CSSA 1-3-11 - NAAMAN THE LEPER

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61. NAAMAN THE LEPER

"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, hut in Israel. "

Aim

To show how Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian of leprosy, and why Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, was smitten with leprosy

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The prophet Elisha became well-known and respected throughout Israel. He was quite a different kind of man from Elisha, but the Spirit of God was upon him in the same way, to preach the word of God and to do wonderful miracles. In his lifetime Elisha was welcome in the courts of the kings of Israel, and even the king of Syria respected him. He prophesied during the reigns of the next four kings of Israel, for at least 60 years. If only the kings of Israel had believed God and served him as Elisha did, Israel would have been a happy kingdom.

2 Kings 5

NAAMAN THE SYRIAN SEEKS HELP: 2 Kings 5:1-7

The kingdom of Syria lay to the north of Israel and the people were very warlike. Though there was no war between Israel and Syria at this time, bands of Syrians often swooped down upon the border towns, de stroying the villages and taking what they wanted.

On one such occasion a young maid was taken captive back to Syria. She became a servant in the household of the captain of the Syrian army, whose name was Naaman. He was a very brave soldier, "a mighty man of valour ". Sadly, Naaman had a terrible disease € leprosy. Nothing could be done for him, for leprosy was incurable. The king of Syria thought a lot of his captain Naaman, and would have done anything to help him. But there was nothing he could do.

The little captive maid from Israel was well-treated in the house of Naaman and she was sad to see the signs of leprosy in her master. She remembered the miracles which Elisha the prophet had done in her own country. " Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria!" she said to her mistress, "for he would recover him of his leprosy". She sounded so confident of the power of Elisha to cure her master that her story came to the ears of the king. He was only too happy to try any suggestion for curing Naaman and decided to write at once to the king of Israel. Naaman took the letter himself, with generous gifts of gold and silver and ten sets of clothes, and came to present himself before the king of Israel. The letter said: "/ have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy" (v 6). King Joram was angry and dismayed when he read these words. He rent his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?" (v 7). He thought it was an impossible request. He thought the king of Syria must be trying to make a quarrel with him. It nei/er occurred to this wicked king that God could help. The little maid in captivity had much more faith than the king of Israel!

NAAMAN'S PRIDE IS PUT TO THE TEST: 2 Kings 5:8-12

News of King Joram's embarrassment soon reached Elisha. He sent a message 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" (v 8). No doubt the king was only too ready to send Naaman away. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and all his servants to the house of Elisha.

To his surprise, Elisha the prophet did not appear to welcome him. Instead, he sent a messenger to him with a strange command: "Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thou shalt be clean" (v 10).

Naaman felt insulted and went away angrily. He had thought that the prophet himself would have come out to him and called on the name of Yah wen his God and waved his hand over the place, and the leprosy would have been suddenly cleansed. As for washing in the muddy, smelly Jordan...! "A re notAbana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean? " he said in disgust. "So he turned and went away in a rage " (v 12).

NAAMAN HUMBLES HIMSELF AND IS CURED: 2 Kings 5:13-16

Naaman's servants were anxious for their master to be cured. So they came forward and asked him to be reasonable. "My father," they said, "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'?" (v 13). This was good advice! Naannan's pride had made him unreasonable. But now he listened to his servants. Humbled by their advice, he went down to the river Jordan and dipped himself seven times, just as Elisha had commanded. And, after seven times, "his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean!" (v 14). What an amazing miracle!

So Naaman, humble, clean at last, and very thankful, returned to the house of Elisha. This time Elisha was glad to speak to him person ally, for Naaman was a changed man. "Now I know that there is no god in all the earth, but in Israel, " the grateful captain confessed. He knew that his disease had been incurable € but the God of Israel had healed him by a miracle! To show his gratitude he offered Elisha a present, but Elisha would take nothing. "As Yahweh liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none, " he said (v 16). Although Naaman urged him, he refused. Elisha knew that he had no power of his own; he had not healed Naaman; it was the power of Yahweh, the God of Israel, that had cured the man.

GEHAZI LIES AND IS PUNISHED: 2 Kings 5:20-27

It was Elisha's servant Gehazi who had carried Elisha's command to Naaman and had witnessed the cure of the captain of the King of Syria's army. Though he knew that it was God's power, and not Elisha's, that had healed Naaman, he felt that such a great man ought to pay some thing for the prophet's services. Naaman was a Syrian € not even a Jew € and yet Elisha had not made him pay anything! When Gehazi realised how rich the Syrian captain was, he became covetous € he wanted some of that rich present for himself. So he ran off after Naaman.

When Naaman saw him running toward him, he recognised him as Elisha's servant, and stopped his chariot and got down to meet him. "Is all well? " he asked. Gehazi assured him that all was well, but that his master had sent him after him. Two young prophets, he said, had come to visit him, and perhaps the captain could give him two changes of clothes and a talent of silver for them. Naaman was only too glad to help, and urged Gehazi to take two talents. Naaman's servants brought the gifts and carried them to a place that Gehazi had secretly arranged to hide them in. Naaman and his servants went on their way back to Syria, and Gehazi went in and stood before Elisha. "Where have you been, Gehazi? " Elisha asked. "Thy servant went nowhere, " Gehazi said.

Gehazi's greed had made him tell a lie, and one lie led to another. Elisha had given God the glory for the wonderful miracle of curing Naaman's leprosy, but Gehazi's sin had dishonoured God. Elisha knew that his servant had lied. "The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed forever," Elisha said. Gehazi left that room "a leper as white as snow " (v 27). So God's power was shown both to heal one who was humble and to punish one who had sinned.

LESSON FOR US

Naaman was cured after he had washed in Jordan exactly seven times. He had to forget his pride and humble himself to obey God. If he had washed only six times, he would still have been leprous. His cure was not in the waters of Jordan, but in his obedience to the prophet's command.

So God expects us to believe all that He says in the Bible by His prophets and apostles, and to do all that He tells us there to do. Only then will we be saved from eternal death. Those, however, who only make a show of serving God, like Gehazi, are fools, and their end is death. God knows the hearts of all men, and He wants us to serve Him with our whole heart.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Leprosy is a terrible disease. It causes the parts of the body to decay and die little by little. It is just like sin. Sin leads to death. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die " (Ezekiel 18:4). We all sin and we all die. It is like an incurable disease.

Only a miracle could cure leprosy. When Naaman hum-bled him self and believed Elisha's words, he went down into the river Jordan and clipped himself seven times. It was just like baptism € he went com pletely under the water, and came out a new man. His body was no longer leprous, and he praised and thanked God.

As we grow older, we realise how sinful we really are. When we study the Word of God, we find that God wants us to turn away from our sins and obey Him. The first act of obedience to God is baptism (Mark 16:16). Our past sins are washed away and we have hope of life eternal, if we continue to praise and thank God. So Naaman's cleansing is a les son to us that we all need cleansing from sin.

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