A
missionary lady was sitting by her window as she opened her mail. In one letter
she found a crisp, new, ten-dollar bill. She was pleasantly surprised, but then
she noticed a poorly dressed stranger leaning on a post by her window. She
couldn't get him off her mind. Thinking that he might be in greater need than
her, she slipped the bill into an envelope and wrote "Don't despair".
She handed the envelope through the window to the man. He read the note,
smiled, tipped his hat and walked away.
The
next day she heard a knock at the door. There the same man handed her a roll of
bills. When she asked what they were, he said, "That's your sixty bucks,
lady! 'Don't despair" paid five to one!"
The
Old Testament reading from 2 Kings 5:1-14 is a classic example of the conflict
between man's way of doing things and God's way of doing things. Naaman wanted
to be healed, but in his own way. He wanted Elisha to come out and perform some
sort of healing ritual. He wanted to wash in rivers of his own choosing. When
he didn't get his way, he reacted like a small child does when it doesn't get
its own way-he had a temper tantrum. It took the words of someone insignificant
to convince Naaman to humble himself and submit to God's plan. All of us are
lepers who need God's healing touch, but sometimes we can't see beyond our
successes and shortcomings and realize that we need to be healed.
Leprosy
was significant in the Bible for several reasons:
1. The leper was
considered to be unclean and had to be isolated form the rest of society.
Whenever he went out, he had to cry "unclean", and he had to wear
black with a hood covering his face. He also had to live outside the city
walls.
2.
Leprosy was
incurable in Bible times just as sin is incurable by man.
3.
When Jesus
healed a leper he always pronounced the person cleansed, not healed.
4.
The rite of
purification in the Old Testament only recognized the fact that a leper was
clean. It did not cure the leper.
5.
Leprosy
begins on the outside and then erupts on the skin. Sin also begins with what we
are and then erupts on the surface.
6.
The priest
was to examine the leper and pronounce the person clean or unclean depending on
his observation of the facts. Since Christ has provided cleansing from sin,
every believer as a believer priest is to detect sin in their own life and
pronounce it as sin when it first appears.
7. The pain of
leprosy was not severe because it also killed the nerves in the affected area.
Portions of the body became numb, muscles wasted away and fingers and toes
developed ulcers. Sin is like that. We are dead spiritually, so we do not feel
the pain of our sin.
8. The leper was
often considered to be dead, and people without Christ are nothing more than
spiritual zombies.
9.
Leprosy and
sin occur regardless of one's position, power, honour, possessions or wealth.
10.
The
restoration of the leper is a metaphor for the restoration of us to God when we
accept him in faith.
11.
Leprosy
destroys the body, and sin destroys our relationship with Christ.
God
does not work according to our ideas or plans. In fact, there is an old joke
that goes, "How do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans". When we
let God tell us what to do, we will be cleansed from our sins. When we follow
God's plan for our lives instead of our own plans, we will be cleansed from our
sins.
Believe
it or not, God gave Naaman his victories. It was part of the greater purpose to
reveal God's power and mercy to Naaman the foreigner. It shows that God is for
everyone- both Jews and Gentiles. It foreshadows the opening of the Gospel to
the Gentiles in the Book of Acts.
God
often speaks through humble people. He used the Israeli slave girl to lead
Naaman to Elisha-the first step in his healing. He used the soldier to convince
Naaman to obey Elisha's orders-the second step in his healing. Elisha was also
humble. He didn't use any of his powers to heal Naaman-God did. Elisha didn't
even leave his house to meet Naaman in person. Humble people are used by God at
any time and in any place he chooses and in any way he chooses.
God
also acts through simple acts of obedience that don't seem to be related to the
problem. For example, washing seven times in the Jordan River might not seem to
be related to Naaman's leprosy. The solution called for faith. The faith began
with the little servant girl when she innocently assumed God's power. Because
of the girl's faith, Naaman's wife told her husband, and he told the king.
Naaman had his doubts, but he went. His servants had more faith, because they
convinced Naaman to try Elisha's remedy.
This
story also shows how our intentions can be misunderstood by others. Naaman
introduced himself to the king of Israel as both a courtesy and the belief that
the king had the power to heal Naaman. The king knew that he did not have the
power to heal anyone and saw Naaman's request as an excuse to start war between
Israel and Syria. You see, according to the custom at that time, the main
object of a letter was the only item mentioned in letters that were delivered
in person. Other issues were discussed in person. There was also a belief that
if a king or other sacred person touched or waved his hand over a sore, the
sore would be healed.
