ELISHA’S MINISTRY - NAAMAN, ALMOST THE REJECT - 2 Kings 5:1-19
SERIES – MESSAGES ON ELISHA – HIS LIFE AND MINISTRY Number 14
When we consider chapter 5, the focus here is on Naaman, not so much on Elisha, but it is Elisha we are studying. Along the way we will also look into the motives of Naaman and his interaction with Elisha. We will consider correct procedure as it was obviously demonstrated by Elisha.
THE HONOUR OF THE PROPHET: Let us look at how the account begins - 2Kings 5 v 1 [[Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. 2Kings 5:2 Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel, and she waited on Naaman’s wife, 2Kings 5:3 and she said to her mistress, “I wish that my master was with the prophet who is in Samaria. Then he would cure him of his leprosy.”]] Right, now, “What can we derive from this?”
1. Verse 1 is an amazing verse. The Aram in the Bible is in the area of Syria today. The top military man of Syria/Aram was naturally, a powerful man who had the army at his disposal. He is called “captain” in the verse but today would probably be known as “general”. There was no threat of a coup that might have happened at that time when army officers overthrew the king and replaced him, because of the expression, “was a great man with his master”. Naaman seemed to have all he wanted - power, honour, respect, and self esteem through military victories as a valiant warrior. That verse is full of the glowing credentials of Naaman. The truth about Aram was that it was often at war with Israel.
2. The initial reading in verse 1 of the part the Lord played, might be strangely worded – “because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram”. The Lord gave victory to Israel's enemies, but I am sure that Elisha knew the reason for this. The enemy will always have the ascendency when those named of God, as His people, are in sin and failure. Israel was in failure for it had forsaken the Lord, and promoted the gods of Baal, and followed the heathen nations. A perfect example of this state of good and evil is provided in Exodus 17 in the battle against Amalek where the arms of Moses had to be held up to God. Do you remember that incident? Aaron and Hur had to hold up Moses hands until sunset, which is the time when the battle was won. It was a hard, disciplined effort on the part of the two men who must have become exhausted with that task, and for Moses who was absolutely worn out. He was an old man. There were two choices – up for victory and down for failure. It is no different in our day. When we follow and obey God we see His victory but when our walk is impure or selfish or self-centered, then the enemy gains the victory. Could it be said, that the enemy’s victories feed on the Christian’s defeat.
3. Most preachers emphasise the final word of verse 1 – “leper” and proceed to a gospel application, and that is correct. After all the glowing descriptions, we read the word “but” as if the balance of this man’s life had been tipped on the scales by a single word. As a leper, Naaman was not rejected by Aram but he would have borne the increasing stigma of the leprosy until he finally had to be rejected from public associations, when the leprosy made him a social outcast. It is a desperate man who seeks a solution to his dilemma, and with some people that is the only time they might consider the Lord God. He is a very present help in trouble for those who know him, but for those who don’t, and call upon Him in humility, then God will hear a repentant soul. Rather than give all the focus to “leper” we have to consider obedience, humility, and commitment in trust, for that is what the story of Naaman is all about.
4. God did supply a solution for Naaman in the form of a slave. I think God’s timing is just wonderful. The provision of God is wonderful. God allowed a little girl captured from a raid in Israel, and now a servant of Naaman’s wife, to be the instrument of hope for the leper. Blessed be God’s instruments. Blessed be those who speak up for God. Blessed be God who goes before in every situation. Naaman could ever be thankful for a small girl whose faith led to his healing. The instrumentality of faith in another’s healing and conversion, is one of the workings of God in people’s lives. This girl spoke out and her message passed from the wife to the husband and to the king. What a treasured witness this small girl was. We speak of a childlike faith, but this girl had believing faith, if that is not a repetition. She knew of Elisha, of his fame and of his walk with God.
