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 

2 Kings 5:13 Good Advice

 “And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. His servants came near and spoke to him: Thank God for faithful subordinates who will speak to their superiors in such a way. Naaman was obviously angry, yet they were bold enough to give him the good advice he needed to hear.

b. If the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it: The servants of Naaman used a brilliantly logical approach. If Elisha had asked Naaman to sacrifice 100 or 1,000 animals to the God of Israel, Naaman would have done it immediately. Yet because his request was easy to do and humbling, Naaman first refused. (Guzik)

Good Advice 

“Naaman was obviously angry, yet they were bold enough to give him the good advice he needed to hear.” This has never happened to us, right?

The Bible is full of good advice that we need to hear! This verse says it all!

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,”

‭‭I Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Blessings 

2 Kings 5:10-12 Humbling!

 “And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Elisha sent a messenger to him: Naaman took the trouble to come to the home of Elisha, but Elisha refused to give him a personal audience. He simply sent a messenger. This was humbling to Naaman, who was accustomed to being honored.

b. Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean: These were simple, uncomplicated instructions. Yet as Naaman’s reaction demonstrates, these were humbling instructions.

c. He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy: Naaman had it all figured out. In his great need, he anticipated a way God would work, and he was offended when God didn’t work the way he expected.

d. He turned and went away in a rage: Because his expectation of how God shouldwork was crushed, Naaman wanted nothing to do with Elisha. If the answer was in washing in a river, Naaman knew there were better rivers in his own land. (Guzik)

Humbling!

Christian, don’t let this comment slip by you! “In his great need, he anticipated a way God would work, and he was offended when God didn’t work the way he expected.” (Guzik)

This often happens to everyone because we have a tendency to let pride and our earthly needs blind us to the way the Lord works.

“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.””

Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” ‭‭

James‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Like Naaman we need to humble ourselves before God will perform His work in us. 

Will Naaman humble himself?

Blessings 

2 Kings 5:8-9 Relationship With God

 “So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.” II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Why have you torn your clothes: Elisha gave a gentle rebuke to the king of Israel. “This is a crisis to you, because you have no relationship with the God who can heal lepers. But it is a needless crisis, because you couldhave a relationship with this God.”

b. Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel: Naaman would never know there was a prophet in Israel by hanging around the royal palace. The true prophet in Israel wasn’t welcome at the palace. 

(Guzik)

Relationship With God

Like the king of Israel, there are people in our lives that could have a relationship with God but refuse to. God made them in His image but He gave them free will.

All we can do is pray for them and continue to be an example and love them like Jesus.

Because the bible says, ““Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Do you know someone that needs a personal relationship with God? 

If so, don’t stop praying for them!

Blessings 

Personal-relationship with God.html

2 Kings 5:4-7 Relationship With God!

“And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.” Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy. And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.””

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel: Considering the record of wars between Israel and Syria described in the previous chapters, it seems strange that the king of Syria would send a letter of recommendation with his General Naaman. It seems that 2 Kings is not necessarily arranged chronologically, so this probably occurred during a time of lowered tension between Israel and Syria.

i. And took with him ten talents of silver: Dilday estimated that by the values of his own day, Naaman took more than $1.2 million with him to Israel. All this together shows how desperate Naaman’s condition was, and how badly the king of Syria wanted to help him.

b. I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy: When the king of Israel (Jehoram) read the letter, he was understandably upset. First, it was obviously out of his power to heal Naaman’s leprosy. Second, he had no relationship with the prophet of the God who did have the power to heal. He thought the king of Syria sought a quarrel.

i. The king of Syria assumed that the king of Israel was on a much better relationship with Elisha than he really was. It is easy for others to assume that we have a better relationship with God than we really do. (Guzik)

Relationship With God!

“It is easy for others to assume that we have a better relationship with God than we really do.” (Guzik)

I am reminded of the Pharisees and how Jesus chided them!

““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23‬:‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If you were alive during that time you would assume that the Pharisees had a great relationship with God, but Jesus called them out for hypocrisy!

What about you, do people see Jesus in you?

Blessings 

2 Kings 5:2-3 Knowledge of the True God!

“And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.”” II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel: This girl was an unwilling missionary, taken captive from Israel and now in Syria. Yet God allowed the tragedy of her captivity to accomplish a greater good.

i. The young girl illustrates the mysterious ways God works. She was probably raised in a godly home, yet taken from her family at a young age. It was an irreplaceable loss for her parents, and one they no doubt grieved over every day. Yet, she was greatly used in a simple way.

b. If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria: This young girl was an outstanding example of a faithful witness in her current circumstance. She caredenough to speak up, and she had faith enough to believe that Elisha would heal him of his leprosy.

i. “And see the benefits of a religious education! Had not this little maid been brought up in the knowledge of the true God, she had not been the instrument of so great a salvation.” (Clarke)

(Guzik)

Knowledge of the True God!

My parents raised us in the knowledge of the true God but unfortunately Catholicism didn’t do anything for me as an adult. I really don’t believe I was born again as Jesus explained to Nicodemus until I went to a Bible teaching church and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. 

But my parents and Catholicism planted the seed in my heart. 

I now jokingly refer to myself as a recovering catholic to new Christian brothers and sisters that I meet when they tell me that they were raised as a catholic. 

“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

My friend, have you put your soul to the test by asking yourself if you are born again? 

If you are unsure please study John chapter 3.

Blessings 

Knowledge of the true God!