Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
Parallel Translations
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Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
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Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
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Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and held in esteem, because by him the LORD had given victory unto Aram; he was also a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 5:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Luke 4:27 There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”
- Romans 15:18 For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,
- Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory is with Yahweh.
- Numbers 12:10-12 The cloud departed from over the Tent; and behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. Aaron looked at Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, please don’t count this sin against us, in which we have done foolishly, and in which we have sinned. Let her not, I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”
- Deuteronomy 2:37 Only to the land of the children of Ammon you didn’t come near: all the banks of the river Jabbok, and the cities of the hill country, and wherever Yahweh our God forbade us.
- Esther 9:4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai grew greater and greater.
- Esther 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was next to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted by the multitude of his brothers, seeking the good of his people, and speaking peace to all his descendants.
- Exodus 11:3 Yahweh gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.
- Leviticus 13:2-3 “When a man shall have a swelling in his body’s skin, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his body the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. The priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body. If the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body’s skin, it is the plague of leprosy; so the priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean.
- 2 Kings 4:8 One day Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman; and she persuaded him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread.
- 2 Chronicles 26:19-23 Then Uzziah was angry. He had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and while he was angry with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in Yahweh’s house, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out quickly from there. Yes, he himself also hurried to go out, because Yahweh had struck him. Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and lived in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from Yahweh’s house. Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, wrote. So Uzziah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Jotham his son reigned in his place.
- Isaiah 10:5-6 Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation! I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me I will give him a command to take the plunder and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
- 2 Samuel 3:29 Let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house. Let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”
- 2 Kings 7:3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?
- Jeremiah 27:5-6 ‘I have made the earth, the men, and the animals that are on the surface of the earth by my great power and by my outstretched arm. I give it to whom it seems right to me. Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant. I have also given the animals of the field to him to serve him.
- John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin.”
- Leviticus 13:44-46 he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His plague is on his head. “The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside of the camp.
- 2 Kings 5:27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your offspring forever.” He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow.
- 2 Corinthians 12:7 By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, a thorn in the flesh was given to me: a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Here appeareth that among the infidels God hath his,…
Here appeareth that among the infidels God hath his, and also that the infidels have them in estimation which do good to their country.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 5:1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of…
2Ki 5:1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, [but he was] a leper.
Ver. 1. Because by him the Lord had given deliverance.] At that time, probably, when Ahab and Jehoshaphat came against Ramothgilead, {1Ki 22:29} Naaman was commander-in-chief of the Syrian’s army; and the Rabbis tell us that it was he who shot the arrow wherewith Ahab was slain. Hence he is said to have saved Syria, like as afterwards Marius saved Italy, Flaminius Greece, Fabius Rome, Hunniades Hungary, &c.
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But he was a leper.] Not from his birth, nor yet to his death. Hence a learned writer of ours fitly compareth the whole Church of Christ in all her ages to this Naaman the Syrian. He was first pure and sound, and did many honourable acts, and thereby represented the primitive Church, pure and clean, without spot or disease appearing; howbeit, there might be some secret seeds of diseases unperceived, which in continuance of time grew to a visible leprosy. In his middle time he became leprous, diseased, and deformed, foully infected in himself, and infecting others; and thereby represented the latter Church of Rome. Afterwards, by the prophet’s direction, he was washed and cleansed from his leprosy, and his flesh restored to become pure and perfect, like the flesh of a young child; and thereby represented our Reformed Churches. {a} And as Naaman in all these three estates was the same person, and not a new, diverse, or several man; so our Church is not a new Church, but the old Church reformed from errors and corruptions, and restored to her ancient purity and soundness.
{a} Cade, Of the Church.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain A great man with his master; in great power…
A great man with his master; in great power and favour with the king of Syria. Honourable; highly esteemed, both for his quality and success. By him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria; which expression he useth, partly to mind the Israelites that all the hurt they had from the Tyrians was from the Lord, who used them as his rod, and gave them the successes against Israel, which are recorded; and partly to check that proud conceit which then was working, and afterwards more fully discovered itself, in the Israelitish nation, as if the care, and providence, and goodness of God were wholly confined to themselves, and not imparted to any other people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Our saviour's miracles were intended for the lost sheep…
Our saviour's miracles were intended for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet one, like a crumb, fell from the table to a woman of Canaan; so this one miracle Elisha wrought for Naaman, a Syrian; for God does good to all, and will have all men to be saved. Here is,
I. The great affliction Naaman was under, in the midst of all his honours, Kg2 5:1. He was a great man, in a great place; not only rich and raised, but particularly happy for two things: - 1. That he had been very serviceable to his country. God made him so: By him the Lord had often given deliverance to Syria, success in their wars even with Israel. The preservation and prosperity even of those that do not know God and serve him must be ascribed to him, for he is the Saviour of all men, but especially of those that believe. Let Israel know that when the Syrians prevailed it was from the Lord. 2. That he was very acceptable to his prince, was his favourite, and prime-minister of state; so great was he, so high, so honourable, and a mighty man of valour; but he was a leper, was under that loathsome disease, which made him a burden to himself. Note, (1.) No man's greatness, or honour, or interest, or valour, or victory, can set him out of the reach of the sorest calamities of human life; there is many a sickly crazy body under rich and gay clothing. (2.) Every man has some but or other in his character, something that blemishes and diminishes him, some allay to his grandeur, some damp to his joy; he may be very happy, very good, yet, in something or other, not so good as he should be nor so happy as he would be. Naaman was a great as the world could make him, and yet (as bishop Hall expresses it) the basest slave in Syria would not change skins with him.
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II. The notice that was given him of Elisha's power, by a little maid that waited on his lady, Kg2 5:2, Kg2 5:3. This maid was, by birth, an Israelite, providentially carried captive into Syria, and there preferred into Naaman's family, where she published Elisha's fame to the honour of Israel and Israel's God. The unhappy dispersing of the people of God has sometimes proved the happy occasion of the diffusion of the knowledge of God, Act 8:4. This little maid, 1. As became a true-born Israelite, consulted the honour of her country, and could give an account, though but a girl, of the famous prophet they had among them. Children should betimes acquaint themselves with the wondrous works of God, that, wherever they go, they may have them to talk of. See Psa 8:2. 2. As became a good servant, she desired the health and welfare of her master, though she was a captive, a servant by force; much more should servants of choice seek their masters' good. The Jews in Babylon were to seek the peace of the land of their captivity. Jer 29:7. Elisha had not cleansed any leper in Israel (Luk 4:27), yet this little maid, from the other miracles he had wrought, inferred that he could cure her master, and from his common beneficence inferred that he would do it, though he was a Syrian. Servants may be blessings to the families where they are, by telling what they know of the glory of God and the honour of his prophets.
III. The application which the king of Syria hereupon made to the king of Israel on Naaman's behalf. Naaman took notice of the intelligence, though given by a simple maid, and did not despise it for the sake of her meanness, when it tended to his bodily health. he did not say, "The girl talks like a fool; how can any prophet of Israel do that for me which all the physicians of Syria have attempted in vain?" Though he neither loved nor honoured the Jewish nation, yet, if one of that nation can but cure him of his leprosy, he will thankfully acknowledge the obligation. O that those who are spiritually diseased would hearken thus readily to the tidings brought them of the great Physician! See what Naaman did upon this little hint. 1. He would not send for the prophet to come to him, but such honour would he pay to one that had so much of a divine power with him as to be able to cure diseases that he would go to him himself, though he himself was sickly, unfit for society, the journey long, and the country an enemy's; princes, he thinks, must stoop to prophets when they need them. 2. He would not go incognito - in disguise, though his errand proclaimed his loathsome disease, but went in state, and with a great retinue, to do the more honour to the prophet. 3. He would not go empty-handed, but took with him gold, silver, and raiment, to present to his physician. Those that have wealth, and want health show which they reckon the more valuable blessing; what will they not give for ease, and strength, and soundness of body? 4. He would not go without a letter to the king of Israel from the king his master, who did himself earnestly desire his recovery. He knows not where in Samaria to find this wonder-working prophet, but takes it for granted the king knows where to find him; and, to engage the prophet to do his utmost for Naaman, he will go to him supported with the interest of two kings. If the king of Syria must entreat his help, he hopes the king of Israel, being his liege-lord, may command it. The gifts of the subject must all be (he thinks) for the service and honour of the prince, and therefore he desires the king that he would recover the leper (Kg2 5:6), taking it for granted that there was a greater intimacy between the king and the prophet than really there was.
IV. The alarm this gave to the king of Israel, Kg2 5:7. He apprehended there was in this letter, 1. A great affront upon God, and therefore he rent his clothes, according to the custom of the Jews when they heard or read that which they thought blasphemous; and what less could it be than to attribute to him a divine power? "Am I a God, to kill whom I will, and make alive whom I will? No, I pretend not to such an authority." Nebuchadnezzar did, as we find, Dan 5:19. "Am I a God, to kill with a word, and make alive with a word? No, I pretend not to such a power;" thus this great man, this bad man, is made to own that he is but a man. Why did he not, with this consideration, correct himself for his idolatry, and reason thus: - Shall I worship those as gods that can neither kill nor make alive, can do neither good nor evil? 2. A bad design upon himself. He appeals to those about him for this: "See how he seeketh a quarrel against me; he requires me to recover the leper, and if I do not, though I cannot, he will make that a pretence to wage war with me," which he suspects the rather because Naaman is his general. had he rightly understood the meaning of the letter, that when the king wrote to him to recover the leper he meant that he would take care he might be recovered, he would not have been in this fright. Note, We often create a great deal of uneasiness to ourselves by misinterpreting the words and actions of others that are well intended: it is charity to ourselves to think no evil. If he had bethought himself of Elisha, and his power, he would easily have understood the letter, and have known what he had to do; but he is put into this confusion by making himself a stranger to the prophet: the captive maid had him more in her thoughts than the king had.
V. The proffer which Elisha made of his services. He was willing to do any thing to make his prince easy, though he was neglected and his former good services were forgotten by him. Hearing on which occasion the king had rent his clothes, he sent to him to let him know that if his patient would come to him he should not lose his labour (Kg2 5:8): He shall know that there is a prophet in Israel (and it were sad with Israel if there were not), that there is a prophet in Israel who can do that which the king of Israel dares not attempt, which the prophets of Syria cannot pretend to. It was not for his own honour, but for the honour of God, that he coveted to make them all know that there was a prophet in Israel, though obscure and overlooked.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king…
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria,.... The general of Benhadad's army; for he was now king of Syria, though some think Hazael his successor was:
was a great man with his master; high in his favour and esteem:
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and honourable; not only acceptable to the king, and loaded with honours by him, but greatly respected by all ranks and degrees among the people:
because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria; out of the hands of their enemies, and victory over them, and particularly in the last battle with Israel, in which Ahab was slain, and, as the Jews suppose, by the hands of Naaman; see Gill on Kg1 22:34 however, when any salvation was wrought, or victory obtained, even by Heathens, and by them over Israel, the people of God, it was of the Lord:
he was also a mighty man in valour; a very courageous valiant man:
but he was a leper; was stricken with the leprosy, which had deformed and disgraced his person, and weakened his strength, and dispirited him; all his grandeur and honour could not protect him from this loathsome disease.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Naaman hears of Elisha, ver. 1-4. The king of…
Naaman hears of Elisha, ver. 1-4. The king of Syria sends him to the king of Israel, ver. 5-7. He goes to Elisha and is healed, ver. 8-14. His grateful acknowledgment to Elisha, ver. 15-19. Gehazi follows him, and receives gifts from him, ver. 20-24. The leprosy of Naaman entailed on Gehazi's family, ver. 25-27.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The history of Naaman, captain of the host of…
CHAPTER V
The history of Naaman, captain of the host of the king of
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Syria, a leper; who was informed by a little Israelitish
captive maid that a prophet of the Lord, in Samaria, could
cure him, 1-4.
The king of Syria sends him, with a letter and rich presents,
to the king of Israel, that he should recover him of his
leprosy, 5, 6.
On receiving the letter, the king of Israel is greatly
distressed, supposing that the Syrian king designed to seek a
quarrel with him; in desiring him to cleanse a leper, when it
was well known that none could cure that disorder but God, 7.
Elisha, hearing this, orders Naaman to be sent to him, 8.
He comes to Elisha's house in great state, 9.
And the prophet sends a messenger to him, ordering him to wash
in Jordan seven times, and he should be made clean, 10.
Naaman is displeased that he is received with so little
ceremony, and departs in a rage, 11, 12.
His servants reason with him; he is persuaded, goes to Jordan,
washes, and is made clean, 13, 14.
He returns to Elisha; acknowledges the true God; and offers
him a present, which the prophet refuses, 15, 16.
He asks directions, promises never to sacrifice to any other
god, and is dismissed, 17-19.
Gehazi runs after him, pretends he is sent by his master for a
talent of silver and two changes of raiment; which he receives,
brings home, and hides, 20-24.
Elisha questions him; convicts him of his wickedness;
pronounces a curse of leprosy upon him, with which he is
immediately afflicted; and departs from his master a leper,
as white as snow, 25-27.
NOTES ON CHAP. V
Verse 1. Naaman, captain of the host] Of Naaman we know nothing more than is related here. Jarchi and some others say that he was the man who drew the bow at a venture, as we term it, and slew Ahab: see 1Kg 22:34, and the notes there. He is not mentioned by Josephus, nor has he any reference to this history; which is very strange, as it exists in the Chaldee, Septuagint, and Syriac.
King of Syria] The Hebrew is מלך ארם melech Aram, king of Aram; which is followed by the Chaldee and Arabic. The Syriac has [Syriac] Adom; but as the Syriac [Syriac] dolath is the same element as the Syriac [Syriac] rish, differing only in the position of the diacritic point, it may have been originally Aram. The Septuagint and Vulgate have Syria, and this is a common meaning of the term in Scripture. If the king of Syria be meant, it must be Ben-hadad; and the contemporary king of Israel was Jehoram.
A great man] He was held in the highest esteem.
And honourable] Had the peculiar favour and confidence of his master; and was promoted to the highest trusts.
Had given deliverance unto Syria] That is, as the rabbins state, by his slaying Ahab, king of Israel; in consequence of which the Syrians got the victory.
A mighty man in valour] He was a giant, and very strong, according to the Arabic. He had, in a word, all the qualifications of an able general.
But he was a leper.] Here was a heavy tax upon his grandeur; he was afflicted with a disorder the most loathsome and the most humiliating that could possibly disgrace a human being. God often, in the course of his providence, permits great defects to be associated with great eminence, that he may hide pride from man; and cause him to think soberly of himself and his acquirements.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 5:1. Naaman — was a great man with…
2Ki 5:1. Naaman — was a great man with his master — In great power and favour with the king of Syria; and honourable — Highly esteemed, both for his quality and success; because the Lord by him had given deliverance unto Syria — He had been victorious in such battles as he had fought, which coming to pass through the permission or appointment of the Divine Providence, the sacred writer would have the Israelites to look upon it as the Lord’s doing. Let Israel know, that, when the Syrians prevailed, it was from the Lord. He gave them success in their wars, even with Israel, and for Israel’s chastisement. But he was a leper — This did not exclude him from the society of men in that country, where the Jewish law was not in force. But it was a great blemish upon him, and also likely to prove deadly; there being no cure for this disease, a disease very common in Syria.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain By him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria…
By him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria - An Assyrian monarch had pushed his conquests as far as Syria exactly at this period, bringing into subjection all the kings of these parts. But Syria revolted after a few years and once more made herself independent. It was probably in this war of independence that Naaman had distinguished himself.
But he was a leper - leprosy admitted of various kinds and degrees Lev. 13; 14 Some of the lighter forms would not incapacitate a man from discharging the duties of a courtier and warrior.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain King, Benadad, who had defeated Achab, and was slain…
King, Benadad, who had defeated Achab, and was slain by Hazael; (chap. viii.; Tirinus) or, according to Salien, Hazael was already king. (Menochius) --- Josephus passes over this history. It is not known for what reason, (Calmet) unless he was staggered at the petition of Naaman, ver. 18, 19. (Haydock) --- Syria. The Rabbins say, by killing Achab, 3 Kings xxii. 34. But their authority is very small; (Haydock) and he might signalize himself on many other occasions. --- Leper. This malady did not exclude him from court. The Hebrews allowed such to appear in public, till the priests had declared them unclean; and other nations viewed the leprosy with less horror.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain B.—The healing of Naaman, punishment of Gehazi, and recovery…
B.—The healing of Naaman, punishment of Gehazi, and recovery of a lost axe
2Ki_5:1 to 2Ki_6:7
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1Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable [honored], because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper. 2And the Syrians had gone out by companies [in marauding bands], and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with 4the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one [he, i.e., Naaman] went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 5And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. [,] 6And he brought the letter [omit the letter] to the king of Israel [the letter], saying [which was to this effect]: Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. 7And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore, [Nay! only] consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know [learn] that there is a prophet in Israel. 9So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 11But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover 12the leper [heal the leprosy]. Are not Abana11 and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. 13And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, 14Wash, and be clean? Then he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing [token of gratitude from—omit of] of thy servant. 16But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. 17And Naaman said, Shall there not then [If not, then let there], I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? [,] for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.12 18In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, [;] that [omit that] when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: [;] when I bow down myself13 in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing. 19And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way [some distance].
20But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. 21So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? 22And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even [just] now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. 23And Naaman said, Be content, [pleased to—omit,] take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. 24And when he came to the tower [hill] he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. 25But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? 26And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and maid servants? 27The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed forever. And he went from his presence a leper as white as snow.
2Ki_6:1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. 2Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. 3And one said, 4Be content [pleased], I pray thee, and [to] go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. 5But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. 6And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and [made] the iron did [to—omit did] swim. 7Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
2Ki_5:1. Now Naaman captain of the host, &c. The וְ with which the narrative begins, is used as in 1Ki_1:1, and does not mark the incident as having occurred immediately after the preceding. We cannot decide certainly whether it belongs to the time of Jehoram or to that of the house of Jehu. In any case it refers to a time when the relations between Syria and Israel were not hostile. That Naaman was the man who fatally wounded Ahab is a mere guess of the rabbis, and it is not strengthened at all by the statement of Josephus: παῖς δέ τις βασιλικὸς τοῦ ’Αδάδου, ’́Αμανος ὅνομα. Naaman is called a great man in so far as he occupied a high position in the service of the king. The statement: by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria, i.e., victory, does not compel us to translate גִּבּוֹר חַיִל as Thenius does, by “a man of great physical strength;” the expression marks his military ability. Keil takes it as second predicate: “The man was a general though a leper,” meaning that, although in Israel lepers were excluded from all human society, in Syria a leper could fill even a high civil office. This is certainly unfounded, for lepers were everywhere physically incapable of performing important duties. מְצֹרָע is evidently used by contrast, whether the omission of the וְ connective sharpens the contrast (Thenius) or not. He was a mighty military chief, but, on account of his disease, he could not fulfill his duties. “It is significant that he who had helped to gain the victory over Israel, is represented as a leper, who must seek help in Israel, and who finds it there” (Thenius). [By whom the Lord had given deliverance. In consistency with the standing conception of the Hebrews that Jehovah was the God of all the earth, it is represented as a dispensation of His providence that Naaman had won victories for Syria, cf. 2Ki_19:25-26.—W. G. S.] אַחֲלֵי 2Ki_5:3, as in Psa_119:5, utinam. The word אָסַף i.e., collect, take up, receive, designates the reception into the society of men which followed upon deliverance from leprosy (Num_12:14).
2Ki_5:5. And the king of Syria said, &c. We see, from the king’s readiness, how anxious he was for the restoration of Naaman. The treasures which the latter took with him were very valuable; we cannot, however, estimate their value accurately. According to Keil 10 talents of silver are about 25,000 thalers ($18,000), and 6000 shekels of gold (= 2 talents) are about 50,000 thalers ($36,000); according to Thenius the value would be 20,000 thalers and 60,000 thalers ($14,400 and $43,200). On the ten changes of raiment, cf. εἵματα ἐξημοιβά (Odyss. 8:249). Winer: “An Oriental is still fond of frequent changes of apparel (Gen_40:14; 1Sa_28:8; 2Sa_12:20), especially of grand dresses at marriages and other celebrations (Niebuhr, Reise, i. 182).” The royal letter is abbreviated in 2Ki_5:6, for it could not begin with “Now when.” Only the main passage is given here. The letter was simply a note of introduction, and we cannot infer from the words: That thou mayest recover him of his leprosy, that the king of Israel was then in a relation of dependence to the Syrian king. The king “probably thought of the prophet, of whom he had heard so great things, as the chief of a sort of magi … or as the Israelitish high-priest, who could probably be induced to undertake, on behalf of a foreigner, those ceremonies and functions of his office from which so great results were to be expected, only by the intercession of the king” (Menken). The king of Israel, however, so far misunderstood the intention of the letter as to suppose that he himself was expected to perform the cure; he thought that this demand was only a pretext, in order to bring about a quarrel with him. He was thereby so frightened and saddened that he rent his clothes (2Ki_2:12; 1Ki_21:27). The meaning of the words in 2Ki_5:7 is: he demands of me something which God alone can do, so that it is clear that he is only seeking a quarrel. To kill and to make alive is the province of that Divinity alone who is elevated far above the world (Deu_32:39; 1Sa_2:6); leprosy was regarded as the equivalent of death (Num_12:12); to deliver from it was to make alive. It is not probable that the king spoke the words: Wherefore, consider, in the solemn audience in which the letter was delivered to him (Thenius): he uttered this suspicion only in the circle of his most intimate attendants.
2Ki_5:8. And it was so when Elisha the man of God, &c. If the arrival of the celebrated Syrian with his retinue caused a sensation, still more did the fact that the king rent his clothes; the news of it came speedily to the prophet, who was then in Samaria (2Ki_5:3), and not in Jericho (Krummacher). The king, in his fright, either did not think of Elisha, or he did not believe at all that there was any one who could help in such a case. Elisha therefore sends to him to remind him that there is a prophet in Israel, i.e., that the God who can kill and make alive, the God of Israel, in spite of the apostasy of king and people, yet makes Himself known, in His saving might, through His servants the prophets.—The house of Elisha, before the door of which Naaman stood (2Ki_5:9), was certainly not a palace, but rather a poor hovel, so that the “great man” did not go in, but waited for the prophet to come out to him, and receive him in a manner befitting his rank. This, however, the prophet did not do, but sent a message to him to instruct him what he should do. The idea that he did this before Naaman reached his house (Köster) contradicts the words of the text. The reason why Elisha did not come out was not that he was wanting in politeness, or that he was influenced by priestly pride, or that he feared the leprosy, or avoided intercourse with a leper in obedience to the Law (Knobel), but: “He wanted to show to Naaman once for all that this princely magnificence, this splendor of earthly honor and wealth, did not affect him at all, and that there was not the least cause in all this why Naaman should be helped. Furthermore, he wished to prevent the foreigner from thinking that the help came from the prophet, and that he had the healing power in himself, and also to prevent him or any other from ascribing the cure to the application of any external means: for the Syrians knew as well as the Israelites that the Jordan could not heal leprosy.… Naaman was to understand that he was healed by the grace and power of Almighty God, at the prayer of the prophet” (Menken).—Thy flesh shall come again to thee, &c. In leprosy raw flesh appears and running sores are formed, so that the diseased person dies at last of emaciation and dropsy (Winer, R.-W.-B. i. s. 115); the cure, therefore, consists in the restoration of flesh.
2Ki_5:11. But Naaman was wroth, &c. “Not because he did not meet with becoming honor and attention, but because none of the religious ceremonies which he had expected were performed” (Menken). He himself tells what he had expected: Elisha’s brief answer sounds to him like scorn. The river Abana (2Ki_5:12), or, as the keri has it, Amana, is the Χρυσοῤῥόας of the Greeks, now called Barada or Barady. It rises in Antilebanon, and flows through Damascus itself in seven arms (Winer, R.-W.-B. ii. s. 194). Pharpar, i.e., the swift, is hardly the little river Fidscheh, which flows into the Barada, but the larger, independent stream Avadsch, south of Damascus (see Thenius and Keil on the passage). Both rivers, as mountain streams, have clean fresh water, and Damascus is celebrated to-day for its pure and healthy water; “whereas the Jordan is ‘a deep, sluggish, discolored stream’ (Robinson, ii. 255, ed. of 1841), so that we understand how Naaman could consider the rivers of his native country better” (Keil). The address: My father (2Ki_5:13), is at once familiar and respectful, as in 2Ki_6:21, and 1Sa_24:11; the attendants addressed him with mild words and sought to soothe him. Thenius’ conjecture that אָבִי is corrupted from אִם, if, is utterly unnecessary. דָּבָר … דִּבֶּר is a conditional sentence without אִם and the object precedes for emphasis (Keil).—אַף כִּי as in 2Sa_4:11.—וַיֶּרֶד 2Ki_5:14, means he journeyed down, i.e., from Samaria to the valley of the Jordan.
2Ki_5:15. And he returned to, &c. That which Elisha had aimed at by his direction in 2Ki_5:10, namely, not merely the cure of the leprosy, but Naaman’s conversion by means of it to the one true God, the God of Israel, was gained, as Naaman himself acknowledges: Behold, now I know, &c. At the same time he desires to show his gratitude to the man of whom God had made use, and he begs him earnestly to accept a gift (בְּרָכָה as in Gen_33:11; 1Sa_25:27; 1Sa_30:26). Although Elisha on other occasions accepted gifts for himself, or at least for the body of prophet-disciples (cf. 2Ki_4:42), yet in this case he steadily refused (2Ki_5:16), not certainly from haughty self-assertion in his dealings with the great Syrian, but to show him that the prophet of the God of Israel observed a different conduct from the heathen priests, who allowed themselves to be richly rewarded for their deceitful services; especially, however, in order to establish in the mind of the healed man the conviction that the God of Israel alone, out of free grace and pity, had helped him, and that he owed to that God sincere and lasting gratitude. The refusal of Elisha must have made a deep impression not only upon Naaman, but also upon his entire retinue. As Theodoret observes, there lay at the bottom of this refusal the feeling that our Lord demanded of His disciples: “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
2Ki_5:17. And Naaman said: If not, let there, then, &c. וָלֹא = καὶ εἰ μή, as the Sept. have, not: ut vis (Vulg.), nor: “And oh!” (Ewald). It was not Naaman’s object, in his request that he might take a load of earth with him, to “sacrifice to Jehovah on this outspread earth, as it were in the Holy Land itself” (Thenius), but he wished to build an altar of it. Altars were often made of earth; the altar of burnt-offering even, according to the Mosaic Law, was to be of earth (Exo_20:24; Symbol. des Mos. Kult. i. s. 491). It is almost universally supposed that Naaman was subject to the “polytheistic superstition,” that each country had its own deity, who could be worshipped properly only in it, or on an altar built of its soil (so the latest commentators: Thenius, Keil, Von Gerlach, &c). But if Naaman had cherished the delusion that every land had its own God, that is to say, that there were other gods by the side of and besides the God of Israel, even though they were not so mighty as He, he would have been in contradiction with his own words in 2Ki_5:15 : I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel, and he would not yet have grasped the main point, nor recognized that truth which forms the distinction of the Israelitish religion from all others, viz., that Jehovah alone is God, and that there is no other beside Him (Deu_4:35; Deu_32:39, &c). Moreover, the prophet could have passed over this delusion least of all without combating it, not to say anything of his replying to it: “Go in peace.” He must, at the very least, have called the Syrian’s attention to this error. Peter Martyr explains the desire to take away a load of earth quite correctly: hoc signo suam contestatur fidem erga deum, Israelis, et eâ terrâ, tanquam symbolo, voluit ejus admoneri. Not because he ascribed to this earth an especial magical power, but because Israel was the land in which the only true God had revealed and vindicated himself to His people, and now finally to him, did he wish to erect an altar of this earth, which should be, in the midst of a heathen country, a sign and monument of the God of Israel, and a memorial of the prophet of that God. This was why he did not take the load of earth, as he might have done, from any indifferent spot, but begged it of the man through whom he had been brought to a knowledge of the one true God. His request was, therefore, the result of a strong and joyful faith rather than of a heathen delusion. if, in a similar manner, according to the narrative of Benjamin of Tudela, cited by Thenius on this passage, the synagogue at Nahardea in Persia was built only of earth and stone which had been brought from Jerusalem, it was so built by the strict monotheistic Jews, certainly not from “polytheistic superstition,” but for the same reasons for which Naaman wished to build his altar of sacrifice out of Israelitish earth. [See bracketed note at the end of Histor. § 1.]
2Ki_5:18. In this thing the Lord pardon, &c. Rimmon is doubtless a designation of the highest Syrian divinity, abbreviated from Hadad-Rimmon (Movers). See above, Exeg. on 1Ki_15:18. It is of little importance for us whether the name is derived from רָמַם (רוּם) i.e., to be high, so that it is equivalent to עֶלְיוֹן (Psa_9:2; Psa_21:7), or from רִמּוֹן pomegranate (the well-known symbol of the reproductive power).—The expression: And he leaneth on my hand, designates a service, which appertained to a high official (adjutant) of the king, on occasions when the latter bowed down or arose, or performed any similar ceremony. This service was also executed at the court of the Israelitish kings (2Ki_7:2; 2Ki_7:17). The urgency of the request is marked by the repetition of the words: when I bow down. The meaning of the request is: when I, in the execution of any duty, accompany my king to the temple of Rimmon, and bow down when he bows down, then may that be pardoned me, and may I not be regarded as worshipping that divinity. I will not serve, from this time on, any God but Jehovah. Theodoret: εἰσιὼν ἐγὼ τὸν ἀληθινὸν προσκυνήσω θεόν· συγγνώμης τυχεῖν ἱκετεύων, ὅτι δὴ διὰ τὴν βασιλικὴν ἀνάγκην εἰςελθεῖν πρὸς τὸν ψευδώνυμον θεὸν ἀναγκάζομαι. The word הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה, which is used of prostration before men as well as before God, and so in itself does not signify a purely religious act, cannot here be understood of an act of worship, for, if it could, Naaman would say in 2Ki_5:18 the very opposite of what he had promised in 2Ki_5:17, and Elisha could not have responded to the request that he might worship Rimmon besides Jehovah with the blessing: “Go in peace.” Some have very unjustly found, in the request that he might take away a load of earth, and also in the prayer that he might be forgiven for prostration in the house of Rimmon, signs that his faith was still wavering, undecided, and weak. It rather shows that he had a tender conscience, which desired to avoid an appearance of denying Jehovah, and which was forced to speak out its scruples and have them quieted. Such scruples would not have occurred to one who was wavering between service of God and service of the gods.—According to Keil, Elisha meant by the words: Go in peace, 2Ki_5:19, to wish for the Syrian, on his departure, the blessing of God, “without approving or disapproving the religious conviction which he had expressed:” or, according to Von Gerlach, “without entering into the special questions involved.” But the prophet could not return a reply to a request which proceeded from conscientious scruples, such as the new convert here presented, nor give a reply which was at once yes and no, or neither the one nor the other. Naaman was to proceed on his journey “in peace,” not in doubt or restless uncertainty. If his request had been incompatible with a knowledge of the true God, the prophet would have been forced to show him that it was so; he could not have dismissed him with an ordinary, indifferent “formula of farewell.” That he omitted the correction and dismissed him in peace, shows beyond question that he acceded to the request.
2Ki_5:19 sq. So he departed from him a little way, &c. Literally: a length of country, as in Gen_35:16, without definite measure. It cannot have been very far (a parasang, according to the Syrian Version, or three and a half English miles, according to Michaelis). If it had been so far Gehazi could not have overtaken the horses (2Ki_5:9).—This Syrian, 2Ki_5:20, Vulg.: Syro isti, i.e., this foreigner, from whom he would have had a double right to take some reward. The oath: As the Lord liveth, stands in contrast with that of Elisha, 2Ki_5:16. Blinded by his avarice, Gehazi considers it right before God to take pay, just as Elisha, in his fidelity, considers it right before God to accept nothing.—Descent from a vehicle (2Ki_5:21) is, in the East, a sign of respect from the inferior to the superior (Winer. R.-W.-B. i. s. 501); Naaman honored the prophet in his servant. “From Gehazi’s hasty pursuit he infers that something unfortunate for the prophet has occurred” (Thenius), and asks, therefore, Rectene sunt omnia? (Vulg.) In reply to Gehazi’s assertion (2Ki_5:22), he urges him to accept two talents, one for each prophet-disciple, and he causes the money to be borne before Gehazi in two sacks, as a mark of his eager willingness. Whether חֲרִטִים means open-worked, basket-like sacks, with handles (Thenius), or not, can hardly be determined from the word.—הֲעֹפֶל (2Ki_5:24) is not a proper name (Luther), but the hill which stood before the house of Elisha, not before the house of anybody else, an acquaintance, for instance (Clericus).
