Too Proud to Duck
by Pastor Jim May
The story is told of two ducks and a frog that lived together in a farm pond. They were best of friends. All day long you could watch them amuse themselves and play together in their pond. When the hot summer days came, however, the pond began to dry up, and soon it was evident they would have to move. This was no problem for the ducks. They could easily fly to another pond. But the frog was in trouble. He would be long dead before he could find another pond to live in. So it was decided that they would use a stick that could be held on both ends in the bill of two ducks that would fly side my side. That way the frog could hang on to the stick with his mouth as they flew to another pond and safety. The plan worked well. It was a strange sight to see the ducks and the frog flying along and so, as they were flying along a farmer looked up in sky and saw them. In admiration for their ingenuity he said. "Well, isn’t that a clever idea! I wonder who thought of it?" The frog forgot what he was doing and with a sense of great pride in his wisdom he opened his mouth and said, "I d i i d ..!" A few moments later he was dead, splattered on the ground. He was too proud of his own accomplishments to keep his mouth shut and save his own life.
Pride is a terrible thing. That frog found out in a very hard lesson that the Word of God is true in Proverbs 16:18, where it says, Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
It was pride that caused man to fall in the Garden of Eden. Adam was too proud to admit that he could not be as God. It was pride that caused the population of the whole world to perish in the flood. Their pride wouldn’t let them repent and be invited into the Ark. It is pride that causes so many people today to refuse to confess that need God and that pride will certainly lead to their eternal downfall.
How many times does God give us the way out of our sentence of death for sin in His Word? How many places can we find where God gives us some specific instructions on how to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him? How many times does His Word tell us that he will be our God, if we will only be His people? Time and time again God reaches out to mankind, making every effort to bring people back into right relationship with Him, but pride won’t let us hear him. Pride won’t let us obey Him. Pride won’t let us surrender our will to His will. Pride leads us through life like we have a ring in our nose and it’s pulling our nose upward all the time. We are snubbing our nose at God with arrogance and pride saying that we just don’t need Him, we can make it on our own.
The Word of God contains a very pointed story of the pride of one man. It speaks to each of us concerning our own pre-conceived ideas of how God should move on our behalf. We are so arrogant that we think we have it all figured out and we try to put God in a box and tell Him how to bless us and where to lead us. Even Christians, who are born again and filled with the Holy Ghost, often have this same sense of pride. We think that we know what’s best for ourselves and we don’t even ask God what He thinks. We just do our thing and then expect God to bless us just because we acknowledge Him from time to time.
My friend, God won’t fit into your box or my box. He isn’t restricted by our pre-conceived ideas and notions. Romans 11:33 says, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Just when we think we have it all figured out, God bursts forth from our box and begins to move and work in ways that we could not have imagined.
That’s what happens in this story found in 2 Kings, chapter 5. Let us examine the story together and glean for ourselves what the Holy Spirit and the Word of God would say to each of us.
2 Kings 5:1 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.
Now here was a great man. He was the 4-star general of the Syrian army and had led his army in victory after victory with a chest full of medals to prove his accomplishments. He was a man of integrity, a man of courage, a man of great strength of character and wisdom, a man that was highly educated and highly acclaimed by his own people. He was a man of great honor and was highly favored by the king of Syria. But – he was also a leper.
We live a world where there are great people, and there are not-so-great people – at least according to the world’s definition of great. Most of us are in the “not-so-great” category. We won’t see our names in the headlines of the newspaper after have accomplished some outstanding achievement. Our name will never become a household word. Our picture won’t be in the Whose Who book of American heroes. We will be listed among the mediocre.
Now, lest you get into a “Pity Party”, let me tell you that the world is not the final authority on greatness, neither are worldly accomplishments the only standard by which greatness is judged. God rewards faithfulness, not greatness. If you want to be counted as great in the Kingdom of God, then be found completely faithful to the calling of God upon your life. I would rather hear Jesus say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant” than to have the President of the United States give me a Citizenship Medal for my service to the nation.
