“He Almost Missed His Miracle”
8/25/24
2 Kings 5:1-5; 9-14 “The king of Syria had high admiration for Naaman, the commander-in-chief of his army, for he had led his troops to many glorious victories. So he was a great hero, but he was a leper. 2 Bands of Syrians had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a little girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. 3 One day the little girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy!”4 Naaman told the king what the little girl had said. 5 “Go and visit the prophet,” the king told him…
9 So Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s home. 10 Elisha sent a messenger out to tell him to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed of every trace of his leprosy! 11 But Naaman was angry and stalked away. “Look,” he said, “I thought at least he would come out and talk to me! I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call upon the name of the Lord his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together? If it’s rivers I need, I’ll wash at home and get rid of my leprosy.” So he went away in a rage. 13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply to go and wash and be cured!” 14 So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the prophet had told him to. And his flesh became as healthy as a little child’s, and he was healed!”
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Let’s consider this man, Naaman.
Naaman was an outstanding military leader, highly successful in his military career.
He was popular, rich, a favorite of the king, with honors lavished upon him.
He was also courageous; “a mighty man of valor,” the Bible calls him.
Naaman had just about everything the world has to offer.
He was the kind of person you see on the cover of magazines, or who you might watch on a TV special that profiles the world’s rich and famous.
Yet he was a leper, and that one little tidbit of information changed everything.
Leprosy was the most feared and dreaded disease of the ancient world.
It had no respect for his prominence and fame.
All Naaman’s strength, all his valor, all his victories, all his money, could not save him from leprosy.
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Leprosy is often compared to sin in the Bible—at first it is hidden, but it slowly destroys the life of its victim and eventually, like Naaman’s leprosy, becomes known to others.
So Naaman’s leprosy was a picture of sin slowly destroying all that he had—his great success, his reputation, his giftedness, and his future.
He could subdue enemies and win wars, but the one thing he couldn’t control was what was happening in his own body.
What began as a tiny spot hidden to all became a household issue that threatened everything!
Like Naaman, there are times our own lives can feel like they’re out of control.
We might have everything we need on the surface, but deep down we’re struggling with something.
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Naaman’s story parallels the stories of so many modern men and women who seemingly have the world by the tail, but the leprosy of sin slowly but surely takes them down.
I read once that when the famous British scientist who discovered chloroform in the 19th century, was asked “What was your greatest discovery?”
He replied, “That I am a sinner, and that Jesus Christ is my Savior.”
This is the most important discovery anyone can make!
Before Naaman could be cured he had to acknowledge that he was a leper.
He had to confront the reality of his disease and do something about it.
—Before you and I can be cleansed of the sin destroying our lives we must acknowledge ourselves to be sinners.
Without that there will be no healing for us.
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Now, let’s look at a few parallels in this story to our Christian walk today.
The little servant girl that told his wife about the Prophet Elisha is a type of Christian witness.
She became aware of the leprosy and brought a witness of hope to the family—“there is a man, a great Prophet, that can heal his leprosy!”
This word of hope for Naaman’s household was like a ray of sunshine breaking through dark clouds!
This unknown servant girl illustrates a Christian bringing a word of hope to a man and his family being destroyed by sin—It is the hope of Jesus Christ, the one and only Savior that can wash the leprosy of our sin away!
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News traveled fast in Naaman’s household that there was a solution to his leprosy, and it quickly reached his ear.
He immediately acted on what he’d heard because he’s desperate now.
The leprosy has reached the place where it could no longer be hidden.
So before it ruined his whole life, he jumped at the good news the servant girl had brought!
He told the king who immediately sent him to Israel to find the Prophet Elisha.
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So far so good.
But here is where a problem arose!
It says he went to Elisha’s house…
in all his pomp and splendor,
driving his Mercedes chariot,
accompanied by all his impressive entourage,
and knocked on Elisha’s door.
But the great Prophet didn’t even bother answering it!
He sent a messenger to the door with a simple command, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”—vs. 10
Three things happened here that almost stole Naaman’s healing from him!
• A bruised ego
• Disappointed expectations
• Offense over God’s solution
First, the prophet Elisha had delivered an answer similar to a gospel message: “Go, wash, and you will be clean.”
The gospel is ALWAYS both a word of command and a word of promise:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”—Acts 16:31
Similarly, “Go and wash and you will be clean!”
But the rub is that this simple message was offensive to Naaman’s pride just like the Cross of Christ is offensive to people today.
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Despite his awful disease, Naaman was put off by the prophet’s word.
So the first barrier to his healing was:
I. A bruised ego
His sizable ego was offended.
He’d expected more than this.
How dare Elisha not even bother to come out to meet him in person!
He had the gall to simply send out a no-count messenger with a command that made no sense:
—“Go wash in the Jordan River.”
That he wasn’t treated like royalty, and was told to do something humbling if not humiliating bruised his ego!
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And on the heels of this first barrier, a 2nd barrier rose up:
II. Disappointed expectations
Naaman had gone to Elisha’s door with a set of expectations for just how Elisha would heal him.
“I thought at least he would come out and talk to me! I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call upon the name of the Lord his God and heal me!”—vs. 11
But Elisha didn’t do any of that.
His simple message didn’t fit Naaman’s sense of self-importance, or his premeditated expectations.
So he blew his stack at what seemed to be a silly demand instead of the spectacular display he felt he deserved.
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Likewise, people often stumble over disappointed expectations for how God chooses to work in their life.
We pray and ask God for something, and then formulate in our minds how He will answer us.
And when He doesn’t come through per our expectations, we hit a wall.
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Then on the heels of a bruised ego and disappointed expectations, a third barrier to Naaman’s healing rose up:
III. Offense over God’s solution
Go to the Jordan and dip down 7 times?
I need a healing, not a bath!
And if I’ve gotta take a bath, aren’t my hometown rivers more respectable than the Jordan?
And in the natural he was right!
The Jordan was muddy, and slow, and brown, and unappealing, while the rivers of Damascus were clear and beautiful.
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In exactly the same way the Cross Jesus died on seems nonsensical, lowly, unattractive, unglamorous, and irrelevant to lost people.
The Bible says, “The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing…”—1 Cor. 1:18
Yet God says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”—Acts 16:31
Nevertheless, people’s response to the Cross goes something like this—“I need freedom from these destructive habits destroying my life, not some man hanging on a Cross 2,000 years ago!”
The Bible says Naaman became furious at the seemingly senseless command he was given!
He wanted to know why other options weren’t just as good as the Jordan.
—The Abanah and Pharpar rivers were more pleasing to the natural eye.
—They were more acceptable and honorable, more impressive and noteworthy to carnal man than the lowly Jordan.
And people think the same way today!
Alternative sources for spiritual health and healing are found on every corner.
Self help books line the shelves of today’s book stores.
Religions claiming to hold an answer are everywhere—Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, New Age, and others.
These are the religious/spiritual alternatives that don’t offend people, and don’t raise eyebrows like the Cross of Christ does:
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But the question isn’t WHICH way is least offensive.
The question is: WHICH way can cure leprosy?
Naaman had found there were no gods in Syria that could heal him.
—Syria had no answer, nor does the world we live in.
An answer to the sin problem the whole human race suffers from is nowhere to be found.
The only solution is the Cross and the Savior hanging on it!
Naaman experienced his healing only when he:
—conquered his pride,
—swallowed his anger,
—and humbled himself to believe God’s promise and obey God’s command.
“So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the prophet had told him to. And his flesh became as healthy as a little child’s, and he was healed!”—vs. 14