2Ki_5:25-26. And Elisha said unto him, &c. The words of Elisha: לֹא־לִבִּי הָלַךְ, stand in evident contrast with the words of Gehazi: לֹא־הָלַךְ עַבְדְּךָ, and mean: Thou sayest that thou didst not go anywhither; neither did I go away any-whither, i.e., I was not absent when Naaman descended from the chariot to come to meet thee. Instead of “I,” the prophet says לִבִּי, my heart (1Sa_16:7; 1Ki_8:39; Jer_17:10, &c.), because he was not present there, as Gehazi was, bodily and visibly, but in spirit, invisibly (1Co_5:3). Vulgata: Nonne cor meum in prœsenti erat quando, &c. Thenius: “Did I not go hence in spirit, and was I not present there?” It is not necessary to take it as a question, however, as is usually done. The question begins with הַעֵת. Ewald takes “my heart” to mean “my favorite, so that Elisha here rather refers with a severe pleasantry to his most intimate follower, who could so far transgress against his master, although he was his favorite pupil.” It is incredible that the prophet could have introduced the hard punishment of Gehazi (2Ki_5:27) with a jesting, scornful question. [This rendering of Ewald: “Had not my dear pupil gone forth when some one (i.e., Naaman) turned back from his chariot to meet thee,” makes better sense than any other. It is not so much a jest as it is a sarcastic stripping bare of the falsehood, and it is not at all inconsistent with the revulsion of indignation and severity which prompts the condemnation which follows. Against this explanation, however, is the fact that this meaning for לִבִּי cannot be proved. Ewald refers to the Song of Solomon to justify the explanation, but without citing particular passages, and the context is so different in the two cases that the usage could not be established by its occurrence in that book.—W. G. S.] The explanation of Böttcher is equally inadmissible: “I, according to my convictions, could not have prevailed upon my heart … to go.” After 2Ki_5:16 Elisha no longer needed to assert this. It was already clear. Maurer’s explanation: Non abierat, i.e., evanuerat (Psa_78:39), animus meus, h. e., vis divinandi me nequaquam defecerat, falls, because הָלַךְ would have to be taken in a very different sense from what it has in 2Ki_5:25, and because the clear reference to Gehazi’s words would then be lost. [The explanation of Thenius, practically that of the E. V., is the best. The strain put upon the words to make them mean, “I did not go away from the interview between thee and Naaman,” i.e., “I was present at it,” is apparent.—W. G. S.]—Is it a time, &c., i.e., “In any other case better than in this, mightest thou have yielded to thy desire for gold and goods” (Thenius). Gehazi had not received olive-trees, &c., but he meant to buy them with the money. [The form in which the Vulgate translates the verse is not literally faithful to the original, but it brings out with great distinctness the antithesis between the objects Gehazi had in view, and which, indeed, he had gained, and the other results which must follow: “Thou hast indeed received money wherewith thou mayest buy garments, and olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants, and maid-servants; but, also, the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed forever.”] A leper as white as snow (2Ki_5:27), cf. the same expression, Exo_4:6; Num_12:10, where a similar sudden attack of this disease takes place. According to Michaelis this takes place often under great terror or great affliction. The skin around the diseased spots is chalk-white (Winer, R.-W.-B., i. s. 114). Upon the words: Unto thee and unto thy seed (posterity) forever, Menken says: “It is the full, strong expression of excited, deep, yet holy and just feeling, which dare not and will not lay its words upon delicate scales, and which, to express the fulness of its abhorrence or its admiration, of its curse or its blessing, seizes upon a formula of the vulgar dialects of the country, even though it may not apply, in syllable and letter, to the case in hand.”
2Ki_6:1. And the sons of the prophets said, &c. This story is to be connected with the two in 2Ki_4:38-44, and is a supplement to them. Thenius supposes that it stands here “in order to show that what is said here in 2Ki_6:1 did not take place until long after.” The connection into which Cassel brings it with chap. 5. is very forced, viz.: that the needy community of the prophets forms a contrast to the rich and mighty military commander; or, that, in spite of Gehazi’s fall, the number of prophet-disciples had increased so much, that a new house was necessary for them. Theodoret’s connection is at least more natural: He (Gehazi) sought riches and became a leper; the company of prophet-disciples, on the contrary, loved the greatest poverty. It is hardly possible that the place which had become too small was in Gilgal (2Ki_2:1; 2Ki_4:38), for this lay at a considerable distance from the valley of the Jordan; the same is true of Bethel. It is more likely to have been Jericho. The words: Where we dwell with thee (see on 2Ki_4:38), show that the need was of a larger place of assembly, since the number of prophet-disciples had increased, and amounted at this time to certainly over a hundred (2Ki_4:43). There is no reason to find a reference to dwellings which were to be built for all, as has been done in the interest of monasteries. They wished to go to the Jordan (2Ki_6:2), because “its bank is thickly grown with bushes and trees” (willows, poplars, and tamarisks. Hitzig on Jer_12:5), so that the building material was conveniently at hand. By the following words they mean: if each one cuts a beam, the work will soon be accomplished. They beg the prophet to go with them, not that he may direct the work—he was no architect—but because they wish to have him in their midst, and promise themselves, from his presence, blessing and success for their labor.
2Ki_6:5. But as one was felling a beam, &c. It has been inferred from הָאֶחָד, which also occurs in the 3d verse, that it was the same one who is there referred to, but without reason. According to Hitzig and Thenius the אֶת before הַבַּרְזֶל introduces the new, definite subject. According to Keil, it serves to subordinate the noun to the sentence: “As for the iron, it fell into the water.” In the lament lies also a request for help, which is strengthened by וְהוּא שָׁאוּל. The person in question had “begged” for the axe, probably because he was too poor to buy one; hence the loss grieved him more than it would have done if it had come into his possession by gift. Luther’s translation [and that of the E. V.], “borrowed,” is correct in sense, though not exactly the corresponding word. The Vulgate has: et hoc ipsum mutuo acceperam.—The words וַיָּצֶף הַבַּרְזֶל are translated by Luther, following the Sept.: “The iron swam,” and hence the story, 2Ki_6:1-6, is commonly entitled “The swimming iron.” Thenius and Keil translate: “And he caused the iron to swim.” But צוּף does not mean “swim,” like שָׂחָה (Isa_25:11), but: overflow (Lam_3:54): “Waters flowed over mine head;” in the hifil: to cause to overflow; Deu_11:4 : “He made the water of the Red Sea to overflow them.” The word does not occur out of these two places, in which it is impossible to translate it by swim and cause to swim. Cf. also צוּף, honeycomb (Psa_19:10), from the idea of overflowing. Just as Jehovah brought the water over the horses and chariots, so that they were under it, Elisha here brought the axe over the water, so that it was no longer concealed by it. The Sept. translate: καὶ ἐπεπόλασε τὸ σίδηρον, i.e., and the iron arose—appeared upon the surface. Hesychius explains ἐπιπολάσαντες by ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος περιφερόμενοι. If ἐπιπολάζειν meant swim, it could not, at the same time, have the meaning: to be haughty, to exalt one’s self impudently (Plut. Symp. ii. 1, 12). Hence Theodoret, on the passage, says correctly: ὁ προφήτης ἀνήγαγε τὸ σιδήριον. ξύλον γὰρ ἐμβαλών, παρεσκεύασεν ἐπιπολάσαι τὸ σιδήριον. [The translation “swim,” meaning simply “float,” is perfectly allowable for either the Hebrew word or the Greek one, by which the Sept. render it.—W. G. S.] The miracle was not, therefore, “that the wood which was thrown in sank, while the iron swam upon the surface” (Philippson), but, that the prophet, by throwing in the wood, caused the iron to come to the surface, where the young man could get it. Following many of the rabbis, Vatablus and others, including Thenius, have adopted the opinion that Elisha pierced the hole in the axe with the stick, and so raised it out of the water. Of this the text says nothing, it only states that he did bring up the axe, not, however, how he did it; wherefore, it can only be regarded as a guess when Von Gerlach says: “He thrust the stick into the water, so that it passed beneath the iron and raised it to the surface.”
HISTORICAL AND ETHICAL
1. The first of the two preceding narratives, which fills the whole 5th chapter, is one of the most important in the life and prophetical labor of Elisha, and this is marked, in fact, by the fulness of detail with which it is narrated. Menken, in his excellent homilies upon this chapter (see his Schriften v. s. 77–117), says of it with justice: “This is a charming testimony to the living God!—a worthy part of the history of those revelations and manifestations of the living God, which, in their connection and continuation through many centuries, and in their tendency toward one goal and object, were designed to plant upon earth the knowledge and the worship of the true God! But it offers besides to our consideration a rich store of reflections, in which neither heart nor understanding can refuse a willing participation.” There is hardly a single Old Testament story in which the character of the Old Testament economy of salvation is mirrored in any such way; it is a truly prophetical story, that is, an historical prophecy. On the one side it shows the wonderful providence and mode of salvation of God, His saving power and grace, as well as His holy severity, and His retributive justice; on the other, closely interwoven with this, it shows human thought and desire, suffering and action, as well in good as in evil: it is the scheme of salvation epitomized. However, when Krummacher says: “We should rather expect to find it upon a page of the Gospel than seek it in an Old Testament book,” and affirms: “The baptism of the New Testament meets us here already in a type which is full of life,” he confounds the economies of the two Testaments. In spite of all its typical force, the story is specifically an Old Testament one. The main point, the proof of the whole, and therefore the thing which is not to be lost sight of, is, that a foreigner, a heathen, who, moreover, belongs to the people by which Israel at that time was most threatened; a mighty commander, by whose instrumentality Jehovah had given victory to the Syrians, finds help from the “prophet in Israel” (2Ki_6:8), and comes to a knowledge of the one true God, the God of Israel. This is the point, too, which our Lord lays stress upon (Luk_4:25-27) when He, in order to shame and warn His countrymen who were scoffing at Him, refers to the widow of Sarepta, the foreigner, to whom Elijah was sent, and then to Naaman the Syrian, whom Elisha healed. The conjunction of the two is by no means accidental: both these great prophets of action testified, during the time of apostasy in Israel, each of them by an act of assistance towards a foreigner, that Jehovah, with His might and grace, was not confined to Israel; that He takes pity upon the heathen also, and leads them to knowledge, that His great name may be praised among all nations. What the later prophets preached by word, Elijah and Elisha prophesied by acts. As “widows and orphans” were succored by both (see above on 2Ki_4:1 sq.), so foreigners are helped by both. The story of Naaman, therefore, occupies an essential place in the history of the prophetical work of Elisha; without it one of the chief points of the prophetical calling would be wanting in this work.
[We must endeavor to analyze this story more closely, and to gain a more definite conception of the course of the incidents. Naaman undoubtedly had the religious ideas which were universal throughout ancient heathendom. He regarded the gods of Syria, which he had been educated to worship, as real gods. None of them, or of their priests or prophets, had or could cure him of leprosy. He heard by chance the fame of Elisha, as one who wrought wonders in the name of the God of Israel. No heathen would maintain that his national divinities were the only true gods. Sennacherib declared that he was conquering Judah by the command of Jehovah, whom he recognized as the god of that country. The heathen colonists whom the king of Syria brought to populate Samaria, attributed the ravages of the wild beasts to the fact that the worship of the god of the country was not provided for. It was the notion of the heathen that each country had its god, so that Syrians worshipped Syrian gods, and Hebrews the Hebrew god. To the heathen this seemed perfectly natural and correct. On the other hand, the Hebrews declared that Jehovah was the one only true God of all the earth, and that the gods of the heathen were nullities (vanity, E. V.) Naaman did not violate the principles of his religious education when he went to Elisha; Ahaziah, when he sent to Ekron (chap. 1), did. Naaman came with a letter from the king of Syria to the king of Israel, and he came with gifts, and in pomp—all according to heathen ideas of the means of inducing the thaumaturge to exercise his power. He was to be armed with the influence of authority and rank; he was to appear as a great man, for whom it was well worth while for the wonder-worker to do whatever he possibly could, and he brought the material means which his experience among wizards, diviners, soothsayers, and priests, had taught him to regard as indispensable. The king of Israel was terrified at the demand; but the prophet intervened. We are surprised at this feature. If Naaman’s errand was really to Elisha, the literal words of the letter would not have been a demand that the king should heal him (2Ki_5:6), but that he should command his subject, the prophet, to exercise his powers on the Syrian’s behalf. Thus the king would have simply referred Naaman to Elisha for the latter to do what he could. The story is evidently so much abbreviated at this point that its smoothness is impaired. Naaman comes in all his pomp to the door of Elisha. He receives the prophet’s command, and his words in 2Ki_5:11-12 bear witness again to wide and deep heathen conceptions. In 2Ki_5:11 he describes graphically the mode of performance of the heathen thaumaturge. “I thought, he will stand” (take up a ceremonious and solemn attitude) “and call upon the name of his God” (repeat a formula of incantation), “and strike his hand upon the place” (with a solemn gesture) “and remove the leprosy.” Had he come all that journey to be told to bathe? Could water cure leprosy? If it could, was there not the pure water of Abana and Pharpar, better far than the sluggish and muddy water of Jordan? His pomp and state were thrown away: the man of God did not even come to look at them. His high credentials were wasted; the means of cure prescribed for him might have been prescribed for the poorest outcast in Israel. The deep and permanent truth of this feature, and also of the prophet’s refusal to accept money, is apparent. The difference between the Jehovah-religion and the heathen religions is sharply portrayed by the contrast in each point, between Naaman’s expectations on the one hand, and the prophet’s words and actions on the other. The Syrian’s servants suggested to him the sensible reflection that he ought not to despise the prophet’s command. He went, bathed, and was cleansed. He then returned to reward the prophet, but found that the prophet did not give his help as a thing to be paid for. The Syrian was not to think that the prophet had used a power which was his own, and which might be paid for, whereby the obligation would be discharged. The service came from God; it was a free act of grace; a special blessing upon this one, and he a foreigner, while many Israelitish lepers remained uncleansed (Luk_4:27). The prophet and his God were not at the service of any one who came and could pay a certain price; they wrought only where and when there was good reason, and, when they did so, the recipient of grace lay under an obligation which he never could discharge. In regard to Naaman’s words: “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel,” a careful scrutiny shows that the proposition is not strictly accurate, for the God of Israel is and was not only in Israel, but in all the earth. The true proposition would be: The God of Israel is the only true God, and He reigns over all the earth. In the very form of his confession Naaman shows that his mind was still under the bias of the heathen idea of local deities, so that he says that there is no God anywhere else in the world but in Israel. No other had been able to heal him; but Jehovah had done so by apparently very insignificant means, hence he esteemed Jehovah true, and esteemed the others very lightly or not at all. It should be noticed also that the conception which he seems to have reached was that which was held by very many of the Jews, viz.: that Israel alone had any God, and that the rest of the world was godless; their own gods were nullities, and Jehovah did not care for them, so that they had no God at all. He determined to devote himself to the worship of Jehovah for the rest of his days. He therefore very naturally, in accordance with the same idea of local or territorial divinities, asked for earth from Palestine to build an altar for the worship of Jehovah. He also made one further request. His duty at his master’s court (although it is difficult to understand how a leper could have had that office) was to attend his master, and support him when he went to worship in the temple of the Syrian God, Rimmon. The idea that Naaman was “converted” to the worship of Jehovah in such a sense that he went over to the Hebrew idea of the other gods, is without foundation. It is a modern idea, which has no place in this connection. Naaman did not feel bound at all to keep away from the temple of Rimmon, as an early Christian would have kept away from an idol-temple. His last request to the prophet is, that, when he goes into this temple in the course of his official duty, it shall not be regarded as a violation of his vow to pay all his worship, for the future, to Jehovah, to the neglect of all other gods. To this the prophet answers: “Go in peace,” i.e., your sincere performance of your vow shall be recognized, and. this conduct shall not be interpreted as a violation of it.—W. G. S.]
2. The healing of Naaman did not take place at a mere word, but was like all miraculous deeds of the prophet, attached to some corresponding external means, but to such an one that to it, in itself, no healing power could be ascribed. This power must first be conferred upon it by the prophet, so that the cure must necessarily be recognized as an act of God, whose instrument and minister the prophet was. The external means, a sevenfold bath in Jordan, was a very significant one. Evidently the prophet had in mind what the Law prescribed for the purification of a leper. Such an one was to “bathe himself in water” (Lev_14:8-9), and throughout the entire ceremony of purification, “sevenfoldness” is the rule (Lev_14:7; Lev_14:16; Lev_14:27; cf. Lev_14:51; Symbol. des Mos. Kult., i. s. 196, and ii. s. 508, 518). The conduct of Elisha was, therefore, in general analogous to the ordinance in the Law, and, in so far, it referred back to the God of Israel, who had given the Law. Naaman had to bathe in the Jordan because that is the chief river of the promised land, which flows through the long and narrow country, so that it is called simply the land of the Jordan (Psa_42:6). As Canaan was the land of Israel, so the Jordan was the river of Israel. Moreover, it had great importance for the history of Israel. From the “passage of the chosen people” through this water, which is compared directly with the passage through the Red Sea (Psa_114:3; Psa_114:5), “dated the existence of the theocracy in Palestine” (Winer, R.-W.-B. i. s. 620). The Jordan was witness, and, in a certain degree, pledge and warrant of the might and grace of God, which were revealed in Israel. It was the water, in and at which Jehovah had manifested himself as the almighty, helping, and saving God of Israel. The fact of being healed and purified by bathing in this water, was designed to draw the mind of the heathen to the truth, that it is the God of Israel who alone can help and save, and that He it was who had helped him; that he therefore owed gratitude to this God alone, and not to the prophet who was only His servant. We have, then, in this case another proof that the miracles of the prophet were symbolic acts, and it is remarkable that the immediate significance of Elisha’s transaction with Naaman, although it lies upon its face and is so easily to be recognized, has been hitherto almost entirely overlooked. The naturalistic method of explanation is at a loss to account for this miracle. According to Knobel (Prophet. ii. p. 92–97): “Elisha had the reputation of a good physician among the Syrians as well as among the Israelites… The bath, taken in obedience to the command of a man of God, was blessed with an extraordinary efficacy. That this, however, was not the entire curative process employed by Elisha is certain (?), though it is not possible to find out what else he did to Naaman.” To relegate the entire story to the domain of myth or legend, on account of the miracle, is the least admissible course to pursue. This story bears in itself the impress of historical genuineness, if ever one did, by virtue of its simplicity, its moderate statements, its numerous characteristic details, and its purely objective representation. To invent such a story is impossible; and it can occur to no one who understands the matter that Naaman is a mythical person. The remark of Köster (Die Prophet. s. 89): “The whole story is meant to show that miracles were always intended to extend the worship of Jehovah,” is unsatisfactory, because this was evidently not the case in many miracles, and especially in all the rest which are recorded of Elisha (cf. chap. 4). [The most important and most instructive feature of the story seems to be overlooked by our author. It was not the water either of Jordan or of Abana which could heal, it was the obedience of this haughty general to a mandate which seemed to him frivolous and absurd. In the gospels faith is the first requisite in similar cases of healing, and so it was here also—faith and obedience. Naaman came with his mind all made up as to how he was to be healed, and he turned away in anger and disgust from the course which the prophet prescribed. Yet, when he turned back, even with a lame and half-doubting faith, and a half-unwilling obedience, he was healed. This is the permanent truth which is involved in the story. Naaman was a type of the rationalist whose philosophy provides him with a priori dogmas by which he measures everything which is proposed to his faith. He turns away in contempt where faith would heal him. That is the truth which the story serves to enforce.—W. G. S.]
3. In the acknowledgment with which Naaman returns to the prophet after being healed, the story reaches its climax: all the ways in which God led this man tended to this end. With the words: “Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel,” he renounces the fundamental error of heathenism on the one hand, viz.: that every nation had its own god, and on the other hand he acknowledges that there is only one God on earth, and that He reveals himself in Israel. He does not, therefore, exchange one national god for another, but declares that Jehovah is the first and the last, and that there is no God beside Him (Isa_44:6), that the whole earth belongs to Him (Exo_19:5), and that this God has chosen the people of Israel for the salvation of all nations, and revealed himself to them. This is the kernel of Naaman’s confession, that he does not merely turn from Polytheism to Monotheism, but recognizes the God who has revealed himself to Israel as the one living God. Therefore, also, this land, which God promised and gave to his people, is for him a holy land (cf. Dan_11:16; Dan_11:41; Psa_37:9; Psa_37:29; Pro_2:21 sq.). Therefore he wishes to take earth from this country that he may sacrifice thereon to its God. Such a confession from the mouth of a heathen would be incomprehensible, especially from one who had the disposition which Naaman showed before he was healed (2Ki_5:11-12), if something extraordinary and miraculous had not taken place. For unfaithful, wavering Israel, which had had a far wider experience of the might and glory of its God than Naaman, this confession was a source of shame, of warning, and of reproof.
4. Naaman’s request (2Ki_5:18) and Elisha’s reply (2Ki_5:19) have been made the text of extended theological treatises (cf. Buddeus’ Hist. Eccles. ii. p. 360 sq.). For instance: it has been inferred that, under certain circumstances, it is permitted to participate in the ceremonies of a religion one recognizes as erroneous. Among Roman Catholics the passage has been used to justify the conduct of missionaries who permitted the newly-converted heathen to continue to observe pagan ceremonies; among Protestants, as Starke says, “Some have drawn the conclusion that an attendant of a prince or king might accompany him to Mass, and do him service there, if he was in the service of the prince before the latter was converted to a false worship of God. Such a case was that of John of Saxony, whom the Emperor Charles V. asked to carry the sword in procession as Grand Marshal of the empire, when the emperor went in solemn state to Mass.” The passage does not, however, give a general rule for all times and all places, because the case of Naaman belongs entirely to the Old Testament, and could not now occur. If Naaman ought not to have continued to exercise his office about the person of his king any longer, then he must have given up, not only his influential position, but also his fatherland and his nationality, and must have become an Israelite, and that too at a time when there was so much apostasy in Israel itself. The entire object of his being healed, viz., that he, in the midst of a heathen nation, which was hostile to Israel, might be a witness and an actual confessor of the God of Israel, and might carry His name into another country, would have been frustrated. Elisha, who had this object before all else in view, does not, therefore, raise any objections to his request: he invokes upon him “peace” at his departure; and, “since he perceives that Naaman’s purposes are pure, he leaves him to the direction of God, as the one who will guide his conscience” (Jo. Lange). Cassel (Elisha, s. 89) not improperly draws attention here to the difference between the conduct of Naaman and that of Themistocles in a similar case. The latter found it necessary to appear before the Persian king, and there prostrate himself before him, according to the Persian custom. As he, however, considered this unworthy of a Greek, he had recourse to the stratagem of allowing his ring to fall, and then, as he picked it up, he bowed before the throne, and so thought that he had given satisfaction both to his conscience and to the king. “Naaman did not wish to act thus. He was not willing to deceive or act the hypocrite, for he knew that his God could see through the stratagem, and would not permit himself to be deceived, although men might think that they had concealed their hearts.” [There is no reason whatever to suppose that Naaman knew all that; and the heinousness of this stratagem of Themistocles was very different from that of an hypocritical act of worship. Why should we imagine that Naaman, after he was cleansed of leprosy, had the clear conceptions, the pure piety, and the delicate conscience of a modern Christian? Furthermore, it seems that, if the words of the author above are pressed, he will be made to say that any one may engage in hypocritical acts of worship, if he can, by so doing, remain in a position where he can make proselytes! The object of the miracle was not to make a proselyte of Naaman (see above, bracketed note at the end of § 1). The Israelites, at this period, made no effort whatever to gain proselytes. The opportunity offered to glorify the God of Israel before a heathen of rank, and it was done. He naturally turned, as a consequence, to the worship of Jehovah, as superior to all other gods. In the addition to § 1, it is stated what Naaman meant by this request, and what the significance of the prophet’s answer was.—W. G. S.]
5. Gehazi’s transgression and its punishment are to be estimated principally from the historical-theocratical, and not alone from the moral standpoint. His act was not a product of mere vulgar avarice, which shrinks back from no falsehood. By it he made his master, all of whose intercourse with him ought to have exercised a purifying influence upon him, a liar, and his oath (2Ki_5:16) an empty phrase. He did not leave Naaman with the undimmed conviction that all the grace he had experienced had come to him gratis, and that “there was a prophet in Israel.” He did not fear to stain the work which God had done upon a heathen for the glory of His name, and thereby he denied the Holy One, whose might he had just seen manifested upon Naaman. The words which Peter used of Ananias were true of him: “Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God” (Act_5:4). His act was a betrayal of the prophet, of Naaman, and of Jehovah. “A thousand deceits and dishonesties might have been committed, by all of which not one of the dear and holy interests would have been injured, which in this case were in danger, and which, by this act, were criminally and faithlessly betrayed” (Menken). Hence it incurred so severe a punishment, which was not arbitrarily or indifferently chosen, but which proceeded out of the transgression, and corresponded to it. The leprosy of Naaman (2Ki_5:27) became the leprosy of Gehazi; as Naaman was a living monument of the saving might and grace of Jehovah, so Gehazi was a monument of the retributive justice of the Holy One in Israel; a living warning and threat for the entire people. By his conversion Naaman was taken up into God’s community of redemption in Israel; by his unfaithfulness and denial of this God, Gehazi brings down upon himself the punishment which excludes him from the society of the prophet-disciples, and of the entire covenant people. Finally, as Naaman’s cure and conversion was a physical prophecy that God will have pity upon the heathen also, and will receive them into His covenant of grace, so Gehazi’s leprosy prophesied the rejection of the people of Israel who should abandon the covenant of grace, and persevere in apostasy (Mat_8:11-12; Mat_21:43).
6. The second narrative (2Ki_6:1-7) relates the last of the acts of Elisha which concern individuals. It is distinguished from the two mentioned above, which likewise took place in the circle of the prophet-disciples (2Ki_4:38-44), by the circumstance that here help is given in need to one person, not, as there, to the entire society. The number of the prophet-disciples had become so great, that the construction of another building had become necessary. Here now was to be shown how each separate individual of the company might be consoled by the help of Jehovah even in the slightest need. The loss of the axe, even though it had been “begged for,” was very slight in itself; but for a poor man, who did not even possess the necessary implements for cutting wood, a greater one than it would be for a rich man, if all his treasures should fall into the water. As before God there is no respect of persons, prince or beggar being all one, so there is also before Him no independent value in things; what is small and insignificant for one person, being great and important for another. The lilies of the field, which bloom to-day and to-morrow are cast into the oven, are as glorious before God as Solomon in all his glory (Mat_6:28-30). His might and goodness are revealed in the smallest detail as well as in the greatest combination. He helps in what are apparently the smallest interests of the individual, as well as in the greatest affairs of entire nations, and He rules with His grace especially over those who keep His covenant, and turn to him in all the necessities of life. That is the great truth which this little story proclaims, and just for the sake of this truth, it was “thought worthy to be inserted in the history of the theocracy” (Hess). The restoration of the axe, whereby aid was given to the prophet-disciple in his need, strengthened all the others in the faith that the God in whose honor they were erecting the building was with them, and would accompany their work with His blessing; they worked now only the more zealously and gladly.
7. The swimming iron, which is the title ordinarily given to this narrative, is an entirely incorrect designation of it. It has the literal meaning of the text against it, and it misleads to the opinion that the only point of the story is, that Elisha also made iron swim upon water like wood. What significance, however, would such a miracle have under these circumstances? It would not have any proper force, either for the prophet-disciple himself, or for the construction of the building, and would be nothing more than a feat of the divine omnipotence, without either moral or religious foundation, and at most only a thing to excite astonishment. This object has indeed been suggested: “the prophet-disciples were to learn here, that God had not only made the forces which have sway in nature, but, also, that He directs them continually; that He makes that easy which is hard, when we only pray him to do so in a just cause” (Von Schlüsser). In that case, however, every connection with the building of the house would be wanting, and one does not see why so general a truth should be made known to the prophet-disciples precisely on the occasion of the loss of an axe, which its owner had begged for or borrowed. The same objection applies with still more force to the opinion that the miracle of the floating iron proclaimed the following: “A light thing raises a heavy thing from the deep … The world’s history shows that in the miraculous providence of God, that which is heavy is raised by that which is light.… Iron is the symbol of sin; wood, however, serves for peace, reconciliation, sacrifice.… He who died upon the wood made all sin powerless; raised it up out of the deep where it lay buried, in history and in the individual man” (Cassel, Elisa, s. 100–106). This allegorical explanation, which is, to begin with, arbitrary and unfounded, overlooks, from the outset, the fact that it is not a question here of a piece of heavy metal, iron in general, but rather of a definite implement, which was necessary for cutting timber, of an axe which had been lost, and of the poor man who had lost it, after begging for it, and for whom it was to be recovered. In this misfortune the prophet helped him, and this is the main point; not the fact that the iron floated. According to the naturalistic explanation Elisha “pierced the hole in the axe with the pointed stick, and so lifted it up” (Knobel, Der Proph. ii. s. 98); and Köster (Die Proph. s. 90) says: “It was very correctly asserted, even by the Jewish expositors, that this was no miracle. (Buddeus, p. 364, opposes, and maintains the miracle, but cannot tell what was the use of the sharpened stick.) The axe had flown from the handle; Elisha pierced a stick into the aperture of it, and brought it up. The edifying application of it was, that presence of mind becomes a prophet, and is valuable even in the slight affairs of every-day life.” But the text says nothing about what would here be the main point, viz.: the sharpening of the stick. קָצַב (ver 6) does not mean to point, to sharpen, but only to chop off (Gesenius). Besides, it is clear that the narrative is not intended to tell of some ordinary incident, which any one could do in every-day life without especial “presence of mind,” but of an act which only a prophet, by virtue of the spirit of Jehovah, could do. That he made use for this purpose of an external physical means is true not only here, but also in the case of all his miraculous deeds (cf. 1 Kings 17, Hist. § 5).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
2Ki_5:1-19. The Story of Naaman. (a) His Illness (2Ki_5:1-8); (b) his cure (2Ki_5:9-14); (c) his conversion (2Ki_5:15-19).
2Ki_5:1-8. Bender: Naaman; a consideration (a) of the discipline of suffering under which he was; (b) of the star of hope which arose for him in his misfortune; (c) of the path in which he was led by this hope.
2Ki_5:1. Menken: Everywhere where there is, or seems to be, something great and fortunate, there is also a slight discordant “but,” which, like a false note in a melody, mars the perfectness of the good-fortune. A worm gnaws at everything pertaining to this world; and everything here below carries the germs of death in itself.… We ought to consider all human suffering and misery worthy of consideration, wherever we find it. It is found everywhere; it dwells in the palace and in the hovel; it is interwoven with the life of prince and beggar; and it is inseparable from all worldly happiness. This is to the end that we may perceive and be convinced that there is nothing earthly with which a man should be contented, and in which he can find true rest and the ever-enduring peace of the soul, and therefore that the poor and lowly have no reason to envy the rich and great. That which makes us happy in truth and for eternity does not depend upon rank or upon wealth.—Calwer Bibel: God treated this heathen in the way in which He is accustomed to treat His children. Just as He is wont to give to them, together with everything joyful which He grants them, also something incidental to restrain their pride, that they may remain humble, and may learn to seek God, so that He may still further glorify himself in them, so He visited this great military chief, whom He had so magnified in other respects, with a disease, which should make him humble, and teach him to seek further grace. That which seems to us and to all the world to be the greatest misfortune, and which is mourned as such, is often, according to God’s wise counsel, the way to our highest good-fortune and welfare. The Lord says: “What I do thou knowest not now” &c. (Joh_13:7; Heb_12:11).
2Ki_5:2-3. Krummacher: The Foreign Slave-Girl, (a) The momentous purchase; (b) the development of the seed of true religion in a heathen land; (c) the earnest ray of hope in the dark night of sorrow. The Little Girl from the Land of Israel, (a) Her heavy lot (such an one as that of Joseph and Daniel.—Menken: Torn from her friends, led away from her people and her fatherland, sold in a foreign country, slave of a heathen, she was a stranger to the joys of youth and the pleasure of life, and sadness and sorrow overclouded her life. How often may she, seized by yearning for the land of her childhood and youth, by longing for father and mother, have cried out to God. She could endure all this because she had learned in early youth to know the God whose eye overlooks all countries, and who holds His hand over all who heartily depend on Him. How necessary it is that parents should early make their children acquainted with the living God and His holy Word, that they may learn to yield themselves to His ways, and may have a light and staff in the dark valley); (b) her good advice. (It came from a heart which was full of sympathy for the trouble of her master, and which did not, like so many, serve with mere eye-service to please men. It was like a sun arising in a dark night, and it was the first movement towards Naaman’s salvation in body and soul, and towards the glorification of the living God among the heathen. How great things the little maid brought about without knowing it. God often makes use of the most insignificant instruments (1Co_1:28) for building up His kingdom and for spreading abroad His name. The least important person in the household becomes a living proof of the all-controlling, loving care and providence of God, and of the declaration, Isa_55:9.)
2Ki_5:4. Cramer: One ought not to despise the counsel of even insignificant persons, for God can accomplish great things even by means of these.—Cassel: When the great and mighty are so bowed down that they do not know where else to get help, they listen even to a child. Nay: such are we all. When the waves reach to our heads we begin to listen to anything; no advice is too contemptible for us; no person too insignificant for us to be willing to listen.
2Ki_5:4-7. Naaman’s Journey to Samaria. (a) The equipment for it. (The king gives him a letter of introduction: he departs with great pomp, with horses and chariots, and he takes with him rich treasures for gifts. Provided with all this, he has a firm hope of attaining his object. Rank, might, and wealth, those are the things in which a man hopes who has not yet learned to know the living God; but the Scripture says: “Put not your trust,” &c., Psa_146:3; Psa_146:5; Psa_118:9; and: “A horse is a vain thing,” &c, Psa_33:17; and: “We brought nothing into,” &c, 1Ti_6:7.) (b) The Reception in Samaria. (The king is terrified because he has a bad conscience, Job_15:21; Wis_17:11. Such a man always finds more in a letter than it says. Those who do not trust God do not trust one another. In his terror he is at a loss what to do. The king of Israel does not know what the little maid knew (2Ki_5:3). In matters of the kingdom of God the humble and lowly have often more experience than the great, Mat_11:25; 1Co_1:27-28. Naaman was to be made to feel this, Sir_51:10; Psa_88:5, in order that he might come to Him from whom alone help can come, Psa_3:8; Psa_68:20).
2Ki_5:6. Great men, who are accustomed to find every one ready to do their will, often believe, in their blindness, that they can command that to be done which only God can do.
2Ki_5:7. What good does it do to believe in a God who can kill and make alive, if one does not fear Him and bow before Him; does not seek Him, and therefore does not find Him? (Jam_2:19).
