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2 Kings chapter five. I'll begin reading in verse one. Now Naaman, commander of the 
army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in 
the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory 
to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, 
but a leper. And the Syrians had gone out 
on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from the 
land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife. 
Then she said to her mistress, if only my master were with the 
prophet who is in Samaria, for he would heal him of his leprosy. 
And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, Thus and thus 
said the girl who is from the land of Israel. Then the king 
of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of 
Israel. So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, 
six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 
Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, 
Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent 
Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy. 
And it happened when the king of Israel read the letter that 
he tore his clothes and said, am I God to kill and make alive? That this man sends a man to 
me to heal him of his leprosy. Therefore, please consider and 
see how he seeks a quarrel with me. So it was 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? 
Please let him come to me and he shall know that there is a 
prophet in Israel. The Naaman went with his horses 
and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's house. And 
Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan 
seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall 
be clean. But Naaman became furious and went away and said, Indeed, 
I said to myself, he will surely come out to me and stand and 
call on the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over 
the place and heal the leprosy. Are not the Abana and the Farpar, 
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. And his servants came near and 
spoke to him and said, My father, if the prophet had told you to 
do something great, would you not have done it? How much more 
then when he says to you, wash and be clean? So he went down 
and dipped 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. And he returned 
to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood 
before him and said, Indeed now I know that there is no God in 
all the earth except in Israel now therefore, please take a 
gift from your servant But he said as the Lord lives before 
whom I stand I will receive nothing And he urged him to take it, 
but he refused So Naaman said, then if not, please let your 
servant be given two mule loads of earth, for your servant will 
no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other 
gods, but to the Lord. Yet in this thing, may the Lord 
pardon your servant. When my master goes into the 
temple of Reman to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and 
I bow down in the temple of Reman, when I bow down in the temple 
of Reman, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing. 
Then he said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a short 
distance. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, 
Look, my master has spared Naaman the Syrian while not receiving 
from his hands what he brought. But as the Lord lives, I will 
run after him and take something from him. So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after 
him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, Is all 
well? And he said, All is well. My master has sent me saying, 
Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have 
come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them 
a talent of silver and two changes of garments." So Naaman said, 
please take two talents. And he urged him and bound two 
talents of silver in two bags with two changes of garments 
and handed them to two of his servants and they carried them 
on ahead of him. When he came to the citadel, 
he took them from their hand and stored them away in the house. 
Then he let the men go, and they departed. Now he went in and 
stood before his master. Elisha said to him, Where did 
you go, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant did 
not go anywhere. And he said to him, Did not my heart go with 
you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? 
Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves 
and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore, 
the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever. 
And he went out from his presence leprous as white as snow. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
God and Father, we thank you for your holy word. We thank 
you for all scripture given by inspiration of God. We know that 
it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction. 
and for instruction in righteousness, that you may thoroughly equip 
each and every one of us. And God, we pray for the presence 
and the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us as we consider this 
passage. As well, God, forgive us and cleanse us from all sin 
and everything that darkens our minds and understanding. We thank 
you for your grace. We thank you for the gospel of 
our salvation. We thank you for the Lord Jesus 
Christ and every blessing that we have received in Him. And 
we pray in His wonderful name. Amen. Well, as we come to this 
particular section, it's always a bit difficult to just drop 
in to Old Testament narrative. There is context to be sure, 
there is connection to be sure, and as the name suggests, the 
book is about the kings of Israel. And in this particular section, 
beginning in 2 Kings 2 and continuing to 2 Kings 13, the emphasis is upon the ministry 
of the prophet Elisha. So Elijah is taken up into heaven 
in 2 Kings 2. Elisha is then his successor. And Elisha is typical of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. And what we see concerning Elisha 
in the last few chapters, or in this area, chapters 3, 4, 
and 5, and 6 even, are miracles engaged or performed by Elisha 
under the power of God Almighty. And when we come to this particular 
section, we'll notice that the grace of God is not confined 
to Israel, but it's also dispensed upon a pagan, a heathen, a man 
that was a leper, and not only is he physically cleansed, but 
he's also spiritually cleansed, and he's brought out of darkness 
into marvelous light. Ralph Davis comments on the context, 
chapters 4 to 6. He says, now we enter a segment 
of Elisha's ministry in which he shows that Yahweh's power 
is triumphant over death, chapter 4, verses 1 to 7. Death, chapter 
4, verses 8 to 37. Drought, chapter 4, verses 38 to 44. disease, chapter 5, verses 1 
to 27, and then difficulty in chapter 6, verses 1 to 7. So 
God exercises his sovereignty through the agency of this prophet, 
specifically in chapter 5, to manifest himself to this man, 
Naaman, who was not only plagued by leprosy, but a problem greater 
than leprosy, which is sin and estrangement from the living 
and true God. So we'll look first at the providence 
of God in verses 1 to 8. Secondly, the healing of Naaman 
in verses 9 to 19. And then finally, the greed of 
Gehazi in verses 20 to 27. But if you look with me first 
of all at the providence of God in verses 1 to 8, you'll notice 
the object of God's grace. The object of God's grace, verse 
1. Now Naaman, commander of the 
army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in 
the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory 
to Syria. So the grace of God has been 
demonstrated profusely in Israel in chapters 3 and 4, and now 
it comes to this pagan. We notice that this man is great 
and honorable because he was the agent or the instrument by 
which God gave victory to the Syrians. Now, as we look at this 
particular section, we'll wonder why that's good news. Well, there's 
a bit of an uneasy truce between Syria and Israel at this particular 
time. It's uneasy because the Syrians 
still go on raiding campaigns and grab little Israelite girls 
and take them and enslave them. But in 1 Kings chapter 22, we 
see that Jehoshaphat is engaged in a campaign with Syria to oppose 
Israel. And so there is this tenuous 
relationship that obtains that the king of Israel, as we see 
here in verse 7, is a bit fearful of concerning this overture from 
the king of Syria. And when it comes to the particular 
problem that Naaman has, look at what we see at the end of 
verse 1. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. So he was plagued by that plague 
that our brother just read about in the book of Leviticus. So 
he's got a big problem in terms of his physical condition. So 
he is the object of God's grace. But then notice the mystery of 
God's providence in verses 2 to 4. This Israelite servant is 
taken captive. Verse 2, the Syrians had gone 
out on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from 
the land of Israel, and she waited on Naaman's wife. Just so happens 
she waits on Naaman's wife. Just so happens that she's in 
the right place at the right time to be a means of directing 
this man to the prophet of Israel. It doesn't just so happen, it's 
orchestrated by God. God governs all his creatures 
and all their actions. And when Syria went on that campaign, 
and when they abducted that little girl, who no doubt was traumatized 
by this particular event, she is then brought back to Naaman's 
house, and she is the servant specifically of Naaman's wife. Notice that the text never names 
her. Matthew Henry makes the observation, 
the unhappy dispersing of the people of God has sometimes proved 
the happy occasion of the diffusion of the knowledge of God. That 
is an excellent observation and that is precisely what is happening 
in our passage. So verse 2, the Syrians had gone 
out on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from 
the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife. 
