2 Kings 5:1-14 ~ And Elisha sent a messenger to him

2 Kings 5:1-14

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” 5 And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 1

1 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.


So here we have Naaman. Bold. Brash. Victorious. He doesn't travel Economy and he doesn't travel lightly.  He has a wife and, heart tug, the little girl, captured in war, wants Naaman to be well. 

The analogy of Naaman anticipating, picturing, expecting & traveling to receive his miracle and being received by a messenger of the prophet has a Biblical comparison. One of my favorite parts in the Gospel. The Centurion. (One of my favorite posts was researching and chasing down the Centurion.)

Matthew 8:8 
 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Naaman is just.... not quite there. What do we see in common with Naaman and the Centurion.  Both are wise enough to seek God in a situation they have spent time with. 

Naaman flies into a rage and his servants, twice in this passage, seek to give him advice - they want Naaman to listen. And he does. We learn something about Naaman and his household. 

What about the Centurion?

Luke 7:3-7
 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, ⁵ for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”  

⁶ And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed"


Matthew 8:10- 13
” ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, He marveled.

 And said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. ¹¹ I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹² while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  

¹³ And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

What does Naaman  have in his favor?

Naaman thinks he can go to Israel and God will hear him through a prophet in Israel. 
Naaman has pictured the miracle as his own.
Naaman reacts honestly. 
Naaman is willing to rethink his actions. 

Both the Centurion and Naaman have this:

Psalm 107:20
He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Matthew 15:28
Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Romans 1:17
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.


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