Naaman the Leper (2 Kings 5:1-19)
Naaman The Leper
2 Kings 5:1-19
We are presently in the “miracles” section of the book of 2 Kings.
We are systematically dealing with the works of Elisha.
Thus far we have said that he is working miracles
For those who are seeking him.
A Poor Widow
A Prosperous Woman
The Prophetic Witnesses
This morning we continue on this theme, although
We come upon a situation that is unique to the other three.
This morning the miracles of Elisha travel beyond the borders of Israel.
We know that when Jesus came to earth,
His miracles were primarily for the lost sheep of Israel,
Yet on occasion His miracles ventured out to the Gentiles.
And when they did, those Gentiles
Proved to be a sort of condemnation towards Israel.
Remember the Centurian who trusted Jesus authority?
To him Jesus said:
Matthew 8:10-12 “Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
And of course, this Centurion is just one example.
We could also talk about the Samaritan Leper who came back to give thanks…
We could talk about the Canaanite woman who saw her daughter healed of a demon…
And each of these are included in the gospel record
As a sort of condemnation against Israel.
The Messiah was sent to Israel, and they would not believe.
The Messiah was not primarily sent to the Gentiles
And yet you couldn’t stop them from believing.
Naaman is exactly that kind of an illustration.
In fact, he is even mentioned by Jesus in the New Testament.
After Jesus preached in His hometown, He made an observation.
TURN TO: Luke 4:22-30
And so we see exactly why the Naaman story is included in Scripture.
Not only does it add to the resume of Elisha,
But it also reveals the hard-hearted and blind condition of Israel.
There were not many in Israel who would take advantage
Of the presence of God, nor that would listen to His word.
As a sort of condemnation to them,
God extends His blessing away from them and into a foreign nation.
And so with that, we know how
To approach this miracle done for Naaman the Leper.
I have divided this text up into 6 parts this morning.
#1 NAAMAN INFORMED
2 Kings 5:1-5
Before we get into the actual flow of this story.
The writer wants us to know exactly
Who it is we are dealing with in this Naaman.
We have already seen that he was a foreigner, which is quite significant, but beyond that we see:
• He is quite an individual.
• He is a high-ranking military leader.
• He holds high status with the King, and has quite a reputation.
• “Captain of the army of the king of Aram”
• “a great man with his master”
• “Highly respected”
• “by him the LORD had given victory to Aram”
• “A valiant warrior”
It is fairly safe to say that this Naaman was a national icon to his nation
“but he was a leper.”
Matthew Henry said this:
“Naaman was as great as the world could make him, and yet the best slave in Syria would not change skins with him.”
He was a good and successful man, but a hopeless man.
How many Naamans there are in the world.
Highly successful, yet utterly miserable.
Zaccheus – The Rich young Ruler – Cornelius
These were men who were worldly successful,
Yet absolutely miserable in life.
And our world is full of them today.
Namaan reminds us you can only go so far in your own strength.
There are many problems in this life that only have God as their solution.
Israel needed to understand this, Naaman is about to.
It is at this point, that Naaman’s life is about to change.
VERSES 2-5
We see again that Naaman must have been a good man,
For this servant girl holds him no ill will.
In fact, she reveals a means by which Naaman could be healed.
And the interesting thing is that Naaman believes her.
Many would say,
“What can this dumb little slave girl know. Every doctor in Syria tells me this is incurable, there is no way I’m going to Israel to some sort of “Faith Healer””.
But not Naaman.
He heard truth, he heard good news,
And it did not matter to him that the messenger was a slave girl.
Many today should learn this.
There are many who disregard the gospel because they don’t trust
Or don’t like the messenger
But Naaman had no such prejudices.
He was informed and he immediately took the news to the King,
Who bid him good luck.
Naaman informed
#2 NAAMAN INQUIRING
2 Kings 5:6-7
So we see that Naaman has listened to the slave girl and has determined to seek out deliverance if indeed deliverance is possible.
And so Naaman inquires of the King of Israel.
The interesting thing here is the King of Israel’s response.
The King of Israel at this time was Jehoram.
He was the son of Ahab.
He was the one who according to 3:3 “clung to the sins of Jeroboam”.
He had rejected the Law of God,
He embraced the false gods of Jeroboam.
And the result was that he was a powerless, nervous wreck.
When Naaman shows up the King of Israel is beside himself.
He is certain that he is about to be in a war he cannot win.
GOD IS RATTLING HIS CAGE
God is reminding the king of Israel that he is impotent
And that all of his false gods are as well.
God is still working in Israel
To get them to turn from their false gods and turn to Him,
And He takes this opportunity to reveal Himself.
Naaman Informed
Naaman Inquiring
#3 NAAMAN IN A RAGE
2 Kings 5:8-12
You really have to like this.
