Go with me to 2 Kings, Chapter 5. We’re are going to look at the story of Naaman and pick out some hidden treasures. What this means is, we are going to dig a little deeper to discover more than the fact that it is indeed a story of obedience (on the surface we can see that), but we’re going to see what kind of things can prevent us from obedience; or what kind of things precede our obedience.
So, let’s get started …
2 Kings, Chapter 5 opens up by introducing us to Naaman. He is the commander of the Syrian army. And the king of Aram held great admiration for Naaman. Through Naaman, the mighty warrior that he was, the Lord had given Aram great victories. So Naaman was a pretty important guy. I’m pretty sure he knew he was, too. You’ll see what I mean in a minute.
Let’s read part of 2 Kings 5:1 “…But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.”
Leprosy was a skin disease that, in those days, brought much shame and was believed to be contagious. Therefore, people often shunned or stayed away from people with leprosy.
Interestingly, Naaman is this great and mighty warrior, but with a skin disease that likely kept his humility in check. Maybe.
Enter into the story a young girl from Israel, who became Naaman’s wife’s maid. This young girl knew of the Prophet Elisha. So she tells Naaman’s wife that Naaman should go to Samaria to see him, so that Elisha can heal him of his leprosy.
Naaman, takes her word seriously and goes to the king about this. And the king encourages Naaman to go visit Elisha. The king tells Naaman he will help out by sending a letter to the king of Israel introducing Naaman, and stating the nature of his visit, so as not arouse any suspicion of war.
The Bible tells us, Naaman sets off carrying gifts of 750 pounds of silver (about $20,000 in those days), 150 pounds of gold (about $60,000 -a LOT in those days). And 10 sets of clothing. I would have, personally, loved getting the clothes. 🙂
The king then does his part by sending a letter that read:
“With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.” (v.6)
Here’s the king of Israel’s response to king of Aram’s letter:
2 Kings 5:7
“When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said: “Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy? I can see that he’s just trying to pick a fight with me!”
Well THAT didn’t go well! …So, we’re off to a bad start, basically.
Then the Bible tells us, that the Prophet Elisha gets word of the king’s distress and tells the king, “Send Naaman to me, and he will see that there is a true prophet here in Israel.”
Subtly, we can detect the uncertainty that the king of Israel, and the prophet Elisha have as to what the true intentions of the Commander of the Syrian army and the king of Aram are. It’s something like, “What do these guys want from us? Is it really just a need for healing? Or is this a trick? Espionage?
This is where the story gets good!
Naaman arrives at Elisha’s house with his horses, chariots, and officers, and waits to be greeted by Elisha. Only Elisha doesn’t come to the door! Instead, Elisha sends out a messenger to tell Naaman, “Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”
Well this did NOT go over well with Naaman, the Commander of the Syrian army!
Let’s pick up the story:
2 Kings 5:11
“But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman went away in a rage!”
Naaman gets offended and mad at what he feels is a senseless command.
He was offended that he traveled all this way, and the prophet Elisha didn’t even have the sense of hospitality to come out and personally greet him. He is a commander and mighty warrior after all….
We need to stop here and talk about offenses. There are plenty of people in the world, and in our lives, that will offend us. It’s a part of life. It’s a part of relationships. Relationships get messy.
We may start off on the wrong foot with some. Some first impressions may leave a bad taste in our mouth. But if we allow offenses to stay inside of our heart/spirit, it will turn into bitterness and resentment. And regardless of what the other person did, or did not do, we are the ones that will suffer with anger, bitterness, and in Naaman’s case….rage. He stormed off in a rage.
Here’s my question for you? Be honest with yourself. How do you handle offenses? What do you do when you are offended?
Here’s an even better question: How long do offenses stay with you?
Ephesians 4:31 “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.”
This tells us, that we are to get rid of it; something that requires ACTION on OUR part. We may need God’s help to do it, but we need to GET RID of it. We need to make an effort to forgive, and not just hope it will go away on its own in time.
We decide, we choose, to clean our inner house. Somebody else can’t make that decision for us. It has to come from us. And it’s something we do FOR us!
Some people actually enjoy holding on to offenses and grudges. They refuse to obey God’s word and let it go. Healing of the soul; healing of relationships cannot come, if we refuse to forgive and move on.
The story of Naaman shows us a few key things that almost prevented his healing.
One: He became offended.
Two: He thought he knew best.
Look with me at verse 11…
“But Naaman became angry and stalked away saying, “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!”
