Grace is Free - The Healing of Naaman

2 Kings 5v1-14

13^th September 2024

2 Kings Chapter 5 contains three related stories: Naaman's healing, his conversion, and the sin of Gehazi. All of them are really about God's grace, and we will consider them in turn over the next three weeks.

The grace of God is God's kindness and generosity towards people like us, and also towards people who are not like us. We Christians have received God's saving grace, but every human benefits from what we call common grace. As Jesus says in Matthew 5v45, "He cause his sun to rise on the evil and the good". Everything we have, from the sunshine and the rain to the food on our plates and the breath in our lungs, we have only because of the grace of God. And when God is calling a person to believe in Him, He sometimes shows extraordinary kindness to that person. Naaman was a such a one.

2 Kings 5v1-6
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of 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.
Now raiding bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."
Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The 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."

Aram was the kingdom immediately north-east of Israel, in the territory we now call Syria. Sometimes Aram was an ally of Israel, and sometimes it wasn't, but it was a Gentile country, outside God's covenant people. Nevertheless, in some battle, the Lord had given victory to Aram. We know that many, many people who are not Christians or Jews are very successful, in battle, in business and in other areas of life. All success comes from God, and God gives success to His people and also to other people. God is working His purpose out, and His perfect and eternal plan includes success for people who are not us. He knows what He's doing.

God had given Aram this victory through Naaman. As a result, Naaman was very highly regarded. He was good at his job and he was brave, but he had leprosy. All of us know that Lord has blessed us in some areas of our lives but we have problems in other areas. Naaman was no exception.

A raiding party from Aram had seized a young Israelite girl, one of God's people, and forced her into slavery. Bad things happen to God's people. Never, ever, imagine that the problems and injustices you have to endure are any proof that God doesn't love you. God loved that girl, but He let her be torn from her family, marched to a foreign country, and forced into service to Naaman's wife. God allowed this to happen because it was part of His plan. God's plan is more important than our comfort.

She told her mistress about Elisha the prophet, who lived in Samaria, the capital of Israel at that time. She was certain that Elisha would heal Naaman's leprosy. What wonderful faith! Her hardships hadn't dented her faith, and our hardships shouldn't dent ours. We know we're God's people, and we know His plan is perfect, even if it's not comfortable for us. May we hold on to our faith, whatever happens, as that girl did.

Naaman left for Israel with a letter of introduction from the king of Aram, and a generous gift including 750 pounds in weight of silver and 150 pounds in weight of gold. Today that silver would be worth around £¼ million pounds and the gold would be worth around £3½ million pounds.

2 Kings 5v7-9
As 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!"
When 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." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.

King Joram of Israel knew he couldn't heal Naaman. He'd so abandoned the ancient faith of Israel that he probably couldn't imagine anybody healing anybody. Like Joram, most of our government today don't believe that God heals, but we know He does.

Elisha heard about this. He sent a message to King Joram, suggesting he send Naaman to him, so that "he will know that there is a prophet in Israel". Israel was in a wicked, ungodly state in those days, but there was still at least one man of God there. The light always shines. Even when most of the government and most of the people have abandoned the truth of God, as in our own day, there are still some of us who remain faithful to God, the Bible and its teachings.

God had prompted Elisha to communicate with Joram, because He intended to heal Naaman and give him faith in the true God. In the same way, God prompts us to speak to our neighbours and friends, when He wants them to find saving faith in Jesus.

2 Kings 5v10-12
Elisha 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."
But 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. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

Elisha's house was probably fairly simple and humble. Naaman turned up there with his horses, chariots and attendants. The neighbours must have been startled. Imagine if a foreign general's motorcade stopped in front of your house.

Elisha didn't speak to Naaman. He simply sent his messenger to talk to him, and tell him to bathe seven times in the River Jordan.

Naaman was not impressed. He was outraged. He was a victorious general, a VIP, a celebrity. Where was the red carpet? Where was the 21-gun salute? Or, at least, couldn't Elisha stick his head out the front door for two minutes and say "Hello"? How dare Elisha show him such disrespect? Shouldn't Elisha come out and pray for him? Shouldn't Elisha wave his hand over the part of his body that had the leprosy? And why should Naaman bathe in the Jordan? There were nicer rivers where he'd come from. Did he come all this way for this?

God intended to heal Naaman, but God's interested in our hearts, as well as our bodies. He intended to heal Naaman's pride as well as his leprosy. What grace! But Naaman wasn't ready to receive it. He went off in a rage.

And God wants to heal our hearts, our attitudes, our priorities, our pride, as well as our bodies. Are we ready to receive whatever God says to us, whatever God does for us? Do we understand that our character is more important than our flesh? Might we even miss out on physical healing because we refuse the healing of our heart?

We make a major mistake when, like Naaman, we ask God to do something, and then demand He do it the way we want, the way we expect, the way we think He should. God will not be told what to do. God will make up His own mind, thank you. God leads and we follow. That's how it works. We have no right to make demands of God. We dare not have expectations about God's behaviour. We are 100% dependant on His grace.

Naaman had brought a gift worth nearly £4 million! We make another major mistake if we think we can buy God's favour, or negotiate with Him. Whatever gift Naaman brought, his healing was dependant on God's grace and nothing else. Whatever you've done in God's name, however long you've tithed faithfully, turned up every Sunday, repented of your sins, prayed for the work of the Gospel, visited the lonely and the sick, everything God does for you will always be based on His grace, not your works. Grace is free.

2 Kings 5v13-14
Naaman'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'!" So 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.

Naaman's servants talked him down from his fit of temper, his sense of outraged dignity, "You're here now. Bathing in the Jordan is no big deal. You can be done by dinner time. Where's the harm?" Finally, Naaman submitted. He did what God had told him to do through Elisha and, despite his bad attitude, he was completely healed. What grace!

We don't know what frame of mind Naaman was in when he reached the Jordan. He might still have been cheesed off. He might still have doubted that it would do any good. But he did what God demanded. The important thing is not how we feel, but whether we obey God.