II
Kings 5 Naaman the Syrian
Naaman
was captain of the host of Syria. By him the Lord had given Syria deliverance.
He was a man the Lord had used. You will find that the Lord uses men in this
world who are not Christian. Naaman was a mighty man of valor, and he was a
leper. There are many people in the world today about whom nice things can be
said although they are not Christians. You must conclude it all by saying that
they are sinners. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Rom. 3:23. No matter how nice people might be, they are all sinners in God’s
sight. Leprosy in scripture is a type of sin. One reason is that it was
incurable by human means. Only God can cure sin and save a sinner. The Syrians
had taken captive a little maid and she waited on Naaman’s wife. One day she
said, “Oh, that my master would go down and see the prophet in Samaria. He
would recover him of his leprosy.” His wife heard what she said, and it reached
the ears of the king of Syria. The king sent a letter to the King of Israel,
but it should have gone to Elisha. The king was very disturbed by this letter,
so Elisha said, “send Naaman to me.”
Once
there, he sent his servant to tell the king of Syria to go and wash in the
Jordan River seven times. Naaman, being a very proud man, became very upset. He
thought the Jordan River a very dirty river. God is not only going to heal his
leprosy, He is also going to heal him of his pride. God hates the pride in
man’s heart. When God heals a person, it is by faith. He lays your pride in the
ground. You do not go to a man for healing, you go to God, the Great Physician.
The Jordan was a muddy stream, why not dip in a stream with clean water? As
Naaman, was riding away in a rage, his servants attempted to reason with him.
Naaman then went down to the Jordan and dipped in the water seven times
according to Elisha’s instructions and was healed. The king wanted to pay
Elisha, but Elisha refused payment for what God has done. Gehazi, a servant of
Elisha, thought otherwise and went after Naaman. Gehazi allowed the servants to
carry the gifts as far as the tower; then he took them himself and sent the
servants back to Naaman so that Elisha would not see them. The great sin of
Naaman was pride. The great sin of Gehazi was greed. Greed is leprosy of the
soul.
Please
read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.
If
you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.
J.
Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.
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