There are a lot of people out there who will, and have, achieved far more that I ever will. Some of them have been highly educated and every time you see their names you will see their earned titles following them. There is Joe Smith, MD, PHD. Etc, etc, etc. There is Barbara, DDS, PHD and on it goes. Perhaps some of you have been to the universities and colleges and you have some degrees attached to your name as well. Education is commendable and we are all happy for your accomplishments.
Some people have built businesses and amassed huge fortunes, or even established great Trust Funds to help humanity for years to come. Some have rooms filled with trophies awarded for their agility, power and skill at a game of sports or some other field of endeavor.
However, like Naaman, they all are living with a terminal illness. They might be wealthy, successful, educated and healthy, “But” they all are condemned to die eternally because of sin. Not one will escape. The debt of sin will always be there.
For Naaman, his sentence of death came when he found he had leprosy”! For all of mankind, since the fall in the Garden of Eden, there has always been a “BUT” that is added to their lives… but, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
The “But” that affects the life of every man, woman and child on the face of the earth is called sin, and one of those sins is the sin of Pride. It may not seem so bad to many people but let me remind you that Pride is one of the three areas of sin that John wrote about in 1 John 2:16, For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
According to this verse, “Pride” (including self-sufficiency, arrogance and rebellion) is one of the core aspects of sin along with “Lust” which is an extraordinary desire for whatever we want, no matter what the cost. Pride causes the downfall of everyman who refuses to bend his knee in surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Pride is the sin in the heart of every man who refuses to allow Jesus to be the Lord of his life. Pride, coupled with a lust for the things of the world, are the sins that keep man from living a holy life and obeying every word of God.
Naaman had Pride too as we shall soon see. But first, let’s look at what happens next.
2 Kings 5:2-4, And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 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. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
A captured slave girl from Israel was appointed to serve this Commander of the Syrian Army. She had no choice on where she was to be, but she did have a choice on the kind of attitude and spirit that she would have.
She could have been like so many people I know who hate those who are over them. They hate their parents. They hate their boss on the job. They hate the policeman who stops them from driving too fast and killing themselves. They even hate the preacher when he preaches the truth and does all he can to get them ready for the rapture and for the Judgment. You can see people with attitudes everywhere.
This young girl from Israel, from the land of Samaria, living as a captive in the home of the very general that had taken her from her comfortable home, and likely killed some of her family and destroyed her home, refused to live with that kind of attitude. She never forgot what she loved and knew about Israel, but she also refused to hate.
She might have been in a foreign land, serving a foreign master, and living as a slave in the household of her enemy, but she learned to love Naaman as a master and she cared for his well-being. She knew of the prophets back home and the power of God that they had to heal the sick. Her witness began the journey for Naaman’s salvation from certain death.
2 Kings 5:5-6, 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. 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.
Naaman did not know how to approach the prophets of Israel. He had not been taught the ways of Moses. He began his search in the only way that most of the world knows. He began by trying to buy his way back to health and the blessings of God. He didn’t understand or know the God of Israel but he was desperate for healing. All of the accoutrements of his dazzling uniform, and the gleaming medals upon his chest, made the world gaze in wonder, but underneath it all – NAAMAN WAS A DYING LEPER!
My friend, when the day comes that we must face death, and then face the judgment, there will be a lot of people who are going to try to find a way of escape but there will be none.
Hebrews 9:27-28, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
All the wealth that you have gathered won’t buy one instant in Heaven. It won’t pay for one drop of water in the pits of Hell. It won’t buy one breath when the death angel comes to claim your life. All the degrees behind your name won’t mean a thing in that day. All the property you won will be left behind for others to fight over. You cannot pay the price to escape – But it has been paid for you – if you are willing to accept the terms of the payment. In exchange for your eternal life, Jesus gave his life and shed His blood on the Cross. The debt is paid, but only if you accept Jesus as your Savior and surrender your life to him.
