Need a Miracle?
Intro:
Descriptions would suggest that modern diagnoses would include psoriasis, eczema, favus and seborrheic dermatitis, as well as a number of fungal-type infections. The great cultural aversion to skin diseases may be that in appearance and sometimes odor they resemble the rotting skin of the corpse and are therefore associated with death. This natural revulsion adds considerably to the victim’s outcast status when combined with the quarantine that is ritually rather than medically motivated.
The account of the healing of Naaman’s leprosy is a lesson in the unexpected nature of God’s grace and mercy. To begin with, Naaman was a foreigner. But he was not just any foreigner. He was the leader of the Syrian army, the enemy of God’s people. For a prophet of the Lord to heal an Israelite leper was one thing, but to restore the very person whose job it was to oppress you—that was altogether outrageous! Yet this is who the Lord is. He is lavishly generous with his grace, pouring it out upon those who are especially undeserving.
However, he had leprosy (perhaps this was not leprosy as it is known today; cf. NIV marg.). This dreaded disease degenerated its victims and eventually proved fatal. No cure for it was known. In Israel lepers were normally isolated from nonlepers, but this was not always the custom in other nations including Aram. Naaman was able to carry on his duties as long as the disease permitted him to do so.
5:2–3. In the course of their occasional battles with Israel, Naaman’s forces had captured some Israelites whom they made slaves. One of these was a young girl whom Naaman had given to his wife as a servant. Evidently Naaman and his wife were kind to this girl because she sought Naaman’s welfare. She told her mistress, who told her husband, that a prophet living in Samaria could cure … leprosy. This was Elisha; he lived in a house in the capital city (6:24, 32). Probably the girl had heard of Elisha before she was carried off as a slave. Apparently she assumed he could cleanse leprosy in view of his supernatural power. No leper in Israel, though, was healed in Elisha’s day (Luke 4:27). Later the slave girl’s faith in the Lord may have been an indirect rebuke to Israel’s King Joram who had no faith in God.
5:7. Joram was dismayed when he read the letter from Ben-Hadad II. Tearing one’s robes indicated great anxiety and distress (cf. 2:12; 6:30; 11:14). Israel and Aram had been at peace, but it appeared to Joram that Ben-Hadad was trying to pick a fight again as he had done with Joram’s father Ahab (cf. 1 Kings 20:1–3). Joram did not realize that Naaman did not expect him to cure the leprosy. Elisha did not even enter Joram’s mind. The Israelite king had no use for that prophet who constantly opposed him. Joram wanted as little contact with him as possible.
Naaman’s gift. The gift accompanying Naaman is exorbitant—a king’s ransom. Ten talents equals thirty thousand shekels, about seven hundred fifty pounds of silver. The six thousand shekels of gold equals about one hundred fifty pounds (one gold shekel equaled fifteen silver shekels). Converted to today’s buying power, it would be in the vicinity of three-quarters of a billion dollars. One can get an idea of the proportions by understanding that a typical wage would have been ten silver shekels per year, and one gold shekel would purchase one ton of grain.
Because of his pride he went away angry, refusing to wash in the muddy waters. His servants convinced him to do so, and the LORD healed him. Naaman declared, “There is no God in all the world except in Israel” (5:15). Naaman converted to the LORD and regretted that in carrying out his official duties he would have to accompany his king into the temple of their pagan god Rimmon (5:1–19a).
But even if the expected heralds of God’s goodness have become blind, we need not despair. The Lord is not limited by such obstacles. Take note of the unexpected conduits of God’s power and goodness in this narrative: the little Israelite slave girl, and Naaman’s servants. These “second class citizens” are the heroes of the story. They are the ones who encourage Naaman to seek help in Israel and submit to washing in the Jordan River. God has chosen the weak and foolish things of this world to make himself known (cf. 1 Cor. 1:27).
Because the Lord has been generous with his grace to us (Rom. 5:10), we are free to be gracious with others, even desiring to see God’s grace poured out in the lives of our enemies. May we never become blind or callous to this grace, but rather see it in all of life, especially in the weak, humble, and foolish things.
Naaman Healed of Leprosy. By making Israel his people, the Lord intended that they testify of his goodness to the world (1 Kgs 8:41–43; Gen 12:3; Ps 67:1–2). In a time when Israel’s kings are worshiping the gods of other nations, a young girl in exile points her foreign master to the Lord. After Naaman’s faith leads to his healing, he proclaims Israel’s God to be the only true God. By contrast, the prophet’s servant fails to believe God and receives the Aramean commander’s disease.
5:5 talents … shekels. See NIV text notes. By contrast, Omri paid two talents of silver for the land upon which he built the capital city of Samaria (1 Kgs 16:24). Six thousand shekels of gold was the equivalent to the annual earnings of 600 workers. Naaman was prepared to pay a lavish amount for his restored health.
5:10 sent a messenger. The commander thought that he deserved more than a servant’s message delivered on the prophet’s doorstep (v. 11). wash yourself seven times in the Jordan. Prevents Naaman from concluding that the prophet’s own power or any qualities of the water healed him.
