And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
Elisha ... sent to the king, saying ... let him come now to me. Through indirect channels the prophet learned what had passed in the palace, and he took in immediate care to relieve the king of all anxiety, by requesting that the Syrian captain might be directed to him. This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient. On the Syrian general, with his imposing retinue arriving at the prophet's house, Elisha sent him a message to "go and wash in Jordan seven times." This apparently rude reception to a foreigner of so high dignity, incensed Naaman to such a degree that he resolved to depart, scornfully boasting that 'the rivers of Damascus were better than all the waters of Israel.'