We see people walking everywhere with a façade built up around them. On the outside, and on the surface, they all try to wear a smile. They all try to make you believe that everything is fine. They try to confess that all is well. They put on every appearance possible of being successful. But underneath it all, they all have the “Leprosy of Sin” and it’s killing their very soul and they need a Savior!
For the sake of time, I need to speed this message up so let’s continue reading!
2 Kings 5:10 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. 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. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 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 had tried to be healed his way. He had tried to play “Let’s Make A Deal”, but it wouldn’t work. He quickly learned that it was either going to be God’s way or no way at all and he didn’t like that answer. He felt offended because the prophet didn’t even come out to shake his hand and recognize Naaman’s position.
Elijah told him to go duck in the muddy water of the Jordan River seven times if he wanted his healing. But Naaman was just TOO PROUD TO DUCK!
What was more humiliating, to die of leprosy or to duck into the muddy Jordan? To Naaman, the Jordan was more humiliating. His first thought was that he would rather die than obey the prophet of God.
Oh how often do I see this same attitude and spirit of rebellion in the heart of men today! How often do they refuse to accept the bloody sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross because it just doesn’t look pretty or feel good to them! They would rather choose to live life on the edge of hell and then die and fall into the flames of hell, than to trust in the blood of Jesus. They want to be saved, but only in their own way, so they try to “work out” their own salvation, only to find that the “leprosy of sin” has not gone but grown worse than ever. They are just TOO PROUD TO DUCK UNDER THE BLOOD OF CHRIST and let that blood wash away their sin!
2 Kings 5:11-12 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.
2 Kings 5:13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
I’m here to take the place of Naaman’s servants in this church and in this message. I’m here to try to talk some sense into you. I’m here to try to make you realize that there is only one answer to your “leprosy of sin”. You can’t receive forgiveness in sports, in medical care, in your job, in your title, in your position, in your own way. It’s only one way – through the blood of Jesus Christ and surrendering your life completely to the will of God.
When the Day of Judgment comes, you will have to surrender everything to be there. The grave that covers you won’t keep you down. The wealth of the world will be nothing. The power and prestige will melt away and you will be left standing alone before the Judge of the Universe to answer for the life that you lived.
There will be no one to defend you if you have not surrendered to and accepted Jesus into your life! There will be excuses that will hold water in that day.
There is no doubt that you would offer all that you have, all that you are, all that you can think of, just to escape the final verdict of guilty on that day. There would be no price high enough, but nothing you have will be enough. The die is cast, the end has come and there is no escaping the destiny that awaits you. But it doesn’t have to be that way!!!
Naaman finally understood that the only way was God’s way. He had to do what Elijah said, or he would surely die. He finally decided to swallow his pride, humble himself before the will of God, and DUCK SEVEN TIMES IN THE JORDAN RIVER.
It wasn’t easy for Naaman. I can imagine that every time he went down he held his breath, held his nose, closed his eyes and hoped that no mud would fill his ears. He probably came up sputtering and spitting each time, wondering if this was really going to work. Six times he ducked under the water and nothing happened. But on that seventh duck it all changed.
2 Kings 5:14 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.
What a feeling he had then! I can imagine that even the “ultimately cool” general of the Syrian Army started shouting for joy at the new skin and new life that he had been given. The leprosy was gone and he recognized that there was only one God who could have done this thing – and He Praised the God of Israel.
People, let me tell that one moment in Heaven will be worth it all! Nothing can compare to the knowledge that you have eternal life and forgiveness through the Blood of Jesus.
Why not do it God’s way for a change? Swallow your pride, bow your will to God’s will, bow your knee before the King of King and Lord of Lords, surrender you life to God for his service, and then let Jesus be the Lord of your life. His blood will wash away all sin and shame and then you can rejoice because your name is written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
ARE YOU TOO PROUD TO DUCK? I CERTAINLY HOPE YOU WILL NOT BE. You can either duck under the Blood of Jesus, or swim in the Lake of Fire. Which will it be?