This man was godly and sincere, and such men are known and respected. In her simplicity, the girl used the expression, “Then ‘he’ would cure him of his leprosy” which is the way many people think. They think ability lies in the hands of men, but it is false, as all ability is God-given and God is the ultimate source. You are ill and go to the medical profession, and trust in the judgement of doctors and surgeons and specialists, and all that is fine, but it is ultimately God who determines your path, who directs your healing through those who have been endowed with wisdom and ability. Elisha could no more cure Naaman of his leprosy than a frog in a pond turning into a princess.
What the girl did was to point the way to Elisha, in a way similar to John the Baptist, who pointed the way to Jesus. Did the solution lie in Elisha? Yes, it did, but no more than a signpost pointing to Jehovah; no more than a channel through which the help was directed. The Christian is called to be exactly that, a signpost to God.
In this fundamental understanding in humility, Elisha was not proud, nor conceited. He was a true, humble servant of the Lord and that was why he could be used. Reputations are problematic. They can be defiled or maligned by others. The most perfect of reputations was that of the Lord’s, but look how the Pharisees maligned Him – consorts with low life women, and a drunkard. Elisha’s reputation spread far and wide, so much so that even the slave girl knew of the fame of the prophet.
2Kings 5 v 4 [[Naaman went in and told his master saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” 2Kings 5:5 Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel,” and he departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes.]]
All of this was normal, but the wonder is that they believed the small girl. So certain was she of the fact, that her faith held to the expectation. The king and Naaman prepared a small fortune that was either to be used as payment or in gratitude for a hoped-for healing. Diplomatically, what the king of Aram did was correct, in that the approach goes to the king of Israel, but what he did not know was that the king was not a supporter of Elisha for he was a pagan apostate as were all the kings of Israel (the northern kingdom of Samaria). There could be no greater contrast than the regal form of earthly kings on one hand, and on the other, Elisha, who served the King of the Ages in humility and simplicity. I think it is just as distressing to realise that many church formats are similar, in that they incorporate tradition and form and protocols and trappings, and have lost sight of the New Testament simplicity.
2Kings 5 v 6 [[and he brought the letter to the king of Israel saying, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 2Kings 5:7 It came about when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy, but consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”]]
This letter is probably part of the whole for it lacks the usual eastern greetings, etc. There is a compounding of mistakes. Aram’s king assumed Israel’s king would have been close to the prophet, and would have possessed some insight and wisdom (which he did not), but what fellowship does Belial have with God? This awful king was Jehoram, Ahab’s son. This is what we read in Kings - 2Kings 3 v 1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah and reigned twelve years, 2Kings 3:2 and he did evil in the sight of the LORD, though not like his father and his mother, for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal which his father had made. Jehoram was wounded in battle and stayed in Jezreel to recover and Jehu had a coup and took the throne. That was about c.849 – c.842 BC. He put to death Jehoram, Jezebel, and all of Ahab’s family. Then Israel's king is to be condemned for his intolerance, his ignorance and his overall attitude. Any sane person would have related “the prophet” to Elisha but the king was not able to do so as his eyes and mind were darkened. That is the point when panic could set in for Naaman, as it looked as if he was caught in the middle, but he came in faith, or at least, in expectation, and God was not going to abandon him.
2Kings 5 v 8 [[It happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”]]
The word got around very quickly of this event. Why did Elisha send that message? What did it have to do with him? Well, God has His faithful ones to whom He has given discernment and conviction to know when and how to act. When Elisha's message reached Naaman, he must have been very pleased indeed. I love the fact that our God is the God who goes before, and is the God of circumstances. We must not miss the crucial fact that the prophet was walking with God, close to the presence of God, and able to know the will of God. Too many people don’t walk with God or do so inconsistently, and expect everything to come from God for their comfort. That is spurious. Elisha knew what to do, and when to do it, and how to do it. His example is of a dependent man walking in the light of God’s discernment.
