SEVEN DIPS IN THE MUDDY JORDAN
Text: 2 Kings 5:1-14 W. Max Alderman
INTRODUCTION: Pride is something that God absolutely hates. Pride has been the ruin of many a person. “Only by pride cometh contention”. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall”… so says the word of God. Pride almost caused Naaman to remain a leper. He did not want to humble himself and dip in the muddy Jordan River as the Lord had instructed him. If he had not, so would have ended the story with him dying as a Leper. Many today will never come to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved because of their wicked pride. If you are lost today, I hope that God will convict you of being lost and come to the place of spiritually being willing to dip in your muddy Jordan…
I. THE MASTER HAD A WOEFUL CONDICTION. (V. 1) “but he was a leper”
Naaman was a Gentile but he was given the same honor as those Jews who were recognized for their great valor and courage. This same title was applied to Gideon (Judges 6:12), Jephthah (Judges 11:1), David (1 Samuel 16:18), Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:28), and Eliada (2 Chronicles 17:17). It seems that this is the only specific Gentile mentioned as a mighty man of valor. The Bible recognized Naaman as being a mighty man of valor, “but he was a leper.”
ABOUT LEPROSY: Ancient leprosy began as small, red spots on the skin. Later, the spots get bigger, and start to turn white, with sort of a shiny or scaly appearance. After a brief period of time the spots spread over the whole body and hair begins to fall out - first from the head, then from the eyebrows. As the leprosy worsens, finger nails and toenails become loose; they start to rot and eventually fall off. Then the joints of the fingers and the toes begin to rot and fall off one piece at a time. Gums begin to shrink and they can’t hold the teeth anymore, so each of them is lost. Leprosy keeps eating away at the leper’s face until literally the nose, the palate, and even the eyes rot - and the victim wastes away until death.
For the reasons mentioned above, leprosy is a type of sin. It starts off small and finishes big. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15).
A. He Had A Condition That Causes Dread.
When a person found that he had this terrible disease, he then would become aware of his terrible prognosis knowing that he could only expect painful suffering and eventually death. This disease was a disease that caused great dread. This should certainly be the attitude of the lost sinner who is under conviction. When you gain an understanding of the terrible consequences of sinning and also an awareness of where your sin will eventually take you, you should be dreading what will happen so much that you will be convicted to come to Christ!
B. He Had A Condition That Causes Defilement.
According to the Law of Moses, given by God, leprosy was a disease that brought great defilement. (Lev. 13:46). Just as leprosy defiles, so does sin… Sin will rob young people of their virtue. I heard a report that said that young people who engaged in premarital sex were more prone to suicide and mental illnesses than those who did not. They had greater difficulty adjusting to a healthy marriage relationship. This is one of the ways that sin defiles. I was talking yesterday to a banker about a promising politician who went far and was traveling up the political ladder only to get caught up in a financial scam that cost him his honor and sent him to prison. He eventually died only as the “shell of the man” that he once was. He had let sin defile him and rob him of his “good name”.
C. He Had A Condition That Causes Death.
Having leprosy during the time of Naaman meant having a death sentence which was caused by this terrible disease. Naaman needed to have a miracle or else he would die from leprosy. Leprosy was perhaps worse than cancer, because no one could be healed without a great miracle from the Lord. Likewise, every sinner must have a miracle of grace or will instead face eternal death in the Lake of Fire. “For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).
II. THE MAIDEN HAD A WEEPING COMPASSION. (Vv. 2-4)
“Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! For he would recover him of his leprosy.” (V. 3a)
This young maid was a great example of how God can use His witnesses who find themselves in less than desirable circumstances. She could have been a very bitter captive, but instead she radiated the “glow of the Lord” in the household of her captors. She must have been raised in a home that taught her to believe in the Lord just as Daniel did while in Babylon captivity. Notice what Clarke had to say about this little maid: “And see the benefits of a religious education! Had not this little maid been brought up in the knowledge of the true God, she had not been the instrument of so great a salvation.” (Clarke)
A. She Had A Tenderness That Moved Her.
Some of the strongest Christians that I know are tender… Tenderness is a mark of Christ. When one is tender, this means that the heart is not calloused over to the extent of being insensitive to others and to their needs. I remember that there was a time that I purposely toughened myself up to the point that I was no longer able to weep about anything. With this tough mental state, I became insensitive to others. This began to bother me and I asked God to give me my tears back. I do not like some of the things that happened for me to get my tears back, but I do enjoy having the tenderness that I once did not have. We should all desire that we be tenderly disposed to the needs of others. We must care about the people around us, whether we like them or not… Having tenderness will make you a better preacher, teacher, witness, or servant in any way to the Lord.
B. She Had A Testimony That Marked Her.
For this little maid to be credible, she had to have a testimony. Certainly her testimony added credence to her witness. She was able to speak and they listened. They heard what she had to say about the prophet that was in Samaria. She said with conviction that if her master was with the prophet in Samaria that “he would recover him of his leprosy”.
III. THE MAN OF GOD HAD A WONDERFUL CURE. (Vv. 5-14)
Our ways are not God’s ways, unless we are following Him. The ingredients in this story that brought about a cure did not involve the wisdom of the world, but instead, “the foolishness of preaching”. What Elijah told Naaman to do was too simple and too common, not to mention… too humbling. Elijah would have preferred a more challenging and demanding requirement and a more preferred river. Yet, God took all human instrumentality out of it and showed that the healing would require faithful obedience to what Naaman had been commanded by God’s man. As you listen to the requirements of the Gospel, please be reminded that God hung His Son on an Old rugged cross! It was the cross of shame and ever sinner must identify with that old rugged cross and He who was crucified there,if he hopes to go to heaven.
A. The Cure Came Because of the Concern of Others. (Vv. Cf. 3,4) (The little maid and those associated with her)
I want each of you that are in our services who may be lost to understand that what we do around here is based upon a people who care and who are concerned with where you will be spending your eternity. There is nothing more thrilling than for us to see precious souls come to Christ. We are supporting missionaries around the world because we are concerned. We take our ministers into the jails and the nursing homes because we are concerned. We had adult ladies yesterday going into the nursing homes and also visiting the shut-ins, because we care. We had young people and adults knocking on doors and handing out revival posters and tracts along with the Gospel of John, yesterday afternoon, because we care. We have had cottage prayer meetings this week because we care and because we are concerned. The little maid cared; we must do likewise. When this Church quits caring, then it has failed to serve its useful purpose. Jude speaks of some whom “have compassion, making a difference:” (Jude 22).
B. The Cure Came Because of the Courage of Others. (Vv. 5-12) (Elisha as he gave Naaman clear instructions)
I love those who exhibit courage when it comes to doing the work of the Lord. Elisha had the courage to simply send a message which would bring about the needed cure when he sent the messenger out to Naaman telling him to, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean”. Naaman, however did not like being told such and he became angry: “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 Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.”
C.The Cure Came Because of the Consideration of Others. (Vv. 13, 14) (Naaman, when he took himself out of the picture and started listening to and considering others)
The healing came when he did exactly what the man of God had told him. When he faithfully obeyed, not only was he cleansed, he knew that there was a prophet in Israel. He knew that there was no God but the True and living God. When God saves you, you will know God to be who He really is and you will enjoy a relationship that you never knew before. This miracle demonstrates the great change that takes place when one comes to the Lord. Spiritually, we all have been blackened by sin until the Lord makes us clean. Then we can be white like wool…