Now notice she says to her mistress. She is obviously aware of the 
fact that Naaman's got issues. She's obviously aware of the 
fact that Naaman bears this plague, that Naaman suffers with this 
disease called leprosy. So she says to her mistress, 
if only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, for 
he would heal him of his leprosy. That seems to indicate that this 
girl came from a believing family. a covenantally faithful family. 
She had faith in Yahweh and she had faith in Yahweh's prophet. 
And she understood and realized and knew that if Naaman could 
get in touch with Yahweh's prophet, then Naaman could be healed, 
Naaman could recover, Naaman could be washed clean of the 
leprosy that plagued him. Now notice, before we proceed, 
that God is sovereign over not just the big stuff, but He's 
sovereign over little stuff as well. If you go back to chapter 
3 in 2 Kings, you'll notice that God is over the big stuff concerning 
the defeat of Moab. Moab plagues Israel, God gives 
victory to them. And then you have Elisha and 
the widow's oil. Again, that's not an international 
affair. That's not a cosmic situation. It certainly meant everything 
to this particular widow. But in terms of the grand scheme 
of life and history, this is kind of the small stuff. Elisha 
raises the Shunammite's son. Again, a big event, a big deal 
for her, to be sure, but for the rest of us, not so much. 
Moving on into chapter 4, Elisha purifies the pot of stew. So 
again, he's sovereign in his providence, not only over victory 
concerning Moab, but also over a poisoned pot of stew. And then 
we see that Elisha feeds a hundred men at the end of chapter 4, 
and now there's this international incident. God Most High weighs 
in on this particular situation. His sovereignty is extensive. 
His sovereignty is comprehensive. His sovereignty is not confined 
to the geographical boundaries of Israel. Davis says that Yahweh, 
the text implies, controls Syrian politics and foreign affairs. 
He is no small-time director of an Israelite ghetto, not some 
mascot of a little Jewish club. Here is the God of Psalm 24, 
1. Yahweh is both God of the church and Lord of the world. 
Yahweh draws near to his people, but that does not mean he allows 
pagans to run around unsupervised. Good, encouraging reminder concerning 
our God in a day and age where we're hoping that God is supervising 
the pagans and that they are tethered ultimately by his providence. And then notice still under the 
providence of God in verses 1 to 8, we have the object, we have 
the mystery of his providence, and then we have the fearfulness 
of Israel's king. It's most likely Jehoram at this 
particular time. The text is silent. in terms 
of which king is on the throne, but most likely it is Jehoram. 
Notice in verse 5, the king of Syria said, Naaman gets this 
information from the servant girl, he goes to his king, and 
then the king of Syria in verse 5 says, Go now, I will send a 
letter to the king of Israel. So he departed and took with 
him 10 talents of silver, 6,000 shekels of gold, and 10 changes 
of clothing. This is likely 750 pounds of 
silver, a lot of silver. Likely 198 pounds of gold. You see, as far as Naaman, a 
pagan, who served a plethora of gods, was concerned, this 
is how you did business with God. You bribed him, you brought 
things to him. And then you hope that he would 
visit you with the particular blessing. The pagans treat God 
like a vending machine. Christians aren't supposed to, 
but at times they do. Witness the health, wealth, and 
prosperity gospel. We simply put in our time and 
God gives us boats. That is absolutely ludicrous. 
But notice how this pagan addresses his situation. So he departs, 
he brings all this stuff. Verse 6, he brought the letter 
to the king of Israel which said, Now be advised, when this letter 
comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that 
you may heal him of his leprosy. And it happened when the king 
of Israel read the letter that he tore his clothes and said, 
Am I God to kill and make alive? That this man sends a man to 
me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore, please consider and 
see how he seeks a quarrel with me. So he tears his clothes. This is a signifying statement 
of his fearfulness, of the fact that he feels threatened. He 
says as much at the end of verse 7. Therefore, please consider 
and see how he seeks to quarrel with me. They have this uneasy 
sort of alliance that as we know, uneasy alliances can go awry 
pretty rapidly. Well, Jehoram knew this as well, 
and he doesn't want it to go awry. He feels threatened, he's 
afraid, and he recognizes God's sovereignty cognitively, but 
he doesn't embrace it experientially. Notice what he says, am I God? 
