SERIES: Enlightening Epitaphs of the Kings and Prophets
Elisha, Naaman: “Wash and Be Cleansed!”
Introduction: We are currently engaged in a series of messages on the kings and prophets of Israel. The last few Sundays we have been studying the life of the prophet Elijah, an amazing miracle-worker but also a person just like us. We understand that better after last Sunday, don’t we?
Because today is Family Worship, we are skipping ahead a few chapters in our series to the life of Elisha, who was Elijah’s successor, and to a story long loved by children–the account of Naaman and his healing from leprosy. This is not just a children’s story, however; it is the spiritual story of Everyman. In fact, there are few passages in the Old Testament that seem better designed to paint a picture of the message of salvation from sin than this one. The first thing I want us to do is to read the fifth chapter of 2 Kings, the first 19 verses:
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.
Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said.” By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, 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? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”
When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, `Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant.”
The prophet answered, “As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.
“If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also–when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.”
“Go in peace,” Elisha said.
I want us to examine this story by means of a series of principles that not only explain the story but at the same time explain the plan of salvation. We begin with some bad news.
The bad news is that everyone, no matter how great, intelligent, beautiful, or successful has a fatal disease–sin.
Naaman was a great man who lived about 850 years before Christ. He was the commander of the army of the king of Aram or Syria, a man of the stature of General Colin Powell. His master the king thought very highly of Naaman because he had won some very important victories. Those victories ultimately came from God, but Naaman was a valiant soldier in his own right. He had the world by the tail–power, influence, wealth, honor. “But,” the Scripture passage says, “he had leprosy.” That’s not like saying, “he had diabetes,” or “he had high blood pressure.” Leprosy was in that day what AIDS in Africa is today–a fearful disease with no known cure, a disease that resulted in ostracism from society and an inevitable, agonizing death.
Leprosy also seems to serve as a symbol of sin in the Scriptures. It strikes all kinds of people; it knows no social, economic, educational, or religious boundaries. It is a subtle disease, at first, then progressive, then invasive, and finally fatal. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death.” Naaman’s condition was terminal, and so is ours!
Our story goes on to tell us that bands from Aram or Syria used to carry out raids against Israelite villages, and in one of those raids a young girl from Israel was captured, taken hostage, and eventually became a slave to Naaman’s wife. One can only imagine the trials this little girl faced in her new home. Even if Naaman and his wife treated her well, which is by no means certain, she still must have been heartbroken from losing her parents, her brothers and sisters, and her friends. She was a slave, and so had to work seven days a week–missing out on all the fun things that children were meant to enjoy. She didn’t understand the language her new family spoke, and the culture into which she was placed was totally strange, including clothes, food, habits, and of course, religion. Her life must have been quite sad, but she apparently made the best of it.
One can also imagine the shock that must have come into this home with the news that Naaman had contracted leprosy. His wife was no doubt grief-stricken, wondering what would happen to her and to her children when (not if) Naaman was sent into exile to keep him from spreading the disease. That’s what they did with lepers–sent them to leper colonies, which were little more than concentrations camps.
The little servant girl decided that she might be able to help. So she told her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” She apparently came from a godly home in Israel–perhaps one of the homes which God spoke of when He told Elijah that he wasn’t all alone, that there were 7,000 people in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. She had learned even as a young child that there was a God in Israel and that His prophet Elisha could perform miracles by God’s power. In her innocence and child-like faith she told this pagan family what she knew to be true. She lived out what the Apostle Peter wrote centuries later: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15) In fact, she didn’t even wait to be asked.
The little slave girl’s witness introduces us to some good news:
The good news is that God is able to heal sickness–even the fatal disease of sin–but sadly, people often go to the wrong source to find help.
By the time Naaman heard the little Jewish girl’s suggestion, he was desperate. No one else had offered him any hope, so why not try her idea. He went to his king and told him, and the king said, “By all means, go! In fact, I’ll send a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.” He not only sent a letter of introduction; he also sent a caravan of gold, silver, and fine clothing–goods well in excess of a million dollars in today’s currency.
There was only one problem–Naaman went to the wrong source. The little girl had spoken of a prophet in Samaria, but Naaman went to the king in Samaria. Perhaps he thought that it’s always best to start at the top. In that day prophets and priests generally served at the will of the king of the country in which they lived, so perhaps it was only natural for Naaman to think that if the king of Israel was agreeable to his request, this prophet, whoever he was, would have to heal Naaman. But what Naaman failed to take into consideration is that a true prophet of God was beholden only to God. A prophet like Elisha didn’t take orders from the King of Aram or even the King of Israel; he took orders only from the King of Kings.
