Anger Series

But his connections, power, and money couldn’t help him. He suffered from this wasting disease – a condition the Bible calls leprosy. Here was a man who was at the end of his rope. Naaman is a sophisticated and powerful Syrian. We are shocked he would go to little ole’ Israel for help. Now, he mustered up the courage to come to the backwater country of Israel and knock on the door of the two-bit prophet, Elisha.

2.2 Naaman is Slighted

“But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, ‘Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper’” (2 Kings 5:11).

Naaman feels slighted. And again at the end of verse 12 we read, “So he turned and went away in a rage” (2 Kings 5:12b). When the important Naaman knocks on the door of the prophet, Elisha, and the prophet will not even come to the door to speak to this powerful, important man. Instead, his assistant, Gehazi, answers the door, which sends this “important man” into a rage. Naaman might have expected to see the king’s ambassador, but surely, some two-bit prophet could come out to meet him!

Watch carefully the unmitigated pride of Naaman. His pride is slighted because the prophet sent his assistant to the door to greet him. After all, prophets don’t live in mansions. It’s not as if Elisha’s house was so large he couldn’t hear the doorbell ring. He’s probably no more than just a few feet away when Gehazi told the general where to go for a solution. The general had gone to the “trailer park” of Israel and Elijah couldn’t even walk across his tiny shack of a house to get the door. He sent his assistant! Kings have assistants; Prophets don’t have assistants!

2.3 A Personal Story of Anger

It’s been nearly ten years ago now, but I remember a late morning in our house when I was all alone and I could not, I could not find my keys. I had an important lunch appointment with a leader in the community. It was hard to get on this guy’s appointment calendar, and I was angry with myself for losing my keys. After searching throughout my house, retracing my steps, and blaming everyone else for moving my keys … I finally found the keys just where I had left them the night before. I was surprised at just how angry I was. I was so angry that I had to sit down to calm myself. I was visibly shaken because my day had been interrupted.

Remember, pride is the mob boss of all sin. All sin answers to the boss of pride, including anger. Pride wants to take God aside to teach him how to think like you.

2.4 Rushing into Anger

Watch the general as he turns on his heels as he rushes out the country in a rage. Naaman, the Commander rushed into anger because his pride had been challenged.

A father told his young, elementary-aged son who a penchant for misbehaving, “Now, I’m allowing you to go your classmate’s birthday party. But don’t you misbehave. If you get into trouble and are sent home early, you are going to really get it when you get home. Do you hear me?”