2 Kings 5:6
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. 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.
The king of Syria sent his leprous commander Naaman to the king of Israel with a letter asking him to cure him of leprosy, expecting from a king what only God can do, and the king of Israel read it as a pretext for war. Behind the request stood a captive Israelite girl in Naaman's house who believed the prophet Elisha could heal him by the power of Heaven, where God had placed her to help him. Naaman was cleansed and through it was enlightened and brought to know the true God. His cleansing shows that God favors even a foreigner who lives faithfully up to the light he has above His own people when they slight their greater privileges in unbelief, pride and self-sufficiency, which is why many lepers were in Israel yet none was cleansed. Jesus therefore cited Naaman as the only leper cleansed in Elisha's time to teach that God's help is not confined to Israel but comes to those open to receive it, even when a prophet is rejected in his own country.
Letter and Its Setting
The letter belongs to the story of Naaman, a Syrian commander and nobleman afflicted with leprosy, whom the king of Syria sent to Israel to be healed.
The king of Syria sent him to the king of Israel with a letter asking that Naaman be recovered of his leprosy, assuming the Israelite king could bring about a recovery that only God can accomplish, and the king of Israel took the demand as a pretext for a quarrel.
Behind the letter stood a captive little Israelite girl in Naaman's household who believed Elisha could heal him through the power of Heaven.
God had directed her feet to that very place because Naaman there was in need of the help she could give.
Naaman then traveled to the house of Elisha with horse, cart, attendants, and vessels for washing.
There Elisha stood in the open doorway giving instruction while Naaman stood before him in the courtyard with lifted hands in pleading respect.
Naaman was cleansed through Elisha, and from that time the cleansing of a leper had not been known.
That long absence of such a healing explains why the lepers who heard of Jesus hardly dared expect Him to heal them, though one of them began to hope.
Grace to Faithful Foreigner
Naaman the Syrian nobleman and commander, though a heathen foreigner afflicted with leprosy, was cleansed and through that healing came to know the true God, being enlightened in divine truth. His cleansing displayed God's power and brought him into contact with divine truth as a gift of grace. He had lived faithfully according to the light and convictions he had received, true to his convictions of right, and he recognized and felt his great need of help. He opened his heart to instruction and to receiving God's help, which made him ready to receive favor.
God favors those who act faithfully on the light they have over those whose greater light is matched by lives contradicting their profession, and Naaman living up to his light was therefore accounted more righteous and more worthy of blessing than God's chosen people when they rebelled and rejected that light. In Elisha's time many lepers were in Israel but none was cleansed except Naaman, because unbelief closed the door of good to them. Israel had slighted and despised God-given privileges, and instead of making right use of God's blessings they perverted the tokens of His grace to exalt themselves, placing themselves where God could not manifest His power for them. Even a heathen who lives in strict accordance with all the light he possesses and does right as far as he can distinguish right from wrong is regarded with greater favor than those who have great light but are made proud, boastful and self-sufficient by it.
Jesus cited Naaman as the only leper cleansed in Elisha's time though many lepers were in Israel. He used the example to teach that a prophet is not accepted in his own country and that God's help and favor are not limited to Israel but come to those open to them even when Israel rejects the prophets. His use of it angered the synagogue audience at Nazareth. The power of God displayed through faithful prophets chosen for a special and important work was not for the salvation of an unbelieving, hard-hearted people, but for those who had hearts that could feel and faith that would grasp the evidences God was pleased to give. Christ set forth this history to meet questioning thoughts and to rebuke corrupt lives and wicked unbelief, striking the truth home. He thereby exposed those who scorned the reverence first inspired in them and who would receive no king coming in meekness and lowliness, poverty and sorrow, without riches and splendor and a grand and imposing army.
God sent the little Israelite maiden to the help of Naaman because there Naaman was in need of the help she could give, having directed her feet to that very place. The same God still sends men and women and youth today as His representatives to those in need of divine help and guidance. Work that is not personal choice is to be accepted as God's choice, whether pleasing or unpleasing, and the duty that lies nearest is to be done.