II Kings 5:1-17 "It Pays To Obey"
I. Naaman's Position 1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
(a) He was a Virtuous man. Captain of the host
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
He had the prestige and prominence that went with such a powerful position.
(b) He was a Vigorous man was a great man with his master
He was the king's right hand man. (c) He was a Victorious man. by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria:
(d) He was a Valiant man. "He was a mighty man in valour." He had all the awards, the accolades, the applause, & the approval that his king and his country could give him.
II. Naaman's Problem but he was a leper
Notice that little three-letter word "but." - "But he was a leper."
Luke 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
As valiant, as virtuous, as vigorous, as victorious as Naaman was, he was still a leper. in the Bible leprosy is a picture of sin.
Note the Bible never speaks of leprosy being cured or healed. It is always cleansed. Because leprosy is the biblical picture of sin. We are never cured of sin, or healed of sin, we are cleansed of sin.
Luke 17:17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
He had tried every ointment, every salve, every medicine, every doctor, every hospital, every cure, every remedy, but to no avail.
Now normally, Naaman probably never paid any attention to his little slave girl. But you see, Naaman was not only a diseased man, he was a desperate man. Just as a person will not go to a doctor until they realize they are sick, a person will not seek to be saved until they realize they are lost.
III. Naaman's Presumption 5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
He receives:- the king's release, "Go" the king's ransom, "silver & gold" & the king's recommendation."and I will send a letter to the king of Israel'
(a) He went to the wrong Person (the king of Israel not the prophet in Samaria?)
(b) He went to the wrong Place 7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that 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? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
(c) He went with the wrong Price A. He Presumed God Could Be Bought Naaman had in his pockets the equivalent of two million pounds.
B. He Presumed God Could Be Bribed v.7
All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Naaman together again.
You cannot buy God with money, and you cannot bribe God with morality. C. He Presumed God Could Be Bluffed v.7
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
IV. Naaman's Prophet 8 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.
(a) Elisha was God's Man 8 Elisha the man of God Naaman did not just need a man to do God's work. He needed a man to preach God's word. He didn't just need a man to call on God. He needed a man who was called by God.
Acts 8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
You know why Elisha was called the man of God?
1. He was a Faithful man. He sends word to the king and says, "What Naaman needs is not a politician. What he needs is a prophet and a preacher. Tell him to come to me." 2. He was a Fearless man. 9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
Naaman wanted to be heard. He wanted to be honoured, but he needed to be healed. Elisha paid no attention to his position, his power, his prestige, or his possessions.
Naaman came as a general who happened to be a leper, but he was treated like a leper who happened to be a general.
It takes a man of God to confront a man without God about his need for God.
3. He was also a Forthright man.
He did not tell Naaman what he wanted to hear, but he told him what he needed to hear.
(b) Elisha had God's Message 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
Elisha's message is simple and straight forward. Go and bathe in the river Jordan. --"Jesus Saves!" (c) Elisha used God's Method Faithful Preaching, you will always hear what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. you won't always like what you do hear. An old Methodist preacher, Sam Jones said, "When I started preaching I was afraid I would hurt somebody's feelings; now I'm afraid I won't."
People should leave mad, sad, or glad, but not bad.
Spurgeon said, " His very wriggling and his anger show that he has got the hook and the hook has got him. Give him more line, let him spend his strength, and then we will land him and he shall belong to Christ forever." V. Naaman's Pride 11 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.
If you're going to be healed it will be in the river Jordan or you will not be healed at all. Naaman wanted to be healed on his terms.
12 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. He was like a little three year old boy named Richard who hated to take a bath. "Son, don't you want to be a nice clean sweet smelling little boy?" "Yes Mama, but can't you just dust me off?"
It was not a question of water, it was a question of will. Naaman said, "I will die if I have to bathe in that water." Elisha said, "You will die if you don't." Naaman said, "I would rather die than to bathe in that water." Elisha said, "Naaman, you have to die before you will bathe in that water."
Naaman could either die in his pride, or he could die to his pride.
VI. Naaman's Purification 14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
When he did exactly what God told him to do God did exactly what he told him he would do.
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
The Bible says, "If you will repent of your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved."
VII. Naaman's Profession 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
(a) His Assurance of God. "Behold, now I know"
(b) His Acceptance of God. 17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
when a person is truly saved, he will have a hunger and a desire to come to the House of God and worship the Lord. (c) His Allegiance to God. "for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD."
Naaman was clean, he was converted, and he was committed.