2Ki_5:8-14. The Healing of Naaman. (a) The conduct of the prophet (2Ki_5:8; 2Ki_5:10; 2Ki_5:14); (b) Naaman’s behavior under it (2Ki_5:9; 2Ki_5:11-13).
2Ki_5:8. Cramer: When faithful servants of God see that the unbelief of the godless redounds to God’s dishonor, they hasten to oppose it. God spoke and made known His mercy by the prophets in Israel many times and in many ways. Last of all, He revealed Himself by His Son, who is the “brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person” (Heb_1:1-3). He speaks to all who have to console the sorrowing or counsel the despairing: Let them come to me that they may learn that a Saviour has come into the world, who restores the sorrowful and heavy-laden, and in whom they can find rest for their souls.—Cassel: In Israel a prophet is never wanting; He lives who goes ever with us; He lives who has washed all wounds in His blood; though all the world should fall in ruins, my Saviour and my prophet lives.
2Ki_5:9-10. Horses and chariots, external grandeur and display, must often be employed to conceal internal misery from the eyes of the world, and to impose upon it. A genuine man of God does not, however, allow himself to be deceived, or to be bribed by pomp and display, but he speaks out whatever God commands, whether it pleases the world or not. In human affairs the word of the Apostle applies: “Be kindly affectioned one to another,” &c., Rom_12:10. In divine matters, however, when the recognition of truth, and the honor of God, and the glory of His name, are at stake, a servant of God ought not to be governed by the rules of worldly politeness, but only to be guided by that which will contribute to the salvation of souls. It often requires far more self-denial to resist the great than to yield to them; not all is priestly pride which seems to the world to be such. That which Naaman believed to be contempt and rudeness really proceeded, in the case of Elisha, from genuine love to him, and humility and obedience to God.
2Ki_5:11 sq. Menken: This man, convinced of the inadequacy of all human and earthly means to relieve his misfortune, seeks divine help, and when he finds it, and it is before him, so that he only needs to reach out his hands and take it, he is dissatisfied, and complains of the divine help, on account of its peculiar form and character: he turns away from it with anger as from something worthless. And why? Simply on account of his prejudice; because he had made up his mind that what was divine must take place in another way, that its form of acting and helping must be different. He did not stop and ask himself whether he had reason and right for his expectation, nor whether the peculiarity of speech, action, and relief, which displeased him, was unbecoming to what was divine. Trusting to his prejudice without scruple or investigation as to its justice, as it were to an oracle, i.e., trusting to himself as possessing an infallible insight, he departs. How faithful and true the old picture is! How fresh and new it is, as if men of to-day had sat for it! Ask thousands, who are devoted to human pursuits with enthusiasm and zeal, and who leave what is holy and divine in contemptuous neglect, why they do so, and they will be able to give but this one answer: I thought that the divine must speak, and act, and will, and work, in a different way from this; I cannot reconcile it with my opinion; if I should accept this I should have to throw away my opinion, and that of the public and the time.—Observe this now well, and do not think it of little importance. This “I thought!” is the most mighty of all mighty things on earth, and even if it is not the most ruinous of all ruinous things, it is yet certainly the most unfortunate of all unfortunate ones. This “I thought” brought sin and misery and death into the world, and it prevents redemption from sin and death in the case of thousands. These thousands, if they perish in their opinion, will begin the next life with “I thought!”—Calwer Bibel: How common it is for men to prescribe to God the ways of His providence and the modes of His assistance! Just in order to break this self-will, and to awaken and test our faith and our patience, God must act contrary to our prejudice.—Richter: How many a one asks in unbelief: how can water do so great things? Water does not indeed do it, but the word of God, which is in and with the water.—The Means by which Naaman was made whole. (a) Their apparent insignificance: (b) their real significance (see Histor. §§ 1 and 2).—Menken: Blessed is he who is not offended because of me, said once He, in whom and through whom the divine appeared to men in its purest and most glorious form, and in its deepest and directest sense. Thereby He showed conclusively that the divine has a peculiarity on account of which it is and must be opposed to the perverse sense of sinful men. Therefore we call that man blessed who can believe the divine, and to whom the humble form in which it appears here below is no cause of mistake, and whom the simplicity in which it is dressed for the sake of truth, and the humility with which it is clad for the sake of love, offends so little that he admires and honors and loves it all the more exactly on this account.—Cf. 1Co_1:20-29.—Naaman became angry on account of the message which the prophet sent to him. So now also the message of salvation is received with anger because it opposes the opinion and the pride of the natural man, who is not willing to admit that he is a poor sinner, and diseased, and in need of salvation (Jam_1:21). That which is offered as a means of life and peace, becomes thus all the greater cause of destruction.—Luther: The world wants to earn heaven from God, although He proclaims through the world: I will be your God; I will give it to you out of free grace, and I will make you blessed without a price. [Naaman as a Type of the Rationalist. The a priori notions which men form, which become prejudices in their minds, and by which they measure things. They invent a God in their own minds and go to the Bible to see if they find the same God there; if not, they reject Him. They form a priori notions of Christ, of the Bible, of religion, and the way in which religion ought to be presented to them, of prayer, of Providence, of the sacraments, &c. If these are not satisfied they turn away angry. If the diseases of their souls cannot be healed as they have made up their minds that they ought to be healed, then they will not have them healed at all. See Histor 1 and 3, with translator’s additions.—W. G. S.]
2Ki_5:13. “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation;” “it is not in word but in power” (Luk_17:20; 1Co_4:20).—Menken: Thousands, who are sad and heavy-laden under the consciousness of the spiritual misery of sin and death … would be glad if the Word would order them to the utmost end of the earth, and would command them to make the pilgrimage without shoes under their feet, or covering upon their heads, and to give all their goods to the poor, and to brand and torture their bodies with chastisements, because that would correspond to their sensual feeling, and to their preconceived opinion; but they cannot reconcile themselves to the gospel of the grace of God, that He sent His Son into the world as a propitiation for sin (1Jn_4:10).—Servants and subordinates cannot better prove their love and fidelity to their masters than by dissuading them from angry and violent steps by friendly and humble words—not by falling in with and encouraging their temper. (Pro_15:1).
2Ki_5:14. Krummacher: It is a great thing, when a man is willing from his heart to submit himself to the ordinances which God has established for his salvation.—Bender: The divine means of grace of the Church are for us what the Jordan was for Naaman. We are called to profit by them by the Holy Ghost, who will therein enlighten us by His gifts, and sanctify and strengthen us in the faith. As Naaman was healed gratis of his leprosy, which threatened him with death, so that his flesh became like that of a little child, so are we, through the compassion of God, which was revealed in Christ, purified from sin and saved through the “washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost,” so that we may be first-fruits of His creatures, and, as such, heirs of eternal life (Tit_3:5 sq.; Jam_1:18).
2Ki_5:14-19. Bender: The Healing of Naaman. (a) The act of God; (b) Naaman’s confession; (c) his gratitude; (d) his especial request.
2Ki_5:15. He who has come to faith in the living God, who revealed himself to Israel by His prophets, and to us by His Son, feels an impulsion to confess this faith with joy before men. Without faith there is no confession, and without confession there is no faith (Psa_116:10; Rom_10:10).—J. Lange: That knowledge of God which is won by experience of the purification of the heart, and which is enjoyed in the sweet and quiet peace of the soul, is the only real, genuine, and saving knowledge.—Starke: Nothing is impossible for faith. It can make of a proud and boastful soldier a pious and humble servant of God (Mar_9:23). Naaman gave with joy, and God loveth a cheerful giver. He gave not only because he had been healed, but because he had come to a knowledge of the true God. After God we owe gratitude to none so much as to those who have brought us to a knowledge of God and a recognition of the truth.
2Ki_5:16. Menken: Godly and holy men, who have devoted their lives to the service and witness of the divine truth among men, have always had two peculiarities, which bad men have never been able to imitate: freedom from all love of gain, and, in neglect of the praise and honor of the world, a pure looking-up to the Father, “who seeth in secret” (Act_8:18-20).—Starke: True Godliness knows when to open the hand and when to close it (Sir. 4:36).—A servant of God must always firmly ward off whatever might cast the least evil appearance upon the purity and fidelity of his service to his master.
2Ki_5:17-19. Naaman’s Two Requests, as testimonies to his firm and decided faith (see Historical, §§ 1, 4). (a) The altar built of the soil of Israel in a foreign land was an indicator of the way to Israel and to Israel’s God; a physical confession which required strong courage, for it might call down persecution, disgrace, and death. So now it is an act of faith when a messenger of the faith sets up the cross in the midst of a mighty heathen people. How deeply does Naaman shame the Christians who, even among Christians and in Christian countries, do not dare to confess Christ by word and deed, (b) The prayer for indulgence came from a fine and tender conscience, which makes an earnest thing of its faith; to which all hypocrisy is loathsome; which is not willing to lean both ways, but demands confidence and certainty as to whether what it does and what it leaves undone are right in the sight of God, and whether it is maintaining the grace it has won. How rare are those in our times who, in matters of religion, are equally scrupulous!
2Ki_5:17. Cassel: As Naaman was the type of the converted heathen world, and he carried the soil of Palestine to Aram, so did the heathen carry over into their own lands, together with Christianity, the doctrine, life, disposition, and spirit, which had flourished in the Holy Land, and thereby they established for themselves a new home. … When we hear here and there in Christian lands the names Bethany, Bethlehem, Zion, &c, what are they but holy places transferred, in their spirit, from their original location into our life and thought and feeling. In thy religious observances the main point is not the correctness and truth of thy knowledge, or of the doctrine which thou professest, but the truth and purity of thine own character. What one may do under his circumstances without violating his conscience, the conscience of another, under other circumstances, will forbid him to do. We have no right to judge him: to the Lord each one stands or falls (Rom_14:1-7).—Menken: The higher a man stands in the world, and the more important he has made his position, the more is he bound.
2Ki_5:19. When a man has been heartily converted, and earnestly strives to enter in at the straight gate, we ought not to make harder for him what is already hard, and we ought not to make demands of him which, according to the circumstances in which God has placed him, he cannot fulfill, but look to the main point and not the incidental or external things, leaving him with prayer to the gracious guidance of God, who will complete the work of grace which He has begun in him. God makes the sincere to succeed.—Menken: One does not know what to admire most in Elisha’s mild and simple answer, the clear and correct insight into a genuine heart experience, which, whatever may surround and obscure the main point, still seizes this quickly and clearly; or the holy moderation which, even in the case where it is its prerogative to urge, limit, bind, loose, or burden, still restrains itself; or the pure humanity of disposition, which can so thoroughly sympathize, so completely put itself in the position and at the stand-point of the other. The knowledge of the living God, and the experience of His saving grace, is the fountain of all peace, with which alone a man can go gladly on his way.
2Ki_5:19-27 (cf. Histor. § 5). Bender: Gehazi, the False Prophet-Disciple, (a) His disposition; (b) his procedure; (c) his punishment.—Krummacher: Gehazi. (a) Gehazi’s heart; (b) Gehazi’s crime; (c) the judgment which fell upon him.
2Ki_5:20. Let not desire overcome thee. How mighty are the evil inborn lusts of the human heart! Even in the case of those who have for years enjoyed the society of the noblest and most pious men, who have heard and read the word of God daily, and who have had the example of holy conduct daily before their eyes, lusts arise, take possession of them, and carry them captive (Jam_1:13-15; Mat_15:19). Therefore, “Be sober, be vigilant,” &c. (1Pe_5:8).—The avaricious and covetous are always envious; they are discontented when others neglect chances to become rich, or renounce that which they would be glad to have.—Calwer Bibel: Gehazi speaks contemptuously of Naaman because he is a Syrian and not an Israelite, although he was far better than Gehazi. So also now-a-days, unwise Christians and Jews contemn one another.… It is plain from his unnecessary oath what kind of a man Gehazi was. Those who swear unnecessarily judge themselves. Covetousness is the root of all evil: where there is covetousness and avarice there is also falsehood and deceit, vulgarity and rudeness, and cunning theft and bold theft.
2Ki_5:22. Bender: Gehazi was Elisha’s servant. Ye servants, how do you conduct yourselves toward your masters? Are ye open, sincere, honest, obedient, as the apostle says Eph_6:5-6? Is the property and good name of your masters as dear to you as your own property and your own honor, or do ye take advantage of them where ye can? “My master has sent me”—so says many an unfaithful servant, who cares for silver and gold, raiment, fields, vineyards, and gardens, but not for the honor of his master—who cares more for the wool than for the sheep. Hypocrites do more harm to the cause of God than the godless (2Ti_3:5).
2Ki_5:23. He who himself thinketh no evil and is sincere, does not suspect cunning and deceit in others. Good-hearted, noble men, to whom it is more blessed to give than to receive, are easily deceived, and they follow the inclination of their hearts, instead of examining carefully to whom they are giving their benefactions.
2Ki_5:24. That which we must conceal brings no blessing.
2Ki_5:25. “Whence comest thou, Gehazi?” Happy are they of whom there is no need to ask this question; who can give an account without falsehood of all the paths in which they have walked, and of all the places in which they have been.—Menken: This question should have been to Gehazi like the wind-gusts before a storm, which warn the traveler to seek a refuge-where the coming storms and floods cannot reach him.—This is the curse which rests upon a lie, that the man seeks to escape from it by new lies, and so involves himself more and more in the net of him of whom the master says: “When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own” (Joh_8:44).
2Ki_5:26. If God himself arms His prophets with the gift to be witnesses of hidden sin, and to bring it to the light, how much more will He, before whose judgment-seat we shall all have to appear, bring that to light which now lies hidden in darkness, and reveal the secret counsels of the heart?
2Ki_5:27. Menken: How did the raiment of Damascus appear to the leper, or the pieces of silver to the wretched outcast? How often must he have desired to buy back again with all his treasures one day of his healthful poverty? Then, too, the lost peace of God. Alas! Most incomprehensible, most depraved, most indestructible and terrible of all deceits, deceit of riches, who fears thee, as we all should fear thee? God have pity upon us all, and help us all, that no one may set his hopes upon uncertain riches, but upon the living God, who gives us all richly to enjoy all His blessings. And yet again: “They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare” (1Ti_6:9-12).—The story of Naaman and Gehazi is a prophecy of the salvation of the heathen who seek help and grace, and of the rejection of Israel, if it destroys and rejects salvation (Isa_5:25 sq.). [The leprosy of riches. Gold is tainted—strength required to use it aright; right pursuit of wealth; absorbing pursuit of it; curse which cleaves to it when it is ill-gotten or ill-used; this curse crops out most frequently in the children. A father absorbed in pursuit of wealth, and mother absorbed in fashion, will bring up corrupt and neglected children. Parents love gold, and fashion, and display, children will hold these the chief things in life. Thou hast gotten thee gold, but leprosy shall cleave to thee and to thy seed forever.—W. G. S.]
2Ki_6:1-7 (cf. Histor. § 6 and 7). (a) Sketch of the Community-life of the Prophet-disciples, (a) Their number does not diminish in spite of all contempt and persecution, but increases (2Ki_6:1); (b) they undertake nothing without their master (2Ki_6:2-3); (c) they help and encourage one another in their work (2Ki_6:4); (d) they experience the divine help and blessing (2Ki_6:5-7).
2Ki_6:1. It is a good state of things when a community can say: “Behold the place,” &c. How many Churches have room and to spare, and might accommodate twice as many hearers, while the room in the buildings devoted to the lusts of the eye and the flesh, and to the pride of life, is too small.
2Ki_6:2. Pfaff. Bibel: Each one should contribute his share to multiply churches and schools as the population increases.
2Ki_6:5. Starke: Pious people are more careful of what is borrowed than of their own property.
2Ki_6:5-7. Würt. Summ.: We have here an instance where God is touched by even the least misfortune which visits his children. He will not let himself be hindered by natural laws from helping his servants in their need, … that they may not despair in adversity, but trust in God, and be only the more diligent in prayer.—Krummacher: It often happens that the Lord takes from us some possession, or appears to do so, only with the purpose of returning it after a longer or shorter time in some unexpected way, that it may thus come to us as a gift of divine love, and a pledge of His grace.
Footnotes:
[1]2Ki_6:8.—[The first clause expresses a circumstance of the main action, best rendered by the absolute participial construction. The king of Syria, being at war with Israel, held a council of his officers, and decided, in such and such, &c.—Ew. Lehrb. § 16l, a, explains תּחנות as a noun in the form of the infinitive, das Sich lagern. Hence the form of the suff.
[11]2Ki_5:12.—[Keri, Amana. See Exeget.
[12]2Ki_5:17.—[The Sept. join the first two words of the next verse with this one, τῷ ῥήματι τούτῳ, because of this thing.—W. G. S.]
[13]2Ki_5:18.—Thenius proposes to change the last י in בהשׁתחויתי to ו, and it certainly does seem better to do so. This is the reading of the Sept. (ἐν τῷ προσκυνεῖν αὐτόν), and of the Vulg. (adorante eo).—Bähr.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain THE LEPROSY OF NAAMAN CLEANSED, 2Ki_5:1-19.
THE LEPROSY OF NAAMAN CLEANSED, 2Ki_5:1-19.
Of all Elisha’s miracles of blessing, this cleansing of Naaman’s leprosy was the only one he wrought upon a heathen. His other mighty works of healing or benediction afflicted persons and families in Israel. It was fitting that one famous miracle of healing should be wrought upon a foreigner; a miracle conveying rich moral lessons for all nations and all ages. Naaman’s cure, affected by his meeting the conditions of the word of the Lord through Elisha, is a standing type of salvation from sin by the Gospel.
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There were many Israelitish lepers in Elisha’s time, but they were not cleansed, because they sought not unto the God of Elisha. Naaman, the Syrian, manifests a faith not to be found in Israel, and is cleansed. He thus prefigured the Gentiles of a later age, who eagerly asked and received the salvation of God from which many a Jew was cut off because of their unbelief. Compare Luk_4:27.
1. Naaman — According to some of the rabbies, he was the man who drew the bow and unintentionally killed Ahab, king of Israel. 1Ki_22:34. Josephus, in giving account of Ahab’s death, makes the same statement, but makes no mention of Naaman’s leprosy, or its cure by Elisha.
Captain of the host… of Syria — Commander-in-chief of the Syrian army.
A great man with his master — That is, greatly prized, loved, and reverenced by his king. In Ben-hadad’s court there was no man so great as Naaman.
By him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria — That is, by some great and famous exploit Naaman had won a memorable victory for the Syrians. Perhaps the very exploit which had secured him this fame and honour with the king was his shooting Ahab.
A mighty man in valour — A valiant warrior. He was every inch a soldier, and had gained his honours by valour as well as by fortune.
But he was a leper — And this cast a shadow over all his greatness. “Every man,” says Henry, “has some but or other in his character; something that blemishes and diminishes him; some alloy to his grandeur, some damp to his joy; he may be very happy, very good, yet, in something or other, not so good as he should be, nor so happy as he would be. Naaman was as great as the world could make him, and yet the basest slave in Syria would not change skins with him.” In Syria the leprosy was no bar to human society, nor to offices of trust and honour; but in Israel the leper was made to dwell alone, and could not mingle in society. Compare Lev_13:46; Num_5:2; 2Ch_26:21. The leprosy is a significant type of sin and spiritual impurity; and how many there are of great worldly honour and power, having all of earth that heart need wish, while in spirit they are lepers!
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain Ch. 2Ki_5:1-14. The cure of Naaman’s leprosy (Not in…
Ch. 2Ki_5:1-14. The cure of Naaman’s leprosy (Not in Chronicles)
1. honourable] An attempt is made by the LXX. to translate literally the Hebrew expression which is the same as in Isa_3:3. τεθαυμασμένος προσώπῳ, ‘admired in the eyes of’. The idea is the passive of ‘an acceptor of persons’. Hence ‘one accepted and acceptable’.
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because by him the Lord had given deliverance] R.V. victory. That the Lord was the deliverer is the thought of the Jewish writer. The Syrians would have put the case differently. It is however a matter of interest to note that Jehovah was not regarded by the compiler of this narrative as exclusively the God of the Jews, nor the Gentiles thought to be beyond, or deprived of, His care. He helps them though they know Him not.
deliverance unto Syria] That Naaman was the man ‘who drew a bow at a venture’ and smote Ahab at Ramoth Gilead, and thus gained victory for Syria, is a conjecture of Jewish commentators for which there is not the smallest foundation. About this time the Assyrians invaded Syria and the countries round about, and it is not improbable that this was the war in which Naaman had gained his fame.
a mighty man in [R.V. of] valour] The phrase occurs many times, and nowhere but here is the preposition ‘in’ used, but always ‘of’. The disease with which Naaman was afflicted must have been of a less malignant character than leprosy mostly is, otherwise he would have been physically incapable of soldierly duties.
a leper] The laws of the Jews concerning the separation of lepers from the rest of the people are given in Leviticus 13, 14, and are extremely stringent. Clearly in Syria there were no such regulations, for Naaman goes with the host to war, returns and lives at home with his wife and the household, and attends on the king when he goes to worship in the house of Rimmon.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) Now.—The construction implies a break between this narrative…
V.
ELISHA HEALS NAAMAN THE SYRIAN’S LEPROSY, AND PUNISHES GEHAZI THEREWITH.
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(1) Now.—The construction implies a break between this narrative and the preceding. Whether the events related belong to the time of Jehoram or of the dynasty of Jehu is not clear. Evidently it was a time of peace between Israel and Syria.
Naaman (beauty).—A title of the sun-god. (See Note on Isa_17:10.)
A great man with his master.—Literally, before his lord. (Comp. Gen_10:9.)
Honourable.—In special favour. Literally, lifted up of face. (Comp. 2Ki_3:14, Note; Isa_3:3.)
By him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria.—Notice the high prophetic view that it is Jehovah, not Hadad or Rimmon, who gives victory to Syria as well as Israel. (Comp. Amo_9:7.) It is natural to think of the battle in which Ahab received his mortal wound (1Ki_22:30, seq.). The Midrash makes Naaman the man who “drew the bow at a venture” on that occasion. The “deliverance” was victory over Israel.
He was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.—Literally, and the man was a brave warrior, stricken with leprosy. His leprosy need not have been so severe as to incapacitate him for military duties. The victor over Israel is represented as a leper who has to seek, and finds, his only help in Israel (Thenius).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 1-27. THE CURE OF NAAMAN"S LEPROSY. HIS GRATITUDE;…
Vers. 1-27. THE CURE OF NAAMAN"S LEPROSY. HIS GRATITUDE; AND THE SIN OF GEHAZI. The historian continues his narrative of Elisha"s miracles, commenced in 2Ki 2, and gives in the present chapter a very graphic and complete account of two which were especially remarkable, and which stood in a peculiar relation the one towards the other. One was the removal of leprosy; the other, its infliction. One was wrought on a foreigner and a man of eminence; the other, on a Hebrew and a servant. The second was altogether consequential upon the first, without which the occasion for it would not have arisen. The two together must have greatly raised the reputation of the prophet, and have given him an influence beyond the borders of the laud of Israel; at the same time extending the reputation of Jehovah as a great God through many of the surrounding nations.
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the King of Syria. The name "Naaman" is here found for the first time. It is thought to be derived from that of an Aramaean god (Ewald), and appears in the later Arabic under the form of Noman, in which shape it is familiar to the students of Arabian history. Benhadad, who had been wont in his youth and middle age to lead his armies into the field in person, (1Ki_20:1-20 1Ki_22:31; "Ancient Monarchies," vol. 2. p. 103) seems now in his old age to have found it necessary to entrust the command to a general, and to have made Naaman captain of his host. Compare the similar practice (ibid., p. 101) of the Assyrian monarchs. Was a great man with his master, and honorable rather, honored, or held in esteem (teqaumasmenov, LXX)because by him the Lord had given deliverance literally, salvation, or safety (swthrian, LXX)unto Syria. Probably he had commanded the Syrian army in some of its encounters with the Assyrians, who at this time, under Shalmaneser II, were threatening the independence of Syria, but did not succeed in subjecting it. He was also a mighty man in valor gibbor hail, commonly translated in our version by "mighty man of valor," does not mean much more than "a good soldier but he was a leper. Leprosy had many degrees. Some of the lighter kinds did not incapacitate a man for military service, or unfit him for the discharge of court duties (ver. 18). But there was always a danger that the lighter forms might develop into the severer ones.
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Vers. 1-19.
The lessons taught by the story of Naaman.
story of Naaman," says Menken, "is a worthy part of the history of those revelations and manifestations of the living God which, in their connection and continuation through many centuries, and in their tendency towards one goal and object, were designed to plant upon earth the knowledge and the worship of the true God! But it offers besides to our consideration a rich store of reflections, in which neither heart nor understanding can refuse a willing participation." Among the lessons, or "reflections," would seem to be the following.
I No EARTHLY HAPPINESS WITHOUT ALLOY. Naaman, as far as external prosperity went, had all that he could desire.
1. He was "captain of the host of the King of Syria," commander-in-chief, i.e. , of all the national forces. He held a great position, involving high rank, vast patronage, considerable emolument, and a place in the thoughts of men next to that of the king.
2. He was "a great man with his master high in the royal favor able to obtain any boon that he desired, and advance all whom he cared to patronize.
3. He was also "a mighty man of valor," or rather "a good tried soldier," approved by deeds of arms to the nation, and enjoying his own confidence and self-respect. But on all this there was one drawback. Naaman "was a leper." And so it is generally. "Everywhere, where there is or seems to be something great and fortunate, there is also some discordant "but," which, like a false note in a melody, mars the perfectness of the good fortune. A worm gnaws at the root of everything pertaining to this world; and everything here below contains the germs of death in itself" (Menken). Life is full of compensations. There is no misery without alleviation; no low estate without some gleam of joy or hope to brighten and glorify it; and also no happiness without some concomitant annoyance or discomfort. Now it is domestic trouble, now an unhappy turn of mind, now a recollection of some sin in the past, now an anticipation of some calamity in the future. But, perhaps most frequently, it is ill health, some form of bodily suffering. Naaman"s affliction was of the most grievous kind leprosy! a disease at once painful, unsightly, disgusting, and regarded as a disgrace.
II SOLACE AND HELP COME TO US FROM THE MOST UNEXPECTED QUARTERS. A "little maid," a foreigner, a captive, a slave, accidentally introduced into his household, and occupying a very humble place in it, perhaps almost unknown by sight to the great lord of the mansion, who has something better to do than to take notice of his wife"s attendants this little maid, humble as she is, and apparently of the least possible consequence, initiates the entire series of events which form the substance of the narrative. She sees her master"s sufferings, she is touched by them; she longs to have them assuaged; and she bethinks herself of a possible cure of them. "Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria!" Perhaps it was a mere vague wish, a thought that rose in the mind, and was uttered without the slightest idea that action would be based on it. But our lightest words may have effects of which we never thought. The "little maid"s" gentle aspiration fell on some ear which took note of it; inquiry was made; hope was aroused; and finally action followed. The small accident of an Israelite maid, who knew of Elisha"s power to work miracles, being a member of his wife"s household, and giving utterance to her feelings of compassion, led on to the great general"s cure, and to the glorification of the Name of Jehovah throughout the Syrian nation. The mouse in the fable gave aid, which was of the most vital importance to the lion. We can never tell from what humble friend or dependant we may not receive help in trouble, by precious hints or suggestions, or by effectual fervent prayers, which may be of inestimable service to us.
III THE GREAT OF THE EARTH A POOR STAY AND SUPPORT. Neither Benhadad King of Syria, nor Joram King of Israel, were really of any help to Naaman in his trouble. Benhadad meant well; but his letter to the King of Israel confused the plain issue, and was not of the slightest practical service. Joram had to acknowledge himself utterly powerless (ver. 7), and, but for the prophet"s interference, would probably have represented to the King of Syria that there was no more help to be obtained for Naaman in Israel than in his own country. Great civil personages are rarely fit to take the lead in matters, which even touch upon religion. They place far too much trust in the cunning devices of mere human policy, and far too little in the force of religious principle and the overruling providence of God. The Magi did not help Christ by bringing him their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. They did but draw Herod"s attention to him, and bring his infant life into peril. Herod Antipas did not help John the Baptist. He "heard him gladly", (Mar_6:20) but imprisoned him, and ultimately put him to death. The advice of the psalmist is excellent, "Put not your trust in princes...for there is no help in them". (Psa_146:3)
IV OUR BEST HELP FROM RELIGION AND ITS MINISTERS. Naaman might have returned to Damascus in the same condition in which he left it, unhelped, unaided, uncured, but for the existence, and for the action taken by, a minister of God. Men often jeer at ministers, deride them, deny the use of them, call them idlers and supernumeraries, and declare their belief that the world would get on quite as well, or much better, without them; but in times of difficulty and danger, and especially in the time of sickness, they are apt to have recourse to them. A Belshazzar in difficulty seeks to Daniel, (Dan_5:13) a Naaman to Elisha, a Theodosius to Ambrose, a guilty sinner to his parish priest or to the nearest godly minister of his acquaintance. Ministers, it is true, do not now heal diseases; and it is fitting that in sickness the physician should be called in, to begin with. But when the physician can do no more, when he declares the resources of his art exhausted, when death draws near us, then there are but few who despise the aid of the previously contemned servant of God, but few who are not glad to have a minister of God at their bedside, and to receive from his hands the last consolations of religion. How many have been brought by ministerial aid to die in peace and joy, who without it would have lain for days tortured with doubts and fears and misgivings! How many have even been snatched at the last moment like brands from the burning, brought through ministerial influence, even on their deathbeds, to a repentance not to be repented of! It is well not to trust beforehand to a death-bed repentance, but to set our house in order while we are still in health. But the example of the thief on the cross shows that, even under the very shadow of death, the mercy of God is not exhausted. A death-bed repentance is always possible; and in bringing it about the assistance to be derived from an experienced minister can scarcely be overestimated.
V THE NATURAL MAN A POOR JUDGE OF GOD"S METHODS OF SALVATION. "I thought," said Naaman, "he will surely come out to me," etc. Naaman had made up his mind what the prophet"s method would be. He had his own notions concerning the fitness of things, and the mode in which Divine help, if it came at all, would come to him. When his expectations were disappointed, as human expectations on such a subject are likely to be, he was offended, and "turned and went away in a rage" (ver. 12). Do not many turn from religion altogether on similar utterly insufficient grounds? They "thought," if God gave a revelation at all, he would give it in this or that way by a voice from heaven speaking with equal force to all, with the accompaniment of a continuous display of miracles, by the mouth of an immaculate priesthood, or in some way quite different from that in which it has pleased God to give it; and, being disappointed in their expectation, they reject the whole matter, refuse to have anything to do with it, "turn and go away in a rage." I thought" is all-powerful with them. Well does Menken observe, "This "I thought" is the most mighty of all mighty things upon earth, and even if it is not the most ruinous of all ruinous things, it is yet certainly the most unfortunate of all unfortunate ones. This "I thought" brought sin and misery and death into the world; and it prevents redemption from sin and death in the case of thousands! These thousands, if they perish in their opinion, will begin the next life with "I thought.
VI SECOND THOUGHTS OFTEN THE BEST. It is never too late to amend. To pride one"s self on absolute consistency and unchangingness is the height of folly in a being who is not, and knows he is not, omniscient. Our first thoughts must often be mistaken ones, and in such cases it is at least possible that our second thoughts may be better. Moreover, second thoughts may be suggested from without, and may come from those who are far wiser than ourselves. Naaman showed his good sense in giving up his original intention and adopting the advice of his servants. To have persisted for consistency"s sake would have been foolish obstinacy, and would have resulted in his remaining a leper and an idolater to the day of his death.
VII A TIME FOR ALL THINGS A TIME TO GET, AND A TIME TO LOSE. "The laborer is worthy of his hire." Ministers cannot live on air any more than other people. There is a time when, and there are circumstances under which, it is lawful for them to receive such an amount of this world"s goods as they need, or even such an amount as is offered to them. For any surplus which they receive beyond their needs they are trustees, bound to expend such surplus as they deem best for the honor of God and the benefit of man. Prophets were entitled to accept gifts of those who consulted them, (1Sa_9:7, 1Sa_9:8) and Elisha himself took without hesitation the twenty loaves from the man of Baal-shalisha. But when Naaman made his offer, Elisha felt that it was "a time to lose." He had to show that "the gift of God could not be purchased with money;" he had to impress it on an ignorant but intelligent heathen, that Jehovah was a God not like other gods, and that his prophets were men not like other men. He had to teach the doctrine of free grace. His example should be a lesson to ministers, that not every gift, even though it be offered by a willing heart, ought to be accepted. There are times when a minister should decline a testimonial, an augmentation of stipend, the donation of a new pulpit, or a new organ, and when he should be glad to "lose" them for the furtherance of higher objects.
VIII GRATITUDE FOR TEMPORAL BLESSINGS BEST SHOWN BY OUR TURNING TO GOD. When Naaman found that the prophet would receive no gift at his hand, he acquiesced, and resolved to show his gratitude for the great blessing which he had received in another way. He would thenceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto any other god, but only unto the Lord (ver. 17). It was a noble resolve. It might offend his sovereign, it might hamper his promotion, it might deprive him of court favor. Still, he did not hesitate; he made the resolution, and he proclaimed it. Whether he kept it faithfully or no, we are not told; we know nothing of his after-life; the curtain drops on him as he departs to his own country. But, so far as the history is carried, it shows him faithful and true. He bears off his two mules" burden of earth. He means no more to worship Rimmon. He will acknowledge and worship one God only, Jehovah. There may be weakness in the compromise with conscience, which he proposes in ver. 18; but it is a pardonable weakness in one bred up a heathen. At any rate, he does right, and sets us a good example, in his resolute turning to Jehovah, as the true Source of the blessing, which he has received, and as therefore deserving henceforth of all his worship and all his gratitude.
HOMILIES BY C.H. IRWIN. Vers. 1-3.
The captive Israelitish maid.
