Posted: 4/15/08
BaptistWay Bible Series for April 20
Extending God’s Help to a 'Foreigner'
• 2 Kings 2-5
First Baptist Church, Alpine
The story of Naaman covers a lot of ground in small steps. On first glance, it’s easy to get swept up in the rapid ascent from diseased to healed. Let’s take small steps through this seemingly innocuous story and make sure we don’t miss anything.
Our first stop is at the house of Naaman, the valiant warrior for the King of Aram. Naaman had been used by God to bring victory to Aram. From what we can tell, he is a man who is accustomed to authority and getting his way (at least on the battlefield). Scripture tells us that God had used him to give victory to Aram. But his winning on the battlefront is marred by the leprosy that covers his skin. The Hebrew word used for leprosy can refer to a variety of infectious skin diseases including what we know today as clinical leprosy. Naaman had been used by God in spite of the fact that he was (1) not part of the covenant community; and (2) would have been considered “unclean”.
This narrative takes place during a time of relative peace between Aram and the Northern Kingdom. The continuing skirmishes between these neighboring kingdoms account for a great deal of unrest during Elijah’s day. During one of the raids, a young Hebrew girl had been carried off and forced into servitude. Serving Naaman’s wife, she was aware of the disease of the master of the house. In a seemlingly insignificant comment, the servant girl sets into motion a significant sequence of events.
I want to call your attention to a couple of items in this passage. First, note the division of the characters. Those considered to be a part of the upper eschelon include Naaman, the king of Aram (Ben-Hadad), the king of Israel (Jehoram), and the mighty prophet (Elisha).The kings and the commander were accustomed to political games and had almost certainly acquired a taste of the honor and respect that their offices entitled them. Elisha (as Scripture continually showed) was not one for games and pretenses. He had taken the attitude of Psalm 27:1 to heart. The second group of characters fall in the category of servants. The Hebrew girl that served Naaman’s wife, Gehazi, Elisha’s assistant, and Naaman’s aides. Each one of them plays a role pointing the “high-class” players toward the power of God (although Gehazi serves as a negative example).
Naaman’s healing, we find, does not come at the hand of the king. It was logical for one king to go directly to another king rather than address any subordinates. The problem is obvious to the reader – the power to help and the power to heal do not reside in the king’s palace. They reside in the hand of God – who is getting ready to display His glory to Jews and aliens alike. We find Naaman’s approach to the important people echoed in his expectation of the prophet. Naaman is upset when the prophet won’t even meet with him but sends his servant. His anger and resentment grows when the direction for healing amount to washing in a muddy river. This high-power commander wants a high power assignment from a high-power person – and he is disappointed all the way around. Yet God uses the servants of Naaman to again point him to the power of God. I like the way this intervention plays out in The Message: But his servants caught up with him and said, "Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn't you have done it? So why not this simple 'wash and be clean'?" (2Kings 5:13) Why not, indeed?
Two final thoughts as we leave Naaman’s quest for healing. In this passage, we find those considered “important” by the world being pointed to God by those the world had labled “disposable.” Let’s not forget the role that even the so-called “lowly” have in proclaiming the power of God to the world around us. Also, the sentiments of Naaman continue to be echoed across the generations: “Give me something important to do!” Very often, the “important” assignments are simple day to day obedience to the clear instructions of the Lord.
Mark Twain is often quoted as saying, “It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” I agree – let us not look for some profound assignment if we’re not willing to lay hold of the easily understood.
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