6 minute read
Naaman’s Big Problem
2 Kings 5:1-15
Naaman was an important Tumuaki in the kingdom of Syria and highly valued by the king to whom he was intensely loyal. He was commander of the Syrian Army, a key position in the land. Along with his position he had every luxury and comfort money could buy. He was also a man of courage and integrity for without those characteristics he would never have occupied such a position. Among the citizens of the land he was held in high esteem and he appeared to be of a kindly disposition.
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But despite his position and these advantages, Naaman had a serious problem. He had the disease of leprosy which, in those days, was incurable. He would no doubt have traded all his luxuries if he could only find a cure, but he knew that such was impossible. All his greatness and satisfaction was overshadowed and marred by this disease. His master, the king, was also concerned: He did not want to lose such a man.
A short time before, part of the Syrian army had gone on a raid and had invaded the land of Israel. As was normal practice, a number of captives were taken as slaves. Among them was a young girl and Naaman engaged her services as a servant to his wife. She must have felt very lonely and homesick being so far away from home and family, but she had faith in God and God had a special plan for her, which shows we are never too young to serve the Lord.
Her master’s grave problem eventually came to her knowledge and one day she said to her mistress, “If only my master was with the prophet in Samaria for he would be able to cure him of his leprosy”. Despite her own situation, she still had concern for others.
It did not take long for Naaman to get the message and he went to see the king of Syria who gladly sent him to the king of Israel with much wealth in exchange for Naaman’s healing and a letter requesting the king of Israel to cure Naaman of his leprosy.
But in doing this, the king made two mistakes. First, he sent Naaman to the wrong place. There is a lesson for us here. People are seeking satisfaction and meaning in life, but they often turn to the wrong things. Drugs won’t do it; neither will alcohol. They will only make the problem worse. All of us are inflicted with the spiritual disease of sin which is worse than leprosy. Leprosy will only inflict us in this life, but sin will afflict us in this life and on into eternity if it is not dealt with.
The second mistake he made was to think he could buy Naaman’s healing. But God’s salvation, forgiveness and cleansing power are free, for the price has already been paid in full by Christ through His death on the cross and His victorious resurrection. There is nothing we can possibly do towards our salvation apart from accepting it as the precious gift it is.
When the king of Israel read the letter from the king of Syria he became extremely alarmed. He was not able to cure leprosy. He thought the king of Syria was looking for an excuse to send his army to raid Israel once again. He even tore his clothes to show his distress!
Leprosy is a disease that is characterised by dead flesh, and sin is really spiritual leprosy and is characterised by spiritual death. No one apart from Christ can deliver you from its power and consequences. But you must ask Him for His cleansing and forgiveness, and commit your life to Him.
Meanwhile, Elisha, the man of God (the man with God’s remedy) learned that Naaman was in the land and he sent word to the king to send Naaman to him. It seems the king had forgotten all about Elisha and must have been very relieved! Many people have forgotten about God and left Him out of their lives, and wonder why things go wrong.
And so, Naaman arrived outside the house of the man of God, Elisha. What would happen now? He arrived with his entourage of horses and chariots, servants and attendants. He stood outside Elisha’s door arrayed in his military uniform with its brightly polished brass work, medals and all, and his sword sheathed by his side. But Elisha didn’t even come to the door. Instead he sent his servant with a simple message, “Go and wash seven times in the River Jordan and you will be cured”. That was it. God is not impressed by our outward appearance; He sees what’s really going on inside us and often it’s pride that keeps us from submitting to Him.
Naaman felt insulted. His pride and dignity had been severely damaged. He expected to be treated as the great man he was. Why didn’t Elisha come out and perform a great miracle in front of everyone? But no, he just sent his servant telling him to go wash in the Jordan River. Naaman became angry: He thought he was going to see something spectacular. But Naaman was wrong. 4
There are many people who are wrong about how we obtain God’s salvation. It’s not according to what we think; it’s according to what God has told us in His Word, the Bible. Jesus said, “I am THE way, THE truth, THE life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. Did you get that? There’s only one way and Jesus is it.
Naaman turned his entourage around and headed for home in a rage. What a let down! Anyway, there were better rivers in his own country. If he was going to dip in any river it would be one of those. But when he had cooled down somewhat his servants began to reason with him. They pointed out that if the prophet had asked him to do something great, he would have done it. He was going home, but he still had leprosy. Why not give what Elisha had said a try? Reluctantly, Naaman decided to obey.
He went down to the banks of the Jordan, stripped off and waded out into the water feeling just a little stupid. He dipped once expecting to see a slight improvement, but no. He dipped twice, three times, but still there was no difference. Now he was beginning to have serious doubts. He went under for the sixth time and still no improvement. But image his jubilation when he dipped for the seventh time and his flesh came again as that of a little child – clean and healed!
Jesus tells us in Mark 10 that unless we become humble and receive the Kingdom of God as a little child we shall not enter therein. It cost God the death of His only Son to purchase salvation for us and to save us from an eternity in Hell. Surely, the least you can do is humble yourself as a little child, acknowledge your need as a guilty sinner and receive and thank Him for His amazing gift.
When Naaman was healed he went back to Elisha and said, “Now I know there is no God in all the earth but in Israel”. He meant that the God of Israel is the only true God. There was no hint of him “thinking” here, for now he knew. Now he realised there was only One who could cleanse and restore him. -- Editor.