There are four personages that stand out with special prominence in this chapter, from each of which important lessens may be learned. These are the little Hebrew maid; Naaman, the commander-in-chief of the Syrianarmy; the Prophet Elisha; and Gehazi, the prophet"s servant. We shall speak first of the little maid.
I THIS LITTLE MAID DID NOT FORGET HER RELIGION WHEN SHE WENT FROM HOME. We see that, though in a foreign land, she still thought of her fathers" God and of his prophet. That is an important lesson in these days, when traveling has become so common. The motto with a great many professing Christians seems to be that when they are at Rome, they must do as Rome does. When they travel on the continent, they keep the continental Sunday, just as if the same God was not looking clown upon them there as at home, just as if the Lord"s day was not the Lord"s day everywhere, and as if there were not good Christian people on the continent who valued the day as a day of rest and worship. Mr. Ruskin wrote some pointed words lately in reference to the way Christian people seem to forget their religion when they go abroad. He asked them to count up their expenditure on railway fares and sight-seeing, on guides and guide-books, on luxuries and photographs; and then to ask themselves how much they had spent in donations to the poor Churches of France and Belgium, or of the Waldenses in Italy. Happily, all travelers are not like this. Many Christian tourists like to find a Sunday blessing, and to hear a word of refreshing, in some little country church among the hills of Scotland or of Switzerland, or in the quiet chapel amid the pleasure-seeking crowds of Paris. But how many there are who look up their religion when they turn the key in their house-door, and, however careful they may be of taking guide-books and other provisions for the journey, never dream of putting a Bible in the trunk! No matter where we go, let us take our religion with us, as Joseph took his into Egypt, as Daniel took his into Babylon, as this little Hebrew maid took hers into Syria. This little maid had strong inducements to give up her religion. No doubt it would have pleased her master and mistress if she had worshipped their gods. They might have said that her worship of any other God was an impertinence, a sort of suggestion that they were doing wrong. But she listens to the voice of conscience and of duty rather than to the voice of worldly policy and expediency. It is a message to all who are in the employment of others. Never sacrifice principle for place. Never sacrifice the favor of God for the favor of man. Your employer pays for your labor; he does not buy your conscience. If ever attempts are made to tamper with your conscience, be it yours to answer, "We ought to obey God rather than man." Trust God for the consequences. Trust him to provide for you. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
II THIS LITTLE MAID DID NOT RENDER EVIL FOR EVIL. She had been torn from her home and from her native land by the rude hands of Syrian soldiers. Perhaps her father had fallen beneath the enemy"s sword. Yet we do not find her cherishing a spirit of vindictiveness or revenge. Instead of rejoicing to see her captor suffer, she pities him. She longs that he may be healed of that terrible and loathsome disease. Have we never exulted in the sufferings of others? Have we never felt a secret thrill of gratification when some misfortune has befallen one with whom we were at variance? Such a spirit, the spirit of revenge, however natural it may be, is not the spirit of Christ. He bids us do unto others as we would wish them to do unto us. The Christ-like spirit is to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us.
III THE LITTLE MAID WAS BUT YOUNG; YET, BY DOING WHAT SHE COULD, SHE BECAME A BLESSING TO OTHERS. She did not say to herself, "I am but young; there is nothing I can do" She did not wait for some great thing to do. But she just did the work that lay nearest her. She saw a way in which she might be useful, and she took the opportunity at once. She said to her mistress, "Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy." That was all. She just told of where the blessing of health was likely to be found.
1. This is a lesson for young people, for the children. None of you is too young to do something for Jesus. Jesus has some work for every one of you to do. It may be his work for you that you should conquer some sinful passion, some evil habit. It may be his work for you that you should stand up for him and his Word among bad companions; or that by your own quiet and gentle life, and loving disposition and kind deeds, you should show how good it is to be a Christian. Do the work that lies nearest. If you are at school or college, and find your studies irksome, and long to get free to work at your own will and pleasure; if you are learning your business, and find it a drudgery; remember that just here Christ has a work for you to do. These difficulties have to be mastered. Master them, and then you will show your fitness for mastering far greater difficulties. "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.
2. It is a lesson for young and old. What are you doing to be a blessing to others? Is there not some sick person to whom you might read, some poor family that you might visit occasionally with some of the comforts of life, some tempted one to whom you might speak a word of help and encouragement, some backslider to whom you might speak a word of kindly warning, some careless, godless one whom you might urge to flee from the wrath to come? And if you can do but little for the sinner and the godless yourself, perhaps you can do as the little maid didtell them where blessing is to be found, and invite them to come to the house of God. There is no need for rivalry between different Christian communities. There are godless people enough to fill all the places of worship, if only Christian people would stir themselves and go out into the streets and lanes, into the highways and hedges, and, by the power of irresistible persuasion, compel them to come in. Don"t trouble yourself by thinking of your own fitness or unfitness. Are you willing to be of use in Christ"s work? Are you anxious to be a blessing to others? That is the great question. If so, Jesus will do the rest. He will make you a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the Master"s use.
IV THE SECRET OF THIS LITTLE MAID"S FAITHFULNESS AND USEFULNESS WAS HER STRONG AND SIMPLE FAITH. She could be faithful to God, because she believed in God. She believed that God would take care of her when she was faithfully serving him. She could be useful to others because, though she was a captive and had no means to help them, she knew of One who had. She had faith in God. She knew that God was with Elisha, and therefore she had no doubt about Elisha"s success. Yes; it is faith we want, if we are to be useful. We say we believe a great many things. But how do we believe them? Where is our faith in God"s promises shown in our patience under difficulties and trials and discouragements? Where is our faith in God"s promises shown by our liberality to his cause? Where is our faith in God"s promises shown by our work done for Christ? If our faith in God is real, it will show itself in every detail of our daily life; it will overflow in acts of usefulness and love. C.H.I.
HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS Vers. 1-27.
History of Naaman"s disease and cure, illustrative of certain forces in the life of man.
Naaman, captain of the host of the King of Syria, was a great man with his master," etc. Naaman, in a worldly point of view, was a great man one of the magnates of his age. But he was the victim of a terrible disease. "He was a leper." Leprosy was a terrible diseasehereditary, painful, contagious, loathsome, and fatal. In all these respects it resembled sin. Naaman"s disease and his cure, as here sketched, manifest certain forces which have ever been and still are at work in society, and which play no feeble part in the formation of character and the regulation of destiny. Notice
I The force of WORLDLY POSITION. Why all the interest displayed in his own country, and in Israel, concerning Naaman"s disease? The first verse of this chapter explains it. "Now Naaman, captain of the host of the King of Syria, was a great man." Perhaps there were many men in his own district who were suffering from leprosy, yet little interest was felt in them. They would groan under their sufferings, and die unsympathized with and unhelped. But because this man"s worldly position was high, kings worked, prophets were engaged, nations were excited, for his cure. It has ever been a sad fact in human history that men magnify both the trials and the virtues of grandees, and think but little of the griefs and graces of the lowly. If a man in high position is under trial, it is always "a great trial," of which people talk, and which the press will record. If he does a good work, it is always a "great work," and is trumpeted half the world over. This fact indicates:
1. The lack of intelligence in popular sympathy. Reason teaches that the calamities of the wealthy have many mitigating circumstances, and therefore the greater sympathy should be toward the poor.
2. The lack of manliness in popular sympathy. There is a fawning servility, most dishonorable to human nature, in showing more sympathy with the rich than with the poor in suffering.
II The force of INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. "And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman"s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel." This little gift, who had been torn from her native country, and carried into the land of strangers by the ruthless hand of war, told her mistress of a prophet in Israel who had the power to heal lepers. This led the King of Syria to persuade Naaman to visit Judea, and to give the leprous captain an introduction to the king, who, in his turn, introduced him to the prophet, who effected his healing. The influence of this little slave-gift should teach us three things.
1. The magnanimity of young natures. Though she was an exile in the land of her oppressors, instead of having that revenge which would have led her to rejoice in the sufferings of her captors, her young heart yearned with sympathy for one of the ruthless conquerors. A poor child, a humble servant, a despised slave, may have a royal soul.
2. The power of the humblest individual. This poor girl, with her simple intelligence, moved her mistress; her mistress, the mighty warrior; then Syria"s king was moved; by him the King of Israel is interested; and then the prophet of the Lord. Thus the little maid may have been said to have stirred kingdoms, life one, not even a child, "liveth to himself." Each is a fountain of influence.
3. The dependence of the great upon the small. The recovery of this warrior resulted from the word of this captive maid. Some persons admit the hand of God only in what they call great events! But what are the great events? "Great" and "small" are but relative terms. And even what we call "small" often sways and shapes the "great." One spark of fire may burn down all London.
III The force of SELF-PRESERVATION. "And the King of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the King of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the King of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." It would seem that Naaman at once consulted Beahadad, King of Syria, on the subject suggested by the captive maid, and, having obtained an introduction to the King of Israel, hurried off, taking with him "ten talents of silver," etc. great wealth which he was prepared to sacrifice in the recovery of his health. The instinct of self-preservation is one of the strongest in human nature. "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Men will spend fortunes and traverse continents in order to rid themselves of disease, and prolong life. This strenuous effort for recovery from disease reminds us of:
1. The value of physical health. This man had lost it, and what was the world to him without it? Bishop Hall truly says of him, "The basest slave in Syria would not change skins with him." Health this precious blessing is so lavishly given, that men seldom appreciate it till it is lost.
2. The neglect of spiritual health. This man was evidently morally diseased that is, he neither knew of the true God nor had sympathy with him. Hewas a moral invalid. A worse disuse than leprosy infected his manhood and threatened the ruin of his being. Yet there is no struggling here after spiritual recovery. This is a general evil.
IV The force of CASTE FEELING. "And the King of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the King of Israel." Why did the King, of Syria send Naaman with the letter to the monarch of Israel? Was it because he was given to understand that the king would work the cure? No; for mention was made by the captive girl of no one who could effect the cure but "the prophet that is in Samaria." Or was it because he thought that Israel"s monarch would discover the prophet, and influence him on behalf of the afflicted officer? life; for in his royal letter he says, "Behold, I have... sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." Why, then? Simply because of caste feeling. He, forsooth, was too great to know a prophet too great to correspond with any one but a king. What was a prophet, though fall of Divine intelligence, and nerved with Divine energy, compared even to a soulless man if a crown encircled his brow?
1. Caste feeling sinks the real in the adventitious. The man who is ruled by it so exaggerates external things as to lose sight of those elements of moral character, which constitute the dignity and determine the destiny of man. He lives in bubbles.
2. Caste feeling curtails the region of human sympathies. He who is controlled by this feeling has the circle of his sympathies limited not only to what is outward in man, but to what is outward in those only in his own sphere. All-out lying his grade and class are nothing to him.
3. Caste feeling is antagonistic to the gospel. Christ came to destroy that middle wall of partition that divides men into classes. The gospel overtops all adventitious distinctions, and directs its doctrines and offers its provisions to man as man.
V The force of GUILTY SUSPICION. "And it came to pass, when the King of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." The construction that the monarch put upon the message of his royal brother was, instead of being true and liberal, false and ungenerous. He ascribed evil motives where there were none, and saw malignant intentions where there was nothing but a good-natured purpose. All this springs from that suspicion which is a prevalent and disastrous evil in the social life of this world. Where this suspicion exists, one of the two, if not the two, following things are always found.
1. A knowledge of the depravity of society. The suspicious man has frequently learnt, either from observation, testimony, or experience, or from all these together, that there is such an amount of falsehood and dishonesty in society as will lead one man to take an undue advantage of another. However, whether he has learnt this or not, it is a lamentable fact, patent to all observant eyes.
2. The existence of evil in himself. The suspicious man knows that he is selfish, false, dishonest, unchaste, and he believes that all men are the same. If he were not evil, he would not be suspicious of others, even though he knew that all about him were bad. An innocent being, I trow, would move amongst a corrupt age without any suspicion whatever. Being destitute of all bad motives himself, he would not be able to understand the corrupt motives of others. On the other hand, were society ever so holy, a bad man would still be suspecting all. An unchaste, selfish, fraudulent man would suspect the purity, the benevolence, and the integrity of angels, if he lived amongst them. The greatest rogues are always the most suspicious; the most lustful husbands are always the most jealous of their wives, and the reverse. Well has our great dramatist said, "Suspicion haunts the guilty soul." A miserable thing truly is this suspicion. Heaven deliver us from suspicious people! Suspicion is the poison of all true friendship; it is that which makes kings tyrants, merchants exactors, masters rigorous, and the base-natured of both sexes diseased with a jealousy that shatters connubial confidence, and quenches all the lights of connubial life.
VI The force of REMEDIAL GOODNESS. Though the king could not cure, there was a remedial power in Israel equal to this emergency. That power Infinite Goodness delegated to Elisha. God makes man the organ of his restorative powers. It was so now with Elisha. It was pre-eminently so with Christ. It was so with the apostles. The redemptive treasure is in "earthly vessels." The passage suggests several points concerning this remedial power.
1. It transcends natural power. "When Elisha the man of God," etc. The monarch felt his utter insufficiency to effect the cure. Natural science knew nothing of means to heal the leper. Supernatural revelation reveals the remedy through Elisha. Herein is an illustration of Christianity. No natural science can cure the leprosy of sin; it tried for ages, but failed.
2. It offends human pride. "So Naaman came with his horses," etc. Naaman came in all the pomp of wealth and station to the prophet"s door, expecting, no doubt, that Elisha would hurry out to do him honor. But a true man is never moved by glitter. He did not even go out to meet the illustrious visitor, but sent a messenger to bid him go to the Jordan, and there wash. But both the unbending independency of the prophet, and the simple method he prescribed, so galled the proud heart of the Syrian warrior, that he "was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me," etc. Herein is an illustration of Christianity. It strikes at the root of pride, and requires us to become as "little children.
3. It clashes with popular prejudices. "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?" It is common for men to regard that which belongs to themselves and to their country as the "better" our children, our family, our sect, our class, our nation, are "better." This man"s prejudice said, "Abana and Pharpar;" the prophet said, "Jordan;" and this offended him. "And he went away in a rage." Herein, again, is an illustration of Christianity. Human prejudices prescribe this river and that river for cleansing, but the gospel says, "Jordan.
1. It works by simple means. "And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" The means to Naaman seemed to be too simple to answer the end he sought. Had there been some severe regimen, or some painful operation, or some costly expenditure, he would have accepted it more readily; but "to wash," seemed too simple. The means of spiritual recovery are very simple. But men desire them otherwise. Hence vain ceremonies, pilgrimages, penances, prolonged fastings, and the like. "Believe and thou shalt be saved," says God; man wants to do something more.
2. It demands individual effort. "Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan according to the saying of the man of God." Naaman had to go down himself to the river, and to dip himself seven times in its waters. His restoration depended upon his individual effort. And so it is in spiritual matters. Each man must believe, repent, and pray, for himself. There is no substitution.
3. It is completely efficacious. "His flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child." The means employed for this leper"s cure fully answered the end. Every vestige of the disease was gone, and he was restored to more than the vigor of his former manhood. Herein once more, "Believe... and thou shalt be saved.
VII The force OF A NEW CONVICTION. "And he returned to the man of God," etc. Observe:
1. The subject of this new conviction. What was the subject? That the God of Israel was the only God. This new conviction reversed his old prejudices and the religious creed of his country. It was not reasoning, it was not teaching; experience had wrought this conviction into his soul. He felt that it was God"s hand that healed him.
2. The developments of this new conviction. A conviction like this must prove influential in some way or other. Abstract ideas may lie dormant in the mind, but convictions are ever operative. What did it do in Naaman?
(1) It evoked gratitude. Standing with all his company before the prophet, he avowed his gratitude. "Now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant." Just before his cure he had anything but kindly feelings towards the prophet. He was full of "rage." New convictions about God will generate new feelings toward man.
(2) It annihilated an old prejudice. Just before his cure he despised Israel. Jordan was contemptible as compared with the rivers of Damascus. But now the very ground seems holy. He asks of the prophet liberty to take away a portion of the earth. "Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules" burden of earth?" A new conviction about God widens the soul s sympathies, raises it above all those nationalities of heart that characterize little souls.
(3) It inspired worship. "Thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice but unto the Lord." His whole nature was so flooded with gratitude to God who had healed him, that his soul went forth in holy worship. Through the force of this new conviction, he felt as St. Paul did when he said, "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss.
VIII The force of ASSOCIATES. Naaman had been in the habit of worshipping "in the house of Rimmon," with his master the king. This, probably, he had done for years with other officers of the state. The influence of this he now felt counteracting the new conviction of duty. He felt that, whilst it would be wrong for him to go there any more, yet he could not but go. "In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant," etc. Loyalty and gratitude towards the king contributed much to prevent him renouncing all connection with the house of Rimmon. How often do our associations prevent us from the full carrying out of our convictions! It ought not to be so. "He that loveth father or mother," etc. It is somewhat remarkable that the Prophet Elisha, instead of exhorting Naaman to avoid every appearance of idolatry, said to him, "Go in peace." The prophet, perhaps, had faith in the power of Naaman"s conviction to guard him from any moral mischief.
IX The force of SORDID AVARICE. Gehazi is the illustration of this. In his case we have:
1. Avarice eager in its pursuits. "But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha," etc. He saw, as he thought, a fine opportunity for his greed, and he eagerly seized it. "I will run after him." Avarice is one of the most hungry passions of the soul. It is never satisfied. Had the avaricious man, like the fabled Briareus, a hundred hands, he would employ them all in ministering to himself Dryden calls it "A cursed hunger of pernicious gold." It is that passion that makes all men like Gehazi run." Men are everywhere out of breath in their race for wealth.
2. This avarice is in one associated with the most generous of men. He was the servant of Elisha, who, when Naaman offered some acknowledgment of his gratitude to him, exclaimed, in the most solemn way, "As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none." One would have thought that association with a generous soul like this would have banished every base sentiment from Gehazi"s heart. But when it once roots itself in the soul, it is the most inveterate of lusts. The history of modern enterprises shows us numerous examples of men who, from early life, have been in association with ministers, churches, religious institutions, and in some cases have themselves been deacons, chairmen of religious societies, and the like, whose avarice has so grown, in spite of all those influences, as to make them swindlers on a gigantic scale.
3. This avarice sought its end by means of falsehood. "My master hath sent me," etc. This was a flagrant falsehood. Avarice is always false. Its trades are full of tricks; its shops of sophistries. All its enterprises employ the tongue of falsehood and the hand of deceit.
X The force of DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. There is justice on this earth as well as remedial goodness, and Heaven often makes men the organ as well as the subject of both. Elisha, who had the remedial power, had also the retributive. Here we see retributive justice:
1. Detecting the wrong-doer. "And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi?" etc. Justice has the eyes of Argus; has more than the eyes of Argus it sees in the dark. It penetrates through all fallacies. "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro, beholding the evil and the good.
2. Reproving the wrong-doer. "Is it a time to receive money," etc.? An old expositor has quaintly put it, "Couldest thou find no better way of getting money than by belying thy master, and laying a stumbling-block before a young convert?" His avarice was a thing bad in itself, and bad also in seizing an opportunity which should have been employed for other and higher ends.
3. Punishing the wrong-doer. "The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee," etc. He had money of the leper, but he had his disease too. In getting what he considered a blessing, he got a curse as well. Wealth avariciously gotten never fails to bring a curse in some form or other. If it does not bring leprosy to the body, it brings what is infinitely worse, the most deadly leprosy into the soul, and often entails injuries on posterity. D.T.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 1-7.
The story of Naaman: 1. The disinterested maiden.
The story of the great Syrian captain, who was healed of his leprosy and brought to the knowledge of the true God through the instrumentality of a captive Hebrew maid directing him to Elisha, is one of the most beautiful, as it is one of the richest in gospel suggestion, of the narratives of the Old Testament. Our Lord refers to it in his discourse at Nazareth, as showing that it is not always the direct possessors of privileges who know best how to take advantage of them. "Many lepers were in Israel," etc.. (Luk_4:27)
I THE GREAT MAN"S LEPROSY. The story opens by introducing us to Naaman, the captain of the host of the King of Syria.
1. So much, and yet a cross. On this distinguished man Fortune seemed to have lavished her utmost favors. He was
(1) high in rank, "captain of the host;
(2) great in honor, "a great man with his master;
(3) successful in war, "honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria;
(4) distinguished for personal bravery, "a mighty man of valor." The expression quoted above, "The Lord had given deliverance," etc., shows how far the Hebrews were from regarding Jehovah as a merely national Deity. His providence extended to other nations as well. It was he, not Rimmon, who had given Syria her victories. Naaman had thus wealth, honor, the favor of his sovereign, the admiration of the people everything that men commonly covet. Yet
(5) "he was a leper." This spoiled all. It was the cross in his lot; the drop of gall in his cup; the worm at the root of his prosperity. It made him such that, as has been said, the humblest soldier in his ranks would not have exchanged places with him. Few lives, even those which seem most enviable, are without their cross. The lady of Shunem has wealth, comforts, a loving husband; but she is childless. It does not take much sometimes to dash our earthly happiness, to take the golden light out of life. Because it is so, we should seek our happiness in things that are enduring. He builds too low who builds beneath the skies.
2. The cross a mercy in disguise. As it proved, this grief of Naaman"s became his salvation. It brought him under the notice of the little Hebrew maid, led to his visit to Elisha, ended in his cure and his conversion to the faith of the God of Israel. He was one who could say, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted". (Psa_119:71) How often are seeming crosses and trials thus overruled for good! "Men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them". (Job_37:21) The evangelical application of the story is aided by the fact that leprosy is so impressive a type of sin insidious, progressive, corrupting, fatal.
II THE SLAVE-GIRL"S ADVICE. It was God"s design to show mercy to Naaman, for his own glory, as well as for a testimony that the Gentiles were not outside the scope of his grace. The instrument in accomplishing that design was a little Hebrew maid.
1. Her presence in Naamans house. She had been taken in a marauding expedition, and brought to Syria as a captive. Sold, perhaps, like Joseph, in the slave-market, she had been purchased as an attendant for Naanaan"s wife. Her presence in the great captain"s household was thus:
(1) providential, even as was Joseph"s residence in the house of Potiphar;
(2) sad, for she was torn from her own land and friends, and the thought of their sorrow at her loss would add to hers; yet
(3) designed for blessing. It not only gave her the opportunity of doing good to her master, but no doubt ultimately turned to her own great advantage. Another example of how the things which seem all "against us" (Gen_42:36) are often for our good. (comp. Gen_1:20)
2. Her helpful suggestion. Slave though she was, the little maid was in possession of a secret which the great Naaman did not know, and which was worth "thousands of gold and silver" (Psa_119:72) to him. She dropped a hint to her mistress, "Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria!" etc. Her suggestion was indicative of:
(1) Pity. Though a slave, her heart was tender, even towards her master. She was grieved for his affliction. She yearned to see him recovered. Her "would God!" is almost a prayer for his recovery.
(2) Fidelity. It is told of Joseph that he was faithful as a servant in the house of his master the Egyptian. (Gen_39:2-6) This little maid, though a "servant under the yoke", (1Ti_6:1) yet "counted her master worthy of all honor". (1Ti_6:1) She served, "not with eye-service, as men-pleasers," but "in singleness of heart," "with good will doing service ", (Eph_6:5-7) though her lord was an alien, and might seem to have little claim upon her gratitude. As a good servant should, she desired his prosperity in mind, body, and estate. In this was shown
(3) her disinterestedness. In her position it need not have been wondered at if she had secretly rejoiced at her master"s affliction. But her heart cherished no resentment. Anticipating the gospel, she sought to return good for evil. (Mat_5:44)
We learn from this part of the story
(1) that even the humblest may be of essential service to those above them. Most of all is this the case when they possess the knowledge of the true God. A hint dropped may guide the spiritual leper to the fountain of healing.
(2) The young, too, should take encouragement. In their several stations they may be greatly used for good.
(3) We should do to others the utmost good we can, even though they are our enemies.
III THE ARROGANT KING"S EPISTLE. The news of what the little maid had said soon spread abroad, and came first to the ears of Naaman, then to the ears of the King of Syria (Benhadad?).
1. The King of Syrias epistle. The monarch valued his general, and was ready to take any steps to further his cure. Accordingly, he indited a letter, and sent Naaman with it, with much pomp and state, to the King of Israel (Jehoram?). He sends:
(1) With the arrogance of a victor. The tone of his communication to the monarch at Samaria was unmistakably of the nature of command. It haughtily announces that he has sent Naaman to him, and requires that he shall recover him from his disease. There lurks in the letter a reminder of the defeat at Ramoth-Gilead. (1Ki 22)
(2) With the ignorance of a heathen. He writes to the rival ruler as if it lay in his power to kill and to make alive. He probably thought that the king had only to command, to compel Elisha to serve him in any way he pleased. Hence, without mentioning Elisha, he lays the whole responsibility of seeing that his captain is cured on the shoulders of Jehoram. He has the notion common enough to monarchs that kings should be supreme in religion as in everything else. He thinks that God"s prophets must take their commands from whoever chances to occupy the throne.
(3) With the munificence of a sovereign. If there was haughtiness in the tone of his letter, he did not at least send his officer without abundant rewards. He bore with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of raiment. These enormous sums were, no doubt, thought certain to purchase the cure. Another heathenish idea, akin to the modern notion that anything can be bought with money. Elisha taught him differently when the cure was accomplished (ver. 16). Simon Magus would have bought even the power to communicate the Holy Ghost with gold. (Act_8:18, Act_8:19) There are blessings which are beyond the reach of money, and yet can be had "without money and without price. (Isa_4:1)
2. The King of Israels distress. When the King of Israel read the communication, he was both indignant and distressed. As he viewed the letter, it was:
(1) A request for the impossible. "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?" This was, at any rate, a frank acknowledgment of his own helplessness. It sets in a stronger light the Divine character of the cure by Elisha.
(2) An attempt to force upon him a quarrel. His interpretation of the letter was not unnatural. Yet it was mistaken. We do well to be careful in forming judgments and imputing motives.
(3) An attack upon his weakness. It was this that distressed him so much. He did not feel able to make war against the King of Syria, and therefore he resented the more keenly this attempt (as he conceived it) to drive him into a corner. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Now Naaman, captain of the host of the King…
2Ki_5:1-19
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the King of Syria.
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The History of Naamans disease and cure; illustrative of certain forces in the life of man
I. The force of worldly position. Why all the interest displayed in his own country, and in Israel, concerning Naamans disease? The first verse of this chapter explains it. Now Naaman, captain of the host of Syria, was a great man, etc. Perhaps there were many men in his own district who were suffering from leprosy, yet little interest was felt in them. They would groan under their sufferings, and die unsympathised with and unhelped. But because this mans worldly position was high, kings worked, prophets were engaged, nations were excited for his cure. It has ever been a sad fact in our history that we magnify both the trims and the virtues of the grandees, and think but little of the griefs and graces of the lowly.
1. This fact indicates the lack of intelligence in popular sympathy. Reason teaches that the calamities of the wealthy have many mitigating circumstances, and therefore the greater sympathy should be towards the poor.
2. It indicates the lack of manliness in popular sympathy.
II. The force of individual influence. The influence of this little slave girl should teach us three things.
1. The magnanimity of young natures.
2. The power of the humblest individual.
3. The dependence of the great upon the small.
III. The force of self-preservation. The instinct of self-preservation is one of the strongest in human nature. Skin for skin; all that a man hath will he give in exchange for his life. Men will spend fortunes and traverse continents in order to rid themselves of disease and prolong life. This strenuous effort for recovery from disease reminds us oral. The value of physical health. This man had lost it, and what was the world to him without it? Bishop Hall truly says of him, The basest slave in Syria would not change skins with him.
2. The neglect of spiritual health.
IV. The force of caste-feeling. And the King of Syria said, Go to; go, and I will send a letter to the King of Israel. He, forsooth, was too great to know a prophet--too great to correspond with any one but a king.
1. Caste-feeling sinks the real in the adventitious. The man who is ruled by it so exaggerates externalisms as to lose sight of those elements of moral character which constitute the dignity and determine the destiny of man. He lives in bubbles.
2. Caste-feeling curtails the region of human sympathies. He who is controlled by this feeling, has the circle of his sympathies limited not only to the outward of man, but to the outward of those only in his own sphere. All outlying his grade and class are nothing to him.
3. It antagonises the Gospel. Christ came to destroy that middle wall of partition that divides men into classes. The Gospel overtops all adventitious distinctions, and directs its doctrines, and offers its provisions to man as man.
V. The force of guilty suspicion. And it came to pass when the King of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore, consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me? The construction that the monarch put upon the message of his royal brother was, instead of being true and liberal, the most false and ungenerous. Where this suspicion exists, one of the two, if not the two following things, are always found.
1. A knowledge of the depravity of society. The suspicious man has frequently learnt, either from observation, testimony, or experience, or all these, that there is such an amount of falsehood, and dishonesty in society, as will lead one man to take an undue advantage of another.
2. The existence of evil in himself. The suspicious man knows that he is selfish, false, dishonest, unchaste, and he believes that all men are the same.
VI. The force of remedial goodness. Though the king could not cure, there was a remedial power m Israel equal to this emergency. That power, infinite goodness delegated to Elisha. The passage suggests several points concerning this remedial power.
1. It transcends natural power. When Elisha, the man of God, had heard that the King of Israel had rent his clothes, . . . he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. The monarch felt his utter insufficiency to effect the cure. Natural science knew nothing of means to heal the leper.
2. It offends human pride.
3. It clashes with popular prejudice. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean?
4. It works by simple means.
5. It demands individual effort. Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. Naaman had to go down himself to the river, and to dip himself seven times in its waters.
6. It is completely efficacious. His flesh came again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
VII. The force of a new conviction. Observe--
1. The subject of the new conviction. What was the subject? That the God of Israel was the only God. He felt that it was Gods hand that healed him.
2. The developments of this new conviction. A conviction like this must prove influential in some way or other. Abstract ideas may lie dormant in the mind, but convictions are ever operative. What did it do in Naaman?
(1) It evoked gratitude. Standing with all his company before the prophet, he avowed his gratitude Now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
(2) It annihilated an old prejudice. Just before his cure he despised Judaea. Jordan was contemptible as compared with the rivers of Damascus. But now the very ground seems holy. He asks of the prophet liberty to take away a portion of the earth.
(3) It inspired worship. Thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice, but unto the Lord.
VIII. The force of associates.
IX. The force of sordid avarice. Gehazi is the illustration of this in his conduct as described in 2Ki_5:20-22. In his case we have avarice--
1. Eager in its pursuits.
2. This avarice is in one associated with the most generous of men. He was the servant of Elisha.
3. This avarice sought its end by means of falsehood.
X. The force of retributive justice. There is justice on this earth as well as remedial goodness, and Heaven often makes man the organ as well as the subject of both. Elisha, who had the remedial power, had also the retributive. Here we see retributive justice in--
1. Detecting the wrongdoer.
2. Reproving the wrongdoer.
3. It punishes the wrongdoer. (Homilist.)
Naaman the Syrian
1. There is not a man or woman living, however happy or prosperous, in whose description sooner or later we do not come to a but. There is always some drawback here, some drop in every cup that needs extraction, some thorn in every path to be removed. And even though this but were not in our health and circumstances, it is always in our nature. Leprosy is Gods one great disease in the Bible to represent sin. It meant exclusion from the camp and distance from our fellowmen. Hideous and revolting in itself, it poisoned the springs of mans existence. Hence it strikingly represents that sin which is in man, and, in the absence of everything else, is the terrible but which mars and spoils the fairest earthly picture. Like man by nature, Naaman carried within him that disease which none but God could heal.
2. Contrast with this great man and honourable, the little maid. Torn away from her home and friends by rude hands, and probably amid the bitter tears of parental affection, she had been taken captive and sold as a slave. But amid all these discouraging circumstances she possessed a secret to which Naaman, with all his greatness, was a stranger. She knew of God and Gods healing grace. Naaman felt the disease, she knew the healing. This made all the difference between her and Naaman. This makes all the difference between a Christian and one who is not. This makes the mighty difference between one man and another.
3. God disposes each lot in life. Naaman has his own peculiar sorrow, and so has the little maid hers. They are widely different. Yet God measures out to each one their position and circumstances, their blessings and afflictions, as will best show forth His glory. God had been leading her, through that strange way, to do for this great man and honourable what he could not do for himself, nor any one in the royal court of Benhadad. The Lord had need of her for this His great work. Before passing on, notice another truth. Nanmans heavy trial had no power to subdue his haughty spirit. Sorrow of itself can never sanctify. Men may pass through Gods hottest furnaces and only come out harder than ever. It is only when the Holy Spirit uses our sorrows--when we put them into His hands to use--that they will ever be made a blessing to us. Let us learn again, from the difference between Naaman and this little maid, that inequalities of social position are divine, and are means of blessing. We have seen two characters here, both of them representative--Naaman and the little maid. Let us now look at a third--Benhadad, King of Syria. In him we have man in his loftiness and arrogance. Nothing can be done, he feels, but through him. He prepares his litter, his gold and silver and raiment. All this is worldly religion--mans proud thoughts about Gods ways. And yet all he does is but labour lost. There is yet another character--Joram, King of Israel. Here is a man who knows about the true God, knows the revelation of His will, knows of the true Elisha at his very door, and yet, with all this knowledge, unable to take his true place and act Gods part in directing the poor leper to the healer in Israel. Here is the man of religion, of true religion, of many privileges above others around him, yet all lost, and he utterly unable to direct the diseased one to the saviour prophet!
