1 & 2 Kings

2 Kings Chapter 5

Naaman Healed of Leprosy

• 2Kings 5:1  Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. 
• 2  And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 

Two accounts of his victories I've read. One is that the Lord had given him victory over the Assyrian king from which they gained independence and the other is that they had gotten victory over Israel during the reign of Ahab and even took from captives. Some said he was the one who killed Ahab. There is no mention of this in the book of Josephus but exists other places like the Septuagint. It is supposed that the king in this time period was Ben-hadad and Jehoram was the king over Israel when this occured.

• 2Kings 5:3  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. 
• 4  And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 

This sweet little maid seems to be adjusted to her captivity and even wanted to help Naaman. She seems to be a believer in the prophets of Israel and how God used Elisha to do miracles. This is one way God used a little maid to reach the Syrians with the word of God and His power. She would have been old enough to understand this.

• 2Kings 5:5  And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. 
• 6  And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. 

The Syrians worshipped idols and false gods but when someone gets desparate and needs a real prophet, they sometimes will turn to a real prophet of God. At the word of the maid, they sought our God's prophet by first writing the king of Israel.

• 2 Kings 5:7  And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. 

He was appalled and suspicious of this letter. He knew he had no power to heal anyone of leprosy so he assumed this was some kind of conspiracy to overthrow him from being king and take over Israel.

• 2Kings 5:8  And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 

Elisha happened to be in Samaria and was ready at once to show that were was a prophet in Israel and that God was still with them. He was available to serve the Lord.

• 2Kings 5:9  So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 
• 10  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 

God uses so many different methods to work His will. This one seems to be strange but is one that teaches Naaman humility and obedience. It wasn't an instant healing. He had to show his faith by being obedient to the words of Elisha.

I see that a lot in the older established religions, even the ones that are Christians. If someone comes along in the name of Jesus and does things different than their religious traditions, they get their back up very fast and assume the newer believers are false brethren or even false teachers. I realize that there are those that may be false but I heard a phrase once that I never forgot. "Have discernment but with the heart of God." Look at the motive, the result, the fruit and also compare it with the actual word of God in context and not just in one's traditional understanding of the word sometimes taken out of context. Pray always for the heart of God and His will not our will.

• 2Kings 5:11  But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 

This was the way Naaman expected healing to come. Elisha does not do what is expected of him many times. God seems to direct him to handle this in a different way than what Naaman expected. It's not the normal way to treat a servant of a king that was an important man. Notice he was so important that the king of Syria writes a letter to the king of Israel to get healing for Naaman.

• 2Kings 5:12  Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. 

The Jordan river must not have been a clean river but his lack of humility and respect for the word of God could have caused him not to receive healing. He thought he deserved to be treated as a great person of importance that deserved to be received with more respect. Instead he was the one that should have shone humility and respect toward Elisha but always toward God who is the real healer. The Jordan river has no healing power in itself. God still does all healing.

• 2Kings 5:13  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 
• 14  Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 

If it wasn't for his brave servants who were respectful and humble, this man would have kept his leprosy. They themselves would have done this gladly to get well. Thankfully Naaman listend to his servants and obeyed the words of Elisha. This is a great story.

Gehazi's Greed and Punishment

• 2Kings 5:15  And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. 

Naaman was healed and wanted to thank God and Naaman the prophet of God by blessing him with a gift. He was one who appreciated his healing.

• 2 Kings 5:16  But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. 

Naaman refused to take anything for what God had done. He was just obeying God. God did the healing. We need to really "get" that. We should always respect those that serve God and are faithful to Him and respect those that preach the word sometimes risking their own lives for the gospel's sake. It is not wrong to help support their ministries either but in Naaman's case he might have been esteeming Elisha too highly and assmuming Elisha was the healer. I never liked the term faith healer because all who believe in Jesus should be vessels of the Holy Spirit that God can use  to pray and see the sick healed. This is available to those that believe. Faith to heal takes sometimes prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting is not to earn the answer to prayer but to build our faith and learn to discern the will of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. To God be the glory. We are the vessels.

• 2Kings 5:17  And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. 
• 18  In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing. 
• 19  And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. 

Naaman decided to worship only the God of Israel and no longer worship idols or false gods. Because of being healed he comes to know the real God. This is what Israel and all of us are to do. Believe and trust in the true God not in vain idols. We are to be light bearers to the truth of the gospel. God sent His own Son, Jesus to reconcile all who receive Him back to God that the sin of Adam separated us from.

• 2Kings 5:20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.

I'm assuming Gehazi watched what happened and how Elisha refused to take anything from Namaan, so he was either talking with a fellow servant or thinking within himself. What we might call talking to himself and decided to conspire to take the reward Namaan offered Elisha.

• 2Kings 5:21  So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? 
• 22  And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. 

Gehazi was clever enough to not say that Elisha had changed his mind and decided to take the reward, but claimed two sons of the prophets had need of it. He intentionally lied.

• 2Kings 5:23  And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. 
• 24  And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. 

Naaman was happy to give the servant 2 talents instead of the one he asked and two changes of garments. Gehazi hid them in the tower showing this act was deliberate. If we have to hide something, it is usually a wrong thing to do.

• 2Kings 5:25  But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. 
• 26  And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? 
• 27  The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. 

He may have succeeded to hide his greed from everyone except God and what God reveals to His prophets or those that live for Him. We fail many times to realize God sees and knows every one of our thoughts, cares, deeds and actions. Nothing is hid from Him. Haaman's lies, deceits and greed caused the leprosy that Naaman had to fall not only on himself but his children and those that came after him. Sad situation. Our sins will effect our children by our example and our deeds. Thankfully through Jesus Christ, children of parents who sin can be saved and escape the curse of sin that their parents have by faith in the salvation Jesus provided for all who believe. Jesus breaks every chain of our past when we receive Him into our lives. DC

2 Kings Chapter 6