The Gospel B.C.
“Discovering God’s Redemptive Plan”
Naaman Part 1 of 2
“The Way of Healing”
2 Kings 5:1-13
Introduction
About four times a year, when I kids were infants, would have to get various shots for various reasons. They go to the doctor about twenty times a year. So, on the days when we take them to the doctor, and they are scheduled to get a shot – we don’t tell them until as close to the time that the shots come out as possible. No amount of discussion, bribing, or planning is going to change the fact that I was going to have to physically restrain Joshua by tucking his head into my chest, wrapping my legs around his feet, and hugging him tightly for about 10 seconds. And when it’s all over, he usually is still screaming, “I don’t want to get a shot!” Joshua, it’s over, — “it is – well that wasn’t that bad.” The shot never hurts that bad, but he never remembers.
Many times, the answer to life’s problems, are rather simple, but we want to make life so difficult. We have a preconceived notion of how our world operates, how God should do things, and even how we should be or live. These preconceived notions, often times get in the way of experiencing healing in our lives.
Prayer – Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to be our example. He showed us how to properly understand your Word. And in your Word, he described himself as the Great Physician. Jesus, you have healed us of our sin problem, and I pray that you may do that for another here today. Amen.
A Hopeless Disease (vv. 1)
“Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.”
Naaman is introduced to us a man who was a very successful and courageous soldier. He did his work faithfully and achieved the rank of commander of the army. But he had one problem, he had leprosy.
Leprosy is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. Prior to the discovery that the disease was caused by bacteria, people had thought that it was hereditary or even caused by sin. Leprosy multiplies very slowly and the incubation period. Leprosy is not highly infectious. So, it was hard to determine how it was transferred. Leprosy is often referred to as “the living death”, since it can ravage the body and leave its victims deformed. It is a disease that attacks the central nervous system, allowing it to impact nearly all areas of the body indirectly. Once the bacterium enters the body, it begins destroying the nerve endings, leading to a loss of feeling and pain. This loss of sensation causes the victim to endure injuries since they have no way of knowing that their tissues or bones are being damaged until it is too late.
The victims of this disease also, were forced to wear specific clothing, to yell out when they came near the non-infected, to ring bells, and to live in separate leper colonies.
Naaman’s condition would have been in the early stages because he was still able to perform his duties, and perhaps even able to hide his condition from others. Naaman knew that his time was limited, and he knew what was in his future. It was not more successful military campaigns, or leading men.
He knew that he would eventually become disfigured and handicapped, numb to the world around him, and pushed to isolation from the fear of others. This disease would take everything he held dear away from him.
But what if there were a cure? What if he didn’t have to live this way? What would you give to be healed of this disease? Can you imagine taking a bath one day, and discovering a spot? You say, no it can’t be that. For Naaman, there was no cure – you simply went away to die.
Sin, as described in the Bible, is exactly like this. It corrupts us completely. Every day, if not dealt with rots away at our soul, and causes us to lose parts of ourselves. Our sin drives us into isolation, and so we wait for the inevitable end. But what if there were a way to change that?
A Hapless People (vv. 2-5)
“Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” 5 And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.”
During this time, there was no distinction between Israel (i.e. God’s People) and the nations that surrounded them. They worshipped the same gods, they performed the same ceremonies, they even abandoned worship of the One True God. The nation of Israel had forgotten it’s calling and purpose for existence.
Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the Lord said1 to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Abraham, was given a promise that he would be the father of a great nation, as countless as the stars and sand on the sea shore. The blessing was the gift of faith and knowing the one true God – this blessing would spread over the entire world.
It would be through the nation of Israel that the Messiah would come, Jesus Christ. The Savior who would take away the sin of the world. This blessing of salvation would be for all people – The people had forgotten all that.
So God sent in raiding parties, to carry off missionaries. If they were not going to go themselves, then He would pick them up and send them to people that He desired to hear the truth.
We are all called to be missionaries; did you know that you are on a mission to share the best blessing of all, the good news of Jesus with other people? Those verses were written for us “and in you all peoples on earth shall be blessed.” It was this hapless missionary who knew how Naaman could be healed. She knew of somebody who could heal him. There are people all around us who need healing, and we know the person who can heal them.
A High Price Expected (vv. 6-9)
“And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.” 8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.”
“So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing” and “With this letter [from the king], and as “commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man” in the sight of others – Naaman was bringing all he had at his disposal to fix this problem in his life. How much would the cure cost?
So Naaman arrives in his general’s regalia, chariots, servants, soldiers, wagons full of money and clothes to purchase his cure. To pay the prophet for the remedy. Do you know how much Elisha demands? What is Elisha’s price for healing of leprosy for this foreign man, whose people had stolen his people and carried them away in raiding parties? What amount would be required to satisfy Elisha’s God? Elisha would heal this man for free.
God recognized that we had or have a sin disease that was inoperable, and we were destined to die in our sin and eternally be separated in isolation from God. So God made a plan – Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” He provided a way for us to be saved, the cure to our sin disease, and gave it as a gift – free.
A Helpful Patient (vv. 10-13)
And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 11 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. 12 Are not Abana 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. 13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
Naaman really needed to be healed of something far deeper than surface level leprosy. His problem went much deeper. He had a prideful heart. The leprosy and the dipping, were the means to get him to admit and see some things about himself.
Go through the events of the day with me; He hears word from a servant girl in his household. Then Naaman went higher to his master, then we find him talking and corresponding with a king, then to peak the day off Naaman would appear before the Prophet Elisha himself. But when he arrives what is there to meet him – a messenger.
There is a building up of expectation; at the end of all these very exciting things God had done in his life on that day, surly there would be an even greater “sign and wonder.” But the solution was simple, and the cure for his disease was delivered by simple means.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” John 4:48 “So Jesus said to him, “Unless you3 see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
“I thought that he would surely come out to me” (I am Naaman, the commander of an army, a great man) – When we approach God, we are simply a sinner who is in need of forgiveness and healing. It doesn’t matter who you think you are, before God you are simply a sinner. But a sinner who God loved enough to send His one and only son as a means to heal you of your sin disease.
“and stand” (I am going to stand here, and you are going to stand there) – in other words we are equals. When I stand before God, I am not going to bow, if anything he should bow to me. When we approach God, we must do it with a humble heart.
James 4:7-10 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” To be forgiven of our sin, we must humble ourselves before God, broken over our sin, and to experience peace with Him we must submit to His ways.
“and call on the name of the LORD his God,” – by calling upon the name of the LORD, it seems that Naaman wanted this to be a grand affair. He was all decked out with his entourage – “Come and see the healing of the great and valiant Naaman, the commander of the Army.” Come and watch the magic show, as this prophet of whatever god, takes the leprosy away.
This is Elisha’s God, one of many gods that could be found in the land. What Naaman did not know, is that there is but one true God, and every person either chooses to believe and have faith in the one true God, or to reject Him. Is he mom’s, God, or dad’s God – Is he your God this morning?
“wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.” – This is how I think it would work better. God you have said to do this and I will be healed, but “I’ve been thinking, why don’t we do it this way . . .” “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?”
Pride really is the root of all sin. “I know how to do things better then God.” This is the first temptation man failed, and whenever we sin we make the same decision as Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,2 she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”
In order to have faith in the one true God, a person has to lay down his expectations of how God should be, and receive Him and His forgiveness and healing as outlined by His word.
Conclusion
How is a person cured of His Sin Disease? Call on the name of Jesus, and ask him to forgive you of your sin. Repent or turn from your sin, and follow Him as a disciple and obey His teachings. You can say a prayer something like this, “ . . .”
