2 Kings 5:1-14

As we come to 2 Kings chapter 5, immediately

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

we come into contact with this man, Naaman. This

man really arises in the story almost out of

nowhere. But this entire narrative circulates

around this man Naaman. As we consider Naaman

and his situation and his cure, his condition,

we're going to look at three things today. We're

going to look at the man and his condition, his

disease, or his issue, his problem in life. And

then we're going to look at the issues that he

faced in finding a cure to his leprosy. Lastly,

we'll look at the cure itself. So as we consider

the man and his condition, the text gives us

a very avid description, a clear look at what

this man was like. Look in verse one. It says,

now, Naaman, captain of the army of the king

of Aaron. We think about that statement. This

man was the captain, the leader of a country's

military forces. He was a powerful man. He was

the captain of the army of the King of Aram.

He was a great man with his master. He was highly

favored. He was a man most likely of... high

moral integrity. He was highly respected because

by him the Lord had given victory to Aaron. Others

respected Naaman. Others looked to Naaman as

a role model in their life. Others looked upon

him, I'm sure some, with awe. of this man, his

position, his power, his influence, and his status

in line. It also says that he was a valiant warrior.

He wasn't one that stayed back while the military

and the army went into battle. Neyman was a valiant

warrior. He fought the enemies of his kingdom.

He went to war with his men. If we stop right

there and we consider Naaman, this is somebody,

isn't it? This is a man with pomp. This is a

man with power. This is a man with prestige.

This is a man that has a good life in Syria.

He's got a good job. He's got a good place. He's

well respected This is somebody but there's one

issue This man With this pump and with this prestige

and with this power with this influence had one

major problem in his life one big issue that

affected every part of who he is. One big thing

that was always with him. The text says he was

a leper. Now when we think of leprosy in the

Bible, I don't think that that is what they're

speaking of with Naaman. Naaman most likely is

referencing some sort of skin disease, not the

typical leprosy we hear about in the New Testament.

This leprosy most likely had to do with bad disfigurement

and pain and suffering. We don't know how long

he had it. We don't know if it was something

he acquired recently and he's had temporarily,

or we don't know if it's something he's had his

entire life, but we do know that he has it, that

it's a big issue in his life. He can't get rid

of it. So, we look at his life and we see that

he has this big issue and he has it as a Gentile.

One of the biggest surprises in this story is

that Naaman is not an Israelite. Naaman is not

a part of the covenant people of God, yet here

we find a story about a man. who is a foreigner,

who is an alien to the promises of God, a foreigner,

an alien to the people of God, to the God of

Israel. And we find God's grace and God's mercy

and God's compassion extending beyond the borders

of Israel to this Gentile man, that he might

impact his life, that he might change him. So

in... In Naaman, we find a man who is apart,

who is separate, who is distant, who is far from

the promises of God, who is far from the God

of Israel who saves. So in Naaman, we find a

portrait of an unbeliever who is separate from

Christ. Naaman is not so different from the unbeliever

today. He's not so different from the modern

man who rejects Christ, who denies Christ. The

modern man who rejects Christ and denies Christ

is far from the promises of God, is distant and

separate from the gospel of Christ, just like

Naaman was far and distant and away from the

promises of God. So this is the man, this is

his condition, and this is where he's at in life.

We see his deep, desperate need in this narrative

already. Now we see also the issues that Naaman

faced in finding a cure. It's obvious and clear

from this text that this man desires to be cured.

This man wants to find a way to be healed of

his sickness, of his disease, of his leprosy.

How do we know that? Well, think about the entire

flow of the story. As soon as a cure is mentioned,

as soon as a potential healing or restoration

is proclaimed, he's on it. He's eager to go and

be healed. He knows he has a problem. But here

we find this man of great resources, this man

of great power, encountering one major issue

in his life. He can't cure himself. He cannot

find a cure anywhere in Syria. There's nothing

to be found, surely. Friends, if anybody could

find a cure for such a disease, if anybody could

procure healing, if anybody could find somebody,

find a doctor, find a magician, find somebody

or anything to take care of the problem that

he had, it would be Neyman. He had the resources,

he had the ability, and Surely, he was a man

of intellectual resources. He had the ability

intellectually to consider these problems and

to figure it out, but he was incapable of dealing

with this issue in his life. He couldn't get

rid of the leprosy, and there was no way he could

find anything or anybody in Syria to do it either.

