Deeper Commentary
2Ki 5:1 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a
great man with his master, and honourable, because by him Yahweh had given
victory to Syria-
It is unclear whether he was honourable to God because like Jehu, he
as an unspiritual man had still done God's will against Israel. Or whether
he was honourable to the Syrians because they realized God was working
through Naaman. He was clearly a man whom Israel's God had an interest in,
and this was recognized. The high value of the present taken to secure
Naaman's healing from Yahweh would indicate that the Syrians had a real
sense that Yahweh was very powerful, moreso than their own deities.
He was also a mighty man of valour-
Meaning he had slain many Israelites.
But he was a leper-
We note that lepers were openly present in society in Syria, even at
senior levels, whereas in Israel the law of Moses required they were
excluded from society.
2Ki 5:2 The Syrians had gone out in companies, and had
brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she
waited on Naaman’s wife-
It was the law of the jungle then (as it is now in primitive
societies) that the men were killed, and the women raped. And the prettier
ones carried off for further abuse. This girl would have witnessed all
that, perhaps being a victim of it, and had probably experienced the
murder of her parents and family. She was a great example of faith,
spirituality and forgiveness that she was minded to try to help her
master, who was the ultimate leader of the Syrian armed forces. See on 2
Kings 6:8.
2Ki 5:3 She said to her mistress, I wish that my lord would visit the
prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his leprosy-
Lk. 4:27 states: "There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha
the prophet, and none of them were cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian".
So when Naaman's maid asserted that Elisha could cure him of his leprosy,
this was not therefore based on experience. She had not even heard of
Elisha curing any lepers in Israel. But she believed it was the kind of
thing he could do. The word "heal" means ‘to assemble’ or ‘gather
together’, and we can be sure this was just what the girl said. For in
Israel (see on :1), lepers were separated from the people, and the healing
of a leper was the gathering back in of the person to society (Num.
11:14,15).
There is quite a theme of servants bringing blessings or good news (1 Sam. 9:6; 16:16; 25:4 cp. Gen. 41:10; 2 Kings 5:3). This may be to reflect God's interest in the significance of the lowly.
2Ki 5:4 Someone went in, and told his lord, saying, The
maiden who is from the land of Israel said this-
LXX "She went in and told her lord", suggesting the "someone" in view
was Naaman's wife. She had to treat him with respect as he was one of the
leaders of Syria, perhaps second only to the king.
2Ki 5:5 The king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a
letter to the king of Israel-
Probably Jehoram, Ahab’s son.
He departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six
thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing-
The high value of the present taken to secure Naaman's healing from
Yahweh would indicate that the Syrians had a real sense that Yahweh was
very powerful, moreso than their own deities. See on :1. Perhaps they had
learned this from their historical defeats at the hands of Israel. And yet
they seem to have believed more strongly in Yahweh than did the Israelites
themselves.
2Ki 5:6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying,
Now when this letter has come to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my
servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy-
We wonder why the request was made of the king of Israel, rather than
any mention being made of Elisha. Perhaps there had been a loss of
information during transmission. For the Israelite girl had just passed a
comment to her mistress, and then from her the message was passed to
Naaman and thence to the king of Syria. Or maybe it was assumed that any
prophet must be subject to the king of his country. The idea of personal
faith was foreign to them, whereby a man like Elisha could have direct
relationship with God regardless of his king.
2Ki 5:7 When the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore
his clothes and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man
sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? Surely he is seeking a quarrel
against me-
We know from Lk. 4:27 that nobody had been cured of leprosy in Israel
at that time. The king of Israel lacked faith, but the Gentile Syrians
believed Yahweh could do this. All because the still small voice of an
abused Israelite girl had been believed. Indeed the king of Israel
considered healing from leprosy to be so impossible, that he concluded
this was just a provocation. For Syria and Israel had often been in
conflict with each other. And it was a rather bizarre thing, for a
neighbouring enemy who only recently had raided Israel and carried people
off into captivity... to then come to them offering lots of money so that
their army general could be cured by them. The king of Israel saw it all
in secular terms, he clearly had no real spiritual dimension in his
thinking.
2Ki 5:8 It was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the
king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king saying, Why
have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that
there is a prophet in Israel-
Elisha muscles in, as it were, because he sees that this situation is
going to result in war unless he does. Elisha's motive for the healing was
so that Naaman "shall know" that God's word was really spoken forth in
Israel. And in the end, his desire was fulfilled in Naaman's conversion.
