Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Naaman was the commander of the army of Benhadad, king of Syria. He was a great man, he was a man of valour, he was an honourable man, and the Lord had given victories to him. He’s a great example of how the Lord has always worked on behalf of all humanity, not just the Jewish people (although they ARE His chosen, special children, with first place – Exodus 19:6; Romans 1:16). He had a situation, though. He was a leper. Kudos to everyone around him, this had not limited him. He had position, respect, and power. He was prideful though. Biblical leprosy was almost always a spiritual condition, not a physical disease like Hansen’s (Numbers 12:1-10).

At that time the Syrians weren’t attacking Israel enmasse. They were raiding in smaller groups (probably in hundreds or thousands, but not tens of thousands). During one of the raids, a little girl was taken. Then she was sold to Naaman who gave her to his wife as a servant. One day, she mentioned to her mistress that she wished they were living in Israel because there was a prophet there that could take Naaman’s leprosy away. Now, there was no evidence that any of the prophets had done this, including Elisha. But there was such a reputation of Elisha being a man of God, that those who trusted in God knew that there was nothing God couldn’t do through Elisha.

The wife believed the girl and told her husband. Naaman believed and told Benhadad. Benhadad believed and sent Naaman to the king of Israel asking to be cleansed of leprosy. This would make Naaman more of an ambassador than a penitent. Which made it more of an ‘official’ request and made the king of Israel VERY nervous. Naaman also brought with him presents of silver, gold, and sets of clothes for when he was cleansed. The king of Israel, however, was distraught. He saw this as an attempt to pick a fight, because what could HE do? He couldn’t cleanse anyone! But God had his back. He told Elisha what was happening and Elisha sent word to the king to send Naaman to him. He would take care of it. Relieved, the king sent Naaman to see Elisha.

Naaman was expecting pomp. Ceremony. Some fancy, schmancy hullabaloo. Instead, he met only with Elisha’s servant and was told to go bathe seven times in the Jordan River. This was NOT clean water – compared to some of the pristine and picturesque rivers of his homeland. He wasn’t about to dip in muddy water with no ceremony at all. He was headed home when his servants pointed out it was silly not to do the simple thing when he had been prepared to do the fancy thing. So he went and did it. There was absolutely no effect until the seventh time and THEN he was healed. He went back to Elisha and this time saw the prophet face to face. Elisha would accept no gifts and sent him on his way. For his part, Naaman was a true convert to worship of the Lord.

Elisha’s servant watched all of this. He didn’t think it was right that his master took nothing. Instead, HE was determined to get something. He made up an excuse in his mind and chased after Naaman. He made a request, got more than what he asked for, and hid it all. But Elisha called him and told him he had done wrong – which he denied. But you can’t hide from God and God had revealed it to Elisha. Because he had acted out of greed, in lies and deceit in the name of a man of God, he was stricken with the leprosy that Naaman had been healed of. All the rest of his days, Gehezi was leprous.

Chapter six brings further examples of the power of God flowing through Elisha. The first is about the head of an axe. The prophet school needed to expand and Elisha gave his permission – the sages teach this is the same prophet school that Jonah attended. While they were working, the head of an axe broke off and sank into the river. The man was distraught because he had borrowed the axe. It wasn’t even his. Elisha asked to be shown the spot. Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water. In response, the axe head floated to the surface and the man was able to retrieve it.

Another example was the words God spoke to Elisha. Whenever the king of Aram tried to ambush the Israelites, Elisha was told about it in advance. In return, he told the king of Israel. In this way, Israel was always escaping every carefully laid plot and trap. The king of Aram was furious. When he learned it was because of Elisha, he sent an army of raiders (non-standard troops) to capture the prophet. But Elisha prayed and the soldiers were blinded to who he was. They saw him as just another man. He went to them and told them they had besieged the wrong city. He promised to lead them, and they agreed to follow. Elisha led them into the very heart of the king’s territory (Samaria). There Elisha prayed again and they saw him for who he was. They also saw the king of Israel and all their military surrounding them. They gave up, were treated well, and released by Elisha’s word. These raiders went home and never invaded Israel again.

Even so, the Arameans were not without regular soldiers. He gathered his army and besieged Samaria. It was bad. He was starving them out. It was so bad that people were eating their children to live. King Jehoram was horrified and furious that it had come to this. He decided to blame God. And the representative of God was Elisha. The king sent a messenger to Elisha to report immediately and then struck out after the messenger. But God spoke to Elisha before anyone showed up and Elisha, who had been sitting with the elders of Israel, told them to lock the door and hold it shut. They did. And the king arrived beating on the door and demanding to know why he should hope in the Lord anymore when this was the condition of his people?!

Summary

Key Players: God, Elisha, Gehazi, Jehoram of Israel, Benhadad, Jehoram of Judah

Key Themes: Mercy, Restoration, Disobedience, Greed, Hope

Key Verse(s): 2 Kings 5:8-14, 25-27; 6:4-7, 18-23, 30-32