2 Kings 5 (Part 1) Bible Study (Naaman Healed of Leprosy) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Let's come together now to Second Kings Chapter 5, and as

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

we turn there, realize with me that the archive of Elisha's

miracles continues to unfold before us tonight, and they will

extend in the next few chapters of our study of Second Kings.

However, the account that is presented this evening is the

miracle that arguably Elijah is most known for the incredible

healing of Naaman, the commander of the Syrian Army.

Now, what's so fascinating about this is that we have a reason to

believe that this is the most significant event associated

with Elijah, at least one major reason.

It is the event that is singularly mentioned in the New

Testament, meaning out of all the things that Elijah has done,

this particular miracle is the only thing that is brought up in

the New Testament. And that is quite striking when

you consider all the references to Elijah in comparison.

So with all that is brought up to us in the New Testament

concerning Elijah, you have one place and all of the New

Testament library where Elijah is cited.

Does anybody know where Elijah is cited in the New Testament?

If you do, you can say it. If you don't know, then you have

to turn to the Gospel of Luke. And I know I told you to go to

2nd Kings 5, but I want you to see this briefly because this is

where we're going to end our study.

We're going to come back to the statement because Jesus Christ

Himself references Elijah in this particular moment of his

life and ministry. Look at Luke 427 and 28, Luke

427 and 28, and there were many lepers in Israel in the time of

the prophet Elijah, and none of them was cleansed, but only name

in the Syrian. When they heard these things,

all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.

There it is, the one place where Elijah is mentioned in the New

Testament. And as I said, we will come back

to this at the end of our study because you know very well that

there is so much to uncover in the actual account of Naaman's

testimony, which we endeavor to do tonight.

And so turn back with me to 2nd Kings 5.

We're going to read the first 6 verses and pause and meditate.

Let's read it. Let's pray and let's trust that

the Holy Spirit will guide us as He always does.

Second Kings, chapter 5, beginning in verse one.

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

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. Now the Syrians on one of the

raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel,

and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.

She said to her mistress, Would that my Lord were with the

prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.

So Naman went in and told his Lord thus, and so spoke the girl

from the land of Israel. 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 10 talents of silver, 6000 shekels

of gold, and 10 changes of clothing.

And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read.

When this letter reaches, you, know that I have sent to your

name in my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.

Lord, our sincere prayer tonight as a family is that Your word

would encourage our faith. We pray that it would change us,

so please let there be nothing that would interfere with the

transaction of truth that You desire to deposit in our hearts.

Lord, may the delivery of this word be honorable, may be

empowered by the Holy Spirit, may it cause Christ to become

more real to each of us, and may it encourage us in every way

possible to live in the manner that you desire.

We honor you with every ounce of our being and we pray that even

at this time you would be honored more.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen and Amen.

The first impression that you and I get from our introduction

to Naman should be that he is quite an impressive individual.

He's highly achieved. He is respected.

You go again at verse 1 and you realize that he was not just a

commander of the army of the Syrian regime.

He was a great commander, very successful.

Not just successful, but very respected by many, including the

king himself. However, again in our

introduction to this man, the Holy Spirit is very quick to

help us remember the source of this man's stellar resume.

Look back again at verse one says Naaman, the commander of

the army of the king of Syria was a great man with his master

in high favor because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria.

Now that kind of commentary may seem obvious to us.

Yes, the Lord is the reason behind our success, our

achievements, absolutely. But what's striking is when you

understand and you recall that Naman is not an Israelite, he's

a Gentile and even that title there, right?

You look here and you see he was a great man.

You see that he was and high favor, but in the last part of

verse 1, he was a mighty man of valor.

Now if you're familiar with the Old Testament, then you would

remember that such a title is ascribed to Israel, some of

Israel's greatest judges, kings and warriors.

And yet it is granted here for the first time to an individual

outsider, a Gentile. And so that impresses us and it

should teach us a few things. That simple phrase that by him

the Lord had given victory to Syria on a broader lever reminds

us that the Lord is active. He's at work beyond the

community of faith. In the same way that we're we're

seeing here that God was an operation outside of the

boundaries of Israel, so is He in our context as the church.

The Lord is sovereign over everything.

He's maneuvering, He's planning, he's deciding, he's executing,

he is promoting, he is relegating.

He's always on the move. And that's what we see here now.

This realization would have been especially shocking to the

immediate audience of the Book of Second Kings, the Jewish

people, because it would force them to accept that God is

active among those outside of covenant with him, that God

actually has interests and he is actually concerned with the

Gentiles. So this is powerful and would

again cause the people of Israel to reconsider the goodness of

God, the extent of it. But when we look at on a

personal level, it shows us that whatever any of us accomplish

before men is the result of what God authorized and enabled from

heaven. Whether you're in relationship

with Him or not. The Lord ultimately is the one

who grants every single person the energy, the intellect, and

the years of life to do anything.

And it is the duty of man to acknowledge that as soon as

possible with a heart of worship.

Now, interestingly, in the same breath where Naaman's honor is

described, we are granted a devastating diagnosis.