Sometimes, we let our thoughts of how we think things should be, or how we think people should act, make us angry and offend us.
We must always remember: People don’t all think alike. Are you able to make allowances for this fact?
Naaman goes on to say, “Wouldn’t it make more sense [self reasoning] for me to wash myself in the rivers of Damascus, Abana, and Pharpar? They are better than any of the rivers of Israel!”
Again, he thinks he knows what’s better than the Man of God, the Prophet Elisha!
Pretty arrogant for a man who has traveled all this way for healing of a shameful disease wouldn’t you say?
Here’s the problem: Offenses can make us arrogant. We put up these walls. And God wants to break them down, so He can heal/free us! But even pride and arrogance can get in the way of our healing!
The other thing that almost got in the way of Naaman’s healing was:
- He became offended.
- He thought he knew best.
- He had faulty expectations.
Look at verse 11 again…
“I thought he [prophet Elisha] would come out to meet me! I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me!”
Sometimes, our expectations are off base. And we end up offended, confused, frustrated, and angry. We have these pre-conceived ideas of what we expect/expected.
We expected people to come through for us and they didn’t.
We expected to get that promotion or raise and that didn’t happen.
We didn’t expect a person to react the way they did, or treat us the way they did. But they did.
We expected a certain outcome that we prayed for and it didn’t happen the way we prayed it would.
What Naaman did not know (and what you and I sometimes don’t know), is that God was using ALL of it, to bring him to a place of full healing! The sequence of events didn’t go down at all like Naaman thought, or expected, or even hoped they would. And he stormed off…in anger.
What about you? Have you ever been in a place like that? Maybe you are in a place like this now. I know I certainly have been. My attitude prevented me from experiencing inner peace, and healing.
The point I want to make here is this: Naaman needed to humble himself to be healed!
1 Peter 5:5 “God opposes the proud, but favors the humble.”
The officers that were with him tried to reason with him, and in essence, they said, “Look, Naaman, if the prophet had asked you to do something much harder, you would’ve done it. So why not just drop the offense (this attitude), and go down to the river and just do as he says?” [paraphrase mine]
So, Naaman does. He goes to the Jordan River and dips himself in it 7 times just as Elisha had instructed. And his skin becomes healthy. And not just healed and healthy, but the Bible tells us it becomes brand new! It says his skin was as healthy as the skin of a young child! Imagine that! A grown man! A fighting warrior who spent countless hours on the battlefield! …Nothing short of miraculous!
Naaman is healed of leprosy! And just think of the reception from his wife and family when he gets home and they see the miracle for themselves!
Here are the things that Naaman had to surrender in order to receive his full healing:
- He had to surrender his offense
- He had to surrender his thoughts
- He had to surrender his expectations
- He had to surrender his reasoning
- He had to surrender his pride
- He had to surrender his will in exchange for God’s way
What happens when Naaman surrenders these things? A miracle.
- He is fully healed
- He learns humility
- He comes to know and believe in God
2 Kings 5:15
“Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
- He longs to give out of a heart of gratitude
- His obedience totally pays off
- He experiences the beauty of worship
(verse 17) “From now on I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the Lord.”
In closing: Go with me, if you will, to Luke 4
Remember Naaman thought the Jordan River wasn’t as good as the other rivers?
Luke 4:1 “Then Jesus (we are not in B.C. anymore, we are in A.D. now), full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River…..”
And in Matthew 3:6 & Mark 1:5 We see that John the Baptist, baptized people from Jerusalem and all over Judea where? In the Jordan River! John the Baptist even baptized Jesus in the Jordan River!
And, which river did the Israelites cross to enter into the Promised Land? The Jordan River.
The Jordan River was a special place. It was a place where God met His children. God showed up and did the miraculous all along the special path of that river. And He will do the same for us, all along the paths of our lives.
God’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. Thankfully.
But look down at verse 27…I LOVE this!
Luke 4:27 “And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”
Is that amazing or what?! Naaman’s story is so much more than just about obedience.
It’s about combatting, fighting, and surrendering those things that can get in the way of our obedience. It is about surrendering our thoughts, feelings, reasoning, and faulty expectations that keep us from obedience; so that we come to the place where we can experience the miraculous.
It is about humbling ourselves, just as Naaman did, in order to receive our healing by choosing to surrender our will, in exchange for God’s amazing way!
Love & Blessings,
Cindy Magsig
Surrendered Heart Worship 