The prophet Elijah is named twenty-nine times in the New Testament while Elisha is named only once. “And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4: nkjv). Naaman was a Gentile and the commander of the army of an enemy nation, so it’s no wonder the congregation in Nazareth became angry with the Lord, interrupted His sermon, and carried Him out of the synagogue. After all, why would the God of Israel heal a man who was a Gentile and outside the covenant? He was an enemy who kidnapped little Jewish girls, and a leper who should have been isolated and left to die. These people knew nothing about the sovereign grace of God. Like Naaman, they became angry, but unlike Naaman, they didn’t humble themselves and trust the Lord. Naaman’s experience with Elisha illustrates to us the gracious work of God in saving lost sinners.
Naaman needed the Lord (vv. 1–3). The king of Syria was Ben Hadad II, and as commander of the army, Naaman was the number two man in the nation. But with all his prestige, authority, and wealth, Naaman was a doomed man because under his uniform was the body of a leper. It appears from verse 11 that the infection was limited to one place, but leprosy has a tendency to spread and if left unchecked, it ultimately kills. Only the power of the God of Israel could heal him.
Although Naaman didn’t realize it, the Lord had already worked on his behalf by giving him victory over the Assyrians. Jehovah is the covenant God of Israel, but He is also Lord of all the nations and can use any person, saved or unsaved, to accomplish His will (see Isa. 44:28; 45:13; Ezek. 30:24–25). The Lord also did a gracious thing when He permitted Naaman to bring the captive Jewish girl into his house to be his wife’s maid. The girl was a slave, but because she trusted the God of Israel, she was free. Even more, she was a humble witness to her mistress. Her words were so convincing that the woman told her husband and he in turn informed the king. Never underestimate the power of a simple witness, for God can take words from the lips of a child and carry them to the ears of a king.
Although there is no direct scriptural statement that leprosy is a picture of sin, when you read Leviticus 13, you can clearly see parallels. Like leprosy, sin is deeper than the skin (v. 3), it spreads (v. 7), it defiles (v. 45), it isolates (v. 46), and it is fit only for the fire (vv. 52, 57).
Seeking the Lord (vv. 4–10). Naaman couldn’t leave Syria without the king’s permission, and he also needed an official letter of introduction to Joram, king of Israel. After all, Syria and Israel were enemies, and the arrival of the commander of the Syrian army could be greatly misunderstood. Both Naaman and Ben Hadad wrongly assumed that the prophet would do whatever the king commanded him to do and that both the king and the prophet would expect to receive expensive gifts in return. For that reason, Naaman took along 750 pounds of silver and 150 pounds of gold, plus costly garments. The servant girl had said nothing about kings or gifts; she only pointed to Elisha the prophet and told her mistress what the Lord could do. Unsaved people know nothing about the things of the Lord and only complicate that which is so simple (1 Cor. 2:14). We aren’t saved by bringing gifts to God, but by receiving by faith His gift of eternal life (Eph. 2:8–9; John 3:16, 36; Rom. 6:23).
This was King Joram’s opportunity to honor the Lord and begin to build peace between Syria and Israel, but he failed to take advantage of it. Although 3: suggests that Joram and Elisha weren’t close friends, the king did know who Elisha was and what he could do. He also surely knew that Israel’s task was to bear witness to the godless nations around them (Isa. 42:6; 49:6). But Joram’s concerns were personal and political, not spiritual, and he interpreted the letter as a declaration of war. Alarmed by the thought, he impulsively tore his clothes, something that kings rarely did; but his mind was blinded by unbelief and fear, and he didn’t understand what the Lord was doing.
The prophet was in his home in the city of Samaria, but he knew what the king had said and done in his palace, for God hides from His servants nothing they need to know (Amos 3:7). His message to Joram must have irritated the king, but at the same time Elisha was rescuing Joram from personal embarrassment and possible international complications. Yes, there was a king on the throne, but there was also a prophet in Israel! The king was helpless to do anything, but the prophet was a channel of God’s power.
Elisha knew that Naaman had to be humbled before he could be healed. Accustomed to the protocol of the palace, this esteemed leader expected to be recognized publicly and his lavish gifts accepted with exaggerated appreciation, because that’s the way kings did things. But Elisha didn’t even come out of his house to welcome the man! Instead, he sent a messenger (Gehazi?) instructing him to ride thirty-two miles to the Jordan River and immerse himself in it seven times. Then he would be cleansed of his leprosy.
Naaman had been seeking help and now his search was ended.