He was a leper. Leprosy in the Bible describes

many kind of ailments, but it is generally recognized as a severe

skin disease that will lead eventually to a deterioration

and a disfigurement of the body. It was dreaded, it was

horrifying, it was hideous. And when you look at the

exposure of this disease in our Bibles, at least the first time

it is mentioned, you get an idea of why people were absolutely

frightened by leprosy. Let me ask you this question,

and it's actually a question for you to answer.

Does anybody know the first person in the Bible who was

infected with leprosy? Very good.

That was quick. Now some might say it was Moses

early in his ministry when the Lord called them because God

told him to put his hand in his cloak as a sign of his calling.

And what happened when he removed that hand?

It was leprous. And the Lord said, OK, put it

back now and it was made clean again.

But I'm talking about a person who really suffered leprosy, and

it wasn't Moses. It was Moses's sister Miriam.

And you know how that leprosy came about from gossip.

Isn't that interesting? If you don't believe me, turn to

numbers with me in chapter 12. Look at verse 10 Numbers chapter

Numbers 12:10

12, verse 10. This is after Miriam and Aaron

spoke. I'll of their brother challenged

his authority, criticized his marriage and the Lord heard it.

The Lord heard it. He he hears our gossip, he hears

what we say about others and look what happens.

He didn't just hear it, he did something about it.

Numbers 12, verse 10 When the cloud removed from over the

Numbers 12:10

tent, behold, Miriam was leprous like snow.

And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.

And Aaron said to Moses, Oh my Lord, do not punish us because

we have done foolishly and have sinned.

Let her not be as one dead whose flesh is half eaten away when he

comes out of his mother's womb. So the first mention of somebody

who was infected with leprosy also provides a vivid picture of

its horrific symptoms and makes a person who is living look like

they are rotting corpse. And so you you get a little idea

of why it was something that people feared so much.

But it wasn't the only reason. Because yes, it had horrible

pain and it was a despicable sight.

It also carried societal implications.

In the context of Israel, if you suffered leprosy, you were cut

off from your family, you were cut off from participating in

the feast in the New Testament, you couldn't be a part of any

synagogue gathering and you could not even enjoy something

as casual as walking through the marketplace on an afternoon.

You were pushed away, you were set aside.

You were not only cut off, you were also marked.

You were avoided and in some cases you were even despised.

And so you can only imagine what it would be like for somebody

who is outside of the parameters of Israel's law.

What would it be like to be a Naaman, a gentile suffering

leprosy? How would you be treated?

How would you be seen? And to have leprosy for any

person was a curse. Now, what's interesting is when

you read this chapter, you get the impression that, yeah, he,

we obviously know he had leprosy, but he was interacting

with people as though he didn't, right?

He talks to the king. He's in his own home.

He'll engage with other individuals in this chapter.

So how is it that you have a man who is suffering leprosy but is

able to live as though he didn't?

And I think there's a clue at verse 11.

We didn't read it, but look at it with me very quickly.

This is when he eventually meets with Elijah.

And notice what it says in verse 11 and 2nd Kings 5.

But Naman 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. So you see, for Naman to expect

that Elijah was to come out of his home and do some kind of

mystical thing to cure him of his leprosy, it says here that

he expected his hand to be waved over the place could mean that

there was a place in his body that had leprosy.

So it was in the early phases of its contamination.

Regardless, it was destined to ravage the man and to cause him

to be destitute. And so this is again in the

early stages and he had little hope at this moment.

It's going to change in a second here, but let's pause and

remember this name. It is a clear illustration that

your status, my salary, doesn't exempt you from the effects of

the fall in this world. It doesn't matter how many

riches you have. It doesn't matter if you are

universally respected. That does never shield you from

the consequences of Adam's transgression and name in

situation is a sobering lesson about that.

And what we should take from that is not that we're all going

to be visited by advanced cancer, God forbid, or deal with

the consequences of natural disasters.

But here here's what it does mean for every single one of us.

We all have one thing in common, and that is no matter what our

biographies look like, we all have spiritually leprosy.

Sin and leprosy is a clear parallel to a spiritual

condition that at our core, outside of Christ, we are

rotten, we are outcast, we're hideous.

And only the God who healed Naaman from this physical

leprosy can heal us from something far worse than that

dreaded disease. And that is our corrupt nature,

our dead hearts, our vile attempt at righteousness.

That leprosy that we all suffer with is the root cause for all,

or many at least, of the devastations that we are

experiencing in this world. So naming here is a wonderful

example of that. You can't escape things just

because you are someone. But notice what happens in verse

2. Now the Syrians go on.

One of the raids had carried off a little girl from the land of

Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.

This verse doesn't focus on a particular war, but it does

describe a practice of these smaller raids that Syria made

against the people of Israel. And during one of these

invasions, what did we learn? We learned that they abducted a

precious little girl from the land of Israel and this is

devastating for many reasons. She was tore away from her

family. It's very possible that her

parents were even killed and that's why they took her.

