[2 Ki 5:1 ESV] Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
The story of Naaman is one of those stories that make you think about the ways God works in the world. Jesus even referred to Naaman as an example of God reaching over the Jews to heal a pagan. let’s look at the story.
Naaman was the Commander of the armies of Aram (Syria). The Lord gave him victory over Israel at Ramoth-gilead where King Ahab was killed in battle.
The scriptures describe his as “a great man,” a technical term which meant he was a man of considerable social standing, a mighty warrior and highly regarded by the king.
After giving us this glowing introduction the test continues with the simple words, “…but he was a leper.”
Leprosy referred to any number of different skin diseases. It had many social implications and even the possibly of death. To say the least he was in a very desperate condition.
The Path to healing
Naaman had exhausted every means of healing at his disposal. No doubt he was discouraged, depressed and desperate.
In his household there was a slave girl who was probably taken during the war with Israel. She had compassion on the pagan military commander and provided a solution.
[2 Ki 5:3 ESV] She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
The king of Syria wrote a letter of invitation to the king of Israel. The king of Israel was shocked and dismayed with the request for him to heal Naaman. The prophet Elisha heard about the incident at told the king to send Naaman to him.
Apparently Naaman had quite a few expectations of what would happen when the prophet healed him. He would probably be welcomed as an honored guest, there would be a very moving solemn mysterious ritual and the disease would be gone. But that is not what happened.
Elisha didn’t even come out of his house. There was no greeting, ritual, spells or incantations. He simply sent his servant tell Naaman to, “Go wash in the Jordan seven times.”
Naaman was angry, offended and indignant, but his servants persuaded him to do as the prophet asked. And he was cleansed.
This story has profound implications for our cleansing as well. We can learn a lot about the salvation God offers from the story of Naaman
God reaches out to enemies
[Rom 5:10 ESV ] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
We are rebels by nature and yet God reaches out to us because he loves us.
Salvation only comes God’s way
There was only one way for Naaman to be healed, and only one way for us to be saved
Here is the way way:
- Confess: Agree with God about your rebellion
- Repent: Turn and forsake your way
- Believe: Place you whole trust in what God did through his Son, Jesus in the cross and resurrection
Salvation comes only through faith and obedience
For Naaman to be healed he had to believe what Elisha said and act on it. The same is true for us. Just knowing is not enough, we must act on what we know; and then obey. Obedience is the demonstration of trust, the test of faith. That faith and obedience should then spill over into every other area of our life.
God uses all kinds of people as witnesses
We tend to favor professionals. We will travel far and wide to hear the testimony of some famous person, but completely discount the testimony of those we rub shoulders with every day. God used a slave girl and he uses others as well, just ordinary people. God can even use you!
Every encounter you have has the potential to change someone’s eternal destiny. So we must live our faith, talk our faith and be ready
Conclusion
We have an incurable disease within us called sin. This disease destroys our life inch by inch. It messes up every relationship in our lives, because there is something wrong with our primary relationship – our relationship with God.
There is a cure. The cure does not rest in us, but in the power of God.
To be healed we must trust the Word of God spoken by prophets and ordinary people— and we must obey.
When we Obey we are healed, saved, cleansed, delivered and restored.
It can start right now! No blinding lights, no pilgrimage to the Holy Land, no verses to memorize, no special words to utter. Just believe and Obey.