2 Kings 6:4-7 Means!

 “So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.” So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.” II Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The iron ax head fell into the water: This was a significant loss. Iron was certainly present at this time in Israel, but it was not common enough to be cheap.

b. Alas, master! For it was borrowed: The man who lost the ax head was rightly sensitive to the fact that he lost something that belonged to someone else, making the loss more acute.

i. “The iron axe-head (Hebrew ‘iron’) had been asked for, that is, begged or prayed for, and not necessarily ‘borrowed.’” (Wiseman)

c. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float: This was an obvious and unique miracle. There was no trickery in the way that Elisha put the stick in the water; it was simply an expression of his faith that God honored.

i. “God can do all things, he can make iron swim – we cannot – and yet you see the prophet did it, and he did it by the use of a stick. He cut down a stick. Was there any connection between the stick and the iron? I can’t see any, and yet God does use means, and he would have us use means.” (Spurgeon)

ii. “The chief value of the story lies in its revelation of the influence Elisha was exerting in the nation. The growth of the school of the prophets was most remarkable.” (Morgan)

d. Pick it up for yourself: Conceivably, God could have arranged a way for the ax head to appear right in the man’s hand without any effort on his part. But this miracle worked in a familiar way – God did the part only He could do, but He left to man the part that he could do.

i. “Elisha then caused the submerged ax head to surface and instructed the pupil to retrieve the ax; thus he would personally participate in the miracle.” (Patterson and Austel) (Guzik)

Means!

“God does use means, and he would have us use means.” (Spurgeon)

Yes God can do all things which includes using us, the weak to confound the wise! All we need is faith, so we can use means!

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”” Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

So we can use means, we have to be willing to say “Here am I! Send me.”

Are you willing?

Blessings 

2 Kings 6:1-3 Significant Impact!

 “And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.” So he answered, “Go.” Then one said, “Please consent to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.””

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The place where we dwell with you is too small for us: This indicates that at this time Elisha had a significant impact on the nation. The old facility for housing the sons of the prophets was not large enough to meet the needs of all those who wanted to be trained in ministry.

b. Please consent to go with your servants: Elisha did not initiate or lead this work of building a new center for training the prophets, but it could not happen without his approval and blessing. (Guzik)

Significant Impact!

Like Elisha, is your church making a significant impact for your community?

Since joining our church eleven years ago it has expanded with two other campuses in two different cities, livestream every service, have a social media presence, monthly food truck, and various other ministries making a significant impact for our community and Jesus.

Is your church making a significant impact?

Blessings 

2 Kings 5:25-27 Divine Witness

 “Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.” Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭25‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Did not my heart go with you: Elisha knew. We don’t know if this was supernatural knowledge or simply gained from observation and knowing Gehazi’s character. One way or another, Elisha knew. All Gehazi’s attempts to cover his sin failed.

b. Is it time to receive money: It seems that Elisha had no absolute law against receiving support from those who were touched by his ministry. Yet it was spiritually clear to Elisha, and should have been clear to Gehazi, that it was not appropriate at this time and circumstance.

i. Money… clothing… olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants: Obviously, Gehazi did not bring all of these things home with him from Naaman. Yet he wanted all of these things, and Elisha exposed his greedy heart.

ii. “The deepest wrong in the action of Gehazi was that it involved the Divine witness which had been borne to the Syrian, Naaman, by the action of the little serving maid in his house, and the prophet Elisha. Their actions had been wholly disinterested, and for the glory of God.” (Morgan)

c. Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever: This was a severe judgment, but as a man in ministry Gehazi was under a stricter judgment. When he allowed himself to covet what Naaman had, he thought only in terms of the money Naaman possessed. God allowed him to keep the riches, but also gave him the other thing Naaman had – severe leprosy.

i. “Gehazi is not the last who has got money in an unlawful way, and has got God’s curse with it.” (Clarke)

ii. “We see here a pagan who by an act of faith is cured of leprosy and an Israelite who by an act of dishonor is cursed with it.” (Dilday)

(Guzik)

Divine Witness

Paul wrote of God as his witness,

“For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,” Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

And Job said,

“Surely even now my witness is in heaven, And my evidence is on high.” Job‬ ‭16‬:‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God sees all, He is the Divine witness! 

Do you believe He is your Divine witness too?

Blessings 

2 Kings 5:20-24 Greed

 “But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ” So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed.”

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. I will run after him and take something from him: As Gehazi heard Naaman and Elisha speak, he was shocked that his master refused to take anything from such a wealthy, influential, and grateful man. He figured that someone should benefit from such an opportunity, and he took the initiative to run after Naaman and take something from him.

i. Gehazi thought that Elisha deserved a reward (my master has spared Naaman). He also became exactly what Elisha avoided: becoming a taker (take something from him).

b. Please, take two talents: Gehazi probably thought that God was blessing his venture. After all, he asked for a talent of silver and Naaman was happy to give him two talents.

i. The fact that he handed them to two of his servants shows that this was a lot of silver. “It required two servants to carry these two talents, for, according to the computation above, each talent was about 120 lbs. weight.” (Clarke)

c. Stored them away in the house: He deliberately hid them from Elisha. Gehazi knew that he did wrong. (Guzik)

Greed

Because of our sin nature, greed is one of the sins that the devil uses to snare us. 