To kill and make alive. That's prerogative of deity. So Jehoram understands that, 
but he doesn't rest in that. He freaks out, he loses his mind, 
and it's up to the prophet to calm him down, and that is precisely 
what Elisha does. Notice in verse 8. So it was 
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? Please let him come to me, and 
he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." Brethren, it is one 
thing to confess God's sovereignty, it is one thing to confess God's 
providence, but it's another thing to find comfort in it. 
It's another thing to rest in it, to be stabilized by it, and 
to know security as a result of it. Jehoram does not manifest 
this. Elisha does. And intriguingly, 
the servant girl who had been ripped from her family home in 
Israel and brought to Naaman's house, she rests in that sovereignty 
as well. She understands that providence. 
She doesn't just have it up here, but rather she understands well 
that if only Naaman can meet the prophet, then God will bless 
him with health, with wholeness, and with healing. So if we confess 
sovereignty and we confess a belief in providence, it should settle 
us. It should provide for us that 
ability to navigate through this chaos-filled world in a manner 
that is consistent with the saints of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice, secondly, the healing 
of Naaman. First, he's instructed by Elisha. Notice that Elisha doesn't even 
leave his house to come out and see Naaman. This is an affront 
to Naaman. I mentioned this morning the 
connection between the man, the noble man, who comes to Jesus 
in John 4, and Naaman. Now, the noble man's not quite 
as bad as Naaman, not quite as dramatic as Naaman, but still 
faulty in terms of his understanding. The noble man thought that it 
was requisite that Jesus leave Cana, that he go to Capernaum, 
so that there he could apply healing to the noble man's son 
that was nigh unto death. Well, Naaman has that same sort 
of a mindset. The simplicity of the healing 
that he receives is simply an offense to him. And it begins 
with this reality, that Elisha doesn't even leave his house 
to go out and see him. Notice in verse 9, Then Naaman 
went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's 
house. I'm guessing Elisha's house didn't 
look like Stephen Furtick's. I'm guessing it wasn't a six 
million dollar palatial mansion out in the middle of nowhere 
that was attended by servants. Elisha was a simple man. He was 
a simple prophet. He probably dined on simple fare 
and he had a simple residence. So you've got Naaman there in 
all of his glory as a military commander for one of the the 
most notorious nations on earth at the time, certainly you would 
expect for Elisha to come out and fawn all over him. But Elisha 
doesn't do that. Elisha doesn't treat Naaman as 
if he's an honorable man. He doesn't treat him as if he's 
a man of valor. He doesn't treat him as one who 
is equipped with military savvy. He treats him as a leper who 
stands in need of healing. Elisha understands the score, 
he understands the issue, and Elisha wants to demonstrate that 
in the confines of Israel, it's not the personality of the prophet, 
but it's the power of God that makes the difference. For pagans, 
it was the personality of the prophets. Remember those pagans 
that served Baal in 1 Kings 18. When Elijah issues his contest 
at Carmel, how do those pagans invoke Baal? They do it with 
dancing, they do it with leaping, they do it with cutting themselves 
and bleeding all over themselves and engaged in all kinds of frenzy 
to try to get Baal to send fire down to consume their offering. 
See, the idea among the pagans is we need to manipulate the 
gods. We need to get the gods to work 
on our behalf. We need to get them to perform. 
That's why fornication was rampant among the bailists. That's why 
there were temple prostitutes. The idea was simple. If you fornicate, 
then you invite Baal to fornicate with one of his girlfriends, 
Asherah for instance, and when he is pleased with you, he'll 
rain down and fertilize your crops. This was commonplace with 
the pagans that you had to appeal to the gods to get them to act 
on your behalf. Well, not the God of Israel, 
not the Lord God Most High. We cannot manipulate Him. We 
cannot coerce Him. We cannot treat Him as if He's 
a vending machine. Rather, we are at His beck and 
call. We are under His sovereign command, 
and we are under His providence. So verse 9, Naaman went with 
his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's 
house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in 
the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you. 
and you shall be clean. The idea of seven times may reflect 
the seven-day quarantine that we find in Leviticus 13 and 14. So he gives that simple bit of 
instruction. Again, he doesn't treat him as 
a mighty and valorous man. He treats him as a leper who 
needs to be cleansed from his leprosy. So those are the instructions. Now notice the fury of Naaman. Naaman does not receive this 
well. Naaman does not say, well, that's 
a good process or a good procedure. I'll go ahead and do that. In 
the first place, he expected Elisha himself. Verse 11, but 
Naaman became furious and went away and said, indeed, I said 
to myself, he will surely come out to me and stand and call 
on the name of the Lord his God. He will certainly come out to 
me. I'm Naaman. I demand that kind of respect. 
I'm a mighty man. I'm a man of valor. I have been 
the instrument of Yahweh's blessing upon the nation of Syria to bring 
them victory and prestige. Certainly His prophet ought to 
come out and He ought to give me some instruction that is according 
to my status, my stature. Notice that Naaman expected prophetic 
razzmatazz. He expected a show. He expected 
some sort of an approach by the prophet that he was familiar 
with in his own pagan hometown. He was looking for something 
like those prophets of Baal, who would dance around in a frenzy, 
who would gash themselves with stones, who would cry out from 
morning until evening. Look at verse 11 again. Indeed, 
I said to myself, he will surely come out to me and stand and 
call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over 
the place, and heal the leprosy. As well, he complains about the 
choice of the river Jordan. Notice in verse 12, are not the 
Abana and the Farpar, 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. Brethren, this 
is symptomatic of the sinful heart, isn't it? The guy comes 
to Elisha for healing. Elisha gives him instruction 
and he gets mad at him. He gets upset. Have you ever 
had that? You've given somebody some advice? 
