Passage: 2 Kings 5:1-15

The Big Idea

Naaman had everything: position, importance, reputation, accomplishments and courage. “But he was a leper.” In Scripture, leprosy pictures sin: it starts small, is inherited, spreads, defiles, isolates and can’t be cured by human effort. A captive Israelite girl pointed him to God’s prophet. Naaman came with a fortune and a chariot, expecting a grand ceremony, and was told simply to wash seven times in the Jordan. His pride nearly kept him from healing. But when he humbled himself, got off his high horse and went down into the water, his flesh became like a little child’s. God gives grace to the humble.

“But a Leper” (5:1)

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man in his master’s eyes and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper (2 Kings 5:1).

First we see everything Naaman was, all his self-sufficiency laid out:

Commander: a position of authority and respect.
Great: important.
Highly regarded: a strong reputation.
Accomplished: he’d won great victories.
A mighty man of valor: brave, courageous, determined and strong.

That describes the best of us, what humanity has achieved:

We hold positions of authority.
We consider ourselves important.
We have reputations.
We’ve accomplished things (remember the Tower of Babel).
Many of us are brave and determined. Those are good qualities.

But Naaman had a huge problem, and so has every human since Adam: “but a leper.”

Why Leprosy?

It didn’t matter how much he’d accomplished, how hard he tried, what rules he followed or how brave he was. He was infected and dying, with no hope.

That makes leprosy one of the most powerful pictures of the human condition. In Scripture, leprosy pictures sin (study Leviticus 13-14).

No matter how great anyone is, we’re all infected by sin. Sin cancels out every bit of our self-sufficiency.

The law of leprosy in Leviticus points this way:

The cleansing ceremony pointed ahead to Jesus’ cleansing work on the cross (Leviticus 14).
Lepers weren’t dealt with by doctors, but by the priests.
There was no human cure. Healing took a miracle.
The leper was cut off from God’s presence and God’s people.

Ten truths about leprosy and sin

It starts small. It might begin as just a swelling, a scab or a bright spot (Leviticus 13:2). People rarely realize how serious even “small” sins are before a holy God.
It’s inherited. David said he was sinful from birth (Psalm 51:5). Humanity was polluted at its source, so all share the same corruption. In Adam all die (1 Corinthians 15:22).
It’s hard to see at first. There’s often no pain at the beginning; you lose feeling. Only later does the damage show. Hebrews warns against being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).
It spreads. Paul says in my flesh nothing good dwells (Romans 7:18). The whole person is affected.
It’s contagious. Sin spreads from person to person.
It’s ugly. God is of purer eyes than to behold evil (Habakkuk 1:13).
It’s a living death. We were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), even while alive (1 Timothy 5:6).
It brings separation. The leper lived alone, outside the camp (Leviticus 13:46).
It brings shame. The leper wore torn clothes, covered his face and cried out, “Unclean! Unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45). Imagine a group of them, a chorus of shame.
It’s incurable by human means.
- No willpower or mental effort could fix it.
- No legalism or reform.
- No education or culture.
- Healing had to come from God!

With people it’s impossible, but not with God; with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27).

When human ability fails, Jesus’ all-sufficiency shines brightest!

He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25).

When our ability fails (and it always does), Jesus intercedes.
He made a point of healing lepers on earth, so we could be confident He’ll cleanse us from sin by His own blood.
The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

So our sinful condition is very bad. But Jesus is very good. He can heal us, restore us and cleanse us.

A Captive Girl’s Witness (5:2-4)

Syrian raiders had taken a young girl from Israel captive, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet in Samaria! He would heal him of his leprosy.” Naaman told the king what she said.

Put yourself in her place:

Taken from her family.
Forced into slavery.
Life hadn’t been easy, fair or kind.
Yet she still cared about the people around her!
She puts us to shame.
Our world treats hard circumstances as an excuse for bitterness and hatred. They aren’t.
She was weak and had no enviable position, yet she shared the good news of God’s power to heal.

Naaman listened, because she cared.

Trying to Pay (5:5-7)

The king of Syria said, “Go, and I’ll send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman set out with ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothing.

The message of healing had nothing to do with Israel’s king. The girl never mentioned him.
This pictures how people try to fix themselves when they realize they’re infected.
Like the woman who spent everything on doctors before she came to Jesus (Mark 5:26).
Like the prodigal who attached himself to a citizen of the far country, and only got hungrier (Luke 15:15).
Naaman brought a fortune, enough to make a king rich, even though the girl said nothing about money.
He didn’t understand God’s grace yet.
Some try to bring money to God for healing. Wrong.
Others bring good works to prove they deserve it. Wrong.
Others think God will hear them because of their tears and deep sense of unworthiness.
But God says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).

When the king of Israel read the letter asking him to heal Naaman, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive? He’s just picking a fight with me!”

Contrast this unbelieving king with the believing slave girl:

She cared about her master. The king only cared about himself.
She was confident in God and His prophet. The king didn’t even think of them.
She believed in God’s power. He didn’t.