Gehazi allowed greed to become the instrument to removing the glory of God from Naaman’s healing!

Let this be a lesson for us! Just because you are a servant of the most High, doesn’t mean you are immune to sin! On the contrary you are held to a higher standard!

What do you think will happen to Gehazi?

Blessings 

2 Kings 5:17-19 Go In Peace!

 “So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.” Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.”

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth: Like many new believers, Naaman was superstitious in his faith. He held the common opinion of the ancient world that particular deities had power over particular places. He thought that if he took a piece of Israel back with him to Syria, he could better worship the God of Israel.

i. “The transporting of holy soil was a widespread custom. Naaman’s faith was yet untaught; and with his personal need to follow publicly the state cults, Elisha may have felt that available Israelite soil may have afforded Naaman with some tangible reminder of his cleansing and new relationship to God.” (Patterson and Austel)

b. When I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your servant in this thing: As an official in the government of Syria, Naaman was expected to participate in the worship of the Syrian gods. He asked Elisha for allowance to direct his heart to Yahweh even when he was in the temple of Rimmon.

i. “The Hebrew ‘lean on the hand’ does not imply physical support but that he was the king’s ‘right hand man’ (cf. 2 Kings 7:2, 17).” (Wiseman)

c. Go in peace: By generally approving but not saying specifically “yes” or “no,” it seems that Elisha left the matter up to Naaman and God. Perhaps he trusted that the LORD would personally convict Naaman of this and give him the integrity and strength to avoid idolatry.

i. Some commentators (Clarke and Trapp among them) believe that Naaman asked forgiveness for his previous idolatry in the temple of Rimmon, instead of asking permission for future occasions. Apparently, the Hebrew will allow for this translation, although it is not the most natural way to understand the text.

ii. Nevertheless, we can certainly agree with Trapp’s application: “Let none by Naaman’s example plead an upright soul in a prostrate body.” (Guzik)

Go In Peace!

I am reminded about a blessing pastor Robert would say upon ending a service.

““The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬-‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

May this prayer give you peace and that you go in peace throughout the day!

Blessings 

2 Kings 5:15-16 True God in All the Earth!

 “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. And he returned to the man of God: This was a fine display of gratitude. Naaman was like the one leper out of the ten Jesus healed who came back to thank Jesus (Luke 17:12-19). He was also a foreigner, like the one thankful leper of Luke 17.

i. Before, Naaman expected the prophet to come to him. Now he returned to the man of God and stood before him.

ii. “It is often the case that those who have least to value themselves on are proud and haughty; whereas the most excellent of the earth are the most humble, knowing that they have nothing but what they have received. Naaman, the leper, was more proud and dictatorial than he was when cleansed of his leprosy.” (Clarke)

b. Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel: It wasn’t just the healing that persuaded Naaman of this. It was the healing connected with the word of the prophet. Together, this was convincing evidence to Naaman that the God Elisha represented was the true God in all the earth.

c. Please take a gift from your servant: We can say that Naaman only meant well by this gesture. He felt it was appropriate to support the ministry of this man of God whom the LORD had used so greatly to bring healing. However, Elisha steadfastly insisted that he would receive nothing from Naaman. (Guzik)

True God in All the Earth!

Has God done something for you, like healing Naaman that you said and proclaimed to everyone “that He was the true God in all the earth “?

Earlier this year I was felling a tree that went wrong and ran as it was coming down and hid behind a small tree and the V of the tree top fell on both sides of me and removed a glove on my hand. I was unscathed and knew only by the hand of God that He wasn’t done with me yet! 

And then there was the rain storm when the electricity went out. I put my raincoat on and walked the electric line to see if there was a tree down causing the outage. As I was returning a great wind came up and I prayed and ran for the door! Later I found out we had 70 mph straight line winds that uprooted a dozen trees!

God had His angels watching over me and I proclaim it here and now that He is the true God in all the earth!

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”” I Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Have you ever had a Naaman moment?

Blessings 

2 Kings 5:14 Step of Faith?

 “So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. According to the saying of the man of God: Naaman did exactly what Elisha told him to do. Therefore we can say that each dunk in the Jordan was a step of faith, trusting in the word of God through His prophet.

i. Wiseman on the ancient Hebrew word translated dipped: “Naaman ‘plunged’ in the River Jordan. This signified total obedience to the divine word.”

ii. Spurgeon saw Naaman attacked by two enemies: Proud Self, who internally demanded that Elisha come out and see him, and Evil Questioning, who questioned why he should wash in the Jordan when he had better rivers back in his homeland. Naaman overcame these two enemies and did what God told him to do.

b. And his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean: Naaman’s response of faith was generously rewarded. God answered his faith with complete and miraculous healing.

i. “The simple method of this miracle, performed without the prophet there, did give God the credit. It was obvious that the healing came from Yahweh rather than from the sort of magical incantation that Naaman had anticipated.” (Dilday)

(Guzik)

Step of Faith?

Throughout our lives God speaks to us and asks us to do something for His kingdom. All we have to do is take that step of faith. It could be something as simple as feeding a homeless person, helping a widow or adopting a child. Naaman fought two enemies, the proud self and the evil questioning before he took the step of faith. 

Satan will use anything in his arsenal to keep you from taking that step of faith!

I encourage you to take the step of faith instead of listening to the lies of the proud self and evil questioning. 

Blessings