Perhaps they've taken that advice and it went awry and they get 
mad at you. It was advice. I'm sorry. It's simple as that. I mean, 
there are times, and perhaps you've witnessed this in coming 
to see me, there are times if you ask me, what is the doctrine 
of justification by faith alone? I'll give you the biblical answer. 
I won't shrink back and I won't cut any corners. I'll tell you 
the absolute truth. But if you ask me my advice, 
I'm going to preface it by saying, this is my advice. I don't have 
chapter and verse, but it seemeth wise unto me that this might 
be a way to proceed. Well, if you take that advice 
and it goes awry, I'm sorry, but you were the one ultimately 
that had to evaluate that advice and proceed according to your 
own will. But with reference to this idea 
or this rage, he gets mad at Elisha for doing what Elisha 
does. He gets upset because he has 
an expectation that Israel's God should be just like the pagan's 
gods. Dillard, Raymond Dillard says, 
Naaman expected Israel's God and prophet to be just like what 
he had known at home, itching palms and magic shows. He had 
brought plenty of money and so he expected the prophet to deliver 
on the magic. Naaman wanted vending machine 
grace, put your money in and take your blessing. The prophet 
was expected to appear, accept the pay and wave his hand over 
the spot and cure me of my leprosy. That's the way the pagans treat 
God. That's why, or they treat their 
gods. That's why when we look at modern 
worship, so much of it has more connection with Baalism than 
it does with the worship of Yahweh. This whole emotional overflow, 
this whole sort of back and forth waving, this almost trance-like 
repetition of choruses ad nauseum. What is the purpose behind that? In Colossians and Ephesians, 
we are to sing and praise God Most High, to teach and admonish 
one another. We can't do that by the recitation 
of the chorus 48 times that is a simple statement. We are trying 
to be like bailists in the modern church, to get God to bless us, 
to get God to work for us. We can pray, we can petition, 
we can supplicate, but we cannot cajole, we cannot coerce, and 
we cannot manipulate the true and living God. We need to learn 
that from the case of Naaman. He wants the razzmatazz, Elisha 
simply brings the truth of God's holy word. This is probably why 
Elisha did not go out to meet with them. This is probably why 
Elisha sent his servant out. It was to defeat or rather to 
disenfranchise him of the notion that it's the personality of 
the prophet instead of the power of God that makes all the difference. But before we move on to the 
healing of Naaman, look at the wisdom of the servants in verse 
13. You'll find that in Old Testament 
narrative. Once in a while, there's a perplexing 
situation, and a servant will make a glorious observation, 
filled with wisdom, filled with ingenuity, filled with biblical 
horse sense. And that's what the servants 
do in verse 13. His servants came near and spoke 
to him and said, my father, if the prophet had told you to do 
something great, would you not have done it? How much more than 
when he says to you, wash and be clean. In other words, calm 
down. They didn't say it quite like 
that. In other words, chill out. In other words, listen to the 
instruction of the prophet of the true and living God. If he 
tells you to go to the Jordan and dip yourself seven times, 
then go to the Jordan and dip yourself seven times. Praise 
God for unnamed servants in biblical narrative, because more often 
than not, they set their masters straight and put them on the 
proper course that does please and honor God. Now let's move 
to the healing of Naaman. Notice in verse 14. If you were 
reading the Greek translation of the Old Testament scriptures, 
you would have, so he went down and baptized seven times in the 
Jordan. Baptized, dipping, that's what 
he does. He immerses himself in this water 
in order to wash himself clean. Now the water doesn't have healing 
properties, neither does that water. The water is simply emblematic, 
it is symbolic, it is representative, it is simply what God calls upon 
the man to do in terms of the healing of his leprosy. Now notice, 
he is washed and he is cleansed, and at the end of verse 14, his 
flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was 
clean. So that's the physical manifestation 
of God's grace having come to him. The man is healed. The man 
is no longer a leper. The servant girl was right. If Naaman goes to meet with Elisha, 
then Elisha will mediate the blessing of Yahweh such that 
Naaman will be cleansed. He'll no longer be plagued by 
leprosy. But you see, God's grace is so 
profuse. God's grace is so abounding. God's grace is so glorious. He 
doesn't stop at the physical. He doesn't just heal the man 
externally. but he heals the man internally. He saves the man by his grace 
and for his glory. And you see that change come 
over him in verses 15 to 19. Notice his change of attitudes, 
a change of attitude. He goes from rage and fury and 
anger at the thought that Elisha wouldn't even leave his couch, 
wouldn't even exit his front door to come and meet this man 
of valor and military savvy. Five times in verses 15 to 18, 
Naaman refers to himself as your servant. That's what God's grace 
does. It humbles people. It knocks 
them off their high horse. It takes them from this place 
of faking themselves eight foot tall and bulletproof to that 
place of your servant to the prophet of God, even Elisha. Notice the confession of faith 
that he makes in verse 15. He says, indeed, now I know that 
there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Turn over to 
Joshua chapter 2. This is similar to other pagan 
confessions when they get converted to the true faith. Joshua chapter 
2, you have Rahab the harlot. Rahab the harlot, that wonderful 
lady from Jericho that God saves by His grace. Notice in Joshua 
chapter 2 at verse 8. Now before they lay down, she 
came up to them on the roof. Excuse me. and said to the men, 
I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror 
of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the 
land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how 
the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you 
came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites 
who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom 
you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these 
things, our hearts melted. Neither did there remain any 
more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, 
He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now, therefore, 
I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you 
kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's 