2Ki 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at
the door of the house of Elisha-
Elisha sat in his house and messengers from a powerful man, Naaman the
leper, came to him; and Elisha displayed an amazing calm before them. This
situation repeated in 2 Kings 6:32, where Elisha again sits in his house
and the messengers of an aggressive King came to him. The theme of lepers
recurs in this latter context also (2 Kings 7:3). And in 2 Kings 5:18 we
read of Naaman as a man upon whose arm a King (of Syria) leaned; and we
find one of those sent to Elisha the second time was likewise "a lord upon
whose hand the King (of Israel) leaned (2 Kings 7:2). The connections show
that God was working out His program in similar ways in widely differing
situations.
In 2 Kings 6:17, Elisha prays that God will open the eyes of his frightened servant to behold the Angelic horses and chariots around him. And this may have happened before this present incident (2 Kings 6:8 note). Elisha was so confident they were there, that he didn't ask to see them himself. He knew they were there; he simply asked that his servant be enabled to see the unseen reality which he calmly knew was there. He of course had had first hand experience of the Angelic horses and chariots (a kind of cherubim) when he had been parted from Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11. This must have left an abiding impression upon him- he knew that those Angelic horses and chariots were in fact permanently encamped around him (cp. Ps. 34:7). And so we are surely to see significance in the way that Naaman came to Elisha's house with his horses and chariot- for this is surely a development of a theme of connection between Elisha, horses and chariots (2 Kings 5:9). Most other Israelites would've been petrified to have the horses and chariots of Naaman and a company of Syrians pull up at their door. But Elisha was quite unfazed. He didn't even bother coming out to meet Naaman, knowing this was an insult to Naaman's pride, and was humanly certain to result in Naaman simply killing him and burning his house. Surely the horses-chariot-Elisha connection taught Elisha that in fact there were Angelic horses and chariots around him- he need not fear any human horse and chariot. There is no hint that Angelic activity is any less, or operates in any different way, for us today.
2Ki 5:10 Elisha sent a messenger to him saying-
Elisha doesn't come out of his house and talk to him. He wanted the
man to focus his faith in God's word, not in personalities. For his end
aim was to help Naaman toward faith that there was a prophet in Israel
(:8). But so often, faith is clouded by issues of personality. And Elisha
didn't want that to happen. Elisha also may be insisting that Naaman was
to be treated as an Israelite leper would be treated; which meant Elisha
could not have contact with him, and therefore he didn't invite the leper
into his home. This was because he wanted Naaman to realize that his cure
was on account of having been treated as an Israelite; in the hope that he
would become a proselyte.
Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be
restored-
Although this was not Christian baptism, it is perhaps analogous.
Because humility was elicited by this request to dip in Jordan, as it is
by the ritual of baptism. Elisha was aiming to convert Naaman, not simply
heal him, so that he could continue as general of the forces who were
marauding Israel. The fact there were plenty of lepers in Israel (Lk.
4:27) was evidence enough that the waters of Jordan contained no healing
powers of themselves; Naaman was being taught faith in God's word, rather
than supposed healing waters. The seven dippings recall the way Jericho
was to be circled for six days before victory on the seventh (Josh.
6:3-5), the child sneezed seven times before resurrection (2 Kings 4:35)
and the way Elijah was only answered at his seventh prayer (1 Kings
18:43). The intention was that through the six times performing something
which had no immediate answer, faith, hope and humility were elicited.
Lev. 14:8; 15:13 speak of the healed leper washing after the
cure, in order to be then also ritually clean. And there were various
sprinkling / cleansing rituals which had to be performed seven times upon
the leper (Lev. 14:7,16,27). So Naaman was potentially cured of his
leprosy, but what was necessary was that he become ritually clean, and
therefore he had to take the step of faith in washing. Had he not done
that, the potential cure would have remained an unrealized potential. He
was bidden grasp that he had been cured by Elisha; but now he had to wash
in order to become spiritually clean and acceptable within Israelite, and
not Syrian, society (see on 2 Kings 5:1). It could even be that the
washing with water was to invite Naaman to see himself as a Jewish priest
being prepared for service (Ex. 29:4 s.w.). We marvel at how God chooses
people who may appear the most unlikely. The general of the Syrian army,
the enemy of Israel, whose men had just destroyed the family of his wife's
servant girl... was the one chosen. And not just to be healed, but to be
thereby prepared to work in essence as a priest for God, in the darkness
of the high command of Gentile Syria. We learn at the very least never to
consider anyone beyond the scope of God's purpose.