It is Elisha to the rescue.
He approaches the king with a message.
“he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
That is a message for Naaman that is also intended for Israel.
They had forgotten this truth.
More than even Naaman, God wants Jehoram to know
That there is a prophet in Israel.
And when Naaman shows up, he expects a great performance.
But Elisha won’t even come to the door to see him.
Instead Elisha gives him a simple, effortless command.
And it infuriates Naaman.
(11) “But Naaman was furious 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 wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ “Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.”
And you see that while Naaman is seeking,
His old carnal nature is still shining through.
He doesn’t like Elisha’s answer because it is not spectacular enough.
He struggled with the simplicity of God’s command.
And we see this as well today.
Some men will not come to God unless they can also attain glory
For what they did to aid God in deliverance.
It is not enough to testify of God’s grace.
They want some of the credit as well.
“God saved me because I…”
“God delivered me when I…”
They are trying to hold on to a reason to boast and attain glory.
But you and I must remember that when God delivers,
God gets the glory.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Romans 4:1-2 “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
Perhaps you remember that age old story
In the Old Testament about Gideon.
Judges 7:1-2 “Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. The LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’”
We see that throughout the Bible.
That God ordains deliverance in such a way
That He is the One who gets the glory for it.
And in this case, God gets glory because
There is nothing impressive about what Naaman is asked to do.
But it upsets Naaman.
Naaman informed
Naaman inquiring
Naaman In a rage
#4 NAAMAN CALMED
2 Kings 5:13
It is obvious that Naaman had good and wise servants.
Being servants they understood simple obedience and humility,
So they taught it to Naaman.
We have to learn it as well.
There is no room for arrogance or obstinance
In regard to responding to God.
We simply humble ourselves before Him and do whatever He asks.
• And like it or not the salvation of God is not mystical.
God doesn’t require some ecstatic show or display.
• It is also not partial, in which He requires any help from you.
God doesn’t require some extra work to help Him save you.
The salvation of God requires only faith, all the power belongs to Him.
And the good news is that Naaman listens to their advice.
#5 NAAMAN CURED
2 Kings 5:14
There we see that by simply trusting the command,
Naaman was cured of his leprosy.
It was all about the power of God.
In fact, Elisha wasn’t even present at the miracle.
God has the power, God has the willingness,
And when we follow His directives, then deliverance occurs.
And there is one more thing I want you to see in this story.
#6 NAAMAN CONVERTED
2 Kings 5:15-19
Now Naaman returns to Elisha and the mission has been accomplished.
“Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel;”
You may remember that that is what Elisha said he would know.
It was the main objective and Naaman is convinced.
And Naaman even tries to pay for his cleansing,
But you and I know grace better than that.
WHAT PAYMENT COULD BE MADE FOR REDEMPTION AND DELIVERANCE?
There was no payment necessary or adequate.
And so Naaman makes requests.
“two mules load of earth”
He is a little mistaken about the omnipresence of God.
He can be worshiped anywhere, not just on Israel soil.
And he is a little mistaken about total surrender,
For he asks a pardon in advance for questionable behavior.
It is clear that Naaman is a little confused as a baby Christian,
But the fact that he has truly been converted
Is evidenced by Elisha’s statement to “Go in peace”
Naaman was a hopeless man in need of God.
When he was willing to believe the good news, seek out God,
And humble himself before Him, he found deliverance.
He wasn’t perfect…
He still had some misconceptions…
But God clearly blessed his willingness to seek and trust.
And according to Jesus, Naaman was a judgment before Israel.
Luke 4:27 “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
It is certainly not that God loved Syrians more than Israelites,
But rather that none of the Israelite lepers
Were willing to do what this Syrian leper did.
The difference between Naaman and Israel?
Naaman listened to the good news, Israel did not.
And that is a major distinction.
TURN TO: Matthew 7:24-27
Of course Israel was like the foolish man,
Who had Elisha in her midst and couldn’t even see it.
They would make the very same mistake when Jesus showed up.
Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
What a tragedy when we fail to recognize the nearness of God
And to take advantage of His available word.
Amos actually speaks of the end result of resisting God too long.
Amos 8:11-12 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.”
Amos actually saw those who refused to seek God
Eventually losing the ability to find Him at all.
Certainly Israel is here today as they have been broken off and by in large today have rejected the Messiah.
No wonder Isaiah says:
Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”
What Isaiah says there is what Israel should have recognized.
They should have called on God, and they would not.
But for those who recognize the nearness of God and take advantage of it, there is blessing and deliverance to be had.
TURN TO: PSALM 32
There again it is the importance of seeking and trusting God.
Don’t resist God, He blesses those who humble themselves and seek Him.
He is looking for those whose heart is completely His.
Turn to Him and trust Him with your life,
But do not miss your time of visitation.