4. Let us now turn to the saviour prophet, Elisha, and his dealing with the poor leper. The King of Syria prepares a great price--£7500 value of our money. Naaman sets out with it on his journey, and King Jehoram acquiesces m it. Thus the idea of each is that the healing is to be obtained by a price. It is the latent thought of every man by nature. Without money and without price is Gods Word, and this narrative of the healing of Naaman, and Elishas dealings with him, are an illustration of this. And what is Elishas message? Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. How simple, how plain! Then what am I to do with the £7500 and the raiment? Has it no value? None whatever in the eyes of Elisha. None whatever before God. Take it back with thee as the dregs of the sinners righteousness, and learn that all thou art to receive, all that is to set thee free from sin and death and make thee a new creature in Christ Jesus, is of the free sovereign grace of God. Thus we see the pride of the natural heart. Are not Abana and Pharpar better? Here is the leper taking his own way of healing, and regarding it as better than Gods. He turned and went away in a rage. Here is the despising of God s remedy and the enmity of the natural heart showing itself. And Naaman was right. Abanas waters were clear and beautiful. Jordans were clayey and muddy. There was nothing for Sight in all this. It was only for faith. It was God choosing the base things of this world to bring to nought the mighty. Is it not so still? What is this blood of Christ? the sinner says. What! are all my prayers, my good deeds, my sacraments, all my honest efforts to do my best and to please God to go for nothing? But the grace that can provide for a leprous soul can plead with a reluctant heart. It can use a ministry as well as open a fountain; and this ministry is, like the remedy, simple and artless, and exactly suited to its end, for one is divine as the other. Like the little maid before, it is the servants now, for such are Gods means at all times. Human righteousness and greatness, and all natures fond conceits are set aside completely.
5. Observe the effects of the healing the form in which it was manifested: his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child. This is the new birth. It is put before us m this form in other parts of Scripture: if there be a Mediator with him, the One above the thousands of angels to show man (Gods) righteousness, then He is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found the ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a childs: he shall return to the days of his youth (Job_33:23-24). Here the same truth is brought before us. Again we have it in the New Testament: Except a man be born from above he cannot enter the kingdom of God. If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new.
6. Observe, in the next place, the manifestation of this new nature in the conduct of Naaman. From this point it is seen there is a great change in him. His spirit, his tone, his language, his whole bearing seems from this moment to form a striking contrast to all that has gone before, so much so that, had his name not been mentioned, we should have said it could not possibly be the same man. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him, and he said: Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. Observe the fruits of the new nature here, in their order. Naaman stands with all his company before Elisha. It is not now the proud and haughty Naaman, but the subdued and humbled one. Here is the first-fruit of the Holy Spirit in his character. He was humble because he was washed. Secondly, he makes a goodly confession of the one and only God. He had learnt the true God through the virtue of His grace exerted on himself--through the health and salvation he had received from Him. This is the only way the soul can ever learn Him. Thirdly, he presses his gifts upon Elisha, not now to purchase the healing, but because he has been healed. He has been forgiven much, therefore he loves much. Fourthly, he will henceforth know no other God. To this end he seeks materials to raise an altar to the true God. And fifthly, he has now a renewed conscience, quick and sensitive about any, even apparent, departure from the God who had so blessed him. (F. Whitfield, M. A.)
Namman the Syrian
There is scarcely a story in all Scripture of deeper interest than this of Naaman, the Syrian.
I. The character and condition of Naaman. There is no mention of Naaman in the Bible, save in this connection. There is, however, a Jewish tradition as old as the time of Josephus, which identifies him as the archer whose arrow struck Ahab with his mortal wound, and thus gave deliverance to Syria. Whether this be true or not, some brave deed of Naaman had lifted him into special prominence, and crowned him with exceptional honour. But he was a leper! This made him loathsome and a burden to himself. Here we learn that no honour, no valour, no victory, can place men beyond the reach of the sorest calamities of life. These are as likely to visit the rich as the poor; are as likely to fall on princes as on peasants. No king is always happy; no prime minister of state but has his fears and sorrows, Naaman stood next the king, but he was a leper, afflicted more than many a slave in Syria. There is no possession so vast, no position so high, no attainment so conspicuous, no employment so congenial, no association so sweet, as not to have its but, revealing sorrow, or some great unmet want. There is, however, a skeleton in every home. Each heart has, and knows, its own bitterness. One reaps advantage of one kind here, another of another kind there, but every man reaps disadvantage of one kind or another. The good and ill of life are far more evenly distributed than most imagine.
II. The character and service of the little maid. She was by birth an Israelite, carried captive into Syria. There she became a servant in Naamans household. In her early home, and among her own people, she had become familiar with the worship and history of Israel. It is possible that she had met the prophet Elisha. Those homes of Israel were schools for the household. The children there were trained to believe in, and worship, the God of their fathers. History with them was sacred. With scepticism and atheism those Israelitish homes were not darkened and afflicted as our homes are. Egypt, Sinai, Samaria were all alive with Divine deliverances, which old and young alike appreciated. God was among the people, and this the children understood. The confidence of children is remarkable in the beneficence of God and in the influence of the good with Him. Children may be, not only our greatest comforters, but our wisest teachers and our divinest helpers. In their simple, childish faith they often put us to shame, and in their generous desire to serve others, often rebuke our indifference.
III. The miraculous cure. It appears that Naaman somehow heard of the desire and faith of this little maid in his home, and was encouraged to make trial of the prophet. It appears further, that, aside from the maid, none was more anxious for the cure than the king. Through the instrumentality,--possibly of some one overhearing the conversation of this maid with her mistress, or possibly of some one informed by this woman, and sent by her, or, it may be of Naaman himself, the king learned of the wish and the faith. It is more than probable that both Naaman and the king had heard of Elisha as a worker of wondrous miracles; for his fame must have reached to the farthest bounds of the kingdom. But be this as it may, the leper sighs for help, and is ready for the experiment of seeking Elisha. Poor man! There he stood at the prophets door, a leper, full of large expectations; yet dictating as to the manner of the cure, and falling into a frenzy because it was not to be effected with pomp and parade such as he thought became his rank and station. Why the prophet bade him go to Jordan instead of the waters of Damascus, he could not understand. He seems to have forgotten that Jordan belonged to the God of Israel, and that, in a miraculous cure, relation to God was of far more importance than the depth or beauty of the stream. Besides, Jordan was the river appointed; and if Naaman is to be cured by Divine power he must obey the Divine will. He was, however, proud and haughty--style and rank were offended. What now? Jordan has become a healing stream for this afflicted man. No longer shall he compare that river with the waters of Damascus. No longer shall Elisha be regarded as an enemy, or as indifferent to his welfare. To be cured of such a disease in such a manner was enough to convince Naaman of the power of God, and of Elisha as a true prophet of God. Experience is a wonderful teacher. This cure had been effected by consciously supernatural means. This he was ready to confess. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Naaman, the Syrian
I. In turning to the story of this Naaman, the first thing that I would notice is a contrast in service. We set him before us dwelling in the stately palace of the king, the commander of the kings armies; with authority to speak to the whole nation, and all men are ready to obey him: with troops of horses and hosts of chariots, and servants that wait upon him and minister to him. Altogether, in council and in camp, the foremost man in Syria. And as brave as he was wise, of whose valour many a stirring tale was told. Here is greatness: great in himself, great in his position, great in his possessions, great in his achievements, great in his authority: no element of greatness is lacking. Then do you notice how beside this word great there is set the word little; and alongside of this mighty man of valour is put the record of this captive maid? Poor little thing, her story is a very sad one. A troop of Syrians marching one day into Israel--fierce fellows, burning the homesteads of the villagers, before whom the frightened people fled to the mountains or caves--had come to some cottage, and there, it may be, tending a sick mother, too feeble to escape, or guarding some little one of the family whom she would not forsake, this girl is taken captive and carried away by the soldiers. They sell her as a slave to Naamans wife. A stranger in a strange land, with the memory of her bitter griefs--in thought and feeling, and hope and religion, severed from those about her, so she must wait upon her mistress and do her bidding, with none to befriend her. We can think of her sighing in her loneliness. Ah, me; if I were only King of Syria, or even this great lord, I would set right the wrongs of the poor folks, and bid the cruel soldiers stay at home. I would have no burning cottages, no ruined homes, and no poor captive men or maidens if I were king. How good it must be to be so great! But I am only a little maiden; what can I do? here there are so many troubles? It is dreadful to be so weak and little. And yet this little maid it is who brings deliverance to the great man of Syria, for in her are two things that are never little--a kind heart and faith in God. So, in the great world, with its sorrows, there is always room for loving-kindness and for faith in God. It is not greatness that the poor world wants mostly, not chief captains or men of valour; but love. The little, and the least, with love and faith, can always find a place for service; a service that is always blessed, and shall have its golden wages. Our measure for service is not in position, nor in gifts, nor in greatness, but in love. Her tender love and simple faith do set this little maid alongside of this great captain. Take it, I pray you, for whom it is meant, and give thanks to God. Say it and sing it within yourself: If in this great world I can do nothing else, I can do this--and since I can do this I will envy none. Wherever I am I can keep a simple faith in God and a kind heart. Thank God, little one, that He has a place for thee.
II. Notice the wisdom of Naaman. He no sooner hears that there is a chance of his being cured than he sets off for the prophet. He does not despise the suggestion because it is a prophet of Israel who has the power. If this is a chance of his being cured he will go forth and seek it. He might very naturally have said, I will get my master, the King of Syria, to write a letter to the King of Israel, and he can send the prophet to see me. The prophet is much better able to travel than I am; and it is altogether more fitting that he should come here. It is an enemys country, and the people may oppose my coming, and I am ill fit to journey. I will send my horses and chariots, and a company of soldiers for his escort, and I will pay him well for his coming. So he might have said, but that will not do. He will go himself. There must be no delay. If there is a chance of being cured he will do his best to avail himself of that chance. At once everybody in the place is set to work to hasten his going. Now do not let this Naaman the Syrian rise up in judgment against us. We have heard that in Jesus Christ is our salvation; that there is One who is able to break the power of our sin, to rid us from its loathsomeness, and to make us whole. To us the testimony concerning the salvation which is in Christ Jesus comes from ten thousand who have found in Him their deliverance from the curse and power of sin, the cleansing from its foul leprosy. Think if he should bid his musicians sing of this: Elisha, and chant his greatness, and week after week should sit and listen to the story of the captive maiden. I like to hear her, says he, she is so much in earnest, and her gestures are so graceful, and her words so well chosen. O fool! and all the time the leprosy is eating into him with horrid cruelty, deeper and deeper, and every day he is growing more hideous and scarred, and his case becomes more desperate. And the longer he delays the more he questions about going at all. And now the King of Syria comes to see him. Well, have you been? he asks. Been where? saith Naaman. Why, to the great prophet that can heal thee of thy leprosy, cries the king, wondering. No, saith Naaman, I have not exactly been to him, you know. But I have heard all about him, and have got quite familiar with his name and history, and what he has said and done. But surely, cries the astonished king, it were as well never to have heard of him if you do not go. Then one day the tidings spread, Naaman is dead; died of his leprosy. Dead! and he knew so much about the prophet. And in the palace is heard the wail of the little maiden, Would God my lord had gone to the prophet that is in Samaria. Alas! it is only in religion that men play the fool like this: only in the deeper and more dreadful leprosy of the soul! Can you imagine any greater folly, hearing of Christ as the Saviour, year in and year out, and yet never coming to Him?
III. Notice the needless preparation. (M. G. Pearse.)
Naaman, the leper
Men who are called to like positions in our own day are generally the objects of envy. Doubtless, Naaman was such an object in the eyes of many. But how greatly were they mistaken in the estimate they formed. Naaman knew, before others knew, that the leprosy had marked him as its victim. The small spot, herald of the approaching disease, was upon him; the worm was at the root of the gourd; the cancer was beginning to prey upon his very vitals; the heart was already feeding upon its own bitterness. Naaman, the illustrious,--Naaman, the captain of the kings hosts,--Naaman, with all his greatness, must henceforth carry about with him a monitor of his own weakness, yea, his own sinfulness. And, upon the face of the record, do we not read this lesson,--
I. The sinfulness of pride in the sight of God? All pride will be humbled in like manner. God resisteth the proud (Jam_4:6) always, at all times, and in all eases. He that exalteth himself shall be abased (Luk_14:11). Pride is the idolatry of self. Where pride reigns, God cannot reign, but God will judge. Let each beware of pride. Pride does not help a man to fill his station; it leads him to overstep his station. Humility ennobles, for it is a Divine grace; but pride degrades, for it is earth-born, a satanic spirit. If the proud man does not seek the throne of grace, and humble himself there, pride will prove his ruin.
II. Another truth, of which the experience of Naaman may remind us, is this,--our entire and absolute dependence upon God. We are not the arbiters of our own destiny. We cannot determine our own future. Even to-days bread is dependent on Gods bounty. As He will, is the law of our condition, absolutely and without qualification. Naaman, the captain of the host of Syria, the mighty man of valour, was no exception to this law. In his leprosy he carried about with him a silent but a faithful monitor of the supremacy of God. There was manifestly a will above his will,--a will that had determined his affliction, irrespective of himself.
III. But there is yet another, and a principal lesson, which the experience of Naaman enforces,--the insufficiency of earthly good to confer happiness upon the possessor. Naaman possessed fame, and honour, and friends, and wealth; but he was a leper. I ask, Is there not always some but, or some if, to act as a drawback on the earthly portion? Has the man ever lived who, being of the earth, earthy, living for this world only, could say he was so happy as not to need something to be added or to be taken away? It has even become a proverb, Man never is, but always to be, blest. Is the child happy? asks one of our Puritan Fathers. He will be, when he is a man. Is the peasant satisfied? He will be, when he is rich. Is the rich man satisfied? He will be, when he is ennobled. Is the nobleman satisfied? He will be, when he is a king. Is the king satisfied? Listen! for one is speaking, Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Each is devising a portion for himself, in which he thinks happiness will be found; but none attain happiness. Riches may be pursued and acquired; but riches cannot confer happiness. It is a true testimony, which all experience confirms: They that increase riches, increase sorrow with them. There is always some but attached to the best estate. The knowledge that God is our God for ever and ever--that we are reconcried to Him by faith in Christ Jesus--that He will be our guide, the director of our steps, even until death,--this is the knowledge which alone discovers to us the secret of happiness--this is the knowledge which places in our possession the key which may be said to open to man a Paradise regained. (C. Bullock.)
Some modern lessons from an ancient story
This whole story of Naaman, ancient as it is, is not one out of relation with our present lives. It is a story which can easily teach us some most valuable modern lessons.
I. The universal subtraction from our addition. Consider them in Naamans case.
1. Consider the addition.
(1) Captain of the host of the King of Syria.
(2) A great man with his master.
(3) And honourable.
(4) Because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria.
(5) He was also a mighty man in valour.
How many items in this addition, and how large the sum of their values--high military command, great favour at court, splendid reputation, success, great personal bravery.
2. Consider the subtraction--one vast damaging item, but he was a leper. Take a New-Testament instance, that of Paul (2Co_12:1-21).
(1) Addition. Rapture (2Ki_5:2). Presence in Paradise (2Ki_5:4). Vision of the unspeakable glories (2Ki_5:4). Abundant revelations (2Ki_5:7).
(2) Subtraction--thorn in the flesh (2Ki_5:7). Are not those instances more or less exactly parallel in our own lives? You can add together many a favouring circumstance and possession: then here is sure to come the subtracting--but. Why is this? Why, in our common lot, must there be this universal subtraction from our addition? If this life were all, and were intended to be all, it would be cruel. But there is another life. These subtractions from our additions are allowed, lest we should somnolently settle into the feeling that this life is all.
II. That of faithfulness to ones religion in strange place and circumstance. The little Hebrew maid (2Ki_5:2-4) how unlike her are those professing Christians who, moving to a new place or city, will not use their church letters but drop into the sad throng of non-churchgoers!
III. The unwisdom of making beforehand plans for god.
1. Behold the ancient picture--the letter; the presents worth $50,000; the ostentatious arrival before the prophets door; the message; the reply and rage (2Ki_5:11-12).
2. Behold the modern counterpart. Simple was the remedy the prophet ordered--the washing in the Jordan. So simple is the Gospel--personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. But men, thinking their thoughts, making beforehand plans for God, say, Are not the Abana and Pharpar of my moralities better? or, Are not the Abana and Pharpar of my penances better? or Are not the Abana and Pharpar of some shining experience I have imagined better?
IV. The wisdom of doing first what God says (2Ki_5:14). Have you not been delaying, and thinking, and imagining, and holding to your way long enough? Now, in the beginning of this New Year, will you not wisely submit to God, as Naaman did? Will you not accept Jesus Christ and so, in the only possible way, find forgiveness for your sin? (Homiletic Review.)
The method of grace
There is much modern application in these Old Testament circumstances. There is so much humaneness in the Bible which makes it always a new book. Principles know nothing of years. Truth is not hampered by time. The Scriptures are as old as eternity, and yet as new as every morning. The Gospel in the narrative may thus be developed.
I. The gospel appeals to the man, not his accidents. The prophets message was to the leper, not to the courtier. Naaman came with his horses and with his pageantry. He came in a lordly air, but the prophet did not even meet him. The true man is never moved by glitter. Some of us would have bowed as sycophants; it would have been the reddest-letter day of our lives, if the premier of Syria had stood at our door. Even if a trinket, or a book, be given to us by a royal hand, we transmit it as an heirloom. There is a nobility of office, but there is a higher nobility of character. There is a kingliness of name, but there is also a kingliness of nature. We should not judge by appearance, but judge by righteous judgment. The prophet saw through all the haughtiness of Naaman, leprous man. God sees through all lifes accidents--all our intelligence, parade, wealth, and respectability--a heart of corruption and sorrow. He sees that the imagination of the thoughts of man are evil continually. The message is to man, not to his circumstances. It speaks to us as sinners. It speaks, not to contingencies, but to the human nature that is in us all. It was man that fell, and to man the message is sent. He came to seek and to save that which was lost.
II. The gospel message and conditions are always simple. It speaks in a language all can understand. It speaks to the heart, and the heart has but one language, the wide world over. The tongue speaks many a vernacular, and the lips chatter many dialects, but the hearts voice never varies. The great universal heart beats in us all. The Gospel sees us fallen, and it sends forth the common message and a universal welcome. Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden. The message is one, but its emphasis is varied according to our deafness, and its strokes to our hardness. The stone is hard, and the sculptors mallet must be heavy, and his chisels sharp. The wound is deep, and the corrosive must burn, and the instrument probe deeply. The jewel is encased in adamant, and the lapidary must select his instruments accordingly. Our prejudices are great, our hearts are haughty, and the conditions are adapted. Christianity is to us what we are. Loving in disposition, it speaks in a still small voice. Impenitent in heart, it speaks in thunder-tones. Some are so deaf that they can only hear thunder; others are so divinely sensitive, they can hear angels whispers, and Gods steps on the wind. According to our heart-life, God is either a Father, or a consuming fire. A revengeful God is the creation of a wicked life. The Gospel speaks to the heart, and of necessity must temper its voice to its disposition and difficulties. It is a message so simple that a child can understand it, and yet its inexhaustibleness challenges the highest mind. So plain, that the wayfaring man need not Stumble; and yet its sublimity creates a sensation new in angel bosom. Its simplicity reveals its wonders, as its stoop manifests its height.
III. The gospel conditions are repulsive to human prejudices. We might swear that it is night when the sun shines, but the light would only prove our insanity. We may curse the Book, but its truth is inviolable. We may blaspheme the Gospel, but the loudness of our voice may only reveal the perfectness of our idiocy. How presumptuous is man?
1. How we presume on Gods ways? I thought he would surely come out to me, etc.
2. How we presume on Gods means? Are not Abana and Pharpar . . . better than all the waters of Israel?
3. How we presume on Gods patience? And he turned away in a rage.
4. How we presume on self-sufficiency? Some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? The conditions of the Gospel may arouse our resentment, but to resist is to be blind to our best interests. The prophet said: Wash and be clean; and Naaman turned away in a rage. Christ says: Sell all thou hast and give to the poor; and the young man went away sorrowing. The Gospel says: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved; and we are disgusted with the conditions. The Cross to the Jew may be a stumbling-block, and to the Greek, foolishness, but to as many as believe, it is the power of God unto salvation. The answer to all our prejudices is, that it is Gods appointed way. There is no royal road. The conditions are, believe and live, and the authority is, he that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. Our prejudices may recoil, and we may turn away in wrath. But we turn our face from the sun only to see our shadow. (W. Mincher.)
Naaman
Let us cast our eyes upon Naaman himself; and then upon the method of his restoration.
I. Naamans condition.
1. Official.
2. Personal
3. Bodily. But he was a leper--the one drawback, and that a terrible one.
II. Naamans restoration.
1. First notice the providence of God. It was by means of a little captive maid.
2. Thus, what must have seemed a great calamity to the little maids friends and to herself--to be captured and carried away into an idolatrous country--became a blessing.
3. Then we have the picture of Naaman, with his equipage and servants, in state at the door of Elisha, and the prophet sending a message to him with the command in the text.
4. Let us see the moral and spiritual purposes of Elishas treatment. The spirit of pride had to be subdued. The prophets method is unexpected, but not without design. There is no prayer or personal contact, only a message by a servant.
5. But for the kindly expostulation of the servants, Naaman would have returned into his own country a leper, as he set out from it.
III. Lessons.
1. From instances of natural virtue in the heathen world, we learn that nature, though fallen, is not totally corrupt. We must keep a middle course between Pelagius and Calvin.
2. What weak and often unworthy means God uses for making known His truth!--the enslaved Israelite maid!
3. How children should strive to remember what they were taught in youth about God and His ministers, that it may be a blessing to themselves and to others! (Canon Hutchings.)
Greatness secondary to goodness
The great Augustine discovered this when a young man. His father, a heathen, had said to the lad, Be great. His mother, Monica, a devoted Christian, had whispered, Be good. I will be both, he answered, but great first. And when, after years of folly and then of philosophy, he resolved to be good, he found himself a slave to sin. Not till he cast himself wholly on Divine power and grace did he gain the new heart. Then, the things he had once been afraid to lose he cast from him with joy. Thou expellest them, he cried, in an ecstasy of joy, and comest in Thyself instead of them. Thus Augustine the sinner became Augustine the saint.
But he was a leper.
The fruits of adversity
How many might be tempted to envy him, how many of his fellow-men might be tempted to say, within themselves, Would that I were in his place, would that I could have done with all these anxious cares, and weary disappointments which I meet with every day! Would that I could be free from all this drudgery, and see, at any rate, some result of all my toil! Here am I fighting every day against difficulty and hardship, yet gaining never a victory; here am I passing the best part of my days in obscurity, with never a prospect of rising in the world; there seems to be nothing for me but toils and cares from morning till night, from years end to years end. Would that I could be successful in life as Naaman was, could reach a high and honoured position as he did! Yet stay, Naaman has his drawback, he is not by any means the happy man you take him to be. But he was a leper. Do not these words--five in English, but only two in the original Hebrew--seem to throw a deep, dark shadow over the whole life of Naaman? We cannot possibly know, as well as Naaman did, all that those words meant. None but a leper can truly know the meaning of leprosy. Yet we do know that it was something terrible; that it was a serious affliction; that it made life dark, gloomy, unbearable. There is, in fact, something in the life-history of every man which gives, or should give to him, lowly views of himself, which is intended to keep down his pride, and to remind him that this world is a pathway leading to a country where alone there is nothing to mar our pleasure, no interruption to our happiness, where alone there is no drawback. There is a but in the history of every soul on this side of the grave. That rich man you see, and upon whose wealth you may often have looked with envious eye, is the victim of some serious disorder; death is, as it were, staring him in the face. That strong and healthy man, who seems able and willing to do battle in the great world, who possesses an energy equalled by few, and surpassed by none, is yet a poor man; there is a large family depending upon him; many mouths to be filled, many backs to be clothed; and that strong, willing worker, heaves a sigh as he thinks that his earnings will prove miserably inadequate to the needs of his household. And, if you trace the matter right through, you will find that this drawback is a very common experience, known and felt not only by the poor, but also by the well-to-do; not only by those low down in the world, but also by those occupying high positions. And yet there is a value in these drawbacks; they are not so utterly hopeless as many would feign imagine; we are apt to look upon them as a great evil, with not a single redeeming feature. Not a few might feel disposed to ask, Why should these things exist at all? Why cannot I be allowed to pass through life without having to encounter all these difficulties--these things which interfere so greatly with my happiness? Life is short, why should it be made miserable? Why should I not be able to enjoy, to my hearts content, these days and weeks, these months and years, which are passing all too quickly away? These are the questions which probably are going forth from thousands of hearts to-day; they seem practical questions; let us deal with them in a practical way. Let us bear in mind that these things come to us not by chance, they are sent. That difficulty of yours, that matter which is costing you so many weary days, and sleepless nights, that great heart-sorrow, that heavy burden has not visited you at random as it were, but has been sent to you; that is the first thought, the first fact to be carefully remembered. And the Sender; Who is the Sender? God, the God who loves you with an amazing love, pities you with wondrous pity, sends you that very thing which is the cause of much vexation, and which you could heartily wish had never been sent. Brethren, it seems strange, almost like a contradiction, but it is neither. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy (1Pe_4:19; 1Pe_4:13). This is the kind action of a loving Father; He is training us and educating us for heaven. Never let us forget that, and honestly let us ask ourselves what would be the result if we had everything just as we wished. If, in this life, there were no difficulties, or trials, or sorrows to meet, what feelings and thoughts would take possession of us? Should we be filled with earnest longing to reach the heavenly city? Much of the choicest, holiest portions of a mans character is formed in those seasons of his life which call forth the pity of those about him. When they are pitying, heaven is rejoicing; rejoicing that the feet are turned Zionwards, that the wanderer is returning home. Brethren, let it be so with us. Remember they who suffer with Christ shall also reign with Him, and that, All things work together for good to those who love God. (E. F. Chapman, M. A.)
The conquest of disadvantages
1. Among the figures of the Old Testament there is hardly any more interesting or more attractive than that of Naaman the Syrian. He belongs, indeed, to a class of persons which never fails to arrest notice and evoke admiration, the class of those who, afflicted by physical disadvantages which are commonly incapacitating, have such constancy of purpose, such strength of will, such nobility of character, that they triumph over their infirmities, and take rank among the leaders of mankind. Habitual suffering does incapacitate for exertion; physical infirmity disables the will and abashes the courage. Marked out from the rest by defects, repulsive or ludicrous, or practically disadvantageous, men are humbled and cowed by a consciousness of inferiority, which not rarely becomes a vague sense of wrong, a dreary feeling of unmerited exile from the common society, and along with these, an embitterment of character, which, in its turn, adds yet further obstacles to frank fellowship with ordinary folk. The annals of the English monarchy, for instance, contain no worthier names than those of Alfred, the traditional founder of our constitution, and of William III., its champion and restorer, and both those admirable sovereigns were chronic invalids. Our literature has no greater name than that of Milton, who was a blind man when he wrote his principal poem; no name more venerable than that of Johnson, who from childhood was afflicted with a repulsive malady. It would be hard to find among modern politicians a name more justly honoured than that of Henry Fawcett, whose sight was destroyed by a lamentable accident when he was twenty-five years old, but who bore the calamity with a superlative courage, and won for himself a niche in the Temple of Fame. These show the class to which Naaman belonged, the class of the intrinsically heroic, to whom, whatever their creed or career, the description of Scripture seems properly to belong, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power Of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens.
2. It is matter of common experience that the class of heroes which Naaman represents, is a very large class; we all have known and could name from among our acquaintance persons who belong to it. Nay, in some sense, we all ought ourselves to come within it, for there is none of us, however fortunately placed, who is altogether without some disadvantage, which is capable of daunting and disabling us. Of course--if you will--this is the tritest of moralisations. But he knows little of human life as it proceeds in its cycles of customary work and common association, who has not discovered that immense injury to character, and waste of energy, and loss of happiness arise from the single cause of that sustained resentment of disadvantage which is one of the commonest of human faults. Perhaps there are reasons why, under the circumstances of modern life, such resentment should tend to increase among us. It is matter of common observation that among all classes there is a passion for enjoyment, which easily induces disgust of work and discontent with all limitations of liberty. Religion, we shall all agree, is the source of fortitude and the spur of moral effort. When religion loses authority over the will, and fails to move the heart, men fall inevitably under the empire of circumstance, having nothing outside themselves to sustain them under misfortune, nothing beyond the native resources of character.
3. The disadvantage in Naamans case was one for which we may believe that he was not personally responsible; the hideous disease by which he was stricken may have been inherited, or contracted by accidental contact with persons similarly afflicted, or the result of privations endured in his campaigns. He could not, in any case, blame himself as the cause of his calamity. In this respect the valorous Syrian represents a great multitude of afflicted persons. I notice that Mr. Samuel Laing ascribes the prevalence of pessimistic theories among us to this very circumstance. In ruder states of society, he says, such weaklings were got rid of by the summary process of being killed off, while with the more humane and refined arrangements of modern times they live on and weary deaf heaven with their fruitless cries. It must be allowed that weak health and chronic pain ordinarily tend to induce such gloomy and morbid mental dispositions, and it is impossible not to feel compassion for those who, however deluded, are still the victims of their own undeserved misfortunes; but here, as in all other human affairs, there is an extraordinary latent power in man himself, which, if brought into action, can turn back the natural tendency of his circumstances, and bend those very circumstances to new and higher interests. The magnanimity of the ancient Stoics rises in the case of the sickly and crippled Epictetus to a genuine piety. Dare to look up to God, he says, and say, Deal with me for the future as Thou wilt: I am of the same mind as Thou art; I am Thine; I refuse nothing that pleaseth Thee; lead me where Thou wilt; clothe me in any dress Thou choosest; is it Thy will that I should hold the office of a magistrate, that I should be in the condition of a private man, stay here or be in exile, be poor, be rich? I will make Thy defence to men in behalf of all these conditions. There is a ring of personal affection in such words which argues that the Stole philosopher was (though he knew it not) a Christian in spirit. St. Paul s curiously similar language includes the confession of a discipleship which Epictetus could not own. I know how to be abased.
4. But, though physical afflictions that are undeserved may bring a sore strain to bear on the character, and can hardly fail, save in the case of a few extraordinary persons, to cast a gloom over the mind, and give a melancholy tinge to the whole life, still it is not in such calamities that the most disabling and daunting influences are found. There are men among us, richly endowed with gifts of intellect, of character, of fortune, who are held in a state of degrading idleness by the disabling memory of some moral treason in the past. Men wonder at them, knowing nothing and suspecting nothing--but to their own consciousness the sinister fact stands out with threatening prominence. They have lost faith in themselves; self-respect, the backbone of character, is broken. I might borrow the words of the text to describe such a man--a mighty man of valour, but a leper. (H. H. Henson, B. D.)
The buts of life
There you have a romance and a tragedy summed up in a single verse. You only need a little imagination to fill in the details, and lo! you have a book of human life, with its prides and humblings, its grandeurs, and its shames. The writer tells you in the same breath of this mans glory and of his awful cross. But! Ah, if we could only get rid of that little word, how happy we should be! Alas! it is always popping in to disturb our self-congratulating reflections, It drops into human speech at every turn. It is found at every stage of human experience. I hear it every day in the common talk of the people about me. I catch my own lips dropping it unawares times without number. There is always something to qualify our congratulations, praises, and thanksgivings. Fortune has dealt well with you, but! You have had a smooth and prosperous career, but! Your husband is almost perfection, but! Your children are doing well, but! That friend of yours has many admirable qualities, but! Your employer is generous and considerate, but! Your partner is honest and capable, but! Your church is orthodox and peaceable, and pre-eminently respectable, but! Your minister is a wonderful preacher, but! There is always that little or big cloud athwart your sunlight, always the wasp in the honey-cup, always the seamy side to your bliss, always the dull leaden background to the shield whose face is all gold. Mercy and judgment meet, and the darkness and the light make up one picture in every human lot. Naaman was a great man, and honourable, but he was a leper. Now sometimes we forget this other side in our thoughts of others, and frequently we make too much of it in thoughts of ourselves. And if the other side relates to character, we reverse the process, making too much of it in others and overlooking it in ourselves.
I. Remember that every Naaman has his cross. The side of the shield which he shows to the world is perhaps polished gold, but he who walks behind it sees the heavy iron casing. How foolish we are to envy the great their greatness, the rich their riches, the honourable their honours, and the wise their wisdom, and to fancy that because they have more of these things than we they are necessarily happier and more contented. And how blind we are to overlook our own blessings and joys, and repine because others seem more fortunate than we. Uneasy is the head that wears any sort of crown. Where Fortune drops its choicest honours, it imposes its heaviest burdens, and the path which is lined with roses has most of the prickly thorns of care. The more brilliant the sunlight, the darker the shadows. The more a man gets his own way, the more he frets when he cannot get his own way. You cannot climb high to pluck the choicest fruit and flowers without getting many a prick and bruise. The man who wears purple and fine linen before the world has often underneath, if you could see it, rough sackcloth and chafing cords; and there is a cloud of cares weighing like midnight on many a heart in which outward fortune seems constantly to smile. In the old ballad the queen tides by on her gallant palfrey, with cloth of gold and glittering jewels, and splendid array of attendants, and the village maiden, looking out of her lattice window, sighs, Oh! to be a queen! while the queen, looking up, sighs far more deeply, and whispers to her heart, Oh! to be free from all this burden, and like that happy careless maiden! Yes; there are cold blasts on the heights which those below never feel. And many a time, when all the things of the world go well with a man, his inner life is anything but right with God. The leprosy of doubt, or the leprosy of sin has crept over all his thoughts, and corrupted his human affections, and put a withering blight upon his world, and he knows nothing of the peace and gladness in which your simple faith walks continually.