And you shall be clean-
This was in addition to having his flesh restored and being healed.
As noted on :1, there was no sense amongst the Syrians of ritual
uncleanness because of leprosy. Naaman was being bidden see his healing as
also something spiritual, which would enable him to serve Yahweh.
2Ki 5:11 But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, I
thought, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name
of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the
leprosy’-
Clearly Naaman was not a personal believer in Yahweh at this stage.
And yet contrary to Pentecostal teaching, true miracles don't always
require the faith of the sick person. We also learn again that God is
prepared to work powerfully in the life of a person for the sake of the
prayers and faith of third parties (as in Mk. 2:5). Naaman like many
people had his preexisting religious ideas, and he expected the true God
to conform to them. He was to be taught that man is made in God's image,
and we are not to make God into our image and make Him act according to
our expectations of religion, wherever we picked them up from. Elisha's
refusal to come out and meet him clearly stuck in his gut. But the purpose
for that, as explained above, was so that he realized that leprosy made a
man unclean before the true people of God; and once he was cleansed, he
would then be able to be part of God's people. Likewise he was placing his
faith in religious ritual, rather than in the word of Yahweh. And he
needed to be corrected in that perspective.
2Ki 5:12 Aren’t Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better
than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them, and be clean? So
he turned and went away in a rage-
"Jordan" means literally 'the descender', 'that which brings down'.
The intention of the command was to humble him, and initially he baulked
at this. His rage was likewise related to the fact he had made so much
effort to come deep into enemy territory, with a huge financial reward.
And all that was being spurned. Because it was his faith in Yahweh's word
which was required, and not external, human strength.
2Ki 5:13 His servants came near and spoke to him and said, My father, if
the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it?
How much rather then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’-
We wonder if these servants were themselves Israelites, just as
Naaman's wife had an Israelite servant. Perhaps he had thought it prudent
to take them with him, seeing he was going into Israel, with many tensions
between Syria and Israel at the time. Again Naaman, the mighty man of
valour who had done many great things (:1), was being taught that the God
of Israel is unimpressed by human works, and rather seeks humility and
faithful obedience to His word. These were the 'great things' he was being
asked to do, far more difficult and demanding more true bravery than all
the mighty acts he had performed in his life. The fact he responds to his
servants' suggestion shows that he did have some latent humility.
2Ki 5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan,
according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like
the flesh of a little child, and he was clean-
The same words
for dipping in the Jordan are only used in describing the priests crossing
Jordan to take possession of God's kingdom in Israel (Josh. 3:15). Naaman
was being invited to imagine himself now entering into the spirit of
Israel and having their kingdom as his. We may note that he "dipped" in
Jordan, when he was intended to "wash" in Jordan (:10). But despite this
less than complete obedience, he was accepted. He was not only healed, but
"was clean" in a religious, spiritual sense. His flesh being restored like
a child looks ahead to being born again of water and spirit (Jn. 3:3-5).
Naaman was a Gentile leper who sought to be healed by the God
of Israel. As such he represents sin-stricken man, effectively going
through a living death due to sin. His cure was by dipping in the River
Jordan. Initially he found this simple act hard to accept, thinking that
God would want him to do some dramatic act, or to dip himself in a large
and well-known river, e.g. the Abana. Similarly, we may find it hard to
believe that such a simple act as baptism can ultimately bring about our salvation.
It is more attractive to think that our own works and public association
with a large, well-known denomination (cf. the river Abana) can save us, rather
than this simple act of association with the true hope of
2Ki 5:15 He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and
stood before him-
Elisha was accustomed to thinking of himself in terms of a man who
stood before Yahweh, in His presence, before His face (Heb.- 2 Kings
3:14). Naaman and his "company" 'stood before' Elisha (2 Kings 5:15,16).
Remember that this was the Syrian army General, standing with a "company"
in Israelite territory, at Elisha's house- at a time when 'companies' of
Syrian soldiers carried out raids upon Israel (2 Kings 5:2). Any Israelite
would've been terrified. But Elisha responds that he 'stands before'
Yahweh. Elisha was so aware of how we live in God's presence, before His
very face, that he wasn't the least phased by this. If only we can share
this sense, of standing in God's presence... the most frightening of human
situations will have little effective 'presence' because we know we are
ultimately in God's presence, 24/7. See on 2 Kings 6:17.