4) he was “a mighty man of valor,” a term used in the OT for both a man of great wealth (Ruth 2:1) and a courageous warrior (Judg. 6:12; 11:1). Severely mitigating against all of this was the fact that he suffered from leprosy, a serious skin disease (cf. v. 27; see notes on Lev. 13, 14).
Naaman was a Gentile and the commander of the army of an enemy nation, so it’s no wonder the congregation in Nazareth became angry with the Lord, interrupted His sermon and carried Him out of the synagogue. After all, why would the God of Israel heal a man who was a Gentile and outside the covenant? He was an enemy who kidnapped little Jewish girls, and a leper who should have been isolated and left to die. These people knew nothing about the sovereign grace of God. Like Naaman, they became angry, but unlike Naaman, they didn’t humble themselves and trust the Lord. Naaman’s experience with Elisha illustrates to us the gracious work of God in saving lost sinners.
“Ah, that is just the trouble,” said evangelist D. L. Moody when preaching on this passage. “He had marked out a way of his own for the prophet to heal him, and was mad because he didn’t follow his plans.” Is it any different today? People want to be saved from their sins by participating in a religious ritual, joining a church, giving money to the church, reforming their lives, doing good works, and a host of other substitutes for putting faith in Jesus Christ. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5).
In the Mesopotamian namburbi rituals protective purification is accomplished by dipping seven times in the river facing upstream and seven times facing downstream. This ritual also includes releasing gifts for the god Ea into the river. The flowing water was believed to carry the impurities to the netherworld. Again, Elisha’s chosen procedures are ones that would ring a note of familiarity to those who lived in this world of magical rituals. On the medical level there are a number of locations in Israel (e.g., near Tiberius) that boast of hot springs capable of restoring healthy skin from any number of conditions. Nevertheless, the text refers specifically to the Jordan River, which could not be confused with a mineral spring.
5:11 Naaman rejects Elisha’s directions because they do not meet his expectations. In order to be healed, Naaman must humble himself and submit in faith to the prophetic word.
4) he was “a mighty man of valor,” a term used in the OT for both a man of great wealth (Ruth 2:1) and a courageous warrior (Judg. 6:12; 11:1). Severely mitigating against all of this was the fact that he suffered from leprosy, a serious skin disease (cf. v. 27; see notes on Lev. 13, 14).
5:5 king of Israel. Jehoram. See note on 1:17. ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold. About 750 lbs. of silver and 150 lbs. of gold.
Naaman turned from Elisha’s house angry for two reasons: (1) His pride had been offended by Elisha’s offhanded treatment of him; he had expected a cleansing ceremony in keeping with his own dignity. (2) He resented having been told to wash in a muddy river that he considered inferior to the Abana and Pharpar … rivers in his hometown; the water of the Jordan, he thought, could not possibly do him any good.
Naaman humbled himself and obeyed the word of the Lord. As he obeyed in faith he was cleansed. God did even more for him and restored his flesh to its soft boyhood texture.
When he came up from the water the seventh time, his leprosy was gone and his flesh was like that of a little child. In New Testament language, he was born again (John 3:3–8).
God had prescribed that he wash seven times (cf. 4:35) to indicate that the healing was completely a work of God, ”for seven is the stamp of the works of God” (C.F. Keil, “1 & 2 Kings,” in Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, 3:319). The fact that in Elisha’s day an Aramean leper was healed whereas no Israelite leper was (Luke 4:27) points up Israel’s apostasy.
Elisha knew that Naaman had to be humbled before he could be healed.
Before sinners can receive God’s grace, they must submit to God’s will, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5, NKJV; see Rom. 10:1–3). Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse used to say, “Everybody has the privilege of going to heaven God’s way or going to hell their own way.”
Elisha didn’t ask him to do something difficult or impossible, because that would only have increased his pride. He asked him to obey a simple command and perform a humbling act, and it was unreasonable not to submit. When Naaman told his story back in Syria and got to this point, his friend would say, “You did what?” Faith that doesn’t lead to obedience isn’t faith at all.
Naaman returned from the Jordan to Elisha’s house in Samaria (about 25 miles) with a heart full of gratitude and hands full of gifts.
Rather than expecting Elisha to come to him he willingly stood before the prophet and testified to his belief that Israel’s God is the only true God. (Unfortunately many in Israel, including her king, had not come to the same realization.) This was the highest purpose of Naaman’s healing from God’s point of view. Elisha agreed that the LORD whom he served lives (cf. comments on 1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 4:30). But the prophet refused to accept any reward for his ministry. Naaman’s urging did not budge Elisha. The man of God had not performed his miracle for reward but at the word of the Lord and he did not want anyone to think otherwise. The false prophets could easily be bought, but not Elisha.
