Preached @ Christ Church, Billericay, 8 October 2022
Reading: 2 Kings 5v1-3;7-15c; Luke 17v11-19
Introduction
Today, we are going to be looking at one man’s first experience of God, through the story of Naaman.
Backdrop
The backdrop of the story that we heard a part of this morning is an ongoing set of border skirmishes between Aram and Israel. There was supposed to be a treaty. They are not quite at all out war yet, but King Ben-Hahid II of Aram and King Jehoram of Israel are almost there. We can read how that situation escalated in the next chapter of 2 Kings.
For now, though, let’s concentrate on the events read to us this morning.
Servant Girl
In one of these skirmishes, a young girl has been kidnapped. My commentary calls her a maiden, so she was too young to be a wife for someone, and has been forced into slavery, I imagine. She is serving Naaman’s wife. We cannot tell what the atmosphere was like in that household, whether she was well treated or not. But we do know that she had faith in the Lord, and was old enough to know about the prophet Elisha. She was also aware of Naaman’s condition.
Leprosy
Leprosy is now known as Hansen’s disease. It is a bacteriological infection that damages nerves and affects the skin. Today it is easily treated with antibiotics, but according to the American Centre for Disease Control they have to be taken for a year to ensure the disease is cured. Now, Hansen’s disease is not particularly infectious, but in biblical times, Leprosy was thought to be highly infectious. Without our diagnostic abilities, it was a generic description for all sorts of skin diseases.
Courage
It takes courage for a young girl to speak up, especially when she is in captivity in a foreign land. Why should she care? Why should she do something to aid her enemy? Surely she should keep quiet and hope that Naaman gets sicker until he can no longer command the army that is responsible for her situation. That would be the best thing to do, that would be the correct military strategy for her.
Love your enemies
We know that Jesus said, “Love your enemies”, that idea exists in the Old Testament too, in
Proverbs 25:21-22
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to
eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
For you
will heap burning coals on his head,
And the Lord will reward
you.
So, that is what she does, and that is exactly what she should do in her situation. She knows, because she has faith in the Lord, that the prophet can and will cure Naaman. If Naaman is not cured, things could get even worse for her.
Missing verses
Then we inexplicably skipped over three verses, where Naaman gets a letter from Ben-Hahid II and takes with him “ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.” to pay the prophet for his healing.
The king also gives him a letter for the King of Israel. He will need this because if he is found in Israel without it, the Israelites might assume an invasion is underway. The king’s letter reads:
“With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that
you may cure him of his leprosy.”
It is one of the most incompetent letters I’ve ever read (I’m being generous). If this is the calibre of leadership in the area, I’m not surprised there was a state of almost constant war.
Elisha’s response
It should be no surprise to any of us the way Jehoram reacted. Of course, the king can’t cure leprosy. Fortunately, Elisha is there to pick up the pieces. I know how he feels, having had to pick up the pieces after gross communications failures between senior people at various points of my career. Thankfully, I was never asked to cure anyone of leprosy.
Elisha tells the King, “Have the man come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” Elisha’s concern is not to heal Naaman, but to give glory to God, to make His name known beyond the borders of Israel. That is the Israelites purpose. Not to establish and secure the borders of the promised land, but to give glory to God amongst the nations. Elisha knows his calling, and everything that follows is intended to fulfil it.
The healing – Naaman expects
When Naaman arrives at Elisha’s place, with his horses and chariots, he is expecting the full works. He’s an important man and he knows it. The prophet (or the wizard, which is probably closer to Naaman’s view of Elisha) should be present, and put on some grand show – lots of arm waving and a few explosions perhaps – something that is notable and memorable – a good show.
The healing – Naaman gets
Instead, what he gets is a messenger with a short, almost curt, message “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be cleansed.” His expectations have not been met, and he is loosing face with his whole entourage, he feels humiliated. Maybe he even sees something of the ongoing conflict – my river is better than yours. So, in his anger, he turns for home. It’s been a wasted journey.
Servants help
I’d love to know how much time passed between verse 12 and verse 13. How far did he get, how long did he take to calm down?
At some point before he arrives back in Aram, the servants – who are used to being given the brush-off – go to him and make the case for giving the Jordan a try. If the prophet had asked you to do some great difficult thing – you would have done it wouldn’t you, so why not try this simple thing?
Where’s the glory
If the prophet had asked Naaman to complete some great quest, Naaman would have been able to claim that what he did had cured him. He would have treated the whole episode as another successful military campaign – with all the self glorifying stories that they always generate. If that had happened, Elisha’s desire that Naaman should know that there is a prophet in Israel would have failed.
In the Jordan
So he went to the Jordan and dipped himself in the required seven times. When he came out, not only had his skin complaint been cured, but the anti-wrinkle properties had worked as well, and he looked years younger.
Giving Thanks
Now, this foreigner, this outsider, this non-believer, this enemy, returns to Elisha, with his entire entourage, to give thanks and to give the gifts he had bought with him for this exact reason. This time the prophet comes out to meet him and to hear him say, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.” And now Naaman offers the gifts, but it is most certainly not about payment, because that again would detract from the Glory that should be given to God for the healing that has been performed. Elisha will not accept the gifts.
Naaman changed
If we read on a little, we will see that Naaman is changed by the whole experience. He asks for and is given Israelite earth to kneel on when he is making offerings to the one true God. When he is chased by Elisha’s servant Gehazi, he gets off his horse. That alone indicates that he has changed, he has recognised the Lord and is now more humble because of it. It’s not just the disease and wrinkles that have gone, but the self-importance as well. Important men do not dismount for servants. Naaman has been fully healed.
Parallel to Luke
Just as in Luke it was the foreigner, the outside, the Samaritan, who properly recognised Jesus and came back to give thanks, so here it is the Aramean who recognises the Lord, in front of whom all his local gods pale into insignificance.
First time before God
There is something about coming before God for the first time. Both Naaman and the Samaritan experienced it. It somehow has a greater effect on us than it does when it occurs for the second or tenth time. Maybe you still remember your first encounter? That’s why Elisha’s strategy was so carefully planned and executed. Even though he said “so that he will know there is a prophet in Israel” to the King, his real intent was to help Naaman meet God. He carefully stepped out of the way and allowed that to happen, he was then insistent on not taking payment, to ensure that nothing was taken away from the experience.
Naaman, the commander of the enemy’s armies, met God and was changed. Hopefully, we can be like Elisha, and strategically help others to have that experience for themselves.
Amen.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/QK7NIti2nsE
References
https://www.virtualpreacher.org/sermon-notes/naaman/
https://thefaithspace.com/lessons-from-the-story-of-naaman/
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