2 KINGS LESSON 5
We will begin this lesson in II Kings 5:1 "Now Naaman, captain of
the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with 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."
The name "Naaman" means pleasantness. Naaman had, possibly, been
an army officer in the army of Ben-hadad. It seems that at this point
in time, he had been made captain of the host. The master, spoken of
here, is Ben-hadad. He had led the Syrian army in battle against the
Assyrians, and the LORD had helped him to victory. He was honored by
his countrymen, because of his bravery and skill in battle. It
appears, from the verse above, that he was a good moral man, as well.
His leprosy had not been severe enough to keep him out of battle.
II Kings 5:2 "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."
It seemed, there was never a peace between Syria and Israel, that
lasted very long. There were border skirmishes frequently. This little
maid from Israel had been captured on one of these raids.
II Kings 5:3 "And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord
[were] with the prophet that [is] in Samaria! for he would recover him
of his leprosy."
It appears, the maid was happy in her captivity. It even appears,
that she cares for Naaman, her master. She believes, that if Naaman
was in Samaria, Elisha could heal his leprosy. She is aware the
healing comes from the LORD, but is mightily manifested through
Elisha. She is so sure of this, that she tells her mistress.
II Kings 5:4 "And [one] went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus
and thus said the maid that [is] of the land of Israel."
This, possibly, means that Naaman went in and told Ben-hadad that
this girl said, there was a prophet in Israel, who could cure Naaman's
leprosy.
II Kings 5:5 "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."
A talent of silver weighs 125 pounds, so this is 1,250 pounds of
silver, plus 6,000 pieces of gold {probably coins}. He, also, sent ten
changes of clothing. This means that Naaman was very important to the
kingdom, and he must be cured regardless of cost. Notice, who he sends
the money to. It is the king of Israel. Such a gift would surely turn
the head of the king of Israel.
II Kings 5:6 "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."
Messengers from kings were allowed to carry their messages to the
king of the land without danger. Ben-hadad was a heathen king. He
thought, if there were someone in the land that could heal Naaman, he
would surely be working for the king. He sent the letter and the
gifts to the king, so Naaman would be healed.
II Kings 5:7 "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."
The king of Israel knew that only God could give life to a
person. Someone with leprosy was thought of as being dead. The king of
Israel knew how serious a sin it would be, to put himself in the place
of God. He tears his clothes to prove that this is not his idea. He
believes this to be some kind of a trick the king of Syria is pulling,
to get him in trouble with God.
II Kings 5:8 "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."
We do not know for sure, but it appears the king was not aware of
Elisha's part in the raising of the woman's son from the dead. Elisha
heard of this, and sent word to the king to send Naaman to him. It was
almost as if he was saying, "the king of Israel and the king of Syria
will realize there is a prophet in the land". This was as much for the
benefit of Israel, as it was for Syria.
II Kings 5:9 "So Naaman came with his horses and with his
chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha."
From a very early age, the Syrians used horse-drawn chariots.
This was not unusual, then. This proud man would not go into the
humble house of Elisha.
II Kings 5:10 "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."
Since he did not come in to Elisha, Elisha did not come out to
him, but sent him a message. The commander of the army would find this
a very degrading thing to do, as if he were not clean.
II Kings 5:11 "But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said,
Behold, I thought, 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."
We see a very proud man. He was a great man in his land, and he
expected the holy man to show him respect. We must remember, he had
shown the holy man no respect. He had made up his mind, how this
healing was to take place, and none of his expected things happened.
He did not even hear the holy man call upon his LORD. He is insulted.
II Kings 5:12 "[Are] not Abana 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."
His pride was about to keep him from being healed. He was
familiar with the rivers of Damascus, and he knew they were clean. He
could not believe he had come so far, to just wash in the water of the
river. He was really angry.
II Kings 5:13 "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?"
The servants were not so puffed up with pride. They are saying to
Naaman, what will it hurt to wash in the water and try it? You might
be healed. You have come so far, why not just try washing in the river
like the prophet said?
II Kings 5:14 "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."
He realized how foolish it was, not to take the advice of the
holy man, after he had come so far to get his advice. He swallowed his
pride, and obeyed the commands of God, which came from Elisha's lips.
He immediately had soft skin like a young man. His leprosy was gone,
and his skin was very soft.
II Kings 5:15 "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."
He had been angry, when he left the house of the prophet before.
Now, he went back and honored the prophet, who the LORD used to heal
him. He recognizes the God of Elisha as the One True God. He tries to
pay Elisha for the healing.
II Kings 5:16 "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."
It was not wrong for the prophet to take an offering. In fact,
generally, the person blessed, did give an offering. It, perhaps, was
because Naaman had first expressed his importance, or it could have
been because he was a heathen. Elisha, possibly, wanted Naaman to see
that a person could not buy the favors of God. Elisha wanted Naaman to
realize, that it was the LORD who truly healed him.
II Kings 5:17 "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."