So Naaman unwittingly went to the wrong source for healing. But his mistake is not a unique one; in fact, it is one made frequently in our own time. Many people believe in the existence of God, they have some faint notion of His power, they pray when they face major trials, and they may even seek healing for their body or soul.
But so often they go to the wrong source when seeking healing or salvation. They may search out various religions, or go to some self-appointed faith healer or psychic, or make a pilgrimage to some holy place. Many go to the self-help section at Borders, or try a new diet, or even go to Mexico for drugs not available here. They will go anywhere but to God Himself.
The little girl told Naaman where he could find help, but he thought he had a better idea. In the process Naaman nearly frightened the poor king of Israel to death. When the king received the letter requesting healing, 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? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” Now perhaps you are wondering, if this little girl who is living as a slave in a foreign country knew about Elisha the prophet in Samaria, why doesn’t the King of Israel know about him, because Samaria is the capital of Israel. Elisha can’t live more than five miles from the King’s palace.
Well, the answer is that Israel as a nation had long since abandoned God, and most of His prophets had been eliminated; the few that remained had been seriously marginalized. The King of Israel didn’t even give a thought to Elisha. But somehow Elisha hears about the request from Naaman, and he hears about how upset the King of Israel is, so he sends this message to the King: “Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
I see a third great principle at this point in our story:
God doesn’t require us to do “some great thing” for healing, but He does ask us to humble ourselves and be obedient to His generous offer to “wash and be cleansed!”
Just think about the sight of this powerful general driving his horses and chariots up to the door of Elisha’s little bungalow on the outskirts of Samaria. The neighborhood children must have cowered in fear, and the older people must have wondered, “What in the world are this foreign dignitary and his bodyguards and his soldiers doing here?” Amazingly, Elisha doesn’t even come out to meet him. I suppose his reason is that God is wanting to humble Naaman. This general is used to dealing with people who respect his power and authority, but now he is about to deal with God almighty through His servant Elisha. He is no longer giving orders but receiving them. He is no longer calling the shots but listening to them.
Elisha simply sends a messenger out to Naaman to say, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be cleansed.” Naaman couldn’t believe his ears. He has a preconceived notion of how healing should take place for a man as great as he is, and washing in the Jordan is not on his radar. Here’s how he puts it: “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.” Maybe he has seen some faith healers on Damascus TV and was impressed with the flair with which they performed their healings. Besides, if a river is to be used, they have better rivers back in Damascus than the muddy Jordan. “Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?”, he asks. And he turns and goes off in a rage.
But his servants demonstrate more sense than Naaman. They ask him, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you simply, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” It’s human nature to be willing to make great sacrifice and expend great effort in the pursuit of something they highly desire. If Elisha had asked Naaman to double the amount of money he had brought, he would probably not have hesitated. That’s the way we are.
How else do you explain the arduous pilgrimage that millions of Muslims will take every year to Mecca? How else do you explain the fact that Mormon young people by the hundreds of thousands will take two years out of their lives to go on a mission–and entirely at their own expense? (Their churches don’t fund their mission trips, as ours does.) How else do you explain the thousands who walk on their knees up the stairs of a cathedral, such as I have seen in Mexico City and other places? And how else do you explain the hundreds of young men, and now women as well, who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice by conducting a suicide bombing in order to secure their place in paradise (and vent their hatred at the same time).
But when it comes to the healing of sin God never asks us to do “some great thing.” He simply says, “Wash and be cleansed!” He is the One who has already done the only great thing that needs to be done, and all He asks is for us to humble ourselves and be obedient to the Gospel. I like the way Raymond Dillard expresses the thought here:
“Washing in the Jordan and be cured of leprosy?” What a preposterous idea! I can’t think of anything more ridiculous!
Well, maybe one thing is more ridiculous–the idea that putting your trust and faith in a man executed on a cross almost two thousand years ago can give you a renewed life now, forgiveness from sin, resurrection from the dead, and eternal life. Now that beats all!1
And it does beat all! Sadly, many people are like Naaman in that they see God’s plan as too simple and too humbling, and so they make up their own Gospel of works. And sadly, in the process they lose their only opportunity to be healed.
