2 Kings 5:1-27
1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man witha 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.
2 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.
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were withb the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would 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, and ten changes of raiment.
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.
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? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8 And 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 that there is a prophet in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, 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,c 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 the leper.
12 Are not Abanad 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.
13 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.
15 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.
16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, 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.
18 In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, 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 myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.
19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a littlee way.
20 But 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.
21 So 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?
22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even 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.
23 And Naaman said, Be content, 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.
24 And when he came to the tower,f he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.
25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.g
26 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 menservants, and maidservants?
27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
2 Kings 5:8. When Elisha heard that the king had rent his clothes, he laid the case before the Lord and received his instruction how to proceed.
2 Kings 5:10. Elisha sent a messenger, to cure Naaman first of his pride, before he cleansed his leprosy. Faith must act on the promise; the woman believed that she must touch the hem of the Saviour's garment.
2 Kings 5:12. Abana rises in the mountains of Anti-libanus, and waters Damascus. Pharpar, according to ancient maps, is a branch of the Abana. Those streams are lost in the lake, east of Damascus.
2 Kings 5:17. Two mules' burden of earth. Nations, lands, cities, and temples were devoted to some fancied divinity. The earth and stones of Syria, being thus devoted, Naaman thought that he must have holy earth in raising an altar to the Holy One of Israel. He was converted from idolatry to worship the Lord alone, as will be seen in the next note.
2 Kings 5:18. When my master goeth into the house of Rimmon, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing. The LXX read this in the future tense, which is followed by the Vulgate, and by the English. So Elisha bade Naaman go in peace, and thank Baal for his cure! That being impossible, Dr. Lightfoot, as other critics, reads the Hebrew in the past tense. When I have bowed down myself. The advocates for reading the verb in the future, plead that this worship of Baal, (here called Rimmon because of his elevation) was only a civil homage paid to the idol, or to the king. If this homage were approved, why ask for pardon?
2 Kings 5:27. The leprosy of Naaman cleave to thee, not absolutely for ever, but for three or four generations at least. Gehazi's covetousness is worse to get out of the heart than leprosy out of the flesh: he altogether stained and dishonoured the name of the Lord. Men who sell advowsons should meditate on this case. Better to die grey-headed curates, than to have Gehazi's leprosy.
REFLECTIONS.
This chapter opens with a luminous trait of the glory and purity of the prophetic ministry. While Israel was favoured with so many and great miracles; while God defended revelation against an infidel age, and supported his suffering servants by those signal works; the poor gentiles were permitted to share the grace, that they might also be converted to the knowledge and worship of the true God. The healing of leprous Naaman, was a consequence of the execution of the sentence on Ahab for permitting the bloody Benhadad to escape. This prince constantly committed depredations on the country, and carried away the people captive. Among those was a little maid who waited on Naaman's wife; and she spake daily of the prophet Elisha, persisting that he could heal her master of his leprosy. Religious servants, placed in a great family, may learn of this maid, courage to confess the truth, and to support the glory of the christian ministry. The Lord may have sent them into those houses for good to the fellow-servants, or good to their masters: and where luxury, waste and pride are so greatly indulged, a double fidelity is required. Let them pray for their temporal and eternal good, and endeavour to diminish the great wickedness committed in all houses where intemperance abounds.
Naaman's case may remind us, that we also have a foul leprosy of sin, as illustrated in the fourteenth and fifteenth of Leviticus; and farther, that neither the honours, the riches, nor the wisdom of this world can effectuate our cure. How long then shall we dally with physicians of no value; how long shall God's faithful servants exhort us to come for a cure before we obey. Oh that the ever hallowed names of Jesus, of Calvary, of grace, might at last attract our heart, and draw us with confidence to God.
Naaman, in applying for a cure, committed several errors which threatened the frustration of all his hopes. He came to the king of Israel, that he might of course send for the prophet, and command him to be healed. When he waited on the prophet he expected great respect to be paid him, as the enchanters and charmers of Damascus would have done: and when sent to wash seven times in Jordan, for the blood of atonement was seven times sprinkled before the veil, he was offended with the simplicity of grace, and went away in a rage. How many mistakes do ignorant men make, who, suddenly withdrawing from the corruptions of the world, expect at once to become the best of christians. Because the mercy of God, and the healing virtues of grace are rich and free, how many excuses do they make concerning unworthiness, and the necessity of doing something to merit a cure. How often do they stumble at the precepts, Believe, and be saved; wash, and be clean? This man's anger plainly intimates, that sinners under the awakenings of the law, and anguish of conscience, often need a word of persuasion and encouragement. Had the prophet, said one of his more discerning servants, bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith, wash and be clean. So let us encourage sinners to admire the simplicity of the gospel, as the perfection of glory and beauty. Here is blood to purge the conscience, here are the waters of regeneration to cleanse the heart, here is a Mediator for sinners, here is balm for the wounded, liberty for the captives, and rest for the troubled mind. Here is, in a word, all that a sinner can want, and on terms within his reach. The Lord has not bid him do some great thing, but simply to wash and be clean. How amiable is the Saviour in all his economy of grace. Oh that we could persuade every polluted sinner to try our Jordan of regeneration: then he would have a clean heart, and all his soul would be as a little child. He would no more resemble the haughty and victorious captain-general of Syria, but the humble and grateful Naaman, returning to praise God, and reward his prophet for a cure.
Elisha's refusal of the presents, and by an oath too, exhibits the unspotted glory of the ministry, and shows that the gifts of God cannot be purchased with money. The Lord by his divine power had first humbled and then cleansed the captain; therefore Elisha, though it was usual for a prophet to receive a small present of bread or fruit, did not dare to touch his gold; for God in all his works of grace will be sanctified by his servants. Elisha was infinitely paid and honoured in being the instrument or oracle of so great a cure. May we as ministers learn hence the greatest purity and disinterestedness in acting for God, ever remembering that Herod was smitten because he gave not God the glory.
But while we are struck with the glory of grace in the cure, while we admire the purity of the prophet, and see this captain return with the warmest sentiments of grateful approbation, we are shocked with the perfidy and baseness of Gehazi. How little good did he get in attending his illustrious master; and what dishonour did he not bring on the hallowed cause of God. In hopes of buying a spot of land, and procuring a family establishment, he ran after the generous convert; he forged a series of lies, and caused his holy master to appear as a perjured man in the eyes of the heathen. He succeeded in his crimes. He received the money and the raiment; but he received also the curse of his master, and the leprosy of Naaman. God was pleased to make an example of this base man, that by judgment as well as mercy he might be sanctified among the heathen. Let us never acquire wealth by falsehood and deceit; if we do, we shall surely gain a curse on ourselves, and on our children.