We didn't know all the details, but we can hardly imagine the

horrors of it. A loved 1 taken by those who

hate you and hate your God. Imagining that her mother was

alive. Can you imagine the sleepless

nights? The nightmares?

Imagine a father who was called to protect your baby and outside

of your control, one of your precious babies was taken from

your hand. So it's it's important to feel

this sometimes, and I just read it as a distant story.

Feel it, feel it and look at it and realize that this girl,

though she had suffered in many ways, will play a crucial role.

She will be an important link to the redemption of Naman to

Naaman's encounter with the Lord.

And we're going to realize in verse three that this girl came

from a household of faith. What can we take from verse 2?

Very simple. Providence sometimes is very

painful, that when the Lord leads you with His invisible

hand, when He wants to bring you into a situation or before a

certain person, sometimes suffering is the necessary means

to accomplish it. We're going to touch on that

this Sunday as we look at Jesus on the cross when He's ready to

be buried. But I want you to remember this

because that might sound frightening.

You're telling me that when God guides my life that it's very

likely that there will be chapters in my life that are

dark and unpleasant? That may sound scary, but in

reality it isn't. It should embolden you more than

anything else because what it teaches you is that there is not

one drop of pain in your life that is pointless.

Not one. It's all guided by God's Pennant

of Providence. He's writing that story of yours

and there's not one line. There's not one paragraph that

he dismisses or that he let somebody else author.

And that is certainly true for this young girl.

You know, by simply affirming this can bring great comfort,

but acknowledging the theology of Providence is not enough to

experience the fullness of the glory of it.

Does that make sense for you to make a mental ascent as a

Christian and say, I believe that God leads my life whether I

recognize it in the moment or not.

It's not enough what you're saying.

What do you mean? I'm saying when you look at this

young girl, she demonstrates a faith in this God, a real trust

in this God to such a degree that listen, it shaped her

composure and it strengthened her witness as she was brought

to a place that if it was up to her, she would not have chosen

in a million years. So don't check off a box in your

thinking of I no, no, let it let it change you.

Let it shape you, let it form you, let it filter how you

interpret and engage and experience everything in life.

So you have this girl, right? She's taken from her family,

taken from her home, taken from her friends.

Her future is stripped from her. Her safety is always, I guess,

every single day. She doesn't know.

But here she is in the palace of a Pagan commander, and what

happens? She hears the whispers of the

servants in the hallway that Naaman, the very man who was in

charge of her abduction, is suffering from leprosy.

She's in charge of serving Naaman's wife.

And notice what happens here in verse 3.

She said to her mistress, would that my Lord, or with the

prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.

You can do a whole sermon on that verse alone.

You know, when we often think about faithful Saints in the

Scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament, who had a

righteous influence in secular spaces, what names come to mind?

Exiles who were taken out of their land into these prominent

places. We have Bible studies on these

individuals. Can you name a few of them?

Joseph, yes, anybody else. Daniel, yes, anybody else.

Esther, absolutely. This young girl here who has no

name is given little credit, but I would put her in that category

of faithful exiles who made a remarkable impact in secular

places. And maybe the reason why she

isn't given much recognition is because we don't know her name

and she never is promoted to a powerful position, like Esther,

for example. But I think that's what makes

her story so beautiful, because it goes to show that even though

you never arrived somewhere, you you're never recognized for

something, you can still be an instrument in God's hand to make

an impact on someone else's soul.

This little servant girl, she just flashes on the scene and

then she disappears as quickly as she shows up.

And there are a couple of things that I want to notice and and

mention in your hearing before we move on.

The first thing I want to bring up is as as as important as it

is to see her faith. She was a slave, but she was

free from bitterness. She was a slave, but she was

free from bitterness. Again, you got to just think

about her circumstances. Snatched out of innocence,

snatched out of safety, snatched out of familiarity.

And yet she finds herself in this place.

And what does she do? She exemplifies.

She's not bitter against God, nor is she harboring anything

against her very captor. How do we know that?

Because when she learns of the condition of her Master, she

wants him to be healed, and she communicates a trust in her God.

How many of us would easily in her position would interpret

Naaman's malady as God's retribution for what he did to

you? That's what you get.

You take me from my family. You take me from my home.

You take me. You killed my parents.

Hypothetically. Oh, you have leprosy, huh?

Good. And she could have so easily

kept her mouth shut. And day after they watch this

man rot in his room. She didn't do that.

She wants him to be made well. Can I tell you something?

Please never forget this. The Lord will never be able to

use us maximally if we harbor hate in our hearts.

Please remember that that you should never expect the Lord to

use us to touch others if we justify unforgiveness toward

those who might have even hurt you.

If you have disdain and you have you loathe those who believe

differently or act differently or even have done something to

you that was drastic and life altering.

You limit yourself as a candidate for God to do miracles

in people's lives. And one of the ways in which you

can know that you are free from unforgiveness, that you are

liberated from bitterness, is that when there is an

opportunity that arises for something good to be done to

your enemies, you take it. You take it.

People always want to know, how do I know if I've forgiven?

