold, I
thought, He will 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.
Are not ALBANIA and Pharpar.
rivers of Damascus, better than all
the waters of Israel? May / not
wash in them and be cleang So he
turned and went away in a rage.
And his servants came near, and
spake unto him, and said. My
father, if the prophet had bid
thee do some great thing, wouldest
thou not have done it? How much
rather then, when he saith to thee,
Wash, and be clean?
Then he went down, and dipped
himself seven times in Jordan.
according to the saying of the man
of God: and his flesh came again
like unto the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean. 2 Kings, 18th
Chapter, 1-14 verses.
The preachers teach US several
valuable spiritual lessons from
this interesting Bible story. One
of these is that leprosy is figure
of sin. and that it is the blood of
Jesus Christ only. through faith
in him. that ''cleanseth from all
sin''2 thus making sin-stained men
fit to stand III the presence Of their
Lord and Creator. Another is the
lesson Of obedience; doing what
God. by his recorded word, and
through his prophets and ministers
commands and teaches men to do.
Another is that God often uses
small and humble Instruments to
teach great truths and accomplish
marvellous things; and the little
Hebrew maid and Naaman's servant
who pleaded with his lord, when he
flew into passion, to go and do
the simple thing the old prophet
had directed HIM to d,o. are cited
as illustrations os this fact.
There is a splendid moral. how
ever in this Scriptural story, with
a practical. temporal application
for the cotton farmers of Lincoln
county, if they will heed it. Burn
ing cotton stalks to destroy the bolll
weevil has appeared altogether too
simple and cheap . way to many |
farmers Like Naaman, with his
leprosy. they have been expecting
and looking for another kind Of
cure. What the government ex-
perts recommend is too simple.
There are others who. ike the
over-suspicious king Of Israel who
was alarmed for fear the king Of
Syria was trying to pick quarrel
with him, see in the efforts of nner-
chants and business men to CO.
operate with the farmer in the fight
against the boil weevil. a sinister
scheme Or plot oI some kind far the
farmers undoIna and the merchants
gain.