2Kings 5 v 9 [[Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha, 2Kings 5:10 and Elisha sent a messenger to him saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean,” 2Kings 5:11 but Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought he would 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. 2Kings 5:12 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.]]
The great entourage arrived at Elisha's house and Naaman stood at the door. He had already suffered frustration with the king since arriving in Israel. He was an important man, though a leper, and expected a reception commensurate with his station, but he did not get it. He wanted it done his way. Instead, all he got was a message to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times, and that was beneath his dignity. He had been insulted by Israel's king, now he was not received by the prophet. The old nature held sway, and in anger, he went away. The natural man has too many expectations, a personal presence, better rivers, some show of ceremony, but Elisha gave him none of those. Naaman’s obedience which is allied to faith, was being tested. Elisha knew the heart of man, and in this case he realised that the heart was a proud one because of the importance of Naaman’s position in Aram. The proud heart can’t stand before God. Its pride must be stripped, before God can work. God has chosen the weak things of the world, not the high and mighty. Needy sinners is what He honours. The unsaved man may leave in a rage but the untamed spirit will drive a man to hell. Naaman had the solution at his fingertips, but was unwilling to submit to God. I said that consideration in this message is more about Elisha than Naaman, and we see the prophet’s wisdom, his uncompromising position, his understanding of the human heart. Elisha waited on God for every leading. A worker of the Lord must be like Elisha.
2Kings 5 v 13 [[Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 2Kings 5:14 so he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.]]
Reason prevailed in the servants. It demonstrated something about Naaman. His character was such that his own servants had no fear to take up the matter with him. Overbearing men drive people away in fear of saying anything. Those of a more humbler disposition, accustomed to being obedient, who had understanding about orders, these were the ones who reasoned with Naaman to bring him to a position of obedience. Unless the proud heart is humbled, it will accomplish nothing and not a scrap for eternity, except the blackness of outer darkness. This man who commanded all ranks in the army, had to realise he was to become as a servant in the sight of God, before God could heal him. Obedience won the day, and changed this man. It was an invaluable lesson. No one in the service of the Lord will advance unless he realises that without God at the control, all effort is useless. There must be no such thing as pride of importance, but all must become as little children in repentance. Elisha knew what was required for this leprous man so that his pride could be broken. As the waters of Jordan flowed over this man’s body, so too did mercy and healing flow over his body. God won the victory.
2Kings 5 v 15 When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel, so please take a present from your servant now,” 2Kings 5:16 but he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.” He urged him to take it, but he refused. 2Kings 5:17 Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules’ loads of earth, for your servant will no more offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. 2Kings 5:18 In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter,” 2Kings 5:19 and he said to him, “Go in peace,” so he departed from him some distance.
It was not the right time for the prophet to meet with the Gentile Naaman when he first came to Elisha's house. Now the man had become humbled and obedient, and realised that there is only one living, true God. Now Elisha met freely with Naaman as they now had common ground. There must be proper relationships with people, and Elisha was proper in not meeting Naaman in the original contact.
Elisha refused to take any payment or to make any financial gain out of the gospel, unlike all the prosperity doctrine pimps do today. In this he was upright and honest before the Lord. We are called to serve, not to make gain out of the ministry of the Lord. God will be the judge of all our motives and He knows if our actions and motives in Christian ministry is flawed and selfish. May we all learn from Elisha, study his life, and grow in the Lord.
Naaman raised his concern about the idol’s temple when the king of Aram went to worship Rimmon. Most interesting. Apparent compromise, when it is allowed. There are times when we are bound by regulation or some similar thing when we are not able to change events. I disagree with my taxes going to help promote legislation for homosexual marriage. Some Christians have to work on Sunday and miss the gathering of God’s people. It is a different matter when it is merely a choice such as to spend Sundays at golf, but when we are governed by law, etc. then we are in a similar position to Naaman. His concern and action were approved by Elisha who bid him depart in peace. I believe Naaman is in heaven today. Would you like to meet him?
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