Here's one of the most powerful litmus test that when an

opportunity comes to your front step for you to do something

righteous for those who have hurt you and you take it, that's

a great sign that your heart is healed.

And if you think that that's just with this case, No, no,

it's with one of the most notable cases with Joseph.

You remember Joseph. OK, let me read to you these

verses from Psalm one, O 5, verse 17.

This is about the Lord and what He did to deliver the nation of

Israel. And at this point in redemptive

history, look what the Lord says through the psalmist writing in

Psalm one, O 5, verse 17. He had sent a man ahead of them,

Joseph, who was sold as a slave. Pause.

This confirms what I just said earlier, that Providence often

times is painful. What is Psalm 105?

Verse 17 says that he sent a man ahead of them.

God sent a man ahead of that small people group, Jacob and

his family, who later become a mighty nation.

God sent someone ahead of them. And how did he send them?

Red carpet? No, Joseph who was sold as a

slave. That's how God sent Joseph to

deliver his people. I'm going to make you into a

slave. Look at verse 18.

His feet were hurt with fetters. His neck was put in a collar of

iron until what he had said came to pass.

The word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him.

The rule of the people set him free.

He made him Lord of his house and ruler of all his

possessions. And verse 22 is what I want to

highlight, to bind his Princess at his pleasure and to teach his

elders wisdom. Do you realize that when Joseph

was promoted to be second in command, he was not just given

charge of the survival plan for Egypt and the world?

Really, he was given authority to do whatever he wanted to do

with his power. Whoever he wanted to arrest,

whoever he wanted to put into prison, he could do it.

The snap of the finger. Now, after that point, was

Joseph treated well by a lot of people?

No. No he wasn't.

I'm sure if he let his heart go in the direction of the flesh,

he would have had a hit list of people to throw into prison.

And when it came to his brothers who made a surprise visit, he

recognized them. They didn't recognize him.

What does he do? He takes care of them, you say,

boy, he does arrest them. He does put them into prison for

a few days. He does do that.

But he didn't do it out of vindictiveness.

He didn't do it out of a malicious place.

He did it to test them and to find a way to get Jacob to send

Benjamin and ultimately bring Jacob into that place.

And So what do you have? You have a man who even, yes,

who did treat him in a certain way.

But if you really think about it, he took care of them.

You always sent them back with food.

He protected them in many ways. And when it came at the right

time, he unveiled himself and he embraced them.

And it was so hard to believe that even when Jacob died, the

brothers were terrified. He's going to change his mind.

He just did this because he wanted to really please his

father. And Joseph broke down when he

realized how their brothers were thinking.

He reassured them. I, I, I'm here to take care of

you. One of the ways in which you

know that you have been free from unforgiveness is that when

the opportunity of good arises toward your enemy, you take it.

And sometimes that good just looks like you praying for

somebody who really did hurt you, but you found out something

devastating happened to them. And God is very creative in

giving us opportunities to do something to show that we've

truly forgiven. We have a second thought to

consider the knowledge that this little girl had.

We don't know her age, right. We just told that she was a

little girl from the land of Israel.

But what she conveyed showed something remarkable about her

understanding and awareness of God.

What did she say? She says here.

Oh, and she says it with this earnestness.

Would that my Lord with were with the prophet who is in

Samaria now if she's a little girl and she knew this meaning

she knew who Elijah the prophet was.

She knew of his whereabouts, then that tells me she was

instructed about these things. That tells me that she was not

like those band of boys in the city of Bethel.

You remember that when Elijah early in his ministry crossed

and and walked through Bethel or by Bethel and this band of boys

came and harassed them and told him go up you bald head.

She wasn't she wasn't like those boys.

She was part of the remnant of Israel who believed in the true

and living God. And her parents instilled in her

this kind of faith. They taught her well.

And when I, when I look at this, I, I thought to myself, what an

encouragement for parents to know that this girl, the way she

was raised in her home, would touch the leader of a nation.

Don't doubt for a moment that the seed that you plant in that

child's heart has the ability not just to remain, but to shine

and not just shine in dark and difficult places.

Listen, what you put at an elementary phase can nurture and

grow to be something that you never even expected as a

guardian, as a mother, as a father, as an older sibling.

You know how I know that this young girl's faith is beyond

what even she was taught? We studied many of Elijah's

miracles, did we not? Was there ever a time where

Elisha was recorded of healing a leper before this?

How did she know that Elisha would heal this man of his

leprosy then? She's never witnessed God using

a man to heal somebody of this disease.

But she believed it. Don't you think that's amazing?

It's because she knew the character of God.

She knew what God could do. She heard what the things Elisha

did in the name of this God and that translated when she saw an

obstacle. When she saw a problem, she

truly trusted that God can do something about it.

Do not underestimate your investment in that younger

person's life and that child of yours.

This little girl shows us a remarkable thing to never

hesitate to disciple them while they're young, to trust that

they can take it even from a young age and touch those who

are much more advanced in life. So she said this right without

my Lord, we're with the prophet who is in Samaria.

He would cure him of his leprosy.

Now what do we find? Verse 4?

