the history of all of creation
is God's history and the story of Naaman and the history of
Naaman and those associated with him and in this story are all
there because God Our God is a God of purpose,
and the purpose of all things is to reveal God's glory, and
all of God's glory centres on who the Lord Jesus is and the
way He saves His people. That's what this creation exists
for, to display the glory of God. and that glory is displayed
in our Saviour. So he went back to his hometown
in Luke chapter 4 and he opened up the book and he spoke those
extraordinary words from Isaiah 61. 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. He has sent me to proclaim liberty
to the captives. and recovery of sight to the
blind, and to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord." And he closed the book and he
said, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. And down to verse 24, 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 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. And many lepers were in Israel
in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed
except Naaman the Syrian. 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 as 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. And His way is never the ways
of men. And His ways in salvation are
always extraordinary. And they're always particular
and individual. In verse 40 of Mark chapter 1,
Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him, and
saying to Him, If You are willing, you can make me clean. Then Jesus
moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and touched him
and said to him, I am willing be cleansed. As soon as he had
spoken, immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And so when we come back to second
Kings chapter five, we're actually looking at the Old Testament
picture of these things. It's a picture of God's sovereignty
in salvation, God's sovereignty in election, in grace, in mercy,
and in love. And it pictures God's providence
in the saving of his people. Let's just read these. Naman,
commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and
honourable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the
Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valour,
but a leper. And the Syrians had gone out
on raids, and they brought back a 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 to 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.' Then 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 Arbana and the Farpar, the rivers of Damascus, far 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 he 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 to 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 Rimen to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I
bow down in the temple of Rimen, When I bow down in the temple
of Rimmon, 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. Naaman is a great picture as
we see all through the scriptures of God's salvation. The questions
that are obvious, aren't they? Does bathing in the Jordan heal
people of leprosy? The next question, could Naaman
have been healed without bathing in the Jordan? The answer to
both questions. is no. Naaman's leprosy in the
Old Testament in Leviticus 13 and 14 shows is a picture of
sin, a picture of the sin which is a pollution of all people. See, Naaman was a great and Naaman
was a powerful man and Naaman was a wealthy and a successful
man. But if you look in verse 1, you'll
see that it was actually the Lord's doing. The Lord makes
a difference. It was because of Him. By Him,
the Lord had given victory. But this man was a leper. This sin and this disease had
poisoned this man, like all of us, to the very core of his being. Sin is like a master who always
pays his wages. We are sinners by nature, from
our father Adam, and we are sinners by practice. You see, Naaman
would have been someone for whom the very people under his care
would have been fearful to be in the presence of. Now, leprosy
pollutes absolutely everything. It is contagious. It is incurable. And it's what this sin is what
pollutes even the most righteous things that we do. So Naaman
was a great and powerful man. But like all men, until the grace
of God comes to them in God's providence, like all men, they
are proud, proud men. Even on his way to Israel, he's
a man who displays his works and his worth. But before we
go there, let's just look at the providence of God. On Sunday,
we looked at the providence of God in Simon of Cyrene, a picture
of salvation. Just think of the providences.
Naaman was rich and powerful and successful by God's doing. And Naaman just happened to have
this captured young girl in his house. And this captured young
girl just happened to wait on Naaman's wife. This young girl happened to have
this witness in her life of what God can do through his prophets. And we need reminding again and
again that Elisha is a picture of the prophet. This young girl
is a girl with faith. She said just a few words. She said words of faith. in verse
3, for he would heal him of his leprosy. This no-name girl makes
this extraordinarily courageous statement. Just imagine if he
had returned unclean. She was passing in a sense a
death sentence on herself. But extraordinarily this powerful
man listened and this powerful man acted just on those few words
from this young slave girl. How would Naaman have felt having
gathered all of this wealth together and all of these clothes and
no doubt a goodly number of troops and gone to Israel and come back
a leper still. God moves, powerfully moves the
hearts of His people. As I said earlier, having heard
of this possibility of healing in Israel, He came as a wealthy
man with his 10 talents of silver and his 6,000 shekels of gold
and his changes of clothes. See, Naaman, with his righteousness,
was still just a leper who happened to be wealthy. But he comes to
buy deliverance. He comes with a letter of commendation
and a plea for help from a king. As a rich and powerful man, he
wanted to be in the company of rich and powerful and be honoured
by them. The young girl is said to go
to the prophet, not to a palace, but to a prophet. Naaman went
to the wrong place. And when he comes to this place
we find Naaman a proud man. Naaman a hopeful man. Naaman with some hope and trust
that these words were true. But he still comes as a proud
man. All of us until God does a work
in our hearts are like Naaman's, aren't we? Lepers, but proud. Filthy, but clothed in clothes
of our own righteousness. Sinners, unhumbled, want God
and His blessings, but they want God and His blessings plus their
own merits and their own will and their own ways intact. Some of them want special recognition
and the praise of men and the honour of men. But God says there
is no one good, there is none righteous. And again we are reminded
of how the pride of our hearts is such a great enemy to all
that is good for our souls. The Naaman, like all of us, must
be emptied. Naaman must be humbled. Naaman must be brought face to
face with God. His human thoughts and his human
pride and his human ways and his human works and his human
activities must be put down. And the sinner eventually must
be brought. to a place of God's will and
God's ways. Which is why it's a wonderful
verse in Luke 4.30, that Jesus went through the midst of them
and he went his way. God will go his way and do things
his way and not the ways of men. And so now we see Naaman humbled. Naaman went to this house, which
may not have been a very impressive house if we read the rest of
Elisha's history. He didn't live in a palace, and
he didn't need to. And when Elisha, the man of God,
has this man come to his house, Elisha, by the Spirit of God,
knows what this man needs. This proud, still righteous man
needs to be humbled. And there, Elisha doesn't even
get up from his easy chair and go to the door. There is this
man, almost a king in Syria, at a hovel with a prophet. And the prophet, verse 10, sent
a messenger out to him. And the messenger brings the
words which are echoes of Leviticus 4.17. You see, leprosy in the
Old Testament under the Mosaic law is a picture of sin. And
the leper, there is no human cure for leprosy in the scriptures. Leprosy is a disease healed by
God and God alone. And the leper is a man who covers
his moustache and walks around according to law, according to
God's law, says, unclean, unclean. But if a leper is cleansed, the
priest takes two birds, two clean birds, and he kills one of them. And he dips the other, dips the
living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over running
water. And he shall, according to the
law, he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed
from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean. And he shall let the
living bird loose in the field. Like all of the sacrifices, they
picture and typify the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. The bird dies, and another bird
goes free, carrying those sins, as it were,
away. Salvation is God's way. Naaman had wrong thoughts about
God. and the way God works and God's
mercy and so do all of us until God humbles us. Salvation is
God's way and free grace, free sovereign grace, free electing
sovereign grace free, eternal, loving, electing, sovereign grace
is offensive to sinners who bring and seek from God the things
of God, plus their own righteousness. Verse 11, Naaman became furious. It is extraordinary, isn't it,
that he was this man who had a simple instruction. a simple
instruction which was humbling, but also an extraordinary promise.