Already, we find the reality that this man is

relevant and ever -present relevant for the modern

unbeliever. Every single person has issues in

their life because of sin. Every single person

has needs deep down in their soul in their lives.

Every single person today in this world, in the

culture, in society, in Edwards County, everybody

in Illinois, everybody in the United States,

everybody in the world has physical issues and

they have moral issues. And there are some issues

in life that a person cannot fix themselves.

You cannot fix your sin. You cannot heal yourself

of the iniquity that is within you. You cannot

deal with your own moral problem as an immoral

person. You cannot deal with the hatred in your

heart. You cannot deal as an unbeliever and an

unregenerate person. You cannot address The hate

and the lust and the iniquity that resides within

your soul. You can't take care of it. You can

deal with a lot of things in your life. You can

take care of your financial issues. You can take

care of some physical and health concerns in

your life. You can take care of your job situation.

You can take care of your family to a degree,

I'm sure. But you can't take care of the sin

within your heart. You can't cure yourself of

it. And you know that it's there. Unregenerate

sinners are aware that they have sin within themselves.

If you're here today and you don't know Christ

by faith or repentance, you know you're a sinner.

You have things in your life that you hate about

yourself. You have things in your life that you

cannot and you do and you want to change with

every fiber in your being that you want to give

up that you want to stop But you can't That's

because you cannot address the sin in your own

heart You can't cure yourself of it and you can't

find a cure anywhere It's not to be found just

like me Naaman is told of a potential cure. A

potential remedy is proclaimed to him by a young

slave girl. We read in verses two through three.

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. She

said to her mistress, I wish that my master were

with the prophet who was in Samaria. Then he

would cure him of his leprosy. This young slave

girl that was captive obviously treated well.

because she had affection for her master, knows

something that this man of power and influence

does not know. This young Israelite girl knew

something that this man knew nothing of, that

this man knew nothing about. The prophet of the

living God. She knew of the power of God that

resided not in Samaria But she knew of the divine

power of God that resided in Israel and Israel

alone She knew where a cure could be found and

it was among the people of God and it was with

the prophet of God and so she proclaims this

to Her master's wife the wife tells name and

name and tells the king And so he prepares for

a journey. He gets to go ahead to go forward

and to go seek out the cure. So what does he

do? What do we read in verse five? He departed

and took with him 10 talents of silver and 6

,000 shekels of gold and 10 changes of clothes.

He gets ready for the cure. He prepares to go

and get That which he so longs for and how does

he do so By getting his money By getting his

well by getting his influence Most likely we

don't know for certain But this looks as though

it was about seven hundred and fifty pounds of

silver. We don't know exactly how much gold,

but it was probably close to 200 pounds of gold.

That's a lot of wealth. That's a lot of power.

That's a lot of influence. This man should just

go and get it and take it with him. This man

who has the ear of the king. So what does he

do next after he hears about the cure? Well,

he encounters another issue. He encounters another

problem. The king sends a letter to another king,

the king of Israel, who most likely was a very

wicked man at the time and knew nothing of the

Lord. And so Naaman goes to the king of Israel

with the assumption that the king of Israel could

cure him. Now, it's not an issue that he went

to the king, though we do know he did night raids

in Israel. He goes to the king, that's not an

issue, to seek permission to go into the country,

to go and find a cure, but it's more than that.

He was going to the king with the assumption

that the king had the cure. He was looking to

the king of Israel for the cure to his leprosy.

