2 Kings 5
"And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian." Luke 4:27
Naaman was the commander of the army for the king of Aram. He was highly regarded because he was a valiant soldier, and God had given Aram victory through him. But Naaman had a terrible problem he could not solve. He was a leper.
Naaman's wife had a young Israelite servant girl who had been captured in a raid. One day this girl told her mistress that, if only Naaman could see the prophet in Samaria, this man would cure his leprosy. This information was passed along to Naaman, who told the king of Aram what the servant girl had said. The king told Naaman, "By all means, go!" The king of Aram sent a letter to the king of Israel saying, "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman so that you may cure him of his leprosy."
You can imagine the reaction of the king of Israel when Naaman arrived and presented that letter to him. He tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy?" From 2 Kings 5:7 When the prophet Elisha heard what happened, he sent a message to the king to tell Naaman to come to him so he would know there was a prophet in Israel.
Naaman and his caravan stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger out to tell Naaman to go wash himself in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed. Naaman became very angry because Elisha didn't come out himself. After all, Naaman was an important man in Syria, and he expected the VIP treatment. His pride was injured. He asked why he couldn't just as well wash in a river in Syria instead and stormed off in a rage.
Fortunately, Naaman's servants calmed him down and gave him some good advice. And, fortunately for Naaman, he was open to wise counsel. We do well to listen to the advice of those people God puts in our lives to help us. If pride causes us to turn a deaf ear and we ignore the suggestions of others, we may do so at our own detriment. We need to weigh the advice we receive, because some of it may not be wise or godly, but it is to our benefit to be open minded and listen to godly counselors before we make decisions.
Naaman swallowed his pride and dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times as Elisha had instructed,and his leprosy was gone!
There are some analogies in the story of Naaman and our salvation. Naaman was a helpless leper, and we are born helpless sinners. Naaman could not remove his leprosy, and we cannot remove our sin.
Naaman wanted to be healed his way. He expected Elisha to come out, call on God, wave his hand, and cure him that way. Then Naaman didn't see why he couldn't just as well wash in a Syrian river. Men try their methods for reaching God, but there is only one way to do that, and it is through faith in Jesus Christ. If we want to become God's children, we must come to God in God's way.
Naaman brought seven hundred fifty pounds of silver, one hundred fifty pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothes to give to the prophet for healing him. But Elisha refused to accept any of these gifts. Naaman's healing was God's free gift to Naaman. Likewise, our salvation cannot be bought or earned. It is God's free gift to those who put their faith in His Son, Jesus.
One of the main reasons God healed Naaman was to show that He was God, not only of the Israelites, but of all people. Jesus came for the the whole world. Anyone who so chooses has the opportunity to become a child of God.
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