So Naman went in and told his Lord thus, and so spoke the girl

from the land of Israel, and the king of Syria said, go.

Now I will send a letter to the king of Israel.

So he went, taking with him 10 talents of silver, 6000 shekels

of gold, and 10 changes of clothing.

Here's the thing, the knowledge that this little girl had,

unfortunately, would not be processed appropriately, nor

would it be found possessed by those who should have owned it

already. And here's example #1 when Naman

heard this, went to the king, got permission, the king was

more than willing. I mean, this is one of his top

guys. He doesn't want to see him

become a leper. If you're saying that there's

somebody in Israel that can make you, well, let's get this going.

And what did he do? He sends Naman and gives him the

green light, but he also provides something, a massive

gift. What kind of gift?

10 talents of silver 6000 check. I mean this, this is coming on a

train and 10 changes of clothing.

What do you think? This is a gesture of respect?

Less likely. More than anything, I believe

that this is name and understand that he's going into enemy

territory and he has to try to find a way to persuade whoever

it is for him to be healed. You're talking about a foreign

foe. Somebody was caused harm and

harassment, and now they're coming to your front step asking

for some help. He's got to.

He's got to get them with something.

So it comes with all these resources, all these rewards,

all these treasures. But here's the thing.

Did the little girl was very knowledgeable mention anything

about payment to the prophet? No.

So where do they get this idea from?

I think it's Pagan, and here's what you and I can take from

this. Do not be surprised if

unbelievers cannot immediately grasp the simplicity and the

accessibility of our faith. Don't be shocked by that.

Don't be surprised by that name. It is a wonderful picture here,

and there are millions of people who believe, as I am speaking to

you tonight, that they have to come up with some elaborate,

complex protocol to have an audience with God, or that they

have to pay something for some kind of favor from God.

Many people think this way, and I can't help but think of the

words of the Apostle Paul when he stood before those Athenians,

those philosophers, those supposed scholars and debaters.

And he said this marvelous thing in Acts 1727.

And speaking about God, he says, yet he is actually not far from

each one of us. He said that in the context of

God placing us in different parts of the world and

determining the boundaries of our dwelling place.

And he says, look, no matter where you're at, God has made

himself so accessible. And he preached that to these

learn men. And it's something that you and

I supposed to embrace for ourselves.

Naaman could understand it. So he comes with all of this,

and he hopes that it will weaken any resistance on Israel's part.

But there's another mistake that he makes.

When the king sends a letter, he sends it to the king of Israel.

And what does he say in the letter Says here in verse 6,

when this letter reaches, you know that I've sent to you

Naman, my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.

Wrong guy, you're saying? No, he's speaking generally.

That's not how the king of Israel interpreted it.

Because when he reads the letter, well, let's just read it

for ourselves. Look at verse 7.

And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes

and said, Am I God to kill and to make a lie 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.

Practical lesson. We are prone of misinterpreting

the words of people sometimes, right?

So may we all have the wisdom and the maturity not to take

things to heart, especially if it's not so clear.

Let's come back to the main lesson.

So you have this man here who is obviously overwhelmed by this

request and he rightly affirms the sovereignty of God.

Look what he says am IA God to kill and to make alive.

So he acknowledges that God has power over life, the final say

over life. He acknowledges it, but he

doesn't apply it to the situation because he panics.

And we have every right to hold this man accountable.

Do you know why? Because the context suggests

that this is King Jeho Ram. Who's king?

Gerald Ram. He was one of the three kings

that wandered into the wilderness as they came as a

coalition in the fight against the Moabites.

They got lost. Their water resources are

running low, so they come to Elijah.

Elijah was the conduit by which God performed a miracle and

saved them. The king of Israel back then is

the same king of Israel here. If there was anybody who should

have known better, it was him. Evidently what he experienced a

couple chapters ago did not make a lasting impression on him.

So when there was another dilemma, what he should have

done was I know just the guy that can help us because he's

helped us before, but instead he doesn't.

He gets overwhelmed, he freaks out and he thinks that he's

about to enter into a war. And what's so amazing here is

that this this king who we are tempted to love, to hook for his

unbelief, when you compare his awareness to the little girls in

verse 2 and verse three, he has no excuse.

And how many comparisons have we made of this through our study

of the Old Testament? That when it comes to the lowly,

the impoverished, the unfortunate, the destitute, they

often carry a knowledge of what matters way more than those who

have a lot in this life. So you have this little girl who

knows God and what he can do, and yet you have this king who

doesn't know God and what he can do.

Before we move on, I want to point out that this text here in

verse 7 is the basis for us understanding the culture of

Jesus's day. That this understanding that

only God can restore the leper. There's no other cure.

There's no other hope for a leper.

That belief was carried into Jesus time where all the Jews

understood that if you suffer from this disease you were at

the mercy of God. No doctor can help you, no

remedy can aid you, nothing. It has to be something from

heaven and if that is true, then understand the implications of

Jesus ministry when he arrives on the scene that when he went

around, not like Elisha, Elisha is going to be used to heal this

leper, but he sends them away for God to heal him as an act of

faith. What does Jesus do?

