1 “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given victory unto Syria; he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy. 4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 5 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, 6 and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. 7 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? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. 8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God 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 that there is a prophet in Israel. 9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10 And 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. 11 But 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 wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? 13 So he turned and went away in a rage. 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? 14 Then went he 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.”
Golden Text: “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved.” Jer. 17:14.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What was the position held by Naaman? Why was he deemed a great man and honorable? For what characteristic was he specially noted? How was he afflicted? V. 1. Notes 1, 2. (2) What Jewish captive is here brought to notice? And how was she employed? V. 2. (3) What did this little maid say to her mistress? V. 3. Note 3. (4) To whom and by what means were the girl’s words carried? V. 4. (5) What command did the king give? What did Naaman take with him? V. 5. Note 4. (6) What was contained in the letter to the king of Israel? V. 6. (7) How was the king affected by the letter? What did he say? V. 7. (8) What did Elisha say when he heard of the matter? V. 8. Note 5. (9) What then did Naaman do? V. 9. (10) How did Elisha receive this “great man” from Syria? V. 10. Note 6. (11) How was Naaman affected by this want of deference to his rank? What had he expected the prophet would do? V. 11. Note 6. (12) How did the enraged general compare the waters of Israel and Syria? V. 12. Note 7. (13) What more reasonable view did Naaman’s servants take of the matter? V. 13. (14) Then what did he decide to do? And what was the result? V. 14. Note 8.
NOTES.
1. A great man, but a leper.—No position of honor in this world can render one immune from the leprosy of sin, nor from the consequences or wages of sin, which is death. Rom. 6:23. Only the Prophet of Israel, whose Spirit was in Elisha, by His own blood, of which the Jordan was a type, can heal the sin-stricken soul: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.” Ps. 103:2, 3.
2. “The Lord had given deliverance.”—The Scriptures do not say from whom the Lord had given deliverance to Syria; but the Syrians had defeated Israel under Ahab, father of Jehoram, who was king at the time of which our lesson treats. In this battle Ahab was killed. However, the statement that “the Lord had given deliverance,” shows that God overrules in the affairs of all nations; “the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.” Dan. 4:17, 25, 32. And this is just as true to-day as it ever was.
3. “Love your enemies.”—The little Jewish maid was a captive, obliged to serve the wife of the man whose soldiers had torn her away from her home and made her a slave. Yet she had a sympathy for the afflicted, and desired to see him healed. Hers was the true missionary spirit, and, like Joseph in Egypt, and Daniel in Babylon, she became the instrument of making Jehovah known to the enemies of his people. So God can use any instrument, no matter how little or how weak, if there be only a heart full of His love.
4. The king’s anxiety.—The king’s name was Benhadad (son, or worshiper, of Hadad, a Syrian god), yet he was glad to have the efficient commander of his troops healed by any means, and at any cost. But his ignorance of the power of the God of Israel was shown in his sending a letter and a present to the king of Israel in order to secure divine favor. But there is not so much occasion for surprise at this action of a heathen king, as that the so-called Christianity of the present day should seek the healing of the sins of the people at the hands of the government. And if the king of Israel should be so shocked at being asked to heal a leprosy, as tho he were asked to take the place of God, how much more should the rulers of professed Christian States be astonished when asked to take away the sins of the people, or prevent their sinning, by enacting religious laws!
5. “Why hast thou rent thy clothes?”—This question is pertinent. If the king of Syria did not know any better than to ask the king of Israel to heal a leprosy, the latter king should have known that the God of Israel had all power, and that His recognized prophet was accessible. The king of Israel, being the son of Ahab, certainly knew of Elijah’s great victory over the prophets of Baal, and he knew that Elisha was the recognized successor of Elijah.
6. “No respecter of persons.”—Naaman came with great pomp and display, supposing that the people whom his armies had conquered would all show him much deference. But Elisha, actuated by the Spirit of God, gave him no more attention than if he had been the commonest peasant. He simply sent his servant to tell the “great man” what to do. God is no respecter of persons; there is one law and one Gospel for the rich and for the poor, for the high and for the low.
7. No, Naaman, the waters of your Syrian rivers are not “better than all the waters of Israel.” But they are just as good. It is not the water that does the healing; it is the Word of the Lord, and the blessing comes of obedience. If the Lord had said, “Wash in Abana or Pharpar,” obedience would have brought the same result as did the dipping in Jordan.
8. “Like the flesh of a little child.”—The restoration was complete; God always does a complete work, where there is complete submission to Him. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Cor. 5:17. “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 18:3. These and many other scriptures show that there must be a complete renovation in the life and character—a beginning of life over again—in order to be acceptable to God. And this can only be wrought by an entire submission to Him, and a thorough washing in His blood, which is His life.