house and give me a true token and spare my father, my mother, 
my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have and deliver 
our lives from the death. It's a beautiful statement. Notice 
in verse 11, she says, for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven 
above and on earth beneath. That was not pagan thought. Pagans 
had gods for heaven, gods for earth, gods for hills, gods for 
valleys. That she is ascribing sovereignty 
to the God of Israel shows the change in her heart. And then 
turn over to the book of Ruth, Ruth chapter 1, passages that 
you should be familiar with because these were persons outside the 
commonwealth of Israel that by God's grace were included among 
the covenant people. In Ruth chapter 1, verse 16, 
but Ruth said, entreat me not to leave you. or to turn back 
from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go, 
and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my 
people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and 
there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more 
also, if anything but death parts you and me." So when we go back 
to the case of Naaman, he sounds just like that. He sounds like 
a fresh convert. He sounds like one who's come 
out of darkness into marvelous light and has seen the glory 
and the majesty and the power of the living and true God. So 
he says specifically, indeed now I know that there is no God 
in all the earth except in Israel. And then notice his gratitude 
toward God. Now he's expressing gratitude 
in the only way that he knows, but this does mirror or parallel 
the guilt, grace, gratitude motif that we find not just in the 
Heidelberg Catechism, but what we find in the gospel. There 
is that guilt. We understand our sin and misery 
because of the law of God. And then we receive God's grace 
because He's so good and merciful and He shows us Christ. And then 
we respond with gratitude. We bless Him. We thank Him. We 
serve Him. And by grace, we obey Him. Notice what Naaman does. Naaman 
says at the end of verse 15, now, therefore, please take a 
gift. from your servant. Please take 
a gift. Again, as far as he's concerned, 
you know, it's consistent with his pagan religion, it's consistent 
with sort of buying off the gods, but here we could see it as the 
reflex to his reception of God's grace. There is this gratitude, 
and he wants to respond in kind. Of course, Elisha refuses that 
gift. Why do you think Elisha refuses 
that gift? Because Elisha agrees with the 
reality that grace is free. He does not want to teach this 
pagan that God is like the gods of the pagans. He does not want 
to underscore or affirm or confirm or give any idea to Naaman that 
Yahweh is sort of like Baal. Yeah, not only do you receive 
the benefit, but you also have to proffer up the price. Give 
up some silver and gold and we'll call it a day. No, Elisha flat 
out refuses that. He wants to maintain the reality 
that God is a God of grace. a God of mercy, a God of kindness, 
and a God who cannot be bought off. Notice the resolution of 
Naaman. Again, this isn't an ordo salutis 
like what you find in Romans 8, but it certainly mirrors conversion 
under the Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by grace, we respond 
with gratitude, and then there's resolution in our heart to serve 
the living and the true God. Notice what Naaman says in verse 
17. Naaman said, then if not, please let your servant be given 
two mule loads of earth. What does he want Israel dirt 
for? He wants Israel dirt so he can take it back to Syria 
so he has a piece of Israel with him. When he remembers Yahweh, 
when he worships Yahweh, he wants to have a piece of dirt that 
reflects the God of Israel. This seems odd to us, but it 
certainly didn't seem odd to Elisha. It certainly didn't shock 
Elisha. It certainly didn't make Elisha 
try and correct him and fastidiously get into his face and say, oh 
no, there is nothing sacred or holy about dirt. Sure, go ahead, 
load up two mule loads, take it back home, and when you worship 
Yahweh, do it on Israel's dirt. Notice, he says, if not, please 
let your servant be given two mule loads of earth. And then 
he says, for your servant will no longer offer either burnt 
offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. He is making a resolution. This happens with converts. This 
happens with those who are saved by grace. They express gratitude 
to God, and then they express their hopeful fidelity to God. Certainly they learn along the 
way what we sang there in the hymn, We are prone to wander 
and prone to leave the God that we love, but we always want to 
reaffirm. We always want to renew that 
covenant, that attachment to our blessed God. And so Naaman 
does that, and it speaks well concerning his conversion. But 
then notice his sensitivity. He's got a sensitive conscience 
because he knows that there are going to be problems. I mean, 
after all, he's the military commander of a pagan nation. He is going to be in jeopardizing 
situations. He is going to be in difficult 
situations. He is going to be in compromising 
situations, so He preemptively seeks to fetch grace from Yahweh 
to meet that eventuality. That's what we find in verse 
18. Again, it seems strange to us, 
but let's look at the text. Yet in this thing may the Lord 
pardon your servant. When my master goes into the 
temple of Reman to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and 
I bow down in the temple of Reman, when I bow down in the temple 
of Reman, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing." 
Now, Reman was the Syrian version of Baal. And as Naaman says, 
his king worshipped that false god. And in the course of the 
day, that king would go visit the temple of Reman. And when 
that king would go, he would take Naaman. Naaman knows this 
is going to happen. Naaman understands the compromising 
situation that this is going to be. So in verse 17, he announces 
that his fidelity is to Yahweh alone. I'll offer up neither 
burnt offering or sacrifice to any other gods but to Yahweh. But I'm gonna have to go into 
the temple of Reman. I'm even gonna have to bow down. 
Now, take my word for it, Elisha, I'm not doing that out of religious 
devotion. I'm not doing that because I'm 
obliged to Reman. I love, I want to honor, and 
I want to glorify Yahweh of Israel. So, Elisha, can you call upon 
the Living God and ask Him preemptively to pardon me for what is eventually 
going to be a very uncomfortable situation. Matthew Poole points 
out, this was not a religious action towards the idol, but 
only a civil respect for his master. He had an actual responsibility 
to perform to his master. Davis makes this observation. 