He lays his hands on the untouchable.

So you got to imagine how the Jews would interpret that.

And that's why I made such a ruckus in that culture because

this Jesus, only God can heal a leper.

And yet this Jesus lays his hand on these contagious Walking Dead

men and women. Am I God to kill him to make

alive of this man sends word to me.

He just rips his clothes. It's like a very disturbing

thing to him. Leaders would do this when there

was something blasphemous or horrendous.

What happens verse 8, But when Elijah, 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. Verse 8 says something about the

character of God. How?

Because you have a man named Naman who's doing his best from

an honest heart to get in touch with this God, the true God.

He fumbles in the beginning before he even makes way to

Israel, right? He thinks that this God is maybe

like all these other gods that needs great sacrifice, great

donations, whatever the case may be.

And then he goes to the king. He has very limited information,

I guess. And then now you have this king

who stumbles himself by not being able to direct name into

the right source. And this could have easily

failed. But what does God do?

God meets Naaman on his journey. God sees Naaman's heart and he's

willing to meet him halfway. How does he do that?

Somehow word gets to Elijah and Elijah sets up an appointment

with Naaman. And I'd like to think that

that's how God is today with those who are searching for the

truth and maybe don't know what to work with, where to begin.

They just have limited understanding.

And as they make those steps, and though they may trip, and

though they may be misguided for a season, God meets that person.

He guides that person until that person realizes the truth for

what it is and then makes a decision if that's something

that they want to give themselves to.

And notice even Elisha's response to the king as a rebuke

to the king, because the king should have known, right?

Look what he says again. Why have you torn your clothes?

It was a gentle rebuke. You didn't need to do that.

And notice what else he says. Bring him to me so that he will

know that there is a prophet in Israel.

In other words, hey, if remember King Jerome was a Pagan, he was

an idolater. He acknowledged Yahweh in some

ways, but he he loved false gods.

So here's what Elijah is essentially saying.

Where are your other prophets? Why are you in such panic?

Can't you have any of your supposed mediators come to your

help? Evidently not.

So bring them to me, because I represent the true God.

So the appointment is set. Look at verse 9.

So Naman came with his horses and Chariots and stood at the

door of Elijah's house. That was no quiet visitation.

That was a scene. That was a procession.

There was noise. People looked out the window.

People opened the front door, people wondering what's this all

about? And so Naman comes to Elijah's

humble home and you would expect that Elijah would open the door

with a smile and with a little excitement.

I'm going to meet one of the top generals of the Syrian Army.

Instead, look what he does in verse 10.

And Elijah sent a messenger to him saying go on washing the

Jordan 7 times and your flesh shall be restored and you shall

be clean. Talk about anticlimactic.

So a servant is sent out. How do you think Neyman took

this? You might think, Elijah, this is

a little bit rude. This is a little unnecessary.

This man already made such a great way to come to you.

He didn't ask for you to come to him.

He he came many miles and who knows the journey, what it

entailed, But here he is. He came to your front step and

you you didn't step out to acknowledge him.

Is Elijah being inconsiderate? No, actually I believe he's

being very kind because Elijah as a man of God perceives

something. He perceives that Naaman needs

correction with something else apart from his leprosy saying

what is that? His pride?

Naaman did humble himself to some extent, but not enough, and

Elijah is going to help him be healed in that area by refusing

to meet this man face to face. The man of God is teaching this

mighty man of valor something about the character and the

nature of God that he's not interested in how much you can

give him, nor is he impressed by your entourage, nor is he moved

by your accolades. Do you know what the Lord is

after Naaman? Humble yourself, come in

humility, come in loneliness, come in brokenness.

Don't come expecting and and demanding and thinking.

That has to be a certain way. And my mind went to that famous

verse in Micah 6-8 where the prophet there says he has told

you, oh man, what is good? What does he tell man?

What does the Lord require of you to do justice, to love,

kindness, And here's the last part.

And to walk humbly with your God.

And one of the ways in which you humble yourself before God and

walk humbly with your God is that when His Word is made known

to you, you align yourself to it, no matter how much it

challenges your preconceived notions or your desires.

That that's what humbleness looks like.

Here's what God's Word asks of me.

And no matter how much it might challenge my flesh, my

understandings, I am willing to comply with it because that's

what God is after, and that's what Neyman is going to have to

learn, which is something he refuses to do at first.

God's word is made known to him, and he resists it with anger.

It actually irks him. By the way, I have to pause here

and say I admire Elijah so much because he is yet another at

this moment model for ministers. So if anybody here aspires to be

in ministry in any capacity, especially as a leader, know

this. What I love about Elijah is that

his message was not changed nor was he swayed by this pomp

political figure. He wasn't influenced by a

potential monetary reward. He gave Naaman what Naaman

needed. So imagine being a minister,

maybe even in this context, and a famous person walks in.

You know what the temptation might be of some people who are

called to preach the truth, to alter it, to try to win that

person in a clever but fleshy way.