II. You are not likely to forget your own cross. No; but do not make too much of it. No doubt there is a seamy side to your life. It is not all sunlight. But it is not well to keep the seamy side always uppermost and talk as if tears and cares and worries were your meat and drink continually. Why cannot we let our cheerful thoughts have free course sometimes without stopping them with that everlasting but? Yes; I have many things to be grateful for, but I That word often expresses the concentrated essence of ingratitude. It is a volume of murmurings and fretfulness bound up in three letters. Do not make too much, I repeat, of that other side. Your house is not so large as you desire. No; but maybe there is far more love and happiness in it than in many a bigger house. Your children are not all shaping as you would wish. No; but some of them, let us hope, bring brightness to your homes and put music into your hearts continually. Your business prospects are not brilliant maybe. No; but you have never lacked a sufficiency of comforts, and your way has always so far been made clear. We should be far happier and far more generous-hearted men if we did not make so much of that but in thinking of and discussing those who love us and whom we love. They please us in many things, but! Ah, well, magnify the many things, and let that other side go by. (J. Greenhough, M. A.)
Alloy in grandeur
Naaman was a mighty man, but he was a leper. Every man has some but or other in his character--something that blemishes and diminishes him--some alloy in his grandeur--some damp to his joy: he may be very happy--very good; yet, in something or other, not so good as he should be, nor so happy as he would be. (Matthew Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him,…
THE STORY OF NAAMAN
2Ki_5:1-27
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And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mat_8:3
AFTER these shorter anecdotes we have the longer episode of Naaman.
A part of the misery inflicted by the Syrians on Israel was caused by the forays in which their light-armed bands, very much like the borderers on the marshes of Wales or Scotland, descended upon the country and carried off plunder and captives before they could be pursued.
In one of these raids they had seized a little Israelitish girl and sold her to be a slave. She had been purchased for the household of Naaman, the captain of the Syrian host, who had helped his king and nation to win important victories either against Israel or against Assyria. Ancient Jewish tradition identified him with the man who had "drawn his bow at a venture" and slain King Ahab. But all Naamans valor and rank and fame, and the honor felt for him by his king, were valueless to him, for he was suffering from the horrible affliction of leprosy. Lepers do not seem to have been segregated in other countries so strictly as they were in Israel, or at any rate Naamans leprosy was not of so severe a form as to incapacitate him from his public functions.
But it was evident that he was a man who had won the affection of all who knew him; and the little slave girl who waited on his wife breathed to her a passionate wish that Naaman could visit the Man of God in Samaria, for he would recover him from his leprosy. The saying was repeated, and one of Naamans friends mentioned it to the King of Syria. Benhadad was so much struck by it that he instantly determined to send a letter, with a truly royal gift to the king of Israel, who could, he supposed, as a matter of course, command the services of the prophet. The letter came to Jehoram with a stupendous present of ingots of silver to the value of ten talents, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. After the ordinary salutations, and a mention of the gifts, the letter continued "And now, when this letter is come to thee, behold I have sent Naaman my servant, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy."
Jehoram lived in perpetual terror of his powerful and encroaching neighbor. Nothing was said in the letter about the Man of God; and the king rent his clothes, exclaiming that he was not God to kill and to make alive, and that this must be a base pretext for a quarrel. It never so much as occurred to him, as it certainly would have done to Jehoshaphat, that the prophet, who was so widely known and honored, and whose mission had been so clearly attested in the invasion of Moab, might at least help him to face this problem. Otherwise the difficulty might indeed seem insuperable, for leprosy was universally regarded as an incurable disease.
But Elisha was not afraid: "he boldly told Jehoram to send the Syrian captain to him. Naaman, with his horses and his chariots, in all the splendor of a royal ambassador, drove up to the humble house of the prophet. Being so great a man, he expected a deferential reception, and looked for the performance of his cure in some striking and dramatic manner. "The prophet," so he said to himself, will come out, and solemnly invoke the name of his God Jehovah, and wave his hand over the leprous limbs, and so work the miracle."
But the servant of the King of kings was not exultantly impressed, as false prophets so often are, by earthly greatness. Elisha did not even pay him the compliment of coming out of the house to meet him. He wished to efface himself completely, and to fix the lepers thoughts on the one truth that if healing was granted to him, it was due to the gift of God, not to the thaumaturgy or arts of man. He simply sent out his servant to the Syrian commander-in-chief with the brief message, "Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and be thou clean."
Naaman accustomed to the extreme deference of many dependants, was not only offended, but enraged, by what he regarded as the scant courtesy and procrastinated boon of the prophet. Why was he not received as a man of the highest distinction? What necessity could there be for sending him all the way to the Jordan? And why was he bidden to wash in that wretched, useless, tortuous stream, rather than in the pure and flowing waters of his own native Abanah and Pharpar? How was he to tell that this "Man of God" did not design to mock him by sending him on a fools errand, so that he would come back as a laughing-stock both to the Israelites and to his own people? Perhaps he had not felt any great faith in the prophet, to begin with; but whatever he once felt had now vanished. He turned and went away in a rage.
But in this crisis the affection of his friends and servants stood him in good stead. Addressing him, in their love and pity, by the unusual term of honor "my father," they urged upon him that, as he certainly would not have refused some great test, there was no reason why he should refuse this simple and humble one.
He was won over by their reasonings, and descending the hot steep valley of the Jordan, bathed himself in the river seven times. God healed him, and, as Elisha had promised, "his flesh," corroded by leprosy, "came again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."
This healing of Naaman is alluded to by our Lord to illustrate the truth that the love of God extended farther than the limits of the chosen race; that His Fatherhood is co-extensive with the whole family of man.
It is difficult to conceive the transport of a man cured of this most loathsome and humiliating of all earthly afflictions. Naaman, who seems to have possessed "a mind naturally Christian," was filled with gratitude. Unlike the thankless Jewish lepers whom Christ cured as He left Engannim, this alien returned to give glory to God. Once more the whole imposing cavalcade rode through the streets of Samaria, and stopped at Elishas door. This time Naaman was admitted into his presence. He saw, and no doubt Elisha had strongly impressed on him the truth, that his healing was the work not of man but of God; and as he had found no help in the deities of Syria, he confessed that the God of Israel was the only true God among those of the nations. In token of his thankfulness he presses Elisha, as Gods instrument in the unspeakable mercy which has been granted to him, to accept "a blessing" (i.e., a present) from him" from thy servant," as he humbly styled himself.
Elisha was no greedy Balaam. It was essential that Naaman and the Syrians should not look on him as on some vulgar sorcerer who wrought wonders for "the rewards of divination." His wants were so simple that he stood above temptation. His desires and treasures were not on earth. To put an end to all importunity, he appealed to Jehovah with his usual solemn formula-"As the Lord liveth before whom I stand, I will receive no present."
Still more deeply impressed by the prophets incorruptible superiority to so much as a suspicion of low motives, Naaman asked that he might receive two mules burden of earth wherewith to build an altar to the God of Israel of His own sacred soil. The very soil ruled by such a God must, he thought, be holier than other soil; and he wished to take it back to Syria, just as the people of Pisa rejoiced to fill their Campo Santo with mould from the Holy Land, and just as mothers like to baptize their children in water brought home from the Jordan. Henceforth, said Naaman, I will offer burnt-offering and sacrifice to no God but unto Jehovah. Yet there was one difficulty in the way. When the King of Syria went to worship in the temple of his god Rimmon it was the duty of Naaman to accompany him. The king leaned on his hand, and when he bowed before the idol it was Naamans duty to bow also. He begged that for this concession God would pardon him.
Elishas answer was perhaps different from what Elijah might have given. He practically allowed Naaman to give this sign of outward compliance with idolatry, by saying to him, "Go in peace." It is from this circumstance that the phrase "to bow in the house of Rimmon" has become proverbial to indicate a dangerous and dishonest compromise But Elishas permission must not be misunderstood. He did but hand over this semi-heathen convert to the grace of God. It must be remembered that he lived in days long preceding the conviction that proselytism is a part of true religion; in days when the thought of missions to heathen lands was utterly unknown. The position of Naaman was wholly different from that of any Israelite. He was only the convert, or the half-convert of a day, and though he acknowledged the supremacy of Jehovah as alone worthy of his worship, he probably shared in the belief-common even in Israel-that there were other gods, local gods, gods of the nations, to whom Jehovah might have divided the limits of their power. To demand of one who, like Naaman, had been an idolater all his days, the sudden abandonment of every custom and tradition of his life, would have been to demand from him an unreasonable, and, in his circumstances, useless and all but impossible self-sacrifice. The best way was to let him feel and see for himself the futility of Rimmon-worship. If he were not frightened back from his sudden faith in Jehovah, the scruple of conscience which he already felt in making his request might naturally grow within him and lead him to all that was best and highest. The temporary condonation of an imperfection might be a wise step towards the ultimate realization of a truth We cannot at all blame Elisha, if, with such knowledge as he then possessed, he took a mercifully tolerant view of the exigencies of Naamans position. The bowing in the house of Rimmon under such conditions probably seemed to him no more than an act of outward respect to the king and to the national religion in a case where no evil results could follow from Naamans example.
But the general principle that we must not bow in the house of Rimmon remains unchanged. The light and knowledge vouchsafed to us far transcend those which existed in times when men had not seen the days of the Son of Man. The only rule which sincere Christians can follow is to have no truce with Canaan, no halting between two opinions, no tampering, no compliance, no connivance, no complicity with evil, even no tolerance of evil as far as their own conduct is concerned. No good man, in the light of the Gospel dispensation, could condone himself in seeming to sanction-still less in doing-anything which in his opinion ought not to be done, or in saying anything which implied his own acquiescence in things which he knows to be evil. "Sir," said a parishioner to one of the non-juring clergy: "there is many a man who has made a great gash in his conscience; cannot you make a little nick in yours?" No! a little nick is, in one sense, as fatal as a great gash. It is an abandonment of the principle; it is a violation of the Law. The wrong of it consists in this-that all evil begins, not in the commission of great crimes, but in the slight divergence from right rules. The angle made by two lines may be infinitesimally small, but produce the lines and it may require infinitude to span the separation between the lines which enclose so tiny an angle. The wise man gave the only true rule about wrong-doing, when he said, "Enter not into the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away." {Pro_4:14-15} And the reason for his rule is that the beginning of sin-like the beginning of strife-"is as when one letteth out water." {Pro_17:14}
The proper answer to all abuses of any supposed concession to the lawfulness of bowing in the house of Rimmon-if that be interpreted to mean the doing of anything which our consciences cannot wholly approve-is obsta principiis- avoid the beginnings of evil.
"We are not worst at once; the course of evil
Begins so slowly, and from such slight source,
An infants hand might stem the breach with clay;
But let the stream grow wider, and philosophy,
Age, and religion too, may strive in vain
To stem the headstrong current."
The mean cupidity of Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, gives a deplorable sequel to the story of the prophets magnanimity. This mans wretched greed did its utmost to nullify the good influence of his masters example. There may be more wicked acts recorded in Scripture than that of Gehazi, but there is scarcely one which shows so paltry a disposition.
He had heard the conversation between his master and the Syrian marshal, and his cunning heart despised as a futile sentimentality the magnanimity which had refused an eagerly proffered reward. Naaman was rich: he had received a priceless boon; it would be rather a pleasure to him than otherwise to return for it some acknowledgment which he would not miss. Had he not even seemed a little hurt by Elishas refusal to receive it? What possible harm could there be in taking what he was anxious to give? And how useful those magnificent presents would be, and to what excellent uses could they be put! He could not approve of the fantastic and unpractical scrupulosity which had led Elisha to refuse the "blessing" which he had so richly earned. Such attitudes of unworldliness seemed entirely foolish to Gehazi.
So pleaded the Judas-spirit within the man. By such specious delusions he inflamed his own covetousness, and fostered the evil temptation which had taken sudden and powerful hold upon his heart, until it took shape in a wicked resolve.
The mischief of Elishas quixotic refusal was done, but it could be speedily undone, and no one would be the worse. The evil spirit was whispering to Gehazi:
"Be mine and Sins for one short hour; and then Be all thy life the happiest man of men."
"Behold," he said, with some contempt both for Elisha and for Naaman, "my master hath let off this Naaman the Syrian; but as the Lord liveth I will run after him, and take somewhat of him."
"As the Lord liveth!" It had been a favorite appeal of Elijah and Elisha, and the use of it by Gehazi shows how utterly meaningless and how very dangerous such solemn words become when they are degraded into formulae. It is thus that the habit of swearing begins. The light use of holy words very soon leads to their utter degradation. How keen is the satire in Cowpers little story:-
"A Persian, humble servant of the sun,
Who, though devout, yet bigotry had none,
Hearing a lawyer, grave in his address,
With adjurations every word impress.
Supposed the man a bishop, or, at least,
Gods Name so often on his lips-a priest.
Bowed at the close with all his gracious airs,
And begged an interest in his frequent prayers!"
Had Gehazi felt their true meaning-had he realized that on Elishas lips they meant something infinitely more real than on his own, he would not have forgotten that in Elishas answer to Naaman they had all the validity of an oath, and that he was inflicting on his master a shameful wrong, when he led Naaman to believe that, after so sacred an adjuration, the prophet had frivolously changed his mind.
Gehazi-had not very far to run, for in a country full of hills, and of which the roads are rough, horses and chariots advance but slowly. Naaman, chancing to glance backwards, saw the prophets attendant running after him. Anticipating that he must be the bearer of some message from Elisha, he not only halted the cavalcade, but sprang down from his chariot, and went to meet him with the anxious question, "Is all well?"
"Well," answered Gehazi; and then had ready his cunning lie. "Two youths," he said, "of the prophetic schools had just unexpectedly come to his master from the hill country of Ephraim; and though he would accept nothing for himself, Elisha would be glad if Naaman would spare him two changes of garments, and one talent of silver for these poor members of a sacred calling."
Naaman must have been a little more or a little less than human if he did not feel a touch of disappointment on hearing this message. The gift was nothing to him. It was a delight to him to give it, if only to lighten a little the burden of gratitude which he felt towards his benefactor. But if he had felt elevated by the magnanimous example of Elishas disinterestedness, he must have thought that this hasty request pointed to a little regret on the prophets part for his noble self-denial. After all, then, even prophets were but men, and gold after all was gold! The change of mind about the gift brought Elisha a little nearer the ordinary level of humanity, and, so far, it acted as a sort of disenchantment from the high ideal exhibited by his former refusal. And so Naaman said, with alacrity, "Be content: take two talents."
The fact that Gehazis conduct thus inevitably compromised his master, and undid the effects of his example, is part of the measure of the mans apostasy. It showed how false and hypocritical was his position, how unworthy he was to be the ministering servant of a prophet. Elisha was evidently deceived in the man altogether. The heinousness of his guilt lies in the words corruptio optimi pessima. When religion is used for a cloak of covetousness, of usurping ambition, of secret immorality, it becomes deadlier than infidelity. Men raze the sanctuary, and build their idol temples, on the hallowed ground. They cover their base encroachments and impure designs with the "cloke of profession, doubly lined with the fox-fur of hypocrisy," and hide the leprosy which is breaking out upon their foreheads with the golden petalon on which is inscribed the title of "holiness to the Lord."
At first Gehazi did not like to take so large a sum as two talents; but the crime was already committed, and there was not much more harm done in taking two talents than in taking one. Naaman urged him, and it is very improbable that, unless the chances of detection weighed with him, he needed much urging. So the Syrian weighed out silver ingots to the amount of two talents, and putting them in two satchels laid them on two of his servants and told them to carry the money before Gehazi to Elishas house. But Gehazi had to keep a look-out lest his nefarious dealings should be observed, and when they came to Ophel-the word means the foot of the hill of Samaria, or some part of the fortifications-he took the bags from the two Syrians, dismissed them, and carried the money to some place where he could conceal it in the house. Then as though nothing had happened, with his usual smooth face of sanctimonious integrity, the pious Jesuit went and stood before his master.
He had not been unnoticed! His heart must have sunk within him when there smote upon his ear Elishas question, -
"Whence comest thou, Gehazi?"
But one lie is as easy as another, and Gehazi was doubtless an adept at lying.
"Thy servant were no whither," he replied, with an air of innocent surprise.
"Went not my beloved one?" said Elisha-and he must have said it with a groan, as he thought how utterly unworthy the youth, whom he thus called "my loving heart" or "my dear friend,"-"when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee?" It may be that from the hill of Samaria Elisha had seen it all, or that he had been told by one who had seen it. If not, he had been rightly led to read the secret of his servants guilt. "Is it a time," he asked, "to act thus?" Did not my example show thee that there was a high object in refusing this Syrians gifts, and in leading him to feel that the servants of Jehovah do His bidding with no afterthought of sordid considerations? Are there not enough troubles about us actual and impending to show that this is no time for the accumulation of earthly treasures? Is it a time to receive money-and all that money will procure? To receive garments, and olive-yards and vineyards, and oxen, and menservants and maid-servants? Has a prophet no higher aim than the accumulation of earthly goods, and are his needs such as earthly goods can supply? And hast thou, the daily friend and attendant of a prophet, learnt so little from his precepts and his example?
Then followed the tremendous penalty for so grievous a transgression-a transgression made up of meanness, irreverence, greed, cheating, treachery, and lies.
"The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed forever! Oh heavy talents of Gehazi!" exclaims Bishop Hall: "Oh the horror of the one unchangeable suit! How much better had been a light purse anal a homely coat, with a sound body and a clean soul!"
"And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow." {Exo_4:6 Num_12:10}
It is the characteristic of the leprous taint in the system to be thus suddenly developed, and apparently in crises of sudden and overpowering emotion it might affect the whole blood. And one of the many morals which lie in Gehazis story is again that moral to which the worlds whole experience sets its seal-that though the guilty soul may sell itself for a desired price, the sum-total of that price is naught. It is Achans ingots buried under the sod on which stood his tent. It is Naboths vineyard made abhorrent to Ahab on the day he entered it. It is the thirty pieces of silver which Judas dashed with a shriek upon the Temple floor. It is Gehazis leprosy for which no silver talents or changes of raiment could atone.
The story of Gehazi-of the son of the prophets who would naturally have succeeded Elisha as Elisha had succeeded Elijah-must have had a tremendous significance to warn the members of the prophetic schools from the peril of covetousness. That peril, as all history proves to us, is one from which popes and priests, monks, and even nominally ascetic and nominally pauper communities, have never been exempt; -to which, it may even be said that they have been peculiarly liable. Mercenariness and falsity, displayed under the pretence of religion, were never more overwhelmingly rebuked. Yet as the Rabbis said, it would have been better if Elisha, in repelling with the left hand, had also drawn with the right.
The fine story of Elisha and Naaman, and the fall and punishment of Gehazi, is followed by one of the anecdotes of the prophets life which appears to our unsophisticated, perhaps to our imperfectly enlightened judgment, to rise but little above the ecclesiastical portents related in mediaeval hagiologies.
At some unnamed place-perhaps Jericho-the house of the Sons of the Prophets had become too small for their numbers and requirements, and they asked Elishas leave to go down to the Jordan and cut beams to make a new residence. Elisha gave them leave, and at their request consented to go with them. While they were hewing, the axe-head of one of them fell into the water, and he cried out, "Alas! master, it was borrowed!" Elisha ascertained where it had fallen. He then cut down a stick, and cast it on the spot, and the iron swam and the man recovered it.
The story is perhaps an imaginative reproduction of some unwonted incident. At any rate, we have no sufficient evidence to prove that it may not be so. It is wholly unlike the economy invariably shown in the Scripture narratives which tell us of the exercise of supernatural power. All the eternal laws of nature are here superseded at a word, as though it were an everyday matter, without even any recorded invocation of Jehovah, to restore an axe-head, which could obviously have been recovered or resupplied in some much less stupendous way than by making, iron swim on the surface of a swift-flowing river. It is easy to invent conventional and a priori apologies to show that religion demands the unquestioning acceptance of this prodigy, and that a man must be shockingly wicked who does not feel certain that it happened exactly in the literal sense; but whether the doubt or the defense be morally worthier, is a thing which God alone can judge.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 2Ki_5:1. Naaman was a great man with his master—גִּבּוֹר…
NAAMAN, THE SYRIAN LEPER
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
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2Ki_5:1. Naaman was a great man with his master—גִּבּוֹר חַיִל does not refer to mere physical force, but to the high esteem in which he was held at Court. Lord had given deliverances unto Syria—Not victories only, but national prestige, advantages, and prosperity.
2Ki_5:2. By companies—Maranding bands. These went out on predatory incursions.
2Ki_5:3. Would God—אַחֲלַי should be (as in Psa_119:5), “O! that,” an optative particle from חָלָה, which, in Piel, means to caress, to beseech.
2Ki_5:4. And one went in—i.e., he, Naaman, went in.
2Ki_5:5. Ten talents of silver, &c.—The silver would value £3,421; the gold is not definite, but doubtless very considerable. Changes of raiment—These Oriental “holiday garments”—חֲלִיפוֹת בְּגָדִים—are costly state dresses, worn on festal occasions.
2Ki_5:7. King of Israel rent his clothes—Not from horror at the impiety of the thought; the unbelieving Jehoram was not likely to be so much troubled by the religious side of the case, as by the fear of a misunderstanding which might eventuate in war. And after the closing events of previous chapter, deserted as he then was, he had a barren outlook if war should arise.
2Ki_5:11. Strike his hand over the place—הֵנִיף יָד—to wave the hand, or to stroke with it.
2Ki_5:12. Abana and Pharpar—The former, Amana, coming from the hill Amana, and now called Barady; the latter, also a small stream flowing from the Antilibanus, probably now called Fyjeh.
2Ki_5:13. My father—An address full of respect and regard. How much rather—as in 2Sa_4:11.
2Ki_5:15. Take a blessing of thy servant—i.e., a gift—בְּרָכָה—as in Gen_33:10-11.
2Ki_5:17. Shall there not then—Should read literally, “And Oh!” or, “And if not.” Two mules’ burden of earth—For an altar (see Exo_20:24), under the idea that Jehovah would prefer the soil of His own land, on which sacrifices should be offered to Him by Naaman in Syria.
2Ki_5:18. House of Rimmon—רִמּוֹן, either from רסם, to be high; or רִמּוֹן, the pomegranate, the Oriental symbol of fruitfulness.
2Ki_5:19. A little way—i.e., a length of country, as in Gen_35:16
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki_5:1-19
NAAMAN A PICTURE OF THE HEATHEN IN SEARCH OF SAVING TRUTH
The story of Naaman is full of bewitching interest, and is one on which volumes have already been written. It is so suggestive of spiritual analogies that it reads like a page of New Testament doctrine inserted in the midst of Old Testament history. Though dealing with simple facts of history that occurred nearly three thousand years ago, we cannot resist the temptation to interpret it in the light of the Christian ideas of the nineteenth century. It is a testimony to the liberal and impartial spirit of Judaism that does not refuse help to a foreigner, a heathen, and he belonging to a people who were the enemies of Israel. It recognised the religious needs of humanity; it was the bigotry and unfaithfulness of its adherents that made Judaism exclusive and intolerant. There were many Israelitish lepers in Elisha’s time, but they were not cleansed, because they sought it not from the God of Elisha (Luk_4:27). Naaman, the heathen, manifests a faith not to be found in Israel, and is cleansed of his leprosy. He thus prefigured the gentiles of a later age, who earnestly sought and found the salvation of God from which many Jews were cut off because of their unbelief. The whole narrative is the scheme of salvation epitomised. It may be viewed as a picture of the heathen in search of saving truth.
I. Like Naaman, the heathen enjoys many worldly advantages (2Ki_5:1).—By his strength and bravery Naaman had won the esteem of his king; he was loaded with honours, and surrounded with affluence and luxury. So the heathen lives among the fairest scenes of earth,
Whose every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile.
He is often raised to the highest dignities of earth, has unlimited command of wealth, and has the resources of commerce, science, art, and refinement ministering to his pleasure. Heathen is not always synonymous with barbarian. Some of the achievements of heathen genius have excelled the best productions of Western civilization. To be a heathen is not to be bereft of honour, of greatness, or of power.
II. Like Naaman, the heathen is suffering from a deadly disease.—“But he was a leper” (2Ki_5:1).—“Every man has some but or other in his character, something that blemishes and diminishes him, some alloy to his grandeur, some damp to his joy. He may be very happy, very good, yet in something or other not so good as he should be, nor so happy as he would be. Naaman was as great as the world could make him, and yet, as Bishop Hall quaintly remarks, the basest slave in Syria would not change skins with him.” The heathen is smitten with the leprosy of sin. This tarnishes every worldly honour, blights the loveliest scene, dims the brightest prospects, moderates every joy, poisons every cup.
III. Like Naaman. the heathen hears, often through insignificant agencies, of the possibility of cure (2Ki_5:2-4).—A little captive maid, strong in her simple faith in the God of Israel, was the means of directing the proud but afflicted Naaman to the Divine source of healing. “When she was borne away from her home and native land, it seemed very unlikely she would be instrumental in bringing the light of a higher truth to illumine the darkness of a heathen court. It has often happened in the history of nations that an obscure prisoner has been the means of acquainting his captors with the knowledge of the only true God; the vanquished has been crowned with a brighter glory than that of the conqueror. Numerous and extensive as are the various agencies of the Christian church in heathen lands, they are but feeble and limited compared with the greatness of the work to be done. “But God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty” (1Co_1:27-29). The simple words of a solitary missionary, the artless conduct of a child, the stray teaching of a voiceless tract, the impression caused by a passing incident, may be Divinely blessed in leading a soul to light and truth and rest.
IV. Like Naaman, the heathen is intensely in earnest in seeking the means of deliverance (2Ki_5:5-9). The interest of Naaman is roused, a ray of hope enters his breast, his prejudice is conquered, and, laden with rich presents and attended by an imposing retinue, he journies into the land of Israel, and stands at the door of the prophet. He is conscious of his malady, is distressed with its unsightly ravages, and, sustained with the prospect of recovery, he counts no toil too great, no sacrifice too costly, if he may but gain relief. So the heathen, when convinced of his deplorable condition, and catching a glimpse of the promised remedy, seeks, with all the greedy avidity of need and all the cheering buoyancy of hope, the help that brings deliverance. The cry of awakened and struggling heathendom enters the ear of a merciful and all-powerful Saviour.
V. Like Naaman, the heathen is offended at the method prescribed for obtaining the needed cure (2Ki_5:10-12). Naaman expected that Elisha would come out to him, and make certain mysterious passes and signs, after the manner of a professional thaumaturge, and that the leprosy would vanish. It was a severe blow to his pride to be asked to bathe his stately though leprous limbs in the turbid waters of the Jordan, rather than in the clear limpid rivers of his native Damascus. The offence of the cross has not yet ceased. Heathens and Christians alike are offended at the simple terms of salvation. If it were necessary to do some exploit that would afford opportunity for the display of personal prowess and skill, thousands more would be eager candidates for salvation. But to repent—to confess sin—to submit to self-humilation—to trust in the power and virtue of another, and the unseen and impalpable—this is too much for vain human nature, and stirs up a spirit of rebellion.
VI. Like Naaman, the heathen, when complying with the prescribed conditions, is cured of his deadly malady (2Ki_5:13-14). The rage of Naaman passed away, but his leprosy remained. In his cooler moments he began to reflect. The gentle persuasions of those around him prevailed. He obeyed the prophet’s directions, perhaps doubtfully, almost sullenly, but he did it. He dipped himself seven times in Jordan, and was healed. So when the heathen is persuaded to submit to the Divine terms, he obtains spiritual healing and renewal. Obedience is the pathway to clearer light, to the highest truths, and to the holiest experiences.
VII. Like Naaman, the heathen gratefully acknowledges and adores the power and goodness of God (2Ki_5:15-19). Who can describe the wonder and gladness of Naaman as he witnessed and felt the marvellous renovation! He hastens to the man of God to express his gratitude, to acknowledge the supremacy of Jehovah, and his determination henceforth to worship Him, to offer gifts, and to seek still further instruction. His ideas of Jehovah are still restricted. He is convinced of His superiority over all the gods of the Syrians, but he has not yet grasped the grand thought of the Divine presence being everywhere. “Now I know there is no god in all the earth but in Israel.” So the heathen, after witnessing the saving power of God, sees the vanity of the idols in which he had trusted, and renders homage to the only true God. With further instruction his idea of Jehovah are expanded, and his worship is the more fervent and reverent.
LESSONS:—
1. Man everywhere is tainted with the moral leprosy of sin.
2. The remedy for human sin is universally available.
3. The eagerness of the heathen in search of saving truth is a significant rebuke to the apathy of multitudes in so-called Christian nations.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ki_5:1-19. The Divine method of healing sin-smitten souls. I. Is not restricted in its operation to any one nation under heaven. II. Is often revealed by humble instrumentalities. III. Is offensive to human pride and consequence. IV. Is effectual only with the humble and obedient. V. Is an inexhaustible theme for universal gratitude and praise.
LESSONS:—
1. Man would fain heal himself, but cannot.
2. Man’s only hope of recovery is in believing submission.
3. All the power and glory of human salvation belong alone to God.
2Ki_5:1-14. Naaman the leper.
1. The captive maid. A prisoner in a strange land. Torn from home and friends. Carried with her both pity and piety. Had compassionate regard for the master who detained her in bondage, and a pious regard for the prophet of Israel. Did not harbour feelings of revenge.
The fairest action of our human life
Is scorning to revenge an injury;
For who forgives without a further strife,
His adversary’s heart to him doth tie.
And ‘tis a firmer conquest, truly said,
To win the heart than overthrow the head.
Lady E. Carew.
II. The proud general. A commander of armies, himself the slave of a foul disease, and, worse still, of a proud heart. Must receive instruction of a slave. His visit to Elisha. Ostentatious arrival. His expectation. God’s plans and human thoughts.
Humble we must be, if to heaven we go;
High is the roof there, but the gate is low:
Whene’er thou speakest, look with lowly eye—
Grace is increased by humility.
Robert Herrick.
III. The magnanimous prophet. Willing to be the servant of man. Elisha is also a servant of God, can therefore serve man only in God’s way. Is willing to bless Naaman, though an enemy of Israel. Though he knows the restored health of Naaman may be employed against his countrymen. Cures Naaman, but will receive nothing for the cure. Might have exacted conditions—promises of peace. The character and conduct of Elisha an illustration of the mercy of God in a wicked age and amongst rebels. The mercy so luminous in the Old Testament shines in New also. One God of the whole Bible. Would not have any, even rebels perish.
LEARN:—
1. To forgive injuries.
2. To pity the unfortunate, even if your enemies.
3. To guard against pride.
4. Our cure is offered without money or price.—The Class and Desk.
2Ki_5:1. The lights and shadows of life. I. There is always something to modify the pleasures of human life—something to mar the most brilliant success—the fly in the ointment—the skeleton in the closet. II. Shows the universal prevalence of sin. III. Teaches the necessity for moderation and humility at all times. IV. May lead to the attainment of the highest good.
—Honour with degradation. I. Naaman’s honours were as varied as they well could be, of war and peace, in the camp and in the palace. He had the admiration of the soldiery and the approval of the king; was the trusted leader in battle and the favoured attendant in the house of Rimmon. Earthly honours may imply real dishonour before God, while real worthiness may involve a present degradation. According to the measure of our self-denial will ultimately be the measure of our honour. According to the excellence of our motives of self-denial will its worthiness be determined at the last; and the value of those motives depends always on and everywhere on the desire to serve and honour Jesus. Great and mainfold as were Naaman’s honours, he seems to have deserved them.
1. He was a mighty man in valour. Strong and brave the man seems to have been; and bodily strength, and even animal bravery, are not to be despised or lightly esteemed. To speak to young men and women of might and valour, of health and bravery, is a Christian duty; for ominous signs of the lack of both abound. Many ways of living and spending time nowadays are keeping back the young from the might and valour, from the strength of body and fortitude of spirit, that come from God.
2. As a mighty and valorous man Naaman had been God’s instrument in Syria’s rise and prominonce. In the front rank of honourable emotions is the love of country and of kin, honour to our race, and the sense of duty to our fatherland. The spirit of righteous patriotism is continually appealed to in the word of God, and sacrifice for the land of one’s birth has been crowned by poet’s praise and exalted by admiration. We may here notice the candour of the writer of this book and the breadth of his conception of the ways of the Lord, in that he ascribes Syria’s military success to God; and that, too, at a time when Syria and Israel were continually at war. Every true deliverance of a soul or of a nation is of God.
3. Out of these things came Naaman’s honours with his king and master. Peace as well as war brought him greatness, for he had the approval of him whom he served. Let us try to bring honour and give honour in all service, in the house or the warehouse, and be more than parts of a machine that works out its daily round and no more. There is room for honour everywhere, if one will give place to it; and, though lowlier than Naaman, we can each have his share of the honour that God gives to the valorous, the patriotic, and the faithful. II. But to this strong, valorous, honoured man’s life there was another side—of degradation and disappointment. “He was a leper;” and though this in Syria had not the same terrible social consequences as in Israel, yet it was a blight and a curse.
1. Most lives have some qualifying, if not vitiating, of earthly joy and human credit. It must be horribly troubling to stand in God’s beautiful world infirm and blemished when we would be strong, humiliated when we might have been exalted, and degraded with bodily weakness in a world where selfasserting strength succeeds.
2. Sometimes these “buts,” these humiliations of life, are self-made, coming out of the hotbed of our pride and love of consequence and attention. Morbid self-seeking will blight and embitter a life that might be happy and honourable.
3. But of more value is it to notice the sterling worth and bravery of Naaman, in that with the horrid degradation and disadvantage of leprosy he attained to glory and high esteem. To the young his name ought to stand as a bright light of encouragement, he being the man who, with a leper’s hand, plucked honour from the red grasp of war, and made it no shame for a king to lean on a leper’s shoulder. Think, in your humiliation, of Him who was “despised and rejected of men.” And if we see shame on man’s face, blemish on the body of his humiliation, and the degradation of death on his honour, can we not look up from disease and deformity and death, and see the most suffering and dishonoured—even Jesus—crowned with glory and honour?—Condensed from Christian World Pulpit.