What a bad king, right? But let me ask you: have you ever responded like him?

When facing something hard, have you said, “This is beyond me. I can’t do this”? Maybe it sounded humble. But it may actually have been unbelief in God’s promises.

When we fail, the fault is in us, not in God.
God’s promises and Word don’t fail.
His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).
Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1).
Grace isn’t just a covering for our mistakes. It’s the power to do what’s right, given freely to us through Jesus Christ!

“Let Him Come to Me” (5:8-10)

When Elisha heard the king had torn his clothes, he sent word: “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, and he will know there is a prophet in Israel.”

Elisha rebukes the king’s unbelief.
“There is healing in this land, and it’s not with you, because you don’t believe God’s Word!”
The righteous are bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1).
Elisha knew God was ready to work wonders for anyone who would trust Him.

But something stood in the way: pride.

Naaman came with his horses and chariot and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.

Naaman brought all his stuff to get cleansed.
None of it mattered. There’s only one way to come: empty.
Picture a miserable leper sitting in a fancy chariot. It doesn’t make sense.
Pride makes no sense once you understand sin.
Not by works of righteousness we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-6).
We come to Jesus as empty-handed beggars.

Elisha sent a messenger: “Go wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored, and you’ll be clean.”

Why didn’t Elisha come out himself?

Perhaps to show that God shows no favoritism.
Perhaps to avoid being tempted by Naaman’s wealth.
Most likely, Elisha didn’t want to be the center of attention. The healing wasn’t his; it was God’s.

Go wash

Naaman stood there like a sinner with all his stuff.
All his resources and efforts were useless now.
He was told to do the most humbling thing: strip off his riches and status and deal with the real problem, his disease. Sin.

Sin is the problem: rebellion against God and His will. So the first step in God’s remedy is ending the rebellion: repentance. Turning around, siding with God against ourselves.

Self-will and self-pleasing stop.
Self-sufficiency is renounced.

“Go wash in the Jordan” is another way of saying, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Submit to God, stop resisting His will and follow His simple instruction in humility and faith.

Naaman needed to get off his high horse and humble himself to receive God’s grace.
Seven times pictures a complete renouncing of self-reliance.

Have you completely renounced self? God promises complete cleansing from sin to all who come to Him through Jesus. “My hope is in nothing but Jesus!”

Pride Gets Offended (5:11-12)

Naaman became furious and went away, saying, “I thought he would surely come out, stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the place and cure the leprosy.”

In his own country, Naaman was somebody.
Here he was treated like nobody special.
His pride was wounded.
“That’s rude!” No, it was necessary for his healing.
Naaman is more like us than we want to admit.
How often have we been upset when we were humbled? “I didn’t deserve that!”
Have you prayed hard for something and received nothing, or even the opposite?
Weren’t you tempted to question God in pride instead of trusting Him in humility?

“I thought…” He had his own ideas about how God should work.

Some think they need to make up for past mistakes with good works.
Some think they’ll turn over a new leaf and start living for God someday.
Some think that if they come to Jesus, they can sin all they want.
God’s Word answers all of these.
To be healed, we must abandon our own way of thinking and listen to God’s Word. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, for He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7).
We come as little children.
Naaman wanted God and His servant to wait on him. Pride always keeps us from what God has for us.

“Aren’t the Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

“Why do I have to believe in Jesus only?”
“Why can’t I choose my own way to heaven?”
The sinner wants to write his own prescription instead of taking the Doctor’s.

He turned and went away in a rage. Our flesh hates being humbled and shown its insufficiency, and responds the only way the flesh can: anger.

A Wise Servant (5:13)

His servants came and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be clean’?”

His servant reminded him that the only “sacrifice” required was humility.
Let go of pride!
This servant was a good friend, helping Naaman see that God can be trusted.
Is that how you approach people who are struggling?

Washed and Clean (5:14-15)

So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Now we see complete submission: total surrender to God’s Word.
God worked in Naaman’s heart to see that what was required of him came from love.
God required total surrender because He totally loved Naaman.
Everything came down to one thing: will you fully surrender to God’s Word?
Naaman surrendered. He got off his high horse and went down into the water, as low as he could go.
And God accepted him! God kept His promise! His Word is true!
His flesh became like a little child’s. Born again, in a picture.
Of course it did. God doesn’t lie.
Humility and faith are all that’s needed for you to experience the same cleansing from sin.

He returned to the man of God with his whole company, stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.”

Naaman now had a testimony of God’s saving power.
And he glorified God.

Grace Takeaway

Do you have a testimony like Naaman’s? If not, maybe you’ve never truly felt your need to be healed, never been deeply convinced of your sin. Seek healing the way Naaman finally did. Leave the silver and gold behind, get down from the chariot and go down into the water God has provided. There is a God who gives grace to the humble. Humble yourself under His mighty hand, and He’ll lift you up, just as He raised Jesus from the dead. New life can be yours today.

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Naaman the Leper: Get Off Your High Horse