Elijah was not such a man. It didn't matter who stood

before him, didn't matter who visited him.

He gave it the way God told him to give it.

Why? Because Elijah loved God and he

loved Naman too much to compromise in any way he wanted

to and he needed to. It was his duty to give this man

exactly what God wanted to give him.

And it should be no different for you and I, no matter who

crossed your paths. They are all equal.

They are all in need of the same gospel.

And so Elijah doesn't budget. I love that.

And nor does he respond and react when Naaman becomes angry

at this initial message, right? It's not like Elisha was at the

window and he said, OK, I want you to go and tell him that he

has to go to the Jordan and dip himself 7 times.

And then when he tells him he sees Naaman's face get red and

he's ready to pack and go back to Syria.

You don't see Elisha kicking the door open saying, oh, I'm sorry,

I didn't mean to do that. Misinterpretation, my messenger,

sometimes he doesn't get it. So let me just he doesn't do any

of that. Like this is what God said.

I'm saying it in boldness, yes, but in love.

Accept it, take it or leave it. And so what's Naaman going to

do? Verse 11 But Naaman was angry.

Why, why, why are you angry? You would think you would be

thrilled because you now have been given a divine prescription

for your leprosy. Do you know why he was angry?

Because at this moment here, what troubled him even more than

his burning leprosy was that his pride was hurt.

Look what it says here. But Naima 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.

I thought I had a certain notion, concept of how this was

going to go down, that this was going to be a process that was

honorable to me, that would be even showy.

It would be public. It would be.

And it didn't happen the way I thought.

And so he became angry. He believes he deserves some

dramatic manifestation, and if not that, then at least to be

sent to a more dignified body of water.

That's what he says in verse 12. Are not Abana and far par the

rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?

Here's Naman who compares the rivers and the waters of

Damascus to that of Israel, and he goes, what we have back home

was way better than this. But you know what came to mind?

A verse from Ezekiel. And you don't have to turn

there, but I want to just mention it to you.

In Ezekiel 20, verse 6, when the Lord speaks about the land of

Ezekiel 20:6

Israel, He says that it is most glorious of all lands.

Many people do not see what God sees as beautiful being

beautiful. Many people do not interpret

what is good, what God deems to be good.

The natural man cannot accept the things of the Spirit, so God

says this is a glorious thing. Naaman says I think there's

something better and he would not accept these instructions.

And Naaman's reactions to Elisha's instructions is no

different than the attitude many have when they learn what God

requires of them to be saved. Isn't that true?

What does the prophet tell him? Go to the Jordan, dip yourself 7

times and you'll be healed. What does the Bible say?

Go to the cross, repent and believe in you shall be saved.

And how do some people react? The cross, a crucified savior.

Put my trust in that. There's got to be something that

demands more of me. There's got to be something more

logical, There's got to be something more attractive,

there's got to be something more respectable than believing this

message as the basis of my righteousness.

And Galatians says that the gospel is offensive in that

regard. Paul says in Galatians 5, If I

preach circumcision, then why am I being persecuted?

And the offense of the gospel is gone, The stumbling block, the

gospel is gone. What does he mean by that?

That when you preach the sufficiency of the cross, people

will see it as foolish, especially those who who want to

attain their own righteousness, especially those who are

religious, They, they think it can't be that, that can't be

what God is asking of me. That's the offense of it, among

other things. And I'm reminded of the Paul's

words when he was describing the unfortunate belief of his Jewish

brethren when they denied Christ.

Listen to these words in Romans 10/3.

It's so powerful, he says, for being ignorant of the

righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own.

They did not submit to God's righteousness.

That's what it boils down to. Why did the majority of Jews not

receive God's righteousness that that provided righteousness?

Because they could not accept the notion that God provided an

alien righteousness, meaning outside of themselves being

imputed unto them as the basis of their salvation.

They couldn't. That's what Paul saying.

They could not surrender to that.

They could not give themselves over to that.

They could not find it within themselves to rest in belief and

belief alone. That's what he says in verse 4.

And that's modeled here by Naman.

God's word goes out and he goes dip myself in the Jordan 7

times. Seriously, seriously.

And So what happens? He's filled with wrath, but his

servants in verse 13 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? Another translation says if he

spoke to you a great word, would you not have done it?

If he told you to jump through all these hoops or to pay a

great price, would you not be more compelled to that?

But he, he just simply told you to do this.

And what's so amazing is this story began with a little

servant girl that that really put all of this into motion.

And the story is now coming to a near end.

And who who's coming to the rescue once more his servants.

And so this man was ready to go back to Syria, but there is

people in his life who love them enough to correct them when he

needed correction. And they did it respectfully.

Notice they said, my father, my father, please do something.

Please pray fully, ask the Lord and be vigilant for people in

your life who love you enough to redirect you when you're headed

in the wrong direction, and seek to be the person who loves

people enough who will do the same for others.

These servants, again nameless, but played a huge pivotal role

in this man's story and he takes it to heart.

Notice what happens in verse 14 in our last verse of the study.

So he went down and dipped himself 7 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.