Why is the king so flabbergasted? Why is the

king so taken aback? Because the letter assumes

that he has the ability to cure this man. He's

forgotten about the prophet. He's forgotten about

the word of the Lord. He's gone to the king,

he's gone to other men, he's gone to the people

of God. He's forgotten where the cure actually

is. Already, he's looking in the wrong place

already. This man of such wisdom, I'm sure. This

man of such power and influence is looking in

all the wrong places. for that which he so desperately

needs. I do not believe that unregenerate men

ever seek after God. Ever. The man apart from

Christ does not want Christ. But the man who

does not have Christ wants everything that Christ

can give. The man who does not know God wants

everything that God can give. And when you live

and dwell in God's creation, that means you're

all You're always going to be looking for that

which God can give. You're always going to be

seeking out, and you're always going to be searching

out, and you're always going to be trying to

find that which God can give to cure you of your

ailments in this life. Always. Non -stop. But

brothers and sisters and friends, if you don't

know Christ, you will always go to the wrong

place. Always. And it will never fix your problem.

It will never take care of the sin that's within

your heart. It will never bring healing. It will

never bring satisfaction. It will never find,

you will never have joy. It will bring disappointment

after disappointment and temporary joy and temporary

pleasure after temporary pleasure. But it will

bring no power to Satan. Men always look in the

wrong place when they don't no Christ. This is

clear that this was an issue for Naaman. Now

Naaman finally makes his way to Elisha's house.

He makes his way to the prophet or to the prophet's

house. How does the text say that Naaman arrives

at the prophet's home. So Naaman came with his

horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway

of the house of Elisha. Verse 15 says that he

had a large company with him. It wasn't just

Naaman. It was Naaman and his servants. It was

Naaman and his entourage. It was Naaman and his

gold and his horses and his chariots. It was

Naaman and his power. And he's coming to the

house of the prophet of the living God? Well,

he comes to the house, but he doesn't meet Elisha.

How does Elisha greet him? He doesn't. Elisha

sends a messenger to talk on his behalf, to tell

him... the remedy. Now Elisha has given him the

remedy. He knows the cure. He knows what he has

to do. He knows where he must go. He knows how

he can be changed. He knows how he can be healed,

restored, and delivered from this disease that

he's in possession of. He knows it. All he has

to do is go down into the dirty Jordan and take

a bath seven times. That's all he has to do.

It's right in front of him, brothers and sisters.

I mean, he is face to face with his own deliverance

from leprosy. That thing which he seemingly so

longs for, that thing which he so desires and

wants in life, it's right in front of his face.

It's right there. What does he do? He forsakes

it. He turns around and he rejects it. He denies

it. He casts it off. He walks away in a fit of

rage. What would cause a man to deny that which

will deliver him of his own disease, that which

he so longs for? to turn away from it, to reject

it, to walk away and turn his back to it. Why

did Naaman forsake his own deliverance from this

wretched condition that he was in possession

of? That's the question, isn't it? The answer

is that it was something much deeper. Naaman's

issue wasn't that he was looking in the wrong

place, that was the expression or manifestation

of something deeper. Naaman's issue wasn't that

he had no power to do this, he had no ability

to do this, that was the expression, that was

the manifestation of something deeper. And in

his response, we find the answer to why he would

forsake that which would bring healing into his

life. It's because of his sin and his unbelief.

It's because he did not believe in the God of

Israel. It's because he had no faith in his heart

with regards to what the prophet was saying to

him. He rejects the cure in unbelief. And this

is where we find such an intersection for the

modern skeptic and the modern unbeliever in the

reality of unbelief. Unbelief is what ties all

unbelievers together for all the ages. Naaman

is not that different from the modern man that

rejects the gospel, brothers and sisters. He's

not that different. What's the same and what's

the difference? The same thing. They're full

of unbelief, he's full of sin in his heart, and

he has no faith in the message that he's going

to be cured, he's going to be restored. He doesn't

believe in the God of Israel. That stayed the

same throughout all ages. Men in every age and

every period have our hearts of unbelief, hearts

of sin. Thus, they reject the promise or they

reject the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unbelievers

today are no different than Naaman himself because

they do not believe that which can deliver them

from the condition that they are in possession

of. The only thing that changes is the circumstances

in which men exist. The only thing that changes

is the situation in which that man lives. We

might think that we are better today than Naaman

was all those thousands of years ago. But brothers

and sisters, it's not true. Our situation is

different, but our hearts remain the same. The

scenario is different. The context is different,

but the unbelieving heart remains the same. The

sin remains the same. The same need, and that

means there's the same remedy. The same thing

that will bring restoration and healing. So why

did Naaman reject and cast off and forsake the

cure, the remedy that he so desired for in his

life. Well, it's because it wasn't what he thought

it should be. We see in verse 11, but Naaman

was furious and went away and said, listen to

this brothers and sisters, behold, I thought.