And he said, See now, I know that there is no God in all
the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, please take a gift from your
servant-
Naaman still held the primitive idea that Yahweh as the God of Israel
was only present in Israel, and this was why he wanted to take some
Israelite soil home with him. But reflection upon the logic of his
position would have led him to see wider than that. For if Yahweh was the
only God, and His greatness made all other gods effectively
non-existent... then surely it made sense that the God who was "in Israel"
was in fact the God of the whole planet. For otherwise, there was no God
anywhere in the cosmos or on planet earth, only "in Israel". And
sanctified common sense surely indicates that there is a God and creator.
And yet God leaves Naaman to work this through without specifically
correcting him, just as the Lord Jesus worked likewise with the wrong
ideas about demons.
2Ki 5:16 But he said, As Yahweh lives, before whom I
stand, I will receive none. He urged him to take it; but he refused-
We see here the natural reaction of man to Divine grace- to want to
give something material to Him or His representative. But it is refused,
because the response intended from Naaman was that he would trust in
Yahweh and share this with others in his homeland- which as a high ranking
commander in the Syrian leadership, was a very large ask.
2Ki 5:17 Naaman said, If not, then please let two mules’ burden of earth
be given to your servant; for your servant will from now on offer neither
burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh-
Naaman the Syrian accepted the faith of the God of Israel,
knowing full well how difficult this was going to be back in his home
environment. After his
‘conversion’ he asked for some Israelite soil to be given to him to take
back to Syria (see on :15). This shows that Naaman was influenced by the
surrounding superstition that one could only worship a god of another
nation whilst on their soil. But this is not explicitly corrected by
Elisha; he simply but powerfully comments: “Go in peace”. In other words,
Elisha was saying that the peace experienced by Naaman in his daily life
was so wondrous that it obviated the need for worshipping on Israeli soil.
2Ki 5:18 In this thing may Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master goes
into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I
bow myself in the house of Rimmon. When I bow myself in the house of
Rimmon, may Yahweh pardon your servant in this thing-
See on 2 Kings 5:9. Clearly there was no belief in any guilt by
association, or this concession wouldn't have been given. The whole nature
of being human means that we must live in this world, although we are not
of it. Consider how Daniel’s friends wore turbans (Dan. 3:21 NIV), how
Moses appeared externally to be an Egyptian (Ex. 2:19), and how the Lord
Himself had strongly Jewish characteristics (Jn. 4:9). Imagine all the difficult situations Joseph must have been in, as
Prime Minister of Egypt, married to the daughter of the pagan High Priest.
Or John the Baptist’s soldier converts, told to do their jobs without
using violence (Lk. 3:14); or Cornelius returning to his post as
Centurion. It seems almost certain that these men would all have tried to
engineer their way out of their positions. Think of Daniel.
Naaman was allowed to bow himself before Rimmon for the sake of losing
his position. Yet the higher level would surely have been, as Daniel’s
friends, not to bow down to an idol. And when we ask what the rest of the
Jews in Babylon did on that occasion, it seems hard to avoid the
conclusion that they took the lower level which Naaman did- and bowed
down.
2Ki 5:19 He said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little
way-
The essence is to live in peace with God in covenant relationship.
This is possible, even if like Naaman there are elements of
misunderstanding of Him (:17), and dimensions of our lives where we are
not serving God on the highest level we could (18).
2Ki 5:20 But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God said, My master
has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that
which he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him, and take
something from him-
‘Said in his heart’ is a common Biblical phrase (e.g. Gen. 17:17; 1
Sam. 27:1; 1 Kings 12:26; Esther 6:6). There is a huge importance attached
to self talk and spiritual mindedness. Further, there are many instances
where we read that a person ‘said’ something; but it’s apparent that they
said it to themselves, in their heart. Take Gehazi here. For sure, Gehazi said this
to nobody but himself. Or Moses – he’s recorded as saying “People have
found out what I have done!” – surely he said this within himself (Ex.
2:14 GNB). We note that in his heart, Gehazi swears to himself by Yahweh.
He is not an unbeliever. But we have here an insight into the functioning
of the heart within a believer in a moment of weakness. "This Naaman..."
reflects how he failed to perceive the spiritual wonder of what had
happened; that the general of a Gentile army had been converted to
Israel's God. All he still saw was a wealthy Gentile whom he thought that
he as an Israelite had the right to deceive. See on :23.