—“But he was a leper.” Not from his birth, nor yet to his death. Hence a learned writer compares the whole Church of Christ in all ages to this Naaman the leper. He was first pure and sound, and did many honourable acts, and thereby represented the Primitive Church, pure and clean, without spot or disease appearing; howbeit, there might be some secret seeds of diseases unperceived, which in continuance of time grew to a visible leprosy. In his middle time Naaman became leprous, diseased, and deformed, foully infected in himself, and infecting others; and thereby represented the latter Church of Rome. Afterwards, by the prophet’s direction, he was washed and cleansed from his leprosy, and his flesh restored to become pure and perfect, like the flesh of a young child; and thereby represented the Reformed Churches. And as Naaman in all these three estates was the same person, and not a new, diverse, or several man, so our Church is not a new Church, but the old Church reformed from errors and corruptions, and restored to her ancient purity and soundness.—Trapp.
—Everywhere where there is, or seems to be, something great and fortunate, there is also a slight discordant but, which, like a false note in a melody, mars the perfectness of the good-fortune. A worm gnaws at everything pertaining to this world; and everything here below carries the germs of death in itself. We ought to consider all human suffering and misery worthy of consideration, whereever we find it. It is found everywhere; it dwells in the palace and in the hovel; it is interwoven with the life of prince and beggar, and it is inseparable from all worldly happiness. The poor and lowly have no reason to envy the rich and great. That which makes us happy in truth and for eternity does not depend upon rank or upon wealth.—Menken.
2Ki_5:2-4.—The power of a child.
1. Unspeakably beneficent when religiously trained.
2. May excite a whole court with religious interest.
3. May be the means of great and lasting good. Naaman cured. God of Israel exalted. Undying interest of mankind in the incident. How much would the world have lost had the story of Naaman been unknown! “A small chink may serve to let in much light.”
—The ministry of little voices. I. The little maid’s pity. It seems as though the shame and grief of Naaman found opportunity of expression at home. So acutely did the sense of his dishonour show itself in his house, that the little slave maid one day exclaimed, “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy!” Her “young-eyed” wonder saw what the strong and valorous soldier hid from all outside his home. Many a man’s children see a look on his face and signs of agony that the associates of daily life never think could belong to the strong and vigorous man, who, in their sight, fights the battle of life more manfully then they. There are known those who, honoured in public, in private wish themselves dead. As the joys that we can share with a child are the simplest and the purest, so those are the most blessed griefs that can touch the sympathy of a little maid. Let us try to bring our nature, our experience, our life, nearer the children. It may help us in sad days, if nothing else, just as this pity of the Hebrew girl led to the cure of Naaman’s leprosy, and the liberation of his soul. The soul that is in sympathy with children will live a truer life because of it; and the man whose grief is pitied by a strange child in his household has some gentleness in him. God teaches us by “little voices” oftener than we think, and ministers to us by little hands that we seldom associate with the almightiness of God. All our little children are His messengers, and out of their mouths He wishes to ordain strength. “Little voices” call us home, as well as “God’s all-animating voice,” or rather God calls us by them. Just as the man whose child was lost in a mist that came suddenly down on one of the American rivers heard the little one calling, “This way, Father!” was led at last to hear the dead child’s call as from heaven, whither, in that night of mist and sorrow, she had gone; so God leads many home by these angels in the clouds, these little ones, dead for awhile to us, but who are ever living unto God. II. Over against the little maid’s pity we have now to set what looks like her mistress’s neglect. The wife of Naaman let the word of the Hebrew girl go unheeded. Had the child more pity than the woman? Was the Hebrew slave more tender than the Syrian wife? Perhaps the child, from her Jewish training, had a pecular horror of leprosy and its shame, that the Syrian woman would not have. May we not, ought we not, to call one another’s hearts to attend to the misery of sin? When God has linked hearts in home life, shall we slightly regard impenitence and uncleanness? Shall the parent cease to hope and pray for the prodigal child, and the goodly child be careless over a father or mother unsaved? If we wonder at the seeming apathy of Naaman’s wife, what shall we say of many of ourselves, for neglecting the eternal welfare of each other’s souls? While we wonder at this woman we condemn ourselves. III. The wise listener. Naaman was doubly fortunate in having, not only a pitiful slave girl, but another servant who listened wisely to what the girl said. He was certain of this, that, true or not, it was worth telling. So he “went in and told his lord.” Our vitiated nature inclines us to speak of others only too readily when there is evil to be reported, too slowly when there is anything good. But here we have one ready to tell helpful news. Naaman must have been more fortunate in his servants and slaves than in his wife. IV. Now we come to the last link in the chain of influence and of persons that ultimately led to Naaman’s recovery, and this is the king of Syria, the wisely acting king, who, when he heard only the report of a captive girl, said at once, “Go,” and give a letter to the king of Israel. First there was the child, then the prudently listening servant, and then the wise king. Each was an agent of God in this matter; each was needed, and who shall say which was most necessary? Little hands have brought about great things, and feeble voices have often given its character to history. The boy dreamer Joseph telling his dreams is the occasion of four hundred years of lsraelitish history. The little hand of the child Samuel was lifted by God, and his little voice was charged by God to show to Eli the coming of an awful doom. We know not how delicate is the balance of human affairs; but we know that God in His purposes unites the strong and the weak, and that when He touches the faithful, though they may be feeble, they become mightier than the strong.—C. W. P.
2Ki_5:2-3. The children’s service. The little lady’s maid.—Syria was a kingdom near to Canaan. For some time a little girl lived in Syria. She may not have been more than eight or ten years old. We wish to say seven things about her.
1. This little girl was a Jewess. Abraham was the first Jew. To him and his descendants God was exceedingly kind. How He spake to them, and what He gave them. This young person, as the text shows, was one of them. She belonged to the best land and the best people. What advantages she had. In this respect you are equal, yea, superior to her; Canaan and the Israelites then compared with England and the English now. A complete Bible and a Saviour who has come. To whomsoever much is given, of them much shall be required.
2. This little girl was a slave. The Syrians were the enemies of the Jews. Accustomed to go by companies to Canaan. Took away grain, cattle, and human beings. This girl was kidnapped on one occasion. Think on her sad condition, forced away from her land, home, friends, and parents.
Many children have been in the same circumstances. Rome, Greece, America, some even in the present day—Madagascar and Africa. “Slaves cannot breathe in England.” Why? Education, government, above all, the gospel. Should you not believe it and love it?
3. This little girl worked as a slave in the house of Naaman. Naaman was the general of the Syrian army, and a great favourite with the king. He had plenty of money, and lived in a splendid house. He may have bought the little maid, or she may have been his share of the spoils of the war. At any rate, she was in his house, and waited on his wife. A lady’s maid. From this we learn that, though young, she was clever, and did all her work well. Imitate her in these things; never be careless about what you do. Try to read, write, and spell, &c., in the best way, so in after-life you will do these things easily and well. This will be a great comfort to yourselves and others.
4. This little girl was very kind. Naaman, her master, had an awful disease—leprosy. It was painful, loathsome, and incurable by man. But Naaman had captured the little girl, and made her a slave. Had she been like some people, she would have been glad because her master was a leper. Instead of that, she thought about his disease. It was to her a source of sorrow, and she was anxious that he should be delivered from it. Here was kindness to one who had not been kind to her. This was the spirit of Jesus. Hear Him and see Him on the cross. It should be your spirit. You cannot have it without a new heart, any more than there can be a stream without a fountain. Because the little maid had the one, she had also the other. He who gave her a new heart will give you one. Ask Him for it.
5. This little girl was exceedingly intelligent. She spoke with wisdom to her mistress about her master and the prophet in the land of Israel. The prophet had never cured a leper (Luk_4:27). How, then, did she believe that he would cure her master? Here we see her intelligence. She had heard of other wonderful things which the prophet had done. See the preceding chapter. This is how she reasoned:—Elisha, who, by the power of God, could raise a dead body to life, could also, if it pleased God, restore a diseased body to health. Wonderful reasoning for a little girl. Learn to put things together in your minds. Do this with your school lessons; when you are reading books, looking at persons, watching the birds flying and the ships sailing. You will then be not dull, but clever, and so be able to push your way through the world.
6. This little girl did a great amount of good. She moved her mistress, the wife her husband, the husband the Syrian king, the Syrian king the king of Israel, the king of Israel the prophet. Naaman was delivered from his leprosy, and likewise from his heathenism. Besides, the whole narrative has been used by thousands to illustrate the Gospel, by which multitudes have been saved from sin to holiness. Similar results have been produced by a single book, tract, action, or word. You can all do good; do it every day.
7. This little girl was highly honoured. By the attention she received from so many in Syria; by obtaining a place in the Bible; by having thousands speaking well of her, as we have been trying to do. Her case illustrates the text, “Them that honour Me, I will honour.” Go ye and do likewise. Speak for God like her. Speak for others, and especially the suffering like her.
A. McAuslane, D. D.
2Ki_5:5-14. Danger in the simplicity of God’s ways.
1. A prophet in Israel. A kindly God in the earth, a healer of men abroad in all the lands, a loving presence with us in dark and troublesome days, a light lighting every man from his infant obscurity and slow ascent to the true vision of life, to the swift descent into the valley of the shadow of death. How few know and believe this! and how few of those who profess that they do can direct weary lives to it as they ought! And yet, if we cannot say more than this king, if we cannot enter into Elisha’s confidence both for diseased bodies and dead or leprous souls, how sad are we! If for our bodies, and all the more if for our souls, we know no other help than man, and can turn only to one another in our necessities, we are little better than the king who rent his clothes over Naaman’s leprosy, and knew not what to do. But there is a Divine healer in the earth now as then—a prophet and more than a prophet, who speaks to all human disease, and care, and helplessness.
2. The prophet’s confidence. Elisha had the conviction that through himself Naaman might be healed. What a dignifying confidence in God this is for God’s workers to have! for Elisha to know that God would cleanse by him, would save at his faithful word! We should have a confidence like Elisha’s, at least the spirit of it. For every calamity that befalls men Jesus has a word of love and hope and deliverance.
3. The leper’s expectation. It was just what we might look for from his success and honours and riches and power, and his ignorance. He evidently thought that Elisha would make much of him, since he had and could give so much. It was not so blameworthy in a Syrian heathen as it is now with many who seem to think that God, and the people of God, must make much of them if they come to God. We must not come with prejudices or fancies of our own knowledge and consequence to God and His word and people, for life and purity and health. God will not minister to any soul’s self-consequence and self-deceiving pride.
4. The process of cure was different from what Naaman expected. It was so absolutely simple, and because it was so simple it was so authoritative. “Go and wash in Jordan seven times.” A child could understand it, a child could do it. So simple was it that only a proud, and therefore a foolish, man would resent it. God never makes His way hard, difficult, obscure, or involved. His simplicity is our salvation.
5. The leper’s pride. There is much danger made by ourselves in the simplicity of God’s ways, and many, like Naaman, stagger at the promise of God through unbelief, their unbelief rising because the way is so light and plain. In this we are exposed to a two-fold danger: that of the love of pleasure in religion, by which anything will pass for religiousness that excites or soothes our emotions enjoyably, and that of mingling our prejudices with our search for purity, and so clouding and hurting our sight of Jesus. These were practically Naaman’s self-made dangers in the way of his leprosy being cleansed, and they are the old but ever new miseries of seeking after signs and wisdom, when all that God wants is the acceptance of His way and the use of His means of saving grace in our blessed Lord.
6. But Naaman was saved from utter folly by the servant’s good sense and his own true-heartedness. The servant’s word showed Naaman that the pride of a soldier was at the bottom of his refusal and rage. “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? That gives the explanation of his passion; there was too much of God in the plan of cure, and too little of self to make it attractive; there was too great a call on unobjecting obedience, and too little of self-pleasing to make it alluring. The same thing holds good of most of us. Do not let the simplicity of God’s way become a hurt to your soul. By loving obedience end the uncleanness of sin for ever.
7. Following upon his trusting obedience came Naaman’s cure. He was fresh and pure; with new life and new strength, pure life and pure strength. That was the end of his faith, as it will be of ours. Childlike and pure for ever is to be the soul’s everlasting portion.—(C. W. P.)
2Ki_5:5-7. The ignorance and imbecility of man.
1. Man is slow to apprehend the nature and cause of human suffering (2Ki_5:5).
2. Believes that money and diplomacy can accomplish anything (2Ki_5:5-6).
3. Compelled to acknowledge his own powerlessness in dealing with human misery (2Ki_5:7).
4. Sees more his own danger than the divine teaching in the significant events of life (2Ki_5:7).
2Ki_5:8. The counsel of a good man.—
1. Valuable to king and court in times of difficulty.
2. Based on a profound faith in the power and goodness of God.
3. Prompted by gracious intentions towards the suffering and needy.
4. Tends to augment the reputation of true piety.
2Ki_5:9-14. The haughty suppliant. God made the prophet, not the king, the medium of His blessings to Naaman. God selects His own workmen, and His selections sometimes chasten our pride. “His ways are not as our ways; neither are His thoughts as our thoughts.” “It is neither by might nor by power.” “He chooses the weak things to confound the wise.”
Up to this point Elisha lived unappreciated, subsisting upon the hospitality of the Shunammite. And how often do God’s nobility live and die unrecognized? They are men of whom the world is not worthy. They are unknown. And it is the obscure good which is the world’s foundation, the salt of the earth. But by force of circumstances they become recognised. There are crises when we call for the good we have despised. God has many uncrowned kings—heirs of immortality in flesh. He cometh to make up His jewels, and they shall come from many an obscure place. “They shall come from the East and the West.” “The last shall be first, and the first last.” Many a Lazarus shall find his home in God’s bosom, while the pampered beast shall become worm-food and fire-fuel.
There is much modern application in these Old Testament circumstances. There is so much humaneness in the Bible, which makes it always a new book. Principles know nothing of years. Truth is not hampered by time. The Scriptures are as old as eternity, and yet as new as every morning. The Gospel in the narrative may thus be developed.
1. The gospel appeals to the man, not his accidents. The prophet’s message was to the leper, not to the courtier. Naaman came with his horses and with his pageantry. He came in a lordly air, but the prophet did not even meet him. The true man is never moved by glitter. Some of us would have bowed as sycophants; it would have been the reddest-letter day of our lives, if the premier of Syria had stood at our doors. Even if a trinket, or a book, be given to us by a royal hand, we transmit it as an heirloom. When will all this mammon-worship and man-homage, fawning, and cringing end? When will men remember that there is a higher kingliness—that instead of virtue cringing to vice, she should stand in her God-like form erect? There is a nobility of office, but there is a higher nobility of character. There is a kingliness of name, but there is also a kingliness of nature. We should not judge by appearance, but judge by righteous judgment. The prophet saw through all the haughtiness of Naaman, a leprous man. God sees through all life’s accidents—all our intelligence, parade, wealth, and respectability—a heart of corruption and sorrow. He sees that the “imagination of the thoughts of man are evil continually.” The message is to man, not to his circumstances. It speaks to us as sinners. It speaks, not to contingencies, but to the human nature that is in us all. It was man that fell, and to man the message is sent. “He came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
2. The gospel message and conditions are always simple. It speaks in a language all can understand. It speaks to the heart, and the heart has but one language the wide world over. The tongue speaks many a vernacular, and the lips chatter many dialects, but the heart’s voice never varies. The great universal heart beats in us all. The gospel sees us fallen, and it sends forth the common message and a universal welcome, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden.” The message is one, but its emphasis is varied according to our deafness, and its strokes to our hardness. The stone is hard, and the sculptor’s mallet must be heavy and his chisels sharp. The wound is deep, and the corrosive must burn, and the instrument probe deeply. The jewel is encased in adamant, and the lapidary must select his instruments accordingly. Our prejudices are great, our hearts are haughty, and the conditions are adapted. Christianity is to us what we are. Loving in disposition, it speaks in a still small voice. Impenitent in heart, it speaks in thunder tones. Some are so deaf that they can only hear thunder, others are so divinely sensitive they can hear angels’ whispers and God’s steps on the wind. According to our heart-life, God is either a father, or a consuming fire. A revengeful God is the creation of a wicked life. The Gospel speaks to the heart, and of necessity must temper its voice to its disposition and difficulties. It is a message so simple that a child can understand it, and yet its inexhaustibleness challenges the highest minds. So plain, that the wayfaring man need not stumble, and yet its sublimity creates a sensation new in angel bosom. Its simplicity reveals its wonders, as its stoop manifests its height.
3. The gospel conditions are repulsive to human prejudices. We might swear that it is night when the sun shines, but the light would only prove our insanity. We may curse the book, but its truth is inviolable. We may blaspheme the Gospel, but the loudness of our voice may only reveal the perfectness of our idiocy. How presumptuous is man!
“Man, proud man, dressed in a little brief authority,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven,
As make the angels weep.”
1. How we presume on God’s ways! “I thought he would surely come out to me,” &c.
2. How we presume on God’s means! “Are not Abana and Pharpar … better than all the waters of Israel?”
3. How we presume on God’s patience! “And he turned away in a rage.”
4. How we presume on self-sufficiency! “Some great thing, would thou not have done it?” The conditions of the Gospel may arouse our resentment, but to resist is to be blind to our best interests. The prophet said: “Wash and be clean,” and Naaman turned away in a rage. Christ says, “Sell all thou hast and give to the poor;” and the young man went away sorrowing. The Gospel says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;” and we are disgusted with the conditions. The answer to all our prejudices is—that it is God’s appointed way. There is no royal road. The conditions are, believe and live; and the authority is, “he that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.” Our prejudices may recoil, and we may turn away in wrath; but we turn our face from the sun only to see our shadow.—W. MINCHER in the Study and Pulpit.
2Ki_5:9-12. Pride.
1. Fond of splendid ostentation.
2. Indulges lofty expectations of notice and deference.
3. Is keenly sensitive to the sting of insult, whether intended or not.
4. Blinds the soul to its best interests.
5. Must be humbled before the soul can be blessed.
2Ki_5:9-10. The cure of Naaman. I. Illustrative of the influence of humble instrumentality. II. Of the obstructive power of pride. III. Of the value of faithful counsel. IV. Of the blessedness of obedience.
1. Naaman’s obedience led to his obtaining a perfect cure.
2. Naaman’s cure wrought in him true humility.
3. Naaman’s cure led him to God.
4. Naaman’s cure filled his heart with gratitude.—E. Workman.
2Ki_5:10-12. Naaman, an example of barriers to religious decision. I. The barrier was his own disposition. II. His choosing the means. III. His wanting to do something. IV. His not applying the remedy.—H. Bone.
2Ki_5:11-12. We, knowing much better than Naaman did, the character and claims of Elisha, are apt to be amazed at the petulance and pride of Faaman. Yet, in fact, there are few of us—are there any?—who have not manifested many times in the course of our career, as much or more resistance to the demands upon our faith, and to the exigencies appointed by God for the humiliation of the proud mind of the flesh, than ever Naaman did, and often with far less reason. Let us rather admit that the demand upon the faith of Naaman, and the extent to which he was required to bend down his natural reason, formed somewhat of a severe exertion from one so raw and inexperienced in the things of God. Yet it is the common course of the Lord’s dealings with those whom He brings under the operation of His healing grace. The course is paternal. As a father deals with his children, so He deals with us. He demands obedience, exacts submission. He requires faith; and then, the mind being brought into the right state, He teaches, He leads, He heals.—Kitto.
2Ki_5:12. Is there not another way? I. Sinners dislike the plan of the Gospel.
1. Self-abandonment.
2. Salvation by faith. II. They dislike its object.
1. Salvation from sin.
2. The renewal of the heart. III. They dislike the means to be used.
1. Self-denial.
2. Humility.
3. Earnestness.
4. Publicity.
2Ki_5:13-14. The soul’s desire and submission.—I. A desire is frequently shown to do some great thing to obtain salvation. Illustrate from heathen pilgrims, Fakirs; devotees who used to cast themselves under wheels of Jaggernaut, also Roman Catholic austerities, self-flagellations, crusades, &c. Both
(1) condemn and
(2) approve. The form in which such zeal shows itself superstitious. The motive wrong. But earnest self-sacrificing spirit prompted by love to Christ very admirable. What is not permissible is seeking to do something as procuring cause of salvation. First receive as a free gift, and then give and do as much as the heart will prompt. II. The simplicity of what has to be done, and consequently urgent reason we should do it. (a) Because no act of ours could be allowed to atone for sin—(b) the work of Christ complete, needs no addition—(c) a free salvation comes within reach of all. Who could say, if otherwise, but that even in our great things, there might be some coming short, and multitudes would be excluded from hope? All the more, then, rejoice that the command is “Believe and live,” yet, remember, there is wide scope afterwards, especially a daily life of patient piety and godliness, often more difficult than a single act of self-devotion. In this fulfil the desire and glorify God. III. The wisdom and blessedness of obedience. Picture the scene. So when humbled, anxious, submissive, a sinner adopts the means of mercy, there is
(1) a Divine,
(2) an instantaneous,
(3) a lasting effect. From darkness to, light unregeneracy to renewal. How wise the obedience! The only chance of recovery. How blessed! It must have been sweet to feel the past cancelled, heart set right. Men have fabled there is a fountain of youth. Plunge in its waters and the wrinkles fade out of the brow. But it is true we may be made young and happy again in spirit—children of God.—Hom. Quarterly.
2Ki_5:13. The art of persuasion.—I. Knows when to select the right moment to speak. II. Knows how to subdue the most violent temper. III. Appeals to the strongest motive in man. IV. Should be used in turning men from sin to virtue.
2Ki_5:14. It was not the water either of Jordan or of Abana which could heal, it was the obedience of this haughty general to a mandate which seemed to him frivolous and absurd. In the Gospels faith is the first requisite in similar cases of healing, and so it was here also—faith and obedience. Naaman came with his mind all made up as to how he was to be healed, and he turned away in anger and disgust from the course which the prophet prescribed. Yet, when he turned back even with a lame and half-doubting faith and a half-unwilling obedience, he was healed. This is the permanent truth which is involved in the story. Naaman was a type of the rationalist whose philosophy provides him with a priori dogmas by which he measures everything which is proposed to his faith. He turns away in contempt where faith would heal him. That is the truth which the story serves to enforce.—Editor of Lange.
Not the unjust fury and tetchiness of the patient shall cross the cure; lest while God is severe the prophet should be discredited. Long enough might Naaman have washed there in vain, if Elisha had not sent him. Many a leper hath bathed in that stream, and hath come forth no less impure. It is the word, the ordinance of the Almighty, which puts efficacy into those means which of themselves are both impotent and improbable. What can our font do to the washing away of sin? If God’s institution shall put virtue into our Jordan, it shall scour off the spiritual leprosies of our hearts, and shall more cure the soul than cleanse the face.—Bp. Hall.
God’s plan of salvation. We take the narrative as illustrative of the great truth, the necessity of conforming with God’s plan to secure salvation. I. That God’s plan is contrary to the expectations of man. So it was here that Naaman had been thinking within himself how the prophet would act. He merely sent a messenger commanding him to wash in the Jordan. How simple, and so he thought, how foolish! The very simplicity bewildered him and kindled his wrath. But if his own plan would have been sufficient, he might have cured himself without going to the prophet at all. So the salvation which is in Christ Jesus has always been a stumbling block to men on account of its simplicity, and many have dogged the simple Gospel with innumerable ceremonies of men’s devising, painting the pure lily, and bringing their own faint rush-light to increase the splendour of the noonday sun. Men would cross ocean and wander in far-off lands in search of wisdom; they would survey the heavens, and descend to the lowermost parts of the earth; but God’s word of life is nigh unto us, in our mouth and in our heart.
“O, how unlike the complex works of man
Heaven’s easy, artless, unencumbered plan!
From ostentation as from weakness free,
It stands like the cerulean arch we see,
Majestic in its own simplicity;
Legible only by the light they give
Stand the soul-quickening words, believe and live.
COWPER.
II. That God’s plan tends to humble the pride of man. Naaman thought there was some royal cure for a royal patient, and an honourable way to deal with such an honourable man. How indignant he felt when the prophet only sent a messenger to him, and the remedy prescribed being so humiliating too. He could not understand going to wash himself in the river Jordan, the river of despised Israel; whilst if it was necessary to apply the waters of any river, could he not have washed himself in the proverbial crystal streams of Damascus? “So he turned and went away in a rage.” So God’s plan of salvation is mortifying to the pride of the sinful heart. The Pharisees were offended at the Saviour for making no distinction between them and the sinners. They were entangled in the snares and pride of life. Their plan was to glorify self and humble others; but to enter the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the first step required is for a man to deny himself. Faith consists in leaving our own frail vessel and taking our passage on board the ark of God, to deem ourselves nothing and God all in all. We find Peter, having received the consent of the Master, walking on the sea; but the moment he began to trust himself, and feel safe in the power of his own strength, the boisterous winds and the treacherous waves frightened him, and, conscious of his weakness, he with gladness entered the ship and was “safe in the arms of Jesus.” The gate is strait and the road is narrow, but he who is humble and obedient is led at last to safety and bliss.
3. That he who truly feels his need will accept God’s plan. Though Naaman was at first most seriously disappointed, and turned away in a rage, yet on the counsel of his servants, strengthened by his own need and his inward conviction, he complied with the directions given by the prophet. A sense of need is a propelling power that will work wonders, and, in conjunction with faith, will send the mountain to the sea, and chain the lion that is on the way. This feeling impelled that poor woman to force her way through the crowd and touch the hem of the Saviour’s garment; and, urged by the same motive, the blind man willingly went to the lake of Siloam. When the sinner really feels sin a burden, and believes that the meek and lowly Jesus is powerful to remove it, he will not quarrel with the method of salvation, but will come at once and cast his burden down; and when he truly feels his guilt he will come to the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness. When a man is bent upon becoming rich, or learned, or great in the estimation of the world, he is willing to comply with the world’s terms, be they ever so hard. Is it wonderful that the sinner, with his broken heart and contrite spirit, closes in with the overtures of the gospel, and accepts the salvation which is in Christ? IV. That conformity to God’s plan will secure a man’s salvation. Naaman obeyed, and he was accordingly cured.
1. Some means are generally used. The miracles of the Old and New Testaments are similar in this, that means were used in bringing about such wonderful deeds. It would have been all the same to God to cure Naaman with a word, but Naaman himself would have lost the valuable lessons he received, and the necessary training he went through.
2. The means were not sufficient in themselves apart from the blessing of God to cure his leprosy, but as it was God’s plan it effected its purpose. The ark was rendered safe from the waters of the Deluge, as it was constructed according to the directions given by God. The waters of Marah lost their bitterness by a tree being thrown into them, because that was the means appointed by the Lord. To encompass the walls of Jericho with rams’ horns might have seemed very foolish and useless to some, but it was of Divine appointment, and so it succeeded. Men are thus taught to do their duty, and then to wait for the Divine blessing. Naaman could wash himself in the Jordan, though he could not cure himself. We arc to come to the Saviour to be healed, we are to look upon Him, to stretch out our hands, withered as they are, to Him.
3. Naaman’s cure was instantaneous. What a happy moment for him when he discovered that the cause of his anxiety, trouble, and humiliation was removed! So the man who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, and flees to Him for refuge, is from that moment free from condemnation.
4. His cure was complete. His flesh was made like the flesh of a little child. He possessed a thoroughly renovated. body. No taint of the malady to east its dark shadow over the future. So he who accepts God’s plan is wholly renewed, created anew in Christ Jesus. True, he retains the marks of the leprosy of sin whilst in this world. As Mr. Joseph Cook remarks, although the particles of the body have been changed many times, still the sears made when the fingers were too young to be trusted with edged tools continue through the years, and are absolutely unchangeable in the changing flesh, so the scars of sin continue after years of reformation; but, thanks be to God, day by day the nature becomes sanctified, and at last the ransomed soul will take its flight to the realms of purity and bliss. The Church will be at last a “glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; holy, and without blemish.”—Hom. Quarterly.
2Ki_5:15-19. Gratitude to God and earthly policy. Naaman, instead of going straight away to Syria, turned back to Samaria, not this time to the king, but with the same retinue and wealth of gifts he came back to Elisha’s door. In this act he takes his place with that one Samaritan leper of the New Testament who turned back to Jesus and blessed Him for His mercy in freeing him from the same horrible curse, while nine others went away healed, but ungrateful. I. Naaman’s journey back was a grateful return to Elisha and an honourable but only dutiful acknowledgment of God. It was an owning of the God of Israel because of Elisha’s work. This deduction of spiritual truths from bodily blessings shows health of soul and soundness of mind. Naaman recognized God by His mercies, and acknowledged the God of Elisha in the work that Elisha had done. Mercy is the great mark of our God; it is that by which He may be most easily recognized; and works of mercy are the signs of the true and most eminent servants of His pleasure. God is ready to let His claim on our loving recognition be determined by what every heart can easily discover of His merciful kindness. His message and work among us are still the same; His servants and workers now are all, if they are true to Him, workers of mercy, messengers of love and peace and healing. II. Elisha’s refusal of health. In this, like Abraham with the King of Sodom, and like Paul with the Corinthians, Elisha kept the mercy of God as God intended it to be, “without money and without price.” The true gift in return for God’s mercy is the offering of ourselves in Christ, and when that is made the silver and the gold will find their proper place. It was noble in Naaman to make the offer; and it would have been wrong in Elisha to have taken the gift. The greatest blessings cost, at first, the least. No one can be paid, no one can pay, for the mercy of God, or for the conferring of spiritual blessings. God gives us His mercy, and He wants ourselves as His right and due. III. Ignorant devotion to the true God. Only a little while ago, in rage and pride, Naaman had sneered at the waters of Israel; but now the soil of the land of the Lord was sacred to him, and he wanted an altar of it in his Syrian home. Nor for this is he to be condemned, as we should be justified in condemning the like spirit when it is foisted upon the purity of Christianity or associated with the faith once committed to the saints. Christianity knows nothing of exclusively holy places and days and services and classes; for now all places and times may be sacramental and holy to the Lord. IV. There was, however, in Naaman’s case a worse thing than his excusable superstition, and that was—an attempt to mingle the claims of God with the advantages of earthly policy. It is not for us or any to press heavily on the conscience of a man in such a position. The only thing that gives us a right to judge the case at all, for our own caution and guidance, is the evidence that Naaman himself felt that bowing down with his master in the house of Rimmon might be inconsistent with his proposed devotion to the God of Israel. From Naaman’s easily understood mistake let us learn to hate laxity of principle in ourselves, and to judge gently the weakness and fall of others. V. From Elisha’s tenderness to a weak convert, learn the more to trust the greater tenderness that Jesus has for our frailties and dangers. Do not think that Jesus does not see the wretchedness of your temptations and the hazard of your position when all things seem to beckon you to sin, and sin hides its vile image under a mask of attractiveness and interest and prosperity.
Then learn to scorn the praise of men,
And learn to lose with God;
For Jesus won the world through shame,
And beckons thee His road,
C. W. P.
I. Gratitude. The mighty Naaman, who had doubtless often bathed without benefit in the waters of Damascus, tried the river Jordan, and was immediately cleansed. He returns to Elisha to thank him. How different now is Naaman, old things passed away! He acknowledges the supreme God as the only God. Does this publicly in the presence of all his company. Would make an acknowledgment to Elisha, not as a recompense, but as a gift of gratitude.
II. Generosity. Elisha by no means a man of great wealth. Dependent on the bounty of Providence. Followed no regular calling. Lived in an age when the servants of God, as such, were ill-rewarded. Yet would not receive a gift at the hands of Naaman. His desire to lay Naaman and the king of Syria his master under an obligation to Israel. This is to preserve peace. Especially he desired to impress them with the greatness and goodness of God; to remind them of those higher blessings which God would freely give. Hence, for the sake of God’s honour, and his country’s welfare, he would take no reward.
III. Superstition. Although thus grateful, and making his confession of the true God, Naaman is not fully enlightened. Still regards God as a local deity. The mightiest God in the world, but limited to Israelitish soil. He would therefore like to carry back with him some of that soil. He thought to worship in any spot on that soil would secure the favour of God. Elisha makes no reply to this request. Certainly cannot approve this course. Sends Noaman back with his blessing. Naaman felt that to worship Rimmon was wrong, but hoped to be forgiven by him on whose consecaated soil he stood. LEARN:—
1. To cultivate gratitude.
2. To do good without the hope of any return.
3. Guard against all forms of superstition. The Class and Desk.
2Ki_5:16. The unselfishness of goodness. I. Cannot be bribed into showing kindness. II. Refuses legitimate offerings when the cause of religion would suffer by accepting them. III. Falls back upon God for all needful supplies.
2Ki_5:17-18. Imperfect religious ideas. I. Not uncommon at the early stage of religious life. II. Leads to imperfect religious practice III. Attaches too much importance to the externals of worship. IV. Hinders a thorough reformation and forsaking of the old life.
2Ki_5:17. As Naaman was the type of the converted heathen world, and he carried the soil of Palestine to Aram, so did the heathen carry over into their own lands, together with Christianity, the doctrine, life, disposition, and spirit, which had flourished in the Holy Land, and thereby they established themselves a new home. When we hear, here and there in Christian lands, the names Bethany, Bethlehem, Zion, what are they but holy places transferred, in their spirit, from their original location, into our life, and thought, and feeling? In their religious observances, the main point is not the correctness and truth of thy knowledge, or of the doctrine which thou professest, but the truth and purity of thine own character. What one may do under his circumstances without violating his conscience, the conscience of another, under other circumstances, will forbid him to do. We have no right to judge him: to the Lord each one stands or falls (Rom_14:1-7).—Cassel.
—Well did this Syrian find that the man of God had given a supernatural virtue to the water of Israel, and therefore supposed he might give the like to his earth. Doubtless it was devotion that moved this suit. The Syrian saw God had a propriety in Israel, and imagines He will be best pleased with his own. On the sudden was Naaman half a proselyte; still here was a weak knowledge with strong intentions.—Bp. Hall.