The fact, well, let's just look at verse 19 first. Notice what 
Elisha responds to. Then he said to him, go in peace, 
so he departed from him a short distance. Elisha doesn't take 
this time to correct him. Elisha doesn't take this time 
to instruct him on ethics. Elisha doesn't take this time 
to say, oh, you can't go anywhere near the Temple of Ramon. Christians 
simply just don't do that. Now brethren, I don't want to 
overread into this text and give some sort of leeway for us to 
be engage in folly in terms of our life and our commitments 
and those sorts of things. But at this particular juncture 
in redemptive history, Naaman didn't have a lot of information. 
Naaman did not know a lot about, you know, the kind of religion 
that Israel practiced. But the fact that Naaman had 
a conscience pricked that was sensitive about this eventuality 
speaks well concerning the grace of God in his heart. There are 
persons who confess Jesus Christ today who live a whole lot less 
consistently in light of New Covenant, New Testament religion, 
in light of an entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. So Elisha 
doesn't take the time to correct him. Elisha tacitly says that 
this is a messy world and that sometimes we have to do things 
we'd rather not do. So Elisha bids him to go Davis 
says the fact is that Elisha sent Naaman off in peace and 
didn't seem overly concerned about the matter. Perhaps because 
Naaman was miles ahead of scores of Israelites. You see, if you've 
read 1st and 2nd Kings up to this point, and if you continue 
past this point in 2nd Kings, you will notice that the religion 
of Israel, while they may have had it up here, it certainly 
was not fleshed out in their lives. It was not practiced, 
it was not applied. So back to the Davis quote. He 
says, note positively what verse 18 shows. It shows a sensitive 
conscience. Here is a man who feels the rub 
between his exclusive allegiance to Yahweh and the expectations 
of his workplace. And it bothers him. Would that 
Bethel-visiting or Baal-kissing Israelites were bothered like 
this? Would that they could have the 
uneasy conscience of this Gentile? Would that apparent inconsistencies 
drove them to seek pardon? So you see, it is an odd situation, 
it is an odd request, a preemptive fetching of God's grace for an 
offensual situation, but it does show that sensitive conscience. 
It shows that he did in fact receive God's grace. Now let's 
look thirdly and finally at the greed of Gehazi. Two things to 
note here, the deception and the disease. Verses 20 to 24, 
you see Gehazi's desire. Verse 20, Gehazi, the servant 
of Elisha, the man of God, said, Look, my master has spared Naaman 
the Syrian while not receiving from his hands what he brought. 
I mean, come on, that gold and that silver? If not all of it, 
Elijah, a few shekels our way could help us, you know, with 
the pot of stew. We might get a bit of meat in 
the next pot that we make. So Gehazi's kind of licking his 
chops at the thought of a bit of a better life, which he ultimately 
gets and then ultimately sacrifices. So he sees the situation. And 
then notice what he says in the middle of verse 20. Brethren, that's a special kind 
of wickedness. When you design to rebel against 
God, don't do it by adjuring God. Don't do it by oathing to 
God. As the Lord lives, I'm going 
to undo everything my master, the prophet of Yahweh, has said, 
and I'm going to run up to Naaman, and I'm going to get some money 
from him. So that's his desire. Notice 
how he goes about it. Verses 21 to 24. So Gehazi pursued 
Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after 
him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. And he said, is 
all well? And he said, all is well. My master has sent me saying, 
he's a liar. He does this as the Lord lives. 
He's lying with having adjured the living and true God. He's 
engaged in subterfuge just to try and get loot. So he says 
that my master has sent me saying indeed just now two young men 
of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains 
of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes 
of garments. And we see that Naaman complies. Naaman's new to this religion 
of Israel. Naaman thought that perhaps this 
is just going to do a solid for these two new prophets that need 
a bit of money and a little bit of treatment. Elijah's done him 
a great service. He's going to go ahead and repay 
this kindness. So this is Gehazi's plan. to 
take from him. Notice verse 23, Naaman said, 
please take two talents and he urged him and bound two talents 
of silver in two bags with two changes of garments and handed 
them to two of his servants and they carried them on ahead of 
him. When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand 
and stored them away in the house. Then he let the men go and they 
departed. Now he went in and stood before 
his master, Elisha. Elisha said to him, where did 
you go, Gehazi? So you see, he had to make good 
now. He had to come to grips with 
what he has done. If he had no Elisha to face, 
he perhaps would have got away with it. That's the folly of 
every criminal. They always think they're going 
to get away with it, right? Yeah, I I can get away with this 
sin. I know billions of my my fellows 
have tried and have failed, but I'll be successful It's kind 
of like communism. We know that it's failed in every 
other country It's ever been tried. But but we'll be able 
to pull it off in America. We'll be able to accomplish it 
in Canada Yeah, let's see how that goes So he's got the same 
sort of a mindset as far as Ghazi is concerned. He just wants money. 
He wants a a filthy lucre as the King James calls it. So he 
lies ultimately about God Most High. And then in terms of his 
having to pay the ferryman. Verse 25, he went in and stood 
before his master. Elisha said to him, where did 
you go Gehazi? And he said, your servant did 
not go anywhere. Brethren, if you are in contact 
with a prophet of the true and living God, can I give you a 
bit of counsel? Don't lie to him. Don't do that. Elisha's much smarter than Gehazi. Elisha's the prophet, Gehazi's 
the servant, Gehazi's a wretch. So he tries to continue to perpetrate 
this wickedness. Why do you think Elisha doesn't 
want to pay, or receive rather, the pay from Naaman? Why do you 
think that Elisha is upset with Gehazi for having done this? Again, Davis. Why was Elisha 
so adamant, note his oath, notice in verse 16, as the Lord lives 
before whom I stand. Same language that Gehazi uses 
to pull off his crime. So Davis says, why was Elisha 
so adamant, note his oath, about refusing Naaman's gift? Doubtless 
because he wanted to impress upon Naaman that Yahweh is a 
God of grace. One doesn't bribe, manipulate, 
or cajole Yahweh like pagans do their gods. Yahweh doesn't 
forever have his hand out looking for a payoff. Yahweh is simply 
a gifty God. Raymond Dillard says it was because 
Gehazi was undoing what God had done. God wanted Naaman to know 
his free grace, but Gehazi was trying to put a price on the 
goodness of God. The God of Israel did not accept 
bribes. He would not be manipulated by 
money or make room for human pride. His grace was free. Gehazi 
was implying otherwise, and it would be at a great cost to him. 
