In a recent article we saw Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, go to Samaria for a healing from the Lord. Though he worshiped other gods and though he had brought harm to God’s people, including capturing a young girl as a slave for his wife, the young girl’s faith in the Lord was incredible. She knew the prophet Elisha could heal Naaman of his skin disease. The generic term leprosy was used, but we know it wasn’t Hansen’s Disease as Naaman would have been sent to forced isolation. Instead, his disease was something like psoriasis—not deadly, but painful and itchy and really annoying. The king of Syria sent him to Samaria with a substantial gift, assuming one must pay for such miracles. This is what all the gods required, after all. You go to a priest for religious services and you pay him. You go to a prophet for a foretelling of your future and you pay him. When you get healing from a god, you pay him. That’s how the world works.
We also saw that Naaman’s understanding of the world was that he should have received a royal welcome. He was, after all, someone important. Why else would the king spend millions in today’s money to bring relief to his army commander? Elisha didn’t even greet Naaman, let alone perform a show for him and his healing. Instead a messenger from Elisha told him to dunk himself in the river seven times. He was enraged at this but after his servants assured him that despite the unorthodox method of healing, Elisha had, in fact, promised he would be healed. Naaman finally agreed and dunked himself seven times in the Jordan. Second Kings 5 tells us his skin was restored so that it was like the soft, smooth skin of a young child.
Prior to this, Naaman worshiped the god Rimmon. Part of his important role for the king of Syria was helping him worship Rimmon. They would enter Rimmon’s temple together and Naaman would help the king bow before the idol. He, too, would worship Rimmon. After being healed by the God of Israel Naaman’s first response was to pay for the healing. We read of this in 2 Kings 5.
Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.”
2 Kings 5:15-16 ESV
Naaman offers this gift because he was sent with the gift. It is no longer presented as payment, however. Now it is a response of faith to the healing God has granted him through Elisha. What we see here is a remarkable case of conversion in the ancient world. Notice his words! “I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.” Naaman thought he was offering a gift to the Lord but the truth is God allowed him to capture a little girl and give that girl to his wife to be her servant because that little girl’s faith would lead to Naaman’s faith in the God of Israel. Rather than receive a gift from Naaman, God had given an incredible gift to Naaaman. He had also healed him of his skin disease.
Given the king’s willingness to send what is—in today’s prices—nearly $5,000,000 in gold and silver and clothing, the king of Syria had surely spent as much or more in Syria, giving gifts to “doctors” and priests and such. None of them could heal Naaman, despite the great show they would have made of his healing. This is why Elisha refused to come out of his house and heal him directly. Remember what Naaman was expecting when he arrived at Elisha’s house:
But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.”
2 Kings 5:11 ESV
That’s how things were done! You dim the lights and turn on the fog machines. You have colored lights flashing through the fog in time with the beat. You play emotionally charged music underneath the prayer so that the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. That’s what you do! That’s how you do things like this! Elisha refused to do anything of the sort because he knew he was not the one who could heal Naaman, and Naaman needed to know this, too. By telling him to dunk himself in a river, he was demonstrating that only God could heal him, for surely Naaman had taken countless baths in water that was, no doubt, cleaner than plain ol’ river water!
Naaman understands all this now. He offers the gold and the silver as a response to God’s healing, rather than as payment. Elisha refuses the gift, so Naaman makes a request of him, further demonstrating the reality of his conversion.
Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD. In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter.” He said to him, “Go in peace.”
2 Kings 5:17-19 ESV
Naaman refuses to worship any other god! Why waste time worshiping gods that cannot answer? Why waste time bowing before an idol that cannot speak, let alone heal? Because of the connection between the worship of YHWH and the land of Israel, he requests a bunch of soil from the land. He will take that dirt back to Syria and build an altar to the God of Israel and offer sacrifices there. He says he will only worship the God of Israel going forward.
He recognizes a problem, however. His role with the king requires that he help the king worship Rimmon. This involves helping the king bow, for apparently the king was elderly and struggled to kneel and stand on his own. Because he would also have to bow alongside the king, it would appear to anyone observing that he was also worshiping the god Rimmon. Elisha assures him the Lord will pardon him, for the Lord is looking for faith. While the externalities of his role with the king may lead one to think he was also worshiping Rimmon, the Lord knew his heart and Naaman’s heart had been changed.
Once again we see God’s concern for the nations. Even while his focus was on the people of Israel, God was always working to bring salvation to the nations. One of the 10,000 things he was doing in the life of the little girl was he used her to save a man who had brought great suffering to her people. God’s mercy is incredible. His grace is amazing. This foreigner who was outside the covenant people has received God’s salvation because of his faith in the God of Israel. If only there was such faith in Israel!
After Elisha rejected the notion of receiving “payment” for God’s grace and after assuring him of his right standing with the Lord in spite of his responsibilities back home, Elisha’s servant demonstrates a lack of faith. After Naaman had traveled a short distance away from Elisha’s home, Gehazi his servant runs after Naaman. Naaman noticed him following so he stopped and asked him if everything was okay. We read this:
And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’” And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up 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 Gehazi. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”
2 Kings 5:22-25 ESV
Gehazi lies to Naaman, claiming Elisha had sent him. He claims two sons of the prophets had just arrived and claims Elisha wanted a talent of silver and two changes of clothing for these two young men. He only asks for a talent of silver, knowing Naaman had brought ten, along with six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothing. Asking for such a small portion of what had been originally offered would have not raised any eyebrows from Naaman. Had Gehazi asked for it all, he likely would have turned around to talk directly to Elisha again. Not only does Gehazi lie, he lies skillfully.
Naaman, thoroughly delighted by God’s grace in his life, gladly offers two talents of silver—double what Gehazi requested. He gives him two bags of silver and the two changes of clothing, along with two servants to carry them back to, presumably, Elisha. The author says when they came to the hill, Gehazi took the bags and the clothing from them and sent them back. Why? It’s likely the hill blocked the view from the house. If Elisha—or anyone else—had seen two strangers with Gehazi he would have asked questions. Gehazi quietly hides the treasure in the house and stands before Elisha as if nothing had happened. Elisha, however, is a prophet. He asked Gehazi where he had been. Gehazi lies again and foolishly says, “Who? Me? Nowhere. I’ve been right here the whole time.” Elisha’s response is interesting as he names things Gehazi “took”, indicating the reason he wanted the treasure from Naaman.
But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.
2 Kings 5:26-27 ESV
He didn’t accept olive orchards and sheep and oxen, but the money he received could have purchased them. Elisha knows that it wasn’t silver Gehazi was after, but the stuff silver can buy. Gehazi was worshiping stuff, even if he did not bow down before such stuff physically. His heart was always bowed before his desires.
Contrast Gehazi with Naaman. Naaman was a pagan. He worshiped false gods, bowing before them and offering sacrifices to them. God arranges for him to be healed and in response to the miracle he believes in the God of Israel. He repents of his idolatry and makes plans for the