2Ki 5:1 And Naaman the commander of the army of the king of Syria was a great and exalted man before his lord, for Jehovah had given deliverance to Syria by him. And he was a brave warrior, but leprous.
2Ki 5:2 And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and they seized from the land of Israel a little girl. And she was before Naaman's wife.
2Ki 5:3 And she said to her mistress, Oh that my lord were before the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would recover him from his leprosy.
2Ki 5:4 And one went in and told his lord, saying, This and this she said, the girl who is from the land of Israel.
2Ki 5:5 And the king of Syria said, Go, go in, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he went and took in his hand ten talents of silver, and six thousand of gold, and ten changes of garments.
2Ki 5:6 And he came to the king of Israel with the letter, saying, And now when this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent to you my servant Naaman. And you shall recover him from his leprosy.
2Ki 5:7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments and said, Am I God, to kill and to keep alive, that this one is sending to me to recover a man from his leprosy? For consider now, and see for he is seeking an occasion with me.
2Ki 5:8 And it happened, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent to the king, saying, Why have you torn your garments? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
2Ki 5:9 And Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
2Ki 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go, and you shall wash seven times in the Jordan. And your flesh shall return to you, and you shall be clean.
2Ki 5:11 And Naaman was angry, and went on, and said, Behold, I said, He will certainly come out to me and will stand and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and will wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2Ki 5:12 Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Shall I not wash in them and be clean? And he turned and went on in fury.
2Ki 5:13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had spoken a great thing to you would you not do it? How much rather then when he says to you, Wash, and be clean?
2Ki 5:14 And he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God. And his flesh returned like the flesh of a little boy, and he was clean.
2Ki 5:15 And he went back to the man of God, he and all his company, and came in and stood before him, and said, Behold, now I know that there is not a God in all the earth except in Israel. And now, please take a blessing from your servant.
2Ki 5:16 And he said, As Jehovah lives, before whom I stand, I shall not take. And he pressed on him to take, but he refused.
2Ki 5:17 And Naaman said, If not, please let a couple of mules' burden of earth be given to your servant. For your servant shall not make any more burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, only to Jehovah.
2Ki 5:18 May Jehovah pardon your servant for this thing, when my lord goes to the house of Rimmon to bow there, and he is supported by my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon; when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may Jehovah pardon your servant in this thing.
2Ki 5:19 And he said to him, Go in peace. And he went away a little way from him.
2Ki 5:20 And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my lord has spared this Syrian, Naaman, not to receive from his hand that which he has brought. As Jehovah lives, surely I will run after him. Then I shall take something from him.
2Ki 5:21 And Gehazi ran after Naaman. And Naaman saw one running after him, and got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Peace?
2Ki 5:22 And he said, Peace. My lord has sent me, saying, Behold this now, two young men from the hills of Ephraim have come to me, of the sons of the prophets. Please give to them a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.
2Ki 5:23 And Naaman said, Be pleased, take two talents. And he forced these on him, and bound two talents of silver and two purses, and two changes of garments, and gave to two of his young men, and they carried before him.
2Ki 5:24 And he came into the hill, and took them out of their hand, and put them away in the house, and sent away the men. And they went.
2Ki 5:25 And he went in and stood by his lord. And Elisha said to him, Where from Gehazi? And he said, Your servant did not go here or there.
2Ki 5:26 And he said to him, Did not my heart go out when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to take silver, and to take garments and olives, and vineyards, and flock, and herd, and male slaves, and slave-girls?
2Ki 5:27 Yea, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you, and to your seed forever. And he went out from him as leprous as snow.
Verses 1-19 Summary: Naaman is a great Syrian general. He has a captured Israelite slave girl. She tells Naaman's wife of a prophet in Israel that can help Naaman. Naaman gets permission to go to Israel. Naaman goes before the king and orders the king to heal him. The king thinks it's a trap since he cannot cure leprosy. Elisha sends word to the king that he will cure him. Naaman goes to Elisha's house. Elisha sends a messenger to tell Naaman to dip seven times in the Jordan and he will be cleansed. Naaman is enraged, since he was expecting Elisha himself to come out, call on Jehovah, wave his hand(s) around and cure him. He leaves in a huff. His servants convince him just to try it. He does. He's cured. He returns to Elisha's house to offer him gifts. Elisha refuses.
3. Naaman was obviously saved by grace. What else was he saved by? There was no grace until he humbled himself.
4. What applications can we make from Naaman's reaction in verses 11-12? Pride. Naaman had specific expectations of how he would be healed. He is important so he expected Elisha to come to him face to face (not sending a servant). He expected a grand gesture by Elisha, calling on God and waving his hand about the place. At the very least, if he is to dip in a river, why the Jordan? The Jordan could be unimpressive during the warmer months. It was all just too banal....too plain for a man as great as he is. It isn't until Naaman humbles himself that he becomes clean.
Notes: Who are the unsung heroes in this story? Consider the attitude of the slave girl. She's been taken from her people and still, her concern is for her captor. Consider the servants of Naaman, willing to speak up when their master is in a rage.
What do you think of Naaman's request before God? ...when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may Jehovah pardon your servant in this thing. Obviously, this was not a full blown conversion. Naaman knew that Jehovah is God, the only true God. He states this fact. He is not only humbled, but has gained a measure of faith. He understands verse one.
Verses 20-27 Summary: Gehazi decides to get some of the gift that was offered to Elisha. He runs to meet Naaman and asks for a talent of silver and two changes of clothes. Naaman gives it and sends two slaves to carry it. Naaman places the gift in the house. Elisha confronts Gehazi for what he did and curses him with the leprosy that left the Syrian general.
5. What applications can we make from the sin of Gehazi? Coveting is a strong adversary. It causes delusions with anyone deciding to follow its path. It was clear that the gift was not to be taken. Gehazi had to reconcile his wrong with a warped logic. "Why should this gift go to waste?" "If I take this, the general will feel better about the transaction. It will lighten his load on the way home." All of this took planning, quick planning. Giving into the urges, he RUNS to sin. Then lies. When he gets home he stows the gift in the house (thinking Elisha won't notice?). When confronted, he lies. Then he suffers the consequences of giving into his urges (sin).
6. What lesson can we learn from the leprosy clinging even to Gehazi's descendants? The consequences of sin might last beyond just the sinner. David learned this lesson as well. After his sin with Bathsheba, we see his life becomes full of trouble (from his own house).
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