2Ki 5:21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw one running
after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all
well?-
The Divine cameraman zooms in fairly close on this scene. We see
Gehazi running after the cavalcade, running faster than they were moving,
and catching up with Naaman. The way Naaman himself got down from his
chariot to personally greet Gehazi is a reflection of the humility he had
now learned.
2Ki 5:22 He said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying,
‘Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to
me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver
and two changes of clothing’-
Gehazi was enough of an amateur psychologist to know that if this is
what he asked for, Naaman was likely to multiply it several times. And as
noted on :23, his mind was full of the things he could buy with that
money.
2Ki 5:23 Naaman said, Please take two talents. He urged him,
and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing,
and laid them on two of his servants; and they carried them before him-
According to :26, Naaman pressed Gehazi to also take far more than
this. Although the things he mentions there, olive yards and vineyards,
could hardly have been given by Naaman. Elisha correctly and piercingly
perceives that these were the things in Gehazi's mind which we coveted
buying with the things he believed Naaman would give him. Again (see on
:20), the Bible places such great value on the heart, the thoughts, the
spirit of a person.
2Ki 5:24 When he came to the hill, he took them from their
hand, and stored them in the house. Then he let the men go, and they
departed-
Naaman had returned to Samaria from the Jordan river, at least 20
miles (:15) especially to thank Elisha. It was the opposite direction. And
now he was going back eastwards to Syria. Elisha lived in Samaria,
presumably not far from the palace of the king. So "the hill" would be
"the hill of Samaria" which was bought for two talents of silver (1 Kings
16:24). Exactly the amount of money given to Gehazi (:23). We may be able
to deduce from this that it was Gehazi's intention to buy the hill for
himself along with the olive groves and vineyards upon it (:26).
2Ki 5:25 But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha
said to him, Where did you come from, Gehazi? He said, Your servant went
nowhere-
It's possible Elisha was now blind or of limited faculties. But even
without the direct revelation of the Spirit, he likely guessed what Gehazi
had been up to. By saying he had gone nowhere, he clearly lies to the Holy
Spirit, as it were, as Ananias and Sapphira did. They were slain, again in
a context of covetousness, whereas Gehazi was made a leper and allowed to
apparently continue serving Elisha, even though (see on :1) he was
supposed to be quarantined away from society. His ministry was allowed to
continue, but every moment of his subsequent life he would have been aware
that he was only allowed to continue in the ministry by God's grace. Which
should always be our view anyway.
2Ki 5:26 He said to him, Didn’t my heart go with you, when the man turned
from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, to receive
garments and olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, and male
servants and female servants?-
The way the Lord Jesus 'knew' things because of His extreme
sensitivity, rather than necessarily by some flash of Holy Spirit insight,
isn't unparalleled amongst other men. Elisha knew what Gehazi had done
when Gehazi went back to ask Naaman for a reward- Elisha's heart or
thoughts went with Gehazi. Elisha imagined Naaman dismounting from his chariot,
etc. And he could guess that the request had involved "money... garments"
etc. That the Lord's knowledge wasn't necessarily automatic is reflected
in the way we read things like "When He saw their faith... when Jesus
heard it..." (Mk. 2:5,17). But the Spirit confirmed this spiritual
sensitivity, as it can do today; for [the blind?] Elisha 'saw' Naaman
turning from his chariot to meet Gehazi, and Elisha read the motives of
Naaman in imagining the servants and vineyards on the hill of Samaria
which he could buy with his two talents. However it is possible that
Elisha wasn't given any specific revelation from the Spirit, and correctly
perceived all this himself, due to his own great sensitivity as a person.
2Ki 5:27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your
seed forever. He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow-
This is not medically what actually happened. The idea of transference of disease from one to another was a common
Semitic perception, and it’s an idea used by God. And thus God went along
with the peoples' idea of disease transference, and the result is recorded
in terms of demons [which was how they understood illness] going from one
person to another. Likewise the leprosy of Naaman clave to Gehazi. God threatened to make the diseases of the inhabitants of Canaan
and Egypt to cleave to Israel if they were disobedient (Dt. 28:21,60).
Here too, as with Legion, there is Divine accommodation to the ideas of
disease transference which people had at the time.