He will surely come out to me and stand and call

in the name of the Lord his God and wave his

hand over the place and cure the leper." He thought.

He expected. Naaman rejected the cure because

it wasn't what he thought it should be. He denied

that which would save him from his disease because

it wasn't what he thought it should be. How many

people have forsaken the Lord Jesus Christ and

denied the gospel of God? Because the gospel

is not what they think it should be. Because

the gospel is not what they think it ought to

be. That's a manifestation of unbelief, brothers

and sisters. That's an expression of an unbelieving

heart. It's an excuse for why one doesn't believe.

The gospel, I'll take part of it. I'll take the

ethical and moral teachings of Jesus, but I'll

deny and I'll reject All the miraculous and the

divine and the supernatural that's in the Gospels.

I'll take what I want. This is what I think it

should be and I'll leave that out because I don't

think that should be in there. Brothers and sisters

and friends, if you don't know Christ, listen.

The Gospel is not what you want it to be. The

Gospel is what God says it is. And that's the

only gospel that saves any sinners from wrath,

from sin, from death, and from hell. Only the

gospel that God says is the gospel saves. Naaman

didn't believe. And because of that, he rejected

the gospel. And it wasn't what he thought it

should be. But why else? Did he reject this cure?

Why else did he forsake that which would deliver

him? Because he was thinking carnally or materialistically

When the command comes to him from Elisha What

does he think Elisha is telling him to do? What

is it? He says are not Abana and Farper, 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. He was

thinking in terms of water. He was thinking in

terms of physicality, in terms of carnality,

in terms of this world and the earth and materialistic

things. He was not thinking about the possibility

and the reality of divine power behind the command.

He had no conception of the power of God to save

him through those ordinary and those humble means

that the prophet appointed. He was thinking carnally.

He couldn't get outside of his carnal mind. To

see clearly and rightly what the prophet was

saying. He's thinking I've done this over and

over I've washed myself over and over I've taken

bath after bath. I've gone through ceremonial

cleansing after ceremonial cleansing. It's just

water There's nothing more He was thinking carnally

and materialistically the same is true of the

modern skeptic It's true of the modern scoffer.

It's true of the modern unbeliever. That they

only view the gospel through a carnal and materialistic

lens. How many times do we hear? How many times

do you hear? How many times have you said, well,

it's a nice religion. It's a nice construct that's

been built throughout the ages. from the minds

of men, but that's it. That's all Christianity

is. That's all the gospel is. That's all that

Jesus is, the imagination of men. It's something

that men have come up with to soothe their conscience

and deal with their weakness and their issues

with no conception and no thought and no view

of the reality of power in the gospel to save

their very souls. Naaman couldn't look at it

any different. And this is how he looked at it,

and this is why he turned his back on that which

would deliver him from his wretched condition.

But there's another reason that he forsook the

remedy and the cure. And I think this is the

most significant. Knowing his background and

knowing his character as we do, he refused to

humble himself. This man of great will, this

man that was well respected, this man that was

looked on by his servant, girl. most likely as

a kind man. This man who had the ability to take

seven hundred and fifty, eight hundred pounds

of silver with him and almost two hundred pounds

of gold and ten changes of fine, elaborate clothing

with him. This man who had an entourage with

him. This man who comes to the prophet with pomp

and power and prestige. Why does he turn his

back on the cure? because of pride. That's what

it is, brothers and sisters. That's what it is,

friends. He is kept from that which he needs

more than anything else because of the pride

that remains in him. You're telling me that my

gift, all that I've brought, You're telling me

you won't even come out and personally meet me?

You're telling me that you want me to bathe in

the dirty muddy Jordan River seven times in front

of everybody that I brought with all my power.