I wonder what that looked like. I wonder if naming was just

quiet the whole time. I wonder if part of his

hesitation was that he had to remove his clothing and expose

his skin condition and he gets into that water, he dissed

himself once, does it again one more time until he does it.

The amount of times Elijah told him to do it.

Why 7? I mean, the simple answer is

that 7 is a consistent number of the Bible that depicts divine

perfection, but I think it's deeper than that.

And again, it's only when you're familiar with a book called

Leviticus where there is an entire chapter that describes

the cleaning rituals and the process of renewing somebody who

suffered from leprosy but was deemed clean.

So let's turn there as our final text in Leviticus 14 and notice

something that correlates with what we see here in Second Kings

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. You're going to notice that

there are many rituals that deal with the leper that are tied to

the #7 Leviticus 14, beginning in verse 6.

Let's just look at a few examples in this chapter.

Leviticus 14. Six.

He shall take the live bird with the cedar wood and the scarlet

yarn and the hyssop, and dip them, and the live bird in the

blood of the bird that was killed over fresh water.

And he shall sprinkle it 7 times on him who is to be cleansed of

the leprous disease. And he shall pronounce him

clean, and shall let the living bird go go into the open field.

Verse 8 of Leviticus 14. And he who is to be cleansed

shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and

bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean.

And after that he may come into a camp.

Into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days.

Leviticus 1415 The priest shall take some of the log of oil and

poured into the palm of his own left hand, and dip his right

finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and sprinkle some oil

with his finger 7 times before the Lord.

So we see it over and over again. 7 * 7 * 7 What's the

point? What's the connection?

Elisha's instructions for naman were based and rooted in God's

Word. And so he obeyed God's Word.

And what's the result? And his flesh was restored.

He could have just had his flesh was restored, but it says his

flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child.

Have you ever seen the skin of a of a baby?

Elisha walked out of that water brand new.

Similarly, when you're cleanse of spiritual leprosy, as you

respond to God's Word and you humble yourself to receive

something outside of yourself to renew you, what happens?

You're a new creation. You're what John 3 says, born

again. You're tangibly transformed.

And so we even see a gospel picture here.

And Speaking of gospel, let's come back to how we started.

Jesus uses out of all the miracles, this one to

communicate something so vital for the Jews of his own day.

At the beginnings of his ministry, he taught in the

synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth.

The people heard him gladly, but very quickly became sour and

began to criticize his origins and doubt the claims that he

made himself about himself being Messiah.

And so Jesus gives these different illustrations and

references, and one of them being what you heard in Luke.

What did he say early on? He told them, he told this

people that there are many lepers in the days of Elijah in

Israel, but there was only one who was healed.

And the one who was healed was name in the Syrian.

That was in Luke 427 and 28. But why did they respond?

Why did they elicit such wrath? Here's how you understand it.

There are many people who are suffering, but God chose the

grant mercy to an outsider. And it wasn't just that.

It was the fact that this outsider heard God's word and

received it that led to his healing.

And here now you have Jesus confronted by the unbelief of

his own people, and they refused to humble themselves by

receiving His word and applying it.

And So what is the Lord alluding to?

What is he trying to communicate by mentioning Naaman?

If you will continue and persist in your unbelief towards what I

have to say, Like God under the old covenant, Messiah will

consider the Gentile and He will be willing to save and rescue

and redeem them. He's the same God.

And that caused them to explode. Why?

Because they put so much confidence in their

nationalistic identity, in their heritage of the sentence of

Abraham. And here's the Lord Jesus saying

you missed the story that even when Israel had a monarchy, God

was still willing to reach out to the Gentile due to your

unbelief. And I'm here to tell you that

I'm willing to do the same. And we we read there in verse 20

that what they became angry like who became angry when they heard

God's word initially Naaman. But what's the difference?

Naaman's unbelief was short lived.

The Jews of Jesus day carry their anger until they killed

him. The gospel message in Naaman's

story is this. He doesn't consider your

ethnicity. He doesn't consider what you

possess. He doesn't consider who you are

or who knows your or your achievements.

The one thing he looks for is humility.

The one thing that attracts and magnetize God to sinners is when

they realize that they need His saving.

I wonder if anybody at this Bible study tonight has not yet

made that decision. I pray today that you'd be moved

by this story and apply it to your own life.

God is waiting to restore you and heal you, and you come empty

handed. And He'll do it.

He's faithful to do it. Let's pray.

Thank you for the story, Lord. Thank you for your word.

Thank you that in one story you can teach us something about the

cross. You can teach us about your

guidance. You can teach us about practical

wisdom. Your word is infinite and is

provision. We pray, Lord, that these things

would make an impact on our lives.

We would not be like King Joram where we are moved by something

at one point and then that evaporates at another crucial

time in our lives. May these things be deeply,

deeply embedded so that they will show up when we need it the

most. Lord, as we sing and worship to

you, we pray that you'd be glorified in our response to

your glorious truth. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen. Praise team, can you help us end

this night with a song on our lips and joy in our hearts?