Cleansing for the Leper (1)

Faith in an Age of Unbelief: Elijah and Elisha PART VII
Rev. Ed Sirya
16 August 2015

2Kings 5:1-15
1Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king or 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.

2Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife.  3She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria!  He would cure him of his leprosy."

4Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said.  5"By all means, go, "the king or Aram replied.  "I will send a letter to the king of Israel."  So Namman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.  6The 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."

7As 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!"

8When 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."  9So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.  10Elisha 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."

11But 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.  12Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?  Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?"  So he turned and went off in a rage.

13Naaman'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'!"  14So 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.

15Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God.  He stood before him and said, "Now I know there is no God in all the world except in Israel.  So please accept a gift from your servant.

PROBLEMS OF NAAMAN
--Successful guy, but still had the physical problem of leprosy.
--Something in our lives will disrupt our plans.
--We need a faithful and humble witness.
--Inspired by a slave girl to get help.

PRIDE OF NAAMAN
--Insulted by river solution.
--Elisha didn't even meet him in person.
--Moral pride by feeling superior to others.
--Remove our competitive element.
--Pride of independence--master of our own lives.
--So self absorbed that we ignore sin an grace--we can settle for less.

SOLUTION FOR NAAMAN
--A new humbled standing before God.