Instead of hurrying home to share the good news, Naaman returned to the house of Elisha to thank the Lord and His servant. (See Luke 17:11–19.) That meant traveling another thirty miles, but he must have rejoiced during the entire trip. It was natural for him to want to reward Elisha, but had the prophet accepted the gift, he would have taken the credit to himself and robbed God of glory. God saves us “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). He also would have given Naaman, a new convert, the impression that his gifts had something to do with his salvation. Abraham had refused the gifts from the king of Sodom (Gen. 14:17–24), Daniel would refuse the king’s offer (Dan. 5:17), and Peter and John would reject Simon’s money (Acts 8:18–24).
5:17 two mule-loads of earth. In the ancient Near East it was thought that a god could be worshiped only on the soil of the nation to which he was bound. Therefore, Naaman wanted a load of Israelite soil on which to make burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord when he returned to Damascus. This request confirmed how Naaman had changed—whereas he had previously disparaged Israel’s river, now he wanted to take a pile of Israel’s soil to Damascus.
5:18 Rimmon. The Heb. term “Rimmon” (lit. “pomegranate”) is a parody of the Syrian deity, Hadad, whom the Assyrians named “Rananu” (lit. “the thunderer”). Hadad was the storm god, usually identified with the Canaanite god, Baal. As an aide to Syria’s king, Naaman’s duty demanded that he accompany the king to religious services at the temple of Rimmon in Damascus. Naaman requested that the Lord forgive this outward compromise of his true faith in and commitment to the Lord.
5:17. carrying earth back. Naaman makes it clear that his reason for carrying the dirt has to do with sacrifices. This suggests that he intends to build an altar of the earth that he has brought back with him (the word for “earth” here is the same that is commanded for use in altar construction in Ex 20:24; see comment there for further information).
5:27. transfer of disease. In the ancient world, witches and sorcerers were believed to be able to impose disease through hexes and curses. Rituals to remove various ills (the namburbu rituals for instance) usually involved transferring the evil to an object of some sort and then disposing of the object.
It could be categorized as a social disease in that its main consequence is that the victim is excluded from society as an undesirable outcast. Comparison to “snow” most likely concerns the flakiness rather than the color (“white” is added in the NIV).
Naaman joins others such as Rahab, Ruth, and the sailors of Jonah’s ship as Gentiles who recognized the Lord as the only true God (Josh 2:11; Ruth 1:16; Jonah 1:14–16).
your descendants. The second commandment warns that idolatry leads to judgment down to the third and fourth generation (Exod 20:4–6). Unless the events are not recorded in chronological order, it appears that Gehazi repented and was restored, for he later serves in the king’s presence (8:4–5).
But as important as the miracles are in this section, the theme of ministry is even more important. The Lord not only gave new life to Naaman, He also gave him a new purpose in life, a new ministry. He would return to Syria (Aram) as much more than a general, for now he was an ambassador of the true and living God of Israel. Naaman gained a new purpose in life,
The girl was a slave, but because she trusted the God of Israel, she was free. Even more, she was a humble witness to her mistress. Her words were so convincing that the woman told her husband and he in turn informed the king. Never underestimate the power of a simple witness, for God can take words from the lips of a child and carry them to the ears of a king.
Although there is no direct scriptural statement that leprosy is a picture of sin, when you read Leviticus 13, you can clearly see parallels. Like leprosy, sin is deeper than the skin (v. 3), it spreads (v. 7), it defiles (v. 45), it isolates (v. 46), and it is fit only for the fire (vv. 52, 57).
Alarmed by the thought, he impulsively tore his clothes, something that kings rarely did; but his mind was blinded by unbelief and fear and he didn’t understand what the Lord was doing.
Naaman had another problem: he preferred the rivers back in Damascus to the muddy Jordan River. He thought his healing would come from the water, so it was logical that the better the water, the better the healing. He would rather have his own way and travel over a hundred miles than obey God’s way and go thirty-two miles! He was so close to salvation and yet so far away!
but Naaman asked if he could take some native soil with him to Syria to use in his worship of Jehovah. In those days, people had the idea that the gods of a nation resided in that land, and if you left the land, you left the god behind. But Naaman had just testified that Jehovah was God in all the earth (v. 15)! However, taking that soil was a courageous act, because his master and his friends would surely ask Naaman what it meant, and he would have to tell them of his faith in the God of Israel.
In his second request, Naaman showed unusual insight, for he realized that the king would expect him to continue his official acts as the commander of the army. This included accompanying the king into the temple of Rimmon, the Syrian equivalent of Baal. Naaman was willing to perform this ritual outwardly, but he wanted Elisha to know that his heart would not be in it. Naaman anticipated that his healing and his changed life would have an impact on the royal court and eventually lead to the king’s conversion. Instead of criticizing believers who serve in public offices, we need to pray for them, because they face very difficult decisions.
It’s interesting that Elisha didn’t lecture him or admonish him but just said, “Go in peace.” This was the usual covenant blessing the Jews invoked when people were starting on a journey. The prophet would pray for him and trust God to use him in his new ministry in Syria. Naaman’s leprosy was gone, he still had the treasures, he carried soil from Israel, and he knew the true and living God. What a witness he could be in that dark land—and Naaman’s servant girl would join him!