2Ki_5:18. The compromises of life. The significant but in the social position of Naaman is to find its counterpart in his religious character. A great man, but a leper; a believer pleading for an inconsistency. Conversion and compromise. When he has found God beyond the sign of water, and come back to the prophet with the confession of his new faith, you expect a complete change in his exterior life, that he will go among his heathen countrymen a full-orbed religious man; but he counts the cost, or perhaps is in some mental perplexity. At least he will put the difficulty to the prophet, and be guided by his decision. We are startled to hear the answer “Go in peace.” Here was an opportunity to rebuke cowardice, to chastise the poor selfishness that, having received so much from God, asks, “And how little need I pay back?” An opportunity to discuss an interesting question of casuistry and to decide upon the comparative forces of conscience and necessity. But Elisha accepts his convert, with this exception, whether in the passive non-aggressiveness of that old Hebrew religion, or in the conviction that the man would do his best under the circumstances, we cannot tell. Set Naaman in the light flung back by the cross, and we can soon pronounce judgment. We know our Lord deals with these human “buts.” “Let the dead bury their dead,” &c. “If a man love father and mother more than me, he is not worthy of me.” But the judgment would be unjust. Men are always more or less in subjection to the ideas that govern the age in which they live. It is only the few who draw themselves apart, and press forward to a grand isolation. The Church has ten thousand Naamans where it has one Paul. The very uncertainty in which, spite of Elisha’s benediction, the incident is left, suggests some remarks on the compromises of life.
I. Religious decision, as it is affected by earthly relationships. This man was a servant, and the conditions of his servitude were not simple, but complex. He was in command of the army, and while this conferred on him a large authority, it imposed a large trust. These had opened to him wide opportunities for loyalty, bravery, and patriotism. It was part of his service to go with his master into the house of Rimmon. Refusal would take on it an ugly air of ingratitude. The king had made him the man he was, and a feeling of indebtedness and obligation may enter very acutely into questions of conscience and right. This to a noble mind would be a far greater difficulty than the loss of position and the imminent death that might result from the wrath of an absolute monarch, unaccustomed and unable to enter into nice questions of religious casuistry; indeed, the line of duty between the obligations imposed by earthly relationships, and our services to God, is not always so distinct as men think. Many at least who, with loud protestations, scorn all compromise, have never found that line. Clear is the right, at all sacrifice, if king or master exact the positive crime; ask me to disown Christ, to give up prayer, to outrage any distinct conscientious conviction, but along this line is a very borderland of mist in which the traveller is often brought to a stand, asking after the right way. It is enough to instance questions of polygamy, of slavery, with which the early Church had to deal. Of course it may be said, if a heathen, having two or more wives, became a convert, he must put away all but one. Which one? What if each were the mother of children? The Christian master must manumit his slaves. Cornelius, says the Peace Advocate, should forsake the Roman service, and take no longer the heathen’s pay. But these, and a multitude of similar questions, are not decided by inspired authority at all, or are decided in their special instances against the ruling principle. The New Testament has faith in time, in the thousand years of God’s working, in the antagonism of the spirit of the Gospel to every form of injustice and wrong. It cares less to estimate and adjudge the differing shades of darkness in the night of error, so much as to bring in that daybreak before which all the shadows shall flee away. Christianity has entered as a sword into many a worldly home, happy in its own way; it has resulted in wide divisions between parent and child, master and servant, monarch and subject. The records of the Church glow with bright instances of heroic sacrifice, of daring disobedience to man in obeying God. And yet how much has to be borne, how much ought to be borne, before the daughter forsakes her mother, or the son breaks asunder the bond of the household! There is much in Naaman’s knowledge of the inconsistency. He who sins against that inner light will be scarcely free from sin against God.
II. By society. Naaman does not refer to the difficulty of maintaining a monotheistic faith in a pagan land, to the power of many against the one; but society is full of suggested compromises resulting from these conditions. There is a compulsion in the pressure both of social forces and of civil laws; and many a man discovers that the house of Rimmon is co-extensive with the state in which he lives. He pays the tribute money to Cæsar, or the temple tax, withholding faith in the lawful government in the one, and really teaching that the other must pass away. He takes up his share of the country’s expenditure, though part of it may go toward objects from which he conscientiously dissents. His plea is the necessity of his position; but his neighbour takes that plea to a far wider field, and justifies many a compromise on the same ground. It is convenient to charge our personal responsibility on an intangible irresponsible something called society. But what society is to supply our code of ethics? Syria or Israel? England or Fiji? Every man shall bear his own burden. The law of truth is in and from the changeless God. Customs, fashions, luxurious living, appearances, amusements, friendships, business, all tempt to compromise and have prophets God never sent, who say to the conformist, “Go in peace.”
III. By the necessities of life. The plea, we must do this to live. Refer to common practices in trade, the pressure of competition. The world’s practices contrary to the great principle. A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth.
IV. By the personal temperament. One man’s supreme difficulty is another man’s agreeable work. The cost of sacrifice differs with different men. To one it is easier to die on the battlefield than to confess his faith—to give largely, even to Gehazi, with generous or grateful subscriptions, than to break with former friendships. There is no open confession of Christ’s name by secret disciples, to whom One greater than all prophets may say, “Go in peace.” Let character only be of so pure a transparency that the light of a holy conscience may shine through.
1. God does not take back from men of partial failure the good he has bestowed. The leprosy does not return to the cleansed leper, if one leprous spot be on the soul. The impotent man healed, goes straightway to our Lord’s enemies to tell them that it was Jesus who made him whole, and the strength ungratefully used remains. We have all need to say, somewhere, “The Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.”
2. Is the silence of Scripture as to any useful future in Naaman’s history to be regarded as evidence of a good life hindered by the appearance of evil?
3. We shall destroy no house of Rimmon by worshipping in it on any pretence whatsoever.
4. In the Gospel, this, at least, is clear—he that putteth his hand to the plough, and looketh back, is not fit for the kingdom of God.—Hom. Quarterly.
—Far, therefore, is Naaman from being a pattern, save of weakness; since he is yet more than half a Syrian; since he willingly accuses himself, and, instead of defending, deprecates his offence. As nature, so grace, rises by many degrees to perfection. It is not for us to expect a full stature in the cradle of conversion. Leprosy was in Naaman cured at once, not corruption.—Bp. Hall.
2Ki_5:19. One does not know what to admire most in Elisha’s mild and simple answer, the clear and correct insight into a genuine heart experience, which, whatever may surround and obscure the main point, still seizes this quickly and clearly; or the holy moderation which, even in the case where it is its prerogative to urge, limit, bind, loose, or burden, still restrains itself; or the pure humanity of disposition which can so thoroughly sympathize, so completely put itself in the position and at the standpoint of the other. The knowledge of the living God, and the experience of His saving grace, is the fountain of all peace, with which alone a man can go gladly on his way.—Menken.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain 2Ki 5:1
2Ki 5:1
(with 2Ki 5:13)
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Consider:—
I. What a fund of wisdom is contained in that remark of the servants of Naaman, "If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it"! How true is this with reference to a variety of acts, duties, and remedies proposed for us. It is seen in our behaviour in illness, in social domestic intercourse, and in reference to Christ’s holy ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The very easiness and simplicity of these rites should recommend them to our acceptance. Let all who think otherwise turn to the words of the text.
II. Once more look at the greatest lesson of all that this history teaches. Leprosy represents sin, and the leper is the sinner; and so we are all represented by Naaman. Naaman was cured by washing, as he was bidden, in Jordan—a type of the blood of Christ, which cleanseth from all sin. As nothing would avail Naaman till he came and stood like a suppliant at the door of Elisha, so nothing shall avail us till, like humble suitors, we sit at the feet of Jesus Christ; and there is salvation in no other.
R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 3rd series, p. 186.
References: 2Ki 5:1.—C. J. Vaughan, Temple Sermons, p. 379; E. Monro, Practical Sermons, vol. iii., p. 195; G. B. Ryley, Christian World Pulpit. vol. v., p. 280; E. Blencowe, Plain Sermons to a Country Congregation, 1st series, p. 350. 2Ki 5:1-3.—T. T. Munger, Lamps and Paths, p. 173. 2Ki 5:1-7.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 137.
2Ki 5:1-14
The little Hebrew maid was torn from her mother and her playmates at the age of seven or eight, and hurried amid all the alarms of war to a foreign land, robbed at once of home, of freedom, and of childhood.
Notice:—
I. Her faith in God. In that land of idols and idolaters she was not ashamed to own her Lord. She had full confidence that Israel’s God could cure the leper.
II. Her faithfulness. She had so much of the true faith that it filled her whole nature, and made her faithful under terrible trials. She was a lonely child in a heathen palace, which often rang with laughter at her religion. Hers was a nobler courage than the hero’s on the battlefield.
III. Her fruitfulness. Seeming the meekest human being in Syria, she proved one of the mightiest. What a treasure she was in the house of Naaman! She directed her master to the waters that healed his leprosy. Through her the true religion was known and respected in Syria, and Naaman became a worshipper of the true God. The humblest people who have faith and faithfulness may hope to be fruitful in good works.
J. Wells, Bible Children, p. 119.
References: 2Ki 5:1-14.—Preacher’s Lantern, vol. iv., p. 242. 2Ki 5:1-19.—Parker, vol. viii., p. 136. 2Ki 5:1-27.—Outline Sermons for Children, p. 48; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. v., p. 87. 2Ki 5:2.—T. Champness, Little Foxes, p. 19; J. W. Burgon, Ninety-one Short Sermons, No. 71. 2Ki 5:2, 2Ki 5:3.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xii., p. 270. 2Ki 5:2-4.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 107; G. B. Ryley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 301. 2Ki 5:4.—New Manual of Sunday-school Addresses, p. 171. 2Ki 5:5-14.—G. B. Ryley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 318. 2Ki 5:7-14.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 150. 2Ki 5:9.—J. Frere, Sermons for Sundays, Festivals, and Fasts, 1st series, p. 357
2Ki 5:10-11
I. God’s cure puts us all on one level. Naaman wanted to be treated like a great man that happened to be a leper; Elisha treated him like a leper that happened to be a great man. Christianity brushes aside all the surface differences of men, and goes in its treatment of them straight to the central likenesses, the things which in all mankind are identical. In wisdom and in mercy, Christianity deals with all men as sinners, needing chiefly to be healed of that disease.
II. God’s cure puts the messengers of the cure well away in the background. The prophet’s position in our story brings out very clearly the position which all Christian ministers hold. They are nothing but heralds; their personality disappears; they are merely a voice. All that they have to do is to bring men into contact with God’s word of command and promise, and then to vanish.
III. God’s cure wants nothing from you but to take it. Naamans in all generations, who were eager to do some great thing, have stumbled and turned away from that Gospel which says, "It is finished." "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by His mercy, He saved us."
A. Maclaren, Christian Commonwealth, Sept. 24th, 1885 (see also Sermons in Manchester, 3rd series, p. 241).
References: 2Ki 5:10-12.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 146. 2Ki 5:11.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xx., No. 1173.
2Ki 5:11
Naaman represents human nature, anxious to be blessed by God’s revelation of Himself, yet unwilling to take the blessing except on its own terms; for Naaman saw in Elisha the exponent and prophet of a religion which was, he dimly felt, higher and Diviner than any he had encountered before. He was acquainted with the name of Israel’s God, and he expected that Elisha would cure him by invoking that name. In his language we see:—
I. A sense of humiliation and wrong. He feels himself slighted. He had been accustomed to receive deference and consideration. Elisha treats him as if he were in a position of marked inferiority. Elisha acted as the minister of Him who resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. The Gospel must first convince a man that he has sinned and come short of the glory of God.
II. We see in Naaman’s language the demand which human nature often makes for the sensational element in religion. He expected an interview with the prophet that should be full of dramatic and striking incident. Instead of this, he is put off with a curt message—told to bathe in the Jordan, a proceeding which was open to all the world besides. The proposal was too commonplace; it was simply intolerable.
III. Naaman represents prejudiced attachment to early associations, coupled, as it often is, with a jealous impatience of anything like exclusive claims put forward on behalf of the truths or ordinances of a religion which we are for the first time attentively considering. He wished, if he must bathe, to bathe in the rivers of his native Syria instead of in the turbid and muddy brook he had passed on the road to Samaria.
IV. Naaman’s fundamental mistake consisted in his attempt to decide at all how the prophet should work the miracle of his cure. Do not let us dream of the folly of improving upon God’s work in detail. The true scope of our activity is to make the most of His bounty and His love, that by His healing and strengthening grace we too may be cured of our leprosy.
H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 756.
2Ki 5:12
Naaman was a man who stood high in the highest virtues of the heathen world. He was lifted to the proudest eminence of worldly ambition. He had a generous heart; he enjoyed a well-earned reputation; he shared the smile and the favour of the great Benhadad. Such was the prosperity of Naaman.
How affecting are the words which follow: "but he was a leper." Wherever he went there was a heavy, settled trouble gnawing at Naaman’s heart.
His story teaches us two things: (1) the simpleness of God’s ways and (2) the pride of man’s ways.
I. The first instrument used in providence towards the accomplishing of God’s design was a little servant-girl. God’s ends are gigantic, infinite, unutterable, but His ways are a little child’s. He must have prepared the minds both of the king and Naaman to give implicit trust to the words of the little child. Solitude, and longsuffering, and frequent disappointments had made Naaman patient to take counsel. So God prepares souls for Christ.
II. Observe the natural tendency of man’s heart. The maid had said, "Go to the prophet." That was simple. They must needs travel by a more royal road. The king of Syria writes a letter to the king of Israel; and with his horses and his chariots, and his silver and his gold, Naaman sets oft and comes to the palace at Samaria. Even when he went to Elisha, four things in the prophet’s conduct seem to have given him offence. (1) He thought he should be treated with more personal consideration. (2) He had expected a too instantaneous cure. (3) He was jealous that contempt was put upon his natural resources. (4) He was incredulous that a means so simple should produce an effect so great. All these causes hinder us from coming to Christ.
Even Naaman’s rebellious spirit was made to yield at last to God’s longsuffering grace. He went and washed, and was clean. Thus we see the triumph of God’s simple ways over man’s proud ways.
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 8th series, p. 9.
I. There were two ways of cleansing the leprosy: the grand way that Naaman expected; the very simple way which the prophet prescribed. Even so there are two ways of salvation: God’s way and man’s way. Man’s way is unavailing, yet much frequented, because it flatters the pride of man. Man’s way of salvation deals with what it takes to be great things: great works which man himself is to do, great organisations, great gifts, which flatter human vanity and will-worship, but have this trifling defect, that they are of no avail. God’s plan knows nothing of earthly grandeurs, burdensome minutiae, external observances. God’s messages are very short and very few and simple. He says only, "Wash, and be clean;" "Believe and obey;" "Believe and live."
II. The spirit of doing great things dominates all false religions, because it expresses an instinctive tendency. Satan’s one object is to turn men towards the things which they devise for their own salvation, and away from the things which God requires. God vouchsafes to man His last, His absolute, His eternal revelation. He sent His Son to die for us, His Spirit to dwell in our hearts. We are to use God’s way of salvation, not make it or add to that which is made. The first act is to know what is true of God; the second act is to express it in our lives.
III. It rests with you to take Christ’s service or man’s bondage, Christ’s simplicity or man’s inventions. If the kingdom of God is not within you, then it is nowhere for you. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
F. W. Farrar, Family Churchman, Sept. 22nd, 1886.
I. God has provided a remedy for all human ills. This remedy is found in the Gospel of His Son. It is (1) simple; (2) suitable; (3) it has in it the elements of success.
II. God’s method of dealing is frequently offensive to the pride of man. Naaman thought that for such a patrician case of leprosy there could not be the ordinary plebeian method of cure. This preference of the rivers of Damascus to the waters of Israel is as foolish as it is wicked. There is no gospel in nature. It has its Genesis, its Exodus, its Psalms, sweet, plaintive, and beautiful, but it has no gospel. All its resurrections die again. There is no gospel in nature, not one word of recovery for the lapsed, not one announcement of recovery for the erring. The water of Israel is flowing today freely, as when its fountain was first opened in the house of David for sin and for uncleanness. Christ invites us to come and take of the water of life freely.
W. Morley Punshon, Penny Pulpit, No. 324.
References: 2Ki 5:12.—F. G. Lee, Miscellaneous Sermons by Clergymen of the Church of England, p. 69. 2Ki 5:13.—H. Melvill, The Golden Lectures, 1854 (Penny Pulpit, No. 2173); Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xv., No. 892; W. G. Blaikie, Sunday Magazine, 1876, p. 386; C. J. Vaughan, Lessons of Life and Godliness, p. 205; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xiii., p. 77; R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 3rd series, p. 186. 2Ki 5:13, 2Ki 5:14.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 264. 2Ki 5:13-16.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 161.
2Ki 5:14
I. The slaughter of the Innocents suggests a thought on the sufferings of children. A man seems to require suffering or to bring it on himself, or to have remedies, or a recompense, or the self-command to bear it. But the case of childhood is utterly different. Pain, and weariness, and aching limbs, and the slow agonies of death are natural in the close of a laborious, overtasked, sin-defiled life, but that infant features should be so discomposed is a thought that offends our natural reason. The question, Is it just? is it the ordinance of a God of mercy? can only be answered by revelation. (1) Reason knows nothing of original sin; it is revelation that instructs us in it. Death and its preceding sufferings entered by sin; and if even infants suffer, they suffer for sin. If these words implied that actual sin is the cause of children’s sorrow, they would not only be harsh, but untrue; but that children born in sin are heirs to suffering is a true saying, and not unkind. (2) Children’s sufferings imply their need of a redeemer. Christ at His birth drew within the magic circle of His influence representatives of His whole creation. Angels, shepherds, kings, widows, and aged priests are associated with His infancy, and here are infants also. By their death in connection with Christ they seem to signify their acceptance by Him and their seat in His heart.
This thought adds tenfold to the charm and dignity of the age of infancy.
II. This day brings before us in vivid colours the loveliness of the life to come. Children are something like angels to tell us tales of heaven. (1) Their ignorance of evil gives us a faint image of the blessed state of those whose souls are so cleared of sin that they remember it not, and see no trace of it, and feel no breath of temptation. (2) The perfectness of their joy suggests to us of sadder experience something of the security of joy in heaven. Their happiness has something of an unearthly savour. (3) Some of the subtle beauties of heaven are suggested to us by the delight which children have by instinct in glorious colours and musical sounds. (4) We learn, finally, that joy is prepared for the satisfaction of those who suffer in Christ’s spirit and for His sake on earth.
C. W. Furse, Sermons at Richmond, p. 273.
References: 2Ki 5:14.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 113; C. Girdlestone, Course of Sermons for the Year, vol. ii., p. 257. 2Ki 5:15-19.—G. B. Ryley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 330.
2Ki 5:17-19
Here we find Naaman making an excuse, it is said, for dissembling his religious convictions, and Elisha accepting the plea. He is convinced that Jehovah is the true God, but is not prepared to make any sacrifice for his faith. What is this but to open a wide door for every species of dissimulation, and to make expediency, not truth, the rule of conduct? To state the question thus is not to state it fairly.
I. Even if Elisha did accept Naaman’s plea, it would not follow that he was right. An inspired prophet is not equally inspired at all times.
II. Did Elisha accept Naaman’s plea? The evidence turns entirely on Elisha’s words "Go in peace." These words are the common form of Oriental leave-taking. They may have been little more than a courteous dismissal. Elisha may have felt that the permission craved by Naaman involved a question of conscience which he was not called upon to resolve. Hence he would not sanction Naaman’s want of consistency on the one hand nor condemn it on the other. He declines the office of judge. He leaves conscience to do her work.
III. Who shall say this was not the wisest course to adopt? The prophet saw Naaman’s weakness, but he also saw Naaman’s difficulty. Put the worst construction on his words, and you will say he evades the question; put the best, and you will say he exercises a wise forbearance.
IV. We may fairly ask how far Naaman is to be excused in urging the plea of the text. Superstition mingled with his faith. He was a heathen, only just converted, only newly enlightened. We may excuse Naaman, but we cannot pretend as Christians to make his plea ours or to justify our conduct by his.
V. The Christian missionary preaches a religion whose very essence is the spirit of self-sacrifice, the daily taking up of the Cross and following Christ. It is plain therefore that he could not answer the man who came in the spirit of Naaman, "Go in peace."
VI. Two practical lessons follow from this subject, (1) The first is not to judge others by ourselves; (2) the second is not to excuse ourselves by others.
J. J. S. Perowne, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 168.
References: 2Ki 5:17-19.—G. Salmon, Gnosticism and Agnosticism, p. 158. 2Ki 5:17-27.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 173. 2Ki 5:18.—T. Gasquoine, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 24; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 547. 2Ki 5:18, 2Ki 5:19.—C. A. Heurtley, Oxford and Cambridge Journal, Nov. 1st, 1877. 2Ki 5:20.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xvii., p. 26; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 154. 2Ki 5:20-24.—G. B. Ryley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 349. 2Ki 5:20-27.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiii., p. 80; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iii., p. 180; Parker, vol. viii., p. 146.
2Ki 5:25
There was a stern justice in the penalty which followed on Gehazi’s lie. Naaman’s leprosy should go along with his wealth. In grasping at the one, Gehazi had succeeded in inheriting the other. The justice of the punishment will be more apparent if we consider what it was in Gehazi’s conduct that led up to his lie, and which, from his point of view, made it at the moment necessary for him to tell the lie. Gehazi’s conduct involved:—I. A violation of the trust which his master had reposed in him. Confidence is to society what cement is to a building; it holds all together. Gehazi was not merely Elisha’s servant; he was also, to a great extent, a trusted companion; in a certain sense he was his partner. To use the great position which his relation to Elisha had secured to him for a purpose which he knew Elisha would disapprove was an act which even the pagans of Damascus in their better moments would have shrunk from doing.
II. Gehazi’s act was so wrong in the eyes of Elisha because it involved a serious injury to the cause of true religion. Elisha had been careful to refuse the presents which Naaman offered because he did not wish the blessings which Naaman had received to be associated in his mind with the petty details- of a commercial transaction. Gehazi’s act, as it must have presented itself to Naaman, had all the appearance of an afterthought on the part of the prophet, which would be fatal to his first and high idea of the prophet’s disinterestedness.
III. Notice the blindness of sin, blindness in the midst of so much ingenuity, so much contrivance. No one knew better than Gehazi that Elisha knew a great deal that was going on beyond the range of his eyesight. Sin blinds men to the real circumstances with which they have to deal.
IV. Gehazi’s fall teaches us three practical lessons: (1) to keep our desires in order if we mean to keep out of grave sin; (2) to remember that great religious advantages do not in themselves protect a man against grievous sins; (3) the priceless value of truthfulness in the soul’s life.
H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 1122.
References: 2Ki 5:25.—E. Thring, Uppingham Sermons, vol. ii., p. 228; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 419. 2Ki 5:25-27.—G. B. Ryley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 365. 2Ki 5:26.—R. Heber, Parish Sermons, vol. ii., p. 136. 2Ki 5:27.—J. Baines, Sermons, p. 186. 2Ki 5—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. i., pp. 78, 79; A. Macleod, The Gentle Heart, p. 131; A. Saphir, Found by the Good Shepherd, p. 351; H. Macmillan, Sunday Magazine, 1873, p. 417. 2Ki 6:1.—Parker, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxix., p. 274.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain The Healing of Naaman and the Punishment of Gehazi
The Healing of Naaman and the Punishment of Gehazi
1. The Lord.. Syria] Possibly the enemies from whom the Syrians had been saved were the Assyrians. Naaman, in delivering his countrymen from them, had been an unconscious instrument in the hands of Jehovah. A leper] see on Leviticus 13. Leprosy is of slow development, and as Naaman retained his military command, his malady cannot have reached a very advanced stage. It is not likely, in any case, that the Syrians observed the same strict rules regarding it as the Jews.
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2. By companies] i.e. by raiding bands.
5. The king of Israel] probably Jehoram. Ten talents] A talent was a weight of 96 lb. Pieces of gold] probably shekels, and so in 2Ki_6:25, a shekel being a weight of 224 grains.
Changes of raiment] For such a present cp. Gen_45:22. The expression implies costly robes.
6. That thou mayest recover] i.e. by using his influence with the prophet.
10. Sent a messenger] cp. 2Ki_4:13. Seven times] The figure probably stands for an indefinite number (cp. 1Ki_18:43); but it is possible that it also had special religious associations (cp. Gen_21:28; Jos_6:4). The prophet's direction to Naaman to wash in the Jordan did not imply any miraculous quality in the water of the river, but was intended to test the sufferer's faith.
11. Strike] better, 'wave,' for he would probably avoid actual contact.
12. Abana and Pharpar] These two rivers rise in Mt. Hermon and lose themselves in a marshy lake near Damascus. Though smaller, they are much clearer than the Jordan.
13. My father] a title of honour: cp. 2Ki_2:12; 2Ki_6:21.
15. He returned] The distance from the Jordan to Samaria was some 30 m.
A blessing] RV 'a present': cp. Gen_33:11; Jdg_1:15. Naaman did well to seek to show his gratitude to the Lord by a gift to His prophet, but Elisha's refusal meant that for imparting a divine blessing which he was empowered from on high to bestow, he could receive no personal gain.
17. Two mules' burden of earth] It was believed that a national deity was intimately connected with the country he protected, so that Naaman, being desirous of worshipping the Lord (Jehovah) in Syria, wished to transport thither some of the soil of Israel as being associated with His presence and so most fitted for the construction of an altar to Him.
18. Rimmon] identical with the Assyrian storm-god Ramman.
19. Go in peace] Elisha, to avoid putting too severe a strain upon the incipient devotion of his foreign convert, did not demand consistency, though his predecessor Elijah, in the case of native Israelites, had protested against such divided allegiance (1Ki_18:21).
22. Mount Ephraim] RV 'the hill country of Ephraim.' Bethel and Gilgal, where there were bodies of 'sons of the prophets' (c. 2), were situated in this district.
23. Be content] i.e. consent: cp. 2Ki_6:3.
24. The tower] RV 'the hill': probably an elevation near Samaria. Some take it to mean 'the citadel.'
26. Is it a time] The occasion had not been a suitable one for acquiring gain, but for rejoicing over the manifestation of the Lord's power and graciousness, calculated as it was to awaken the wonder and gratitude of the foreigner, Naaman, which Gehazi's covetousness migbt now repress.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 4. Naaman and His Healing
4. Naaman and His Healing
CHAPTER 5
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1. Naaman, the leper (2Ki 5:1)
2. The testimony of the maid of Israel (2Ki 5:2-4)
3. The message to the king of Israel (2Ki 5:5-8)
4. Naaman and Elisha (2Ki 5:9-19)
5. Gehazi; His sin and punishment (2Ki 5:20-27)
The story of this chapter is peculiarly rich in its spiritual and dispensational meaning. Naaman, captain of Ben-hadad, the King of Syria, was a Gentile. He was no common man. In all his greatness and might, with all the honors heaped upon him and wealth at his command, he was an unhappy and doomed man, for he was a leper. Leprosy is a type of sin. Here, then, is a picture of the natural man, enjoying the highest and the best--but withal a leper. And then the little captive, taken from Israel’s land, away from her home and family--what a contrast with the great Naaman! In her captivity she was happy, for she knew the Lord and knew that the prophet in Samaria, the great representative of Jehovah, could heal leprosy. She knew and she believed. The grace which filled the heart gave her also a desire to see the mighty Naaman healed; the same grace gave her power to bear witness.
And how the Lord used the simple testimony! The King of Syria heard of it and addressed a letter to the King of Israel demanding that he should recover Naaman from his leprosy. And Naaman departed with “ten talents of silver and six thousand pieces of gold besides ten changes of raiment.” And the King of Israel, Jehoram, no doubt, was filled with fear, for he thought the King of Syria was seeking a pretext to quarrel with him. While he readily acknowledged that God alone has the power to heal, he did not look to the Lord nor did he think of the mighty prophet, whose very name declared that God is salvation. In helpless and hopeless terror, in the despair of unbelief he rent his clothes.
It was then that the man of God spoke reproving the King, asking that Naaman come to him. Then Naaman, with his horses and chariot, laden with the treasures, stood at the door of the house of Elisha. The prophet through a messenger told the leper, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” Well may we think here of our Lord Jesus, who cleansed the leper, and in doing so manifested Himself as Jehovah. But how He shines above all!
When the leper comes to Him, it is not as with the king, “Am I God, that I should heal a man of his leprosy?” nor is it as with the prophet, “Go wash in Jordan, and be clean.” No; but He reveals Himself at once in the place and power of God. “I will, be thou clean.” Elisha was but a preacher of Jesus to Naaman; the Lord Jesus was the lepers’ cleansing, the healing God. Elisha did not venture to touch the leper. This would have defiled him. But our Lord “put forth His hand and touched him;” for He, with the rights of the God of Israel, was above the leper, and could consume and not contract the defilement (J.G. Bellett).
And Naaman’s wrath and indignation were stirred by Elisha’s command. The great and mighty captain with his treasures expected a different reception from the prophet. He expected him at least to do what heathen priests with their enchantments did, to call on the name of the Lord his God and strike his hand over the place of leprosy. He rejects the remedy which grace had provided because it humbled him into dust and stripped him of his pride. It is just this the sinner needs. Naaman had to learn that he was nothing but a poor, lost leper. All his silver and gold could not purchase cleansing for him. He needed humiliation and the obedience of faith. And so he learned as his servants reasoned with him, and instead of returning in a rage to Damascus as the helpless leper, he obeyed the given command and dipped himself seven times in Jordan--”and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” Jordan is the type of death, as we saw in the study of Joshua. Our Lord was baptized by John in that river, for He had come to take the sinners’ place in death. Naaman bathing in Jordan typifies death and resurrection in which there is cleansing and healing for the spiritual leper, but it is the death and resurrection of our blessed Lord. As we believe on Him who died for our sins according to Scripture, and was raised for our justification, we are born again and made clean. It is the one way of salvation, the only way, revealed in every portion of God’s holy Word. “Saved by grace through faith (in Him who died for our sins), it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”
And the blessed results of true salvation are seen at once in Naaman the Syrian. He is fully restored and healed. He stands now before the man of God, no longer the proud, self-trusting Naaman, but an humble believer. He confesses the Lord with his lips. He offers also a gift to Elisha. (“A blessing” means a gift.) He could not give anything to effect his cleansing, but after the healing he offered willingly. But Elisha refused the reward offered to him. He had freely received and freely he gave (Mat 10:8). Then he requested “two mules’ burden of earth.” This was to be used to build an altar unto Jehovah in Syria. It was an outward expression of his faith and would be a testimony among the heathen that there is but one Lord to be worshipped. And there was the tender conscience (verse 18). Finally he departed in peace. “Go in peace”; the same words our blessed Lord used repeatedly. And Gehazi’s covetousness earned him the leprosy from which grace had delivered the Syrian Gentile. The story is full of solemn lessons.
Dispensationally Naaman stands for the Gentiles. Through Him who is greater than Elisha salvation has been extended to the Gentiles, while Gehazi, who was closely connected with Elisha, but who had hardened his heart, is a type of Israel.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Testimony of the Slave Girl
The Testimony of the Slave Girl
v. 1. Now, Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian forces, was a great man with his master, he occupied an influential position in the king’s service, and honorable, highly respected, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria, in gaining the victory over Ahab and his forces, 1Ki 22:35-36. He was also a mighty man in valor, an excellent military chief; but he was a leper, a fact which made him unfit for the fulfillment of many of his duties.
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v. 2. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, on expeditions for the purpose of making plunder, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, a young girl; and she waited on Naaman’s wife, performing the work of a house-slave.
v. 3. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord, Naaman, were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for Elisha had his home there, for he would recover him of his leprosy, so that be would be healed and could perform his duties as of old.
v. 4. And one, that is, Naaman, went in and told his lord, the king, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. He placed the proposition before the king for his approval or disapproval.
v. 5. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. He was very anxious to have Naaman restored to his former health and vigor. And he, Naaman, departed, and took with him ten talents of silver (almost $20,000) and six thousand pieces of gold (estimated at between $36,000 and $44,000) and ten changes of raiment, special festival dresses.
v. 6. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, who since Ahab’s defeat was in a certain state of dependence upon the Syrian king, saying, Now, when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman, my servant, to thee that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. The king of Syria held the king of Israel responsible for this healing, since he probably thought that he had but to summon the prophet and command him to perform the miracle.
v. 7. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, out of fright and sadness, and said, Am I God to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? He demanded something which only God could do, and therefore plainly made the matter an issue. Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. Note that the little slave-girl took the opportunity of testifying to Jehovah’s prophet, thus becoming instrumental in leading Naaman to find the truth—a fine example for people in our days.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 in his master's view
in his master's view
"sight." The king's "view" represents what he thinks about something. AT: "in the king's opinion" (See: Metonymy)
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because by him Yahweh had given victory to Aram
Here "Aram" refers to the Aramean army. AT: "because through Naaman, Yahweh had given victory to the Aramean army"
The Arameans had gone out
Here the "Arameans" refer to the Aramean soldiers. (See: Synecdoche)
raiding in bands
"in small groups attacking." This means to go out attacking an enemy in small groups.
translationWords
Naaman
commander
king
Aram
lord
Yahweh
leper
kingdom of Israel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:1 The king of Aram was probably Ben-hadad II…
5:1 The king of Aram was probably Ben-hadad II (860–843 BC). • the Lord had given Aram great victories: The Lord is sovereign over all nations (Pss 47:8; 99:1-2; Rom 13:1). • from leprosy: Naaman’s access to society and Gehazi’s later social freedom (2 Kgs 8:4-5) suggest that the problem was not Hansen’s disease but another incurable skin disease (see Lev 13:10-11, 45-46).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.