Is there nothing more glorious and more proud

that I could do or take part in? This is so humbling.

This is so inglorious. You're asking me to submit

to such a humble approach to this cure. What

kept Naaman from being cured in that moment?

It was the pride and the arrogance of his sinful

heart. It was unbelief. And it manifested itself

in pride. Do you know what keeps more men out

of the kingdom of heaven than anything else I

believe? Pride. The devil's best friend and man's

worst enemy. Pride. The gospel of Jesus Christ

requires one to humble themselves before God.

The gospel of Jesus Christ requires one to repent

of their sin and recognize that they are a beggar

with nothing in their hands and that Jesus Christ

is everything and all that they have. That's

what the gospel requires and men won't do it.

Men will give up their sin for Christ? I'm privileged

and I have the right to my sin. I refuse to give

this up. I refuse to be humiliated. I refuse

to humble myself before a sovereign God. More

men are kept from the kingdom of heaven. More

men are kept from true wisdom and true wealth.

and true glory in Jesus Christ because they won't

give up their vainglory in this world. Brothers

and sisters, this is the manifestation of unbelief

in the life of Naaman and this is the manifestation

of unbelief in your life if you don't know Jesus

Christ. If you're here today and you don't know

Christ, your pride is keeping you from Christ

because you refuse. to give up your riches. You

refuse to give up your works that you like to

boast in and you like to hold on to. You refuse

to give up your righteousness and run to Christ.

It's keeping you from true glory with Jesus Christ

and his eternal kingdom. It's keeping you from...

eternal life and that which your soul needs more

than anything. It's keeping you from being reconciled

with your Maker, with God. Pride. Is it worth

it? Is it worth suffering wrath for your pride?

Is it worth experiencing eternal judgment because

of pride in your heart? Forsake the pride and

run to Jesus Christ. Humble yourself that you

might be exalted with Him in glory. Give up your

sin that you might gain eternal life. and forsook

the cure because of pride. If we were to sum

up all of these reasons that he rejected the

cure, we would have to say this. He was coming

to God on his own terms. He was coming to the

gospel of Jesus Christ with conditions. He was

coming to the glorious God and Savior of our

salvation on his own prideful, sinful terms.

I'll believe. I'll receive the cure if. If. It's

the way I want. If. I don't have to give this

up. If I can keep this. You don't set the terms

and the conditions for your eternal salvation

with the creator of the heavens and the earth.

He sets the terms. He sets the conditions. He

tells you what is required of you and your soul

if you are to be saved and he says repent He

says believe in Christ he says humble yourself

He says believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ

his life his death and his resurrection and then

you will be saved You don't set the conditions

for your own deliverance name and didn't he couldn't

and you don't Unbelief is rampant in our world

because sinful hearts are rampant in our world.

One might think, looking at Naaman and this story,

that this man of unbelief, this man of pride

and arrogance and pomp and prestige, you might

think there's no way that man could be saved.

There's no way he's cured. There's no way that

he would believe. But there is. And he does.

But not because of himself. This leads us to

the last and third thing we must consider, the

cure itself. Naaman ultimately did not know what

he truly needed. He was truly ignorant of his

true need in his life. He thought he needed healing

from a skin disease when in reality he needed

to believe in the God of Israel and his sovereign

power. The cure was according to the word of

the man of God. The cure was according to the

man of God. It was according to the prophet of

God. It was God's word and the miraculous deliverance

of Naaman, the miraculous healing that we see

in verses 13 through 14. confirms the Word of

the Living God. The miraculous healing of Naaman

in the Jordan River confirms the reality and

the veracity of the existence of the God of Israel.

So Naaman knows without a shadow of a doubt.

that the God of Israel is the one who saved him

because Elisha wasn't even present. He knows

it wasn't just water. He comes to the realization

that it was God, the God of Israel, who saved

him. It was the Lord who delivered him from his

disease. In spite, of all of his unbelief. In

spite of all his excuses and his reasons for

forsaking it, the Lord did in fact save him.