Resisting the Lord (vv. 11–12). If Naaman began his journey at Damascus, then he had traveled over one hundred miles to get to Samaria, so another thirty miles or so shouldn’t have upset him. But it did, for the great general became angry. The basic cause of his anger was pride. He had already decided in his own mind just how the prophet would heal him, but God didn’t work that way. Before sinners can receive God’s grace, they must submit to God’s will, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5: nkjv; see Rom. 10:1–3). Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse used to say, “Everybody has the privilege of going to heaven God’s way or going to hell their own way.”
The Lord had already been working on Naaman’s pride, and there was more to come. King Joram wasn’t able to heal him, the prophet didn’t come to court or even come out to greet him, and he had to dip in the dirty Jordan River, not once, but seven times. And he a great general and second in command over the nation of Syria! “Ah, that is just the trouble,” said evangelist D. L. Moody when preaching on this passage. “He had marked out a way of his own for the prophet to heal him, and was mad because he didn’t follow his plans.” Is it any different today? People want to be saved from their sins by participating in a religious ritual, joining a church, giving money to the church, reforming their lives, doing good works, and a host of other substitutes for putting faith in Jesus Christ. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5).
Naaman had another problem: he preferred the rivers back in Damascus to the muddy Jordan River. He thought his healing would come from the water, so it was logical that the better the water, the better the healing. He would rather have his own way and travel over a hundred miles than obey God’s way and go thirty-two miles! He was so close to salvation and yet so far away!
Trusting the Lord (vv. 13–15a). Once again, the Lord used servants to accomplish His purposes (vv. 2–3). If Naaman wouldn’t listen to the command of the prophet, perhaps he would heed the counsel of his own servants. “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord” (Isa. 1:18). Elisha didn’t ask him to do something difficult or impossible, because that would only have increased his pride. He asked him to obey a simple command and perform a humbling act, and it was unreasonable not to submit. When Naaman told his story back in Syria and got to this point, his friend would say, “You did what?” Faith that doesn’t lead to obedience isn’t faith at all.
When he came up from the water the seventh time, his leprosy was gone and his flesh was like that of a little child. In New Testament language, he was born again (John 3:3–8). “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18: nkjv). By his obedience he demonstrated his faith in God’s promise, and the Lord cleansed him of his leprosy. To quote D. L. Moody again, “He lost his temper; then he lost his pride; then he lost his leprosy; that is generally the order in which proud rebellious sinners are converted.” Naaman gave a clear public testimony that the Lord God of Israel was the only true and living God and was the God of all the earth. He renounced the false gods and idols of Syria and identified himself with Jehovah. What an indictment this testimony was against the idol-worshipping king and people of Israel!
Serving the Lord (vv. 15b-19). Like every new believer, Naaman still had a lot to learn. He had been saved and healed by trusting in God’s grace, and now he had to grow in grace and faith and learn how to live to please the God who saved him. Instead of hurrying home to share the good news, Naaman returned to the house of Elisha to thank the Lord and His servant. (See Luke 17:11–19.) That meant traveling another thirty miles, but he must have rejoiced during the entire trip. It was natural for him to want to reward Elisha, but had the prophet accepted the gift, he would have taken the credit to himself and robbed God of glory. God saves us “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). He also would have given Naaman, a new convert, the impression that his gifts had something to do with his salvation. Abraham had refused the gifts from the king of Sodom (Gen. 14:17–24), Daniel would refuse the king’s offer (Dan. 5:17), and Peter and John would reject Simon’s money (Acts 8:18–24).
Naaman was starting to grow in his understanding of the Lord, but he still had a long way to go. Elisha refused his gifts, but Naaman asked if he could take some native soil with him to Syria to use in his worship of Jehovah. In those days, people had the idea that the gods of a nation resided in that land, and if you left the land, you left the god behind. But Naaman had just testified that Jehovah was God in all the earth (v. 15)! However, taking that soil was a courageous act, because his master and his friends would surely ask Naaman what it meant, and he would have to tell them of his faith in the God of Israel.
In his second request, Naaman showed unusual insight, for he realized that the king would expect him to continue his official acts as the commander of the army. This included accompanying the king into the temple of Rimmon, the Syrian equivalent of Baal. Naaman was willing to perform this ritual outwardly, but he wanted Elisha to know that his heart would not be in it. Naaman anticipated that his healing and his changed life would have an impact on the royal court and eventually lead to the king’s conversion. Instead of criticizing believers who serve in public offices, we need to pray for them, because they face very difficult decisions.
It’s interesting that Elisha didn’t lecture him or admonish him but just said, “Go in peace.” This was the usual covenant blessing the Jews invoked when people were starting on a journey. The prophet would pray for him and trust God to use him in his new ministry in Syria. Naaman’s leprosy was gone, he still had the treasures, he carried soil from Israel, and he knew the true and living God. What a witness he could be in that dark land—and Naaman’s servant girl would join him!