Go wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored
to you, and the words from God And you shall be clean. He'd
gone to all of this trouble, packing up all this goods, going
on this long journey, going to the king. And then now he is
at the prophet's house with a promise from God. And Naaman's response
is fury. No wonder, in response to sovereign
grace, people are still furious. Sinners are prepared to do anything,
just about anything, to be saved if it allows them to keep some
of their righteousness. Sinners are prepared to do anything,
just about anything, to be sanctified as long as they can keep some
of their righteousness. God won't have it. He doesn't
go out to see this man to humble him, and he causes this man to
be furious, and Naaman went away. But Naaman's servants were faithful
men, another of the providences of God. What wise words from
these servants, in verse 13. My father, if the prophet had
told you to do something great, if we believe that there's something
great we can do, would you not have done it? Of course. How much more then when he says
to you, wash and be clean. And so now we see Naaman, a humble
man. He came down off his high horse. And he went down, he went down
bowing to God. When sinners are made willing,
they stop lying about themselves and their self-righteousness.
They stop trying to do things for themselves that God alone
can do. They stop buying. the mercy and the grace of God.
And they just bow. They bow to the Lord Jesus. And salvation is a gift. It's a free gift of God. Verse 14, His flesh was restored
like the flesh of a little child, all the pollution of life washed
from him. And he was clean. He was clean. David was a man
like us, polluted by sin. In Psalm 51 he says, wash me
thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. verse 7 of chapter 51. Purge me with hyssop. And hyssop
was the plant that was used for the sprinkling of the dove that
we read about in Leviticus. Purge me with hyssop and I shall
be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow. hide your face from my sins and
blot out all my iniquities. Verse eight, make me hear joy
and gladness that the bones that you have broken, these wounds
and this leprosy came to Naaman from God. That these bones, this
flesh that you have broken may rejoice. Created me a clean heart,
our God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your
salvation and uphold me by your generous spirit. See, Naaman
now is a cleansed man and a healed man. And he returned, verse 15,
to the man of God, he and all of his aides, and came and stood
before him. And here he makes this wonderful
confession. Indeed, now I know. Now I know. God causes his children
to know by personal experience that there is no God in all the
earth. except in Israel. And now, therefore, please take
a gift from your servant. He came to buy. He came to pay a price for a
work to be done. He now offers a gift. a gift
of gratitude, a gift in love and thankfulness. Elijah said,
as the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will receive nothing. Salvation is free. It is a gift. and he urged him
to take it, but Elisha refused. Naaman's a man, a proud man who's
been humbled, and a proud man who's been healed. And then Naaman has to go back
and live now as a man in this world, but not of this world. My pollution in the past has
been dealt with. My pollution into the future,
what do I do about that? Does grace cover that? He doesn't want to offer sacrifice
or burnt offerings to other gods but the Lord. And yet, in this
thing, may the Lord pardon your servant, verse 18. Here he is,
still a servant of this Master, and the Master leans on his hand
and he bows in the Temple of Rimmon. When I bow in the Temple
of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing. Will grace cover things that
are sins in the future? What a wonderful word from Elisha
in verse 19. Then he said to him, Go in peace. Go in peace. You have been saved
by sovereign grace. You haven't been saved by your
activities. And your activities in the future
as wrong and as polluting as they might be, don't affect God's
grace. God loves us, children of God. God loves us for no other reason
than that he loves us. That's what grace is about. all the reasons for God's love
and God's extraordinary providential care of us. He moves every little
tiny thing in all of this creation, the things that we can see and
the things that we can't see, He is moving every little tiny
one of them for the good of every single one of His children all
of the time. Think about the amazing power
and knowledge of our God. Every little tiny thing that
has happened to you, is happening to you and will happen to you
is perfectly ordained and controlled and designed by our God. All the reasons for everything
are in Him. Go in peace, humble sinners. Go in peace, says God to his
children. Let's pray.