Well, fortunately Naaman swallows his pride, and, at the urging of his own servants, does as Elisha ordered him–he dips himself in the Jordan seven times. And verse 14 tells us the result: “and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy,” actually better than it had been before. Friends, when God cleanses us, we’re clean. When He forgives us, He does so thoroughly. The guilt is gone. Here’s how 1 John 1:9 puts it: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Another principle is evident in verses 15-18:
God’s healing cannot be purchased or sold. It is all of His grace and the price has already been paid.
After Naaman is healed, he goes back to the Elisha, professes faith in the God of Israel alone, and offers Elisha the rich gifts he has brought, but the prophet refuses. Why? There are plenty of places in the Bible where we are told it is OK for a man of God to be paid appropriately for his services. The Apostle Paul goes to great lengths to encourage the early church not to muzzle the ox while he is feeding, a rather uncomplimentary reference to preachers and teachers. Besides, Elisha ran a school for the prophets, and Naaman’s gift could go a long way toward providing scholarships for young prophets.
Why, then, does Elisha respond the way he does? I think the difference here is that there is a strong risk that Naaman might conclude that God’s grace is for sale. And it is not! Naaman was used to paying heavily for the favors of his pagan gods. But the God of Israel does not accept bribes. You cannot purchase His favor–it is always and only a free gift. That is especially true when it comes to the gift of salvation. The price has already been paid–by Jesus, on the Cross. Any attempt on our part to purchase His grace (or sell it, for that matter) is doomed to failure.
Naaman realizes Elisha will not accept payment, but then he asks Elisha for something. He asks for as much earth as a pair of mules can carry. What’s going on here? Probably Naaman is still operating on the pagan notion that each country has its own gods. If he was going to be able to worship the god of Israel, then he needed to take some of Israel home with him.
Then he thinks of another request. He knows that when he goes back home, he’s probably going to have to accompany the king of Syria into the pagan temple of Rimmon. And while Naaman would not bow down to that idol again on his own, he suspects he will be forced to do so when the king is leaning on his arm and bowing down himself. He asks, “May the LORD forgive your servant for this.” Well, it is obvious he doesn’t have the kind of faith of a Shadrach, Meschach, or Obednego–who refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue even at the cost of being thrown into a fiery furnace. But Elisha accepts Naaman at his level of understanding and says to him, “Go in peace.”
Now there’s an interesting postscript to the story of Naaman, and I want us to read it in verses 19b-27:
After Naaman had traveled some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.
“Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, `Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’ “
“By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left. Then he went in and stood before his master Elisha.
“Where have you been, Gehazi?” Elisha asked.
“Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.
But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and he was leprous, as white as snow.
There is much in these verses, but I want to simply focus on one principle:
Sin is not eradicated in this life, and its consequences can be severe; therefore, obedience continues to be essential to spiritual success.
I don’t know whether Gehazi was a believer or not. He certainly knew a great deal about God, and he had tremendous exposure to God’s power. Nevertheless, in this short account he demonstrates incredible greed, dishonesty, deceit, and, most of all, stupidity. After all his long association with Elisha, he is dumb enough to think he can pull something over on this greatest miracle-worker in the OT. The prophet asks him a profound question: “Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, etc.” No, it is not the time. There is a right time, but this is not it. As we have already seen, there is too much risk that God’s grace will be misunderstood. And in addition, Gehazi’s motive is clearly greed, not need.
And God disciplines Gehazi very severely. Elisha tells him, “Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Wow, that sounds pretty severe for what Gehazi did. But his sin is more serious than it may at first appear, because he made use of his pious association with the godly Elisha to obtain worldly profit. I agree with the observation of Clarence Macartney: “When religion is used as a cloak for ambition, or lust, or avarice, or lying, it is worse than infidelity (atheism) itself.”2
Friends, we simply must take obedience to the commandments of God seriously if we are going to find spiritual success and be used effectively by God.
Conclusion: I would like to conclude this morning by recalling to our minds who Naaman was–a foreigner and an enemy of Israel. He had no claim on God’s grace, but God extended it to him anyway. God had long before appointed Israel to be a light to the nations. He had told Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his descendants (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). Here in Elisha’s encounter with Naaman, we see the grace of God extended to the Gentiles, even to Israel’s enemy. I think God is saying to us through this story that His salvation is for the whole world. We must not keep it to ourselves. It is our job to spread the flame–just like the little Jewish slave girl did.
DATE: June 9, 2002
Tags:
Sin
Humility
Grace
Obedience
1. Raymond Dillard, Faith in the Face of Apostasy, 118.
2. Clarence E. Macartney, Bible Epitaphs, 82.