The man's a wretch. The man should have listened 
to his master. He shouldn't have done this. 
And that is precisely how the passage ends. Verse 26, then 
he said to him, did not my heart go with you when the man turned 
back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money 
and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and 
oxen, male and female servants? He's speaking about what Gehazi 
planned to do with that money. Is it time for that, Gehazi? 
You just want a life of luxury and ease? You just want all of 
your needs met? You want your needs exceeded? 
You want your wants? You want all satisfaction? Elisha 
is saying there is something far more important than our temporal 
ease. than our temporal comfort, than 
meat in our stew pot. What is most important is to 
communicate the truth of God Most High to persons in need. He cannot be bribed, He cannot 
be manipulated, He cannot be coerced, and we are not in the 
business of profiting as prophets, is what Elisha says to this man 
Gehazi. Now notice in verse 27, Therefore 
the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever, 
and he went out from his presence, leprous, as white as snow." I 
would imagine New Testament Christians read this and they say, wow, 
that's a bit over excessive, isn't it? That's a bit harsh, 
isn't it? No, not at all. Matthew Poole 
is right on. He says, nor was this punishment 
too severe for Gehazi's wickedness, which was great and various, 
horrid covetousness, which is idolatry, the profanation of 
God's name by a wicked oath, downright theft, deliberate and 
impudent lying, and that to a prophet. a desperate contempt of God's 
omniscience, justice and holiness, a horrible reproach fastened 
upon the prophet and his religion, and a mischievous scandal given 
to Naaman and all other Syrians that might hear of it. It is 
not wrong for God to punish this man with leprosy for his having 
committed this crime and this sin before Yahweh. In the presence 
of Elisha and in the presence of a brand new Christian, a brand 
new believer, a brand new convert to the true religion from paganism. We need to speak the truth concerning 
God in each and every instance. We need to communicate the truth 
about the gospel in each and every instance. Remember that 
the book of Galatians exists to show us that it's not faith 
plus anything that gets us salvation. It's faith alone. It's God's 
grace alone. That's why this whole idea of 
faith as instrument, it's the receiving hand that gets from 
God what He graciously grants to needy sinners. Well, in conclusion, 
there are theological lessons that we should derive, and then 
there are some the gospel significance. First, the comprehensive sovereignty 
of God. He's sovereign over Israel. He's 
sovereign over Syria. He's sovereign over Naaman. He's 
sovereign over this Israelite girl that is taken captive and 
brought into Naaman's house. The providence of God. The providence 
of God, again, just like the Fever of that young man in John 
chapter 4 was the crushing providence that provoked that noble man 
to go out and seek out Jesus to go and fetch healing. It's 
providence that brought these these persons together. It's 
providence that put this servant girl in Naaman's house. It's 
providence where the servant girl says to Mrs. Naaman, if 
only your husband could meet the true prophet of God, he would 
be healed. That wasn't lucky. It wasn't 
fortuitous. It wasn't a chance event. God 
governs all his creatures and all their actions. Thirdly, and 
we ought to appreciate this, not that we shouldn't appreciate 
the others, the inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant promises 
of God. Naaman was twice removed from 
the commonwealth of Israel. Actually, three times removed. 
He's not an Israelite. He's a pagan. Two, he's a leper. We've read in Leviticus 13 and 
14 how they were unclean. They were having to live outside 
the communal society. But thirdly, he was an enemy 
ultimately of these people. Again, it was an uneasy truce. It was such that the Syrians 
still went on raids and still abducted young girls from their 
families' homes and brought them to Syria. So the inclusion of 
Gentiles in the covenant promises of God. Paul House says, from 
Genesis 12, 2 and 3 onward in the Old Testament, God desires 
to bless all nations through Israel. This ideal becomes a 
reality here due to the witness of the Israelite servant girl 
and the work of the Israelite prophet. It is a most glorious 
display of God's blessing upon not only Israel, but upon the 
Gentiles as well. And in terms of the gospel significance, 
first, the humbling impact of God's grace. He goes from a man 
who thought that Elisha should dutifully run from his house 
and kowtow to him, to your servant, five times in discourse with 
Elisha. Brethren, a proud Christian is 
an oxymoron. Proud Calvinist is horrible. 
Proud reform people is terrible. We are to be humbled by the grace 
of God. We are not saved tonight. We 
are not heaven bound tonight because we're good. It's not 
that we deserved it. It's not that our works were 
right on. It's not that we're law keepers. 
It's not that we're upright. We're wretched, we're miserable, 
we're sinful, we're defectors, we're transgressors, we're lackers 
of conformity unto God's law. And yet we have received grace. 
It ought not to promote in our minds any conception of ourselves, 
but it rather ought to humble us under His mighty hand. Secondly, 
the simplicity of God's grace. The servants point this out. 
If he had told you something great, you would have went and 
done it. All you had to do, all you have to do is go dip in the 
river seven times. The simplicity of God's grace. Perhaps more people would be 
heaven-bound if there was a litany of rules, and a decree of commands, 
and a whole host of things that they could check off their list. 
But that's not how it works. It's grace alone, through faith 
alone, in Christ alone. I would imagine if you could 
convince somebody out there that really there was a heaven and 
really there was a hell and it cost $5,000 to get into heaven, 
they would probably do whatever they could to gather up $5,000 
and pay that price immediately. They'll do those things that 
seem enormous when the call of the gospel is to believe. Oh no, it's got to be believe 
and do. It's got to be believe and perform. It's got to be believe and obey. No, the emphasis and the accent 
falls in the New Testament and the Old Testament as well on 
justification by faith alone. Abraham believed God and it was 
counted to him for righteousness. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. You almost hear it in the mouths 
of the pagans. That's it? That's kind of what 
people think. That's it? That's all? That's 
all you have to do? That's why you're going to heaven? 
You mean you didn't have to go to this, you know, class or sit 
in a monastery or go stand on a pole? You didn't have to do 
all that and yet you're going to go to heaven? It's believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Thirdly, 
the thoroughness of God's grace. The thoroughness of God's grace. He doesn't just partially deal 
with us. You see it in Naaman in a twofold 
manner. First, the physical manifestation. 
He's no longer a leper. He no longer had that malady. He no longer had that affliction. 
But you see it spiritually in what has happened to him. He 
confesses belief in Israel's God. He expresses gratitude toward 
Israel's God. He expresses a resolution to 
none other than Israel's God. This wasn't a half-hearted conversion. This wasn't just a decision just 
for the time so that he could be healed from his leprosy. Fifth, 
you see in the passage, specifically with the greed of Gehazi, the 
danger of attempting to add to God's grace. We are not those 
who are trying to put a value on salvation. There's no value 
you can place on it. It is not the case that we put 
additions or supplements into the gospel call, believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ and do this with your children. Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ and go to this particular church. Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and subscribe this particular confession. 
No, that's what's condemned by Paul in the book of Galatians. 
There it was circumcision. There it was the ceremonies of 
Moses. There it was faith in Jesus as Messiah plus circumcision 
to identify with the people of Israel. Paul anathematizes that 
approach to the gospel. And then finally, you can turn 
to Luke 4. We'll tie up everything with 
what we saw this morning. The sovereignty of God's grace. The sovereignty of God's grace. We noted this morning with John's 
comments that Jesus made this tripped from Samaria into Galilee, 
and he says that a prophet is without honor in his own hometown. Well, you see this in Nazareth 
in Luke chapter 4, verse 16. So he came to Nazareth where 
he had been brought up, and as his costume was, he went into 
the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. He 
was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened 
the book, he found the place where it was written, the Spirit 
of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach 
the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 
to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the 
blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim 
the acceptable year of the Lord. Then he closed the book and gave 
it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all 
who were in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to 
say to them, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. 
Who could do that but the one who is the subject of that particular 
prophecy? Verse 22, So all bore witness 
to him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of 
his mouth. And they said, Is this not Joseph's son? So at 
this point, they're marveling at the grace that proceeds out 
of his mouth. This changes when he tells them 
about sovereignty. Look at what happens in verse 
23. He said to them, you will surely 
say this proverb to me. Physician, heal yourself. Whatever 
we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country. 
Then he said, assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted 
in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows 
were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut 
up three years and six months, and there was a great famine 
throughout all the land. but to none of them was Elijah 
sent except to Zarephath in the region of Sidon to a woman who 
was a widow." Brethren, she was a pagan. She was part of Heathenville. She was not in the Commonwealth 
of Israel. What's Jesus' point? God's sovereignty 
is such that at the time of Elijah, he passed up a lot of Israelite 
widows and ministered to this widow in Zarephath. But he doesn't 
stop there. Notice in verse 27, And many 
lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and 
none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. See, another 
demonstration of the fact that God cannot be manipulated. God 
cannot be coerced or cajoled, but rather God is sovereign in 
the dispensing of His grace. And notice how the Nazareth people 
respond now to his teaching on God's sovereignty. So just remind 
yourself in verse 22, all bore witness to him and marveled at 
the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. Now drop down 
to verse 28. So all those in the synagogue, 
when they heard these things, were filled with wrath and rose 
up and thrust him out of the city. And they led him to the 
brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might 
throw him down over the cliff. then passing through the midst 
of them, he went his way." God's sovereignty is an offense to 
those who are perishing, but to those who, by God's grace, 
have their eyes open and their hearts filled with faith and 
repentance, they see it as one of the most blessed things in 
all of the world. Sovereign grace is such a blessed 
benefit. It is such a wondrous thing. 
Let us with Naaman resolve to serve and glorify him alone. Let us with Naaman seek God's 
grace and mercy and forgiveness when we sin, when we come into 
places where we might sin. And let us with Naaman Bless 
the God of Israel and respond with the gratitude that is befitting 
for those who have received God's sovereign grace. Well, let us 
pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for your blessedness 
and your holiness and your goodness and the way that you saved this 
pagan. And our Father in heaven, we know that you are in the business 
even now of saving persons by your grace and for your glory. 
Bless the gospel as it has gone out today. I pray that multitudes 
who have heard the sound of Christ and Him crucified and resurrected 
would be affected, they would be convicted, they would see 
themselves as sinners before a holy God, and they would see 
Christ as the one in whom there is forgiveness and a righteousness 
that avails with you. We thank you for your great salvation 
in our lives. Help us to respond in a manner 
that is consistent with what we find in Holy Scripture, and 
we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll close with 
a brief time of meditation.