Naaman didn't need water. Naaman didn't need

the king of Israel. Naaman needed the sovereign

power of God to transform him. Naaman needed

God to change him. Naaman needed the God of Israel

to restore him, to deliver him, to heal him.

That's what Naaman needed. And that's what God

did. But it wasn't apart from the means that

the prophet ordained. It wasn't apart from the

word of God. It wasn't separate from the humble

means that the prophet demanded he submit to.

It was in accordance with those means. It was

in the water, the dirty water, and it was seven

times that he submitted to. So it was only through

the ordained means of the word of God and the

prophet of God that he would be delivered by

the sovereign power of God from his disease and

from his sin. And this restoration, it wasn't

partial, friends. It wasn't incomplete. He was

fully and completely and totally healed of his

leprosy. So when he went down and dipped himself

seven times into the Jordan, according to the

word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored,

listen to this, like the flesh of a little child,

and he was clean. It's reminding us of the little

girl in verse 3. It's reminding us of the little

girl in verse 3 who was his slave. who was in

possession of faith. It's reminding us of the

reality that now that Naaman has experienced

the divine power of God at work in his life in

this miraculous deliverance, that he has been

changed and he's been made like a little child.

Very similar to the slave girl who first pointed

him to a cure. And this cure is complete and

total. Can you imagine how different Naaman felt?

Can you imagine how different Naaman looked?

Consider, he had skin disfigurement, he had disfigurement

in his body. It was a total and it was a complete

disease. It was something that was always with

him. It was something that was with him at all

times, at all periods. And it affected every

part and every area of his life. And now because

of the divine power of God, it's gone! It's disappeared!

He's been delivered from that condition, from

that disease that he's so long to be rid of because

of God's divine power. It was a complete and

total transformation because God himself changed

him and it was only God who could do it. Naaman

looked and looked and looked, do you remember?

He had the resources, he had the power, he had

the intellectual capacity and ability and resources

to figure it out, but he couldn't. He went to

the king of Israel. He couldn't help him. Only

the God of Israel could save him, and only he

could do it. If you don't know Jesus Christ by

faith and repentance, then you have never experienced

the divine power of God to make you a new creature.

If you don't know Jesus Christ by faith and repentance,

then God has not worked in your life. He has

not transformed you. He has not forgiven your

sins. He has not pardoned you. He has not given

you eternal life. He has not given you divine

and supernatural peace. He has not given his

spirit to you. He has not... sake to find you,

and he has not justified you. None of the blessings

of God, of saving reality, of redemption, are

in your possession if you have not experienced

the divine power of God to make you a new creature,

to regenerate you, to convert you, to bring you

into his kingdom. And only the power of God can

do it. You can't do it. Nobody can do it. No

person can do it. But the Lord Jesus Christ by

his gospel can save you through his divine and

sovereign power by working in your soul. By causing

you to be born again to a living hope. He can

bring you into his kingdom and he can give you

every blessing that he procured in his life,

his death, and his resurrection. And he will

for those in possession of faith and repentance.

It's only through the cross and it's only through

Jesus Christ and his gospel that you can be saved

and delivered from wrath. That's it. Listen,

the world is going to give you a lot of options.

The culture is going to tell you to ignore it.

That it's all hogwash. But there is nothing else

that can deliver you from the sin in your heart.

There is nothing else appointed in heaven and

on earth to save your soul from the depths of

hell and the wrath to come, but the blood and

the cross of Christ can. It's the only thing

that can and it's the only thing that will. If

God works in your soul, you will be completely

and totally changed. You will never be the same.

Your heart will be different. Your affections

will be different. Your desires and your longings,

your thinking will be different. The Spirit of

God will dwell within you. Your life will go

in a new direction. You will be sanctified. God

will justify you. He will forgive your sins and

He will bring you to glory and you will spend

eternity with Him and His never -ending kingdom

with Jesus Christ. But that's only for those

who have come through the appointed means of

the gospel, through Jesus Christ and His cross.

Consider Naaman. Consider Naaman and his unbelief.

Consider your own heart and your own soul. Have

you considered if you have experienced the divine

and sovereign power of God in your life? Have

you been made new? Do you know Jesus Christ by

faith and repentance?