Naaman said above, "There is no God in all the earth, save in
Israel". The request, in verse 17, was to take a little of Israel home
with him, so he could worship on the soil of Israel. His burnt
offering and sacrifices would be made on that soil. In doing this, he
would be recognizing the God of Israel.
II Kings 5:18 "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."
Naaman is asking, in this, for the LORD to forgive him for going
to the house of Rimmon to worship. He will no longer believe in any
other God than the LORD. He will go to the house of Rimmon, to keep
from being killed. He is saying in advance, that the visit to the
house of Rimmon would be to please his leader, and he would worship in
form only. His heart will be forever with the LORD.
II Kings 5:19 "And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed
from him a little way."
In this, we do not see Elisha expressing approval of Naaman going
to the house of Rimmon. He does not reprimand him either. He does send
him away in peace.
II Kings 5:20 "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."
The greed of Gehazi is showing. He is like many today, who are in
the ministry for the money they make from it. That is the wrong reason
to minister, as we will see in the next few verses. It is such a shame
that he tries to include the LORD in this act of lying and stealing.
He uses the phrase "as the LORD liveth". Had he been a true servant of
the LORD, and of Elisha in particular, he would have trusted Elisha's
judgement on this matter.
II Kings 5:21 "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?"
Naaman had seen Gehazi serving Elisha. His respect, shown here,
is for Elisha.
II Kings 5:22 "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."
The servant of Elisha is giving an excuse to Naaman for Elisha
changing his mind about the gift. Of course, this whole statement is a
lie. A talent of silver was thought to weigh 125 pounds. This is worth
a great deal.
II Kings 5:23 "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."
Naaman was so thankful for his healing that he wanted to give
even more than was asked. He insisted on giving two talents of silver
and two changes of garments. It took two men to carry the silver. Even
at that, the load would have been very heavy. These servants were not
Gehazi's.
II Kings 5:24 "And when he came to the tower, he took [them] from
their hand, and bestowed [them] in the house: and he let the men go,
and they departed."
Gehazi knows what he had done was wrong. He did not let the two
carrying the load of silver come back into the city, for fear Elisha
would find out what he had done. He hid the silver in the house,
perhaps his own, and went to Elisha.
II Kings 5:25 "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."
We can look back to when the staff of Elisha was sent by Gehazi
to put on the face of the dead boy. We remember, the boy did not
improve. Now, we know it was the hands of this liar, that kept the
staff from helping. God knew the heart of Gehazi even then. His heart
had not been with the LORD all along.
II Kings 5:26 "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?"
Elisha loved Gehazi. He had been Elisha's personal servant, as
Elisha had been Elija's. Gehazi should have known that Elisha would
know everything he did. Elisha had a vision of the whole thing.
Gehazi's plan for the money was to buy oliveyards, vineyards, sheep,
oxen, menservants and maidservants. He was tired of being poor, and
wanted to be rich from the ministry. This sounds all too familiar,
does it not?
II Kings 5:27 "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."
He took the gifts of Naaman, now he will, also, have his leprosy.
He will no longer serve Elisha. He must go out from him. He was no
longer fit to serve Elisha. He was not trustworthy, and his greed
made him unfit for the ministry. The leprosy that Gehazi received was
the worst kind. He received his as a curse for his terrible sin. He
could stop the leprosy with himself, by never getting married. If he
married and had a family, the curse of the father would be on his sons
and daughters.
2 Kings 5 Questions
1. Who was captain of the host of the king of Syria?
2. What kind of captain was he?
3. What does the name "Naaman" mean?
4. Who is the master spoken of in verse 1?
5. How did the little maid happen to be in Naaman's house?
6. How do we know the little maid liked Naaman?
7. Who does she suggest Naaman go to see, to get rid of his leprosy?
8. Naaman takes the maid's suggestion to whom?
9. What did Ben-hadad send as a gift to Elisha?
10. How much does a talent of silver weigh?
11. Who sent the letter to the king of Israel?
12. What did the letter request of the king?
13. When the king of Israel read the letter, what did he do?
14. When did Elisha send word to the king that he would help Naaman?
15. How did Naaman get to Elisha?
16. Why did Elisha not come out and speak personally with Naaman?
17. What did Elisha tell him to do?
18. How did Naaman feel about this?
19. His _________ was about to keep him from being healed.
20. Who spoke to Naaman, and convinced him to do what Elisha had told
him to do?
21. What happened, when he obeyed the words of Elisha?
22. What admission did Naaman make in verse 15?
23. When Naaman offered Elisha gifts for what he had done, what did
Elisha do?
24. What did Naaman ask Elisha for?
25. What did he want with dirt from Israel?
26. Who ran after Naaman, and asked for a gift?
27. What did Naaman give Gehazi?
28. Where did Gehazi hide the silver?
29. What did Elisha tell Gehazi, when he came back?
30. What punishment came on Gehazi for his sin?
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