The
story of Naaman the leper is a story of salvation. Naaman's healing led him to
believe in God and worship God. It is a picture of what God would do later on
through Jesus Christ. It is a picture of what man was like before sin took its
toll. Elisha knew that it was God's power that healed Naaman, not Elisha's.
Today,
we, like Naaman, will do anything spectacular to ensure our salvation. We
suffer, build churches, give money, or sacrifice privileges when all we have to
do is wash in the blood of Jesus and receive his gift of eternal life. Because
the plan is so simple, many of us turn away as Naaman did and refuse the
greatest of all gifts.
Naaman's
healing ritual was a step down for him in more ways than one. It was a step
down from toxic success to new health and life. Naaman's skin became like the
skin of a little child, and his heart found new life. Some of us probably know
people who have been victims of their own success. Perhaps we have been victims
of our own success. These people have gone from the top of the ladder to the
bottom, sometimes yanked down a step, sometimes moving more or less at will.
Elisha
was a wise man. He knew that Naaman's healing was not simply a cure for his
leprosy. Naaman needed to submit, know his weakness and dependence on others,
expand his view of who was connected to his life, get naked and humble, and let
go and die to his old self. God's free grace is for everyone. It's too simple
to deal with our sin and guilt (or so we think), so we punish ourselves. We,
like Naaman, are at times reluctant to accept God's free gift. We, like Naaman,
must be committed to see our cleansing through.
Being
made whole is something else. It is to be changed or transformed. It is to know
that God is at work in our lives. It is to be overcome by joy. It is to be
enveloped by a peace that passes all understanding. It is to know an
uncontrollable joy. It is to know the power of God's grace in our lives. It is
to respond with thanks, gratitude and laughter.
Naaman
was healed of his leprosy, but he was also healed of his identity as a warrior.
When he accepted his weakness and dependency on someone else, when he realized
that he couldn't live his whole life by
only trusting in himself, when he met the God who is well beyond his control
and manipulation, Naaman discovered his true healing and his transformation
into a whole man who can let go and trust others and God.
God
overturns our human expectations and imposed limitations and breaks into our
world with healing and new life. God chooses to make all things clean. It
involves clearing pride, dignity and authority from the path. There is little
room for things as they should be or for those whose self-sufficiency closes
them off to God's healing help. That might be surprising, upsetting and world
changing for us. It is also a little threatening as it involves radical
personal and social changes.
How
do we respond to people who come to us for help? Do we ignore them? Do we
listen to them and then send them on their way instead of helping them? Do we
just throw money at the problem by making a donation or do we lower ourselves
like Naaman did and actually do something to help them? If we actively receive
them like Elisha received Naaman, we will have responded with God's love and we will have received a gift to us
through them where we can fulfill his call to show love, mercy and forgiveness
to all.
If
we obey God, that does not mean he will pay off five to one like the horse in
the story at the beginning of my sermon, but he will bless us with many
blessings, he will not be in debt to us for long, he will return even greater
gifts and he will reward us.
Bibliography
1.
Emily
Sylvester, "Naaman". Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
2.
Dr. Randy L.
Hyde, "Faith and Reason". Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
3.
Dr. Jeffrey
K. London, "The Laughter Barrel". Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
4.
The Rev.
Charles Hoffacker, The Trip Down the Ladder". Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
5.
Richard Neil
Donovan, "Unnatural Laws". Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
6.
Jamieson, R.;
Fawcett, A.R.; & Brown, D:Commentary
Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbour, WA: Logos
Research Systems Inc.: 1997)
7.
Dilday, R.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher's
Commentary Series, Vol. 9: 1 & 2 Kings (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson
Inc.; 1987)
8.
Stanley,
C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life
Principles Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2009)
9.
"The
Healing of Naaman". Retrieved from http://bible.org/seriespage/healingofnaaman.html
10. Keith Hammer, "The God That Keeps On
Giving". Retrieved from www.esermons.com
11. "The Preposterous Prescriptions". Retrieved
from www.esermons.com
12. Leonard Sweet, "Healing Aerobics". Retrieved
from www.esermons.com
13. David E. Leninger, "Our Magnificent, Mysterious,
Mischievous God". Retrieved from www.esermons.com
14. Don Yocum, "Naaman, the Leper". Retrieved
from www.esermons.com
15. Os Hillman, "Simply Obey". Retrieved from
Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
16. Exegesis for 2 Kings 5:1-14. Retrieved from
www.sermonwriter.com
17. Dr. Tony Evans, "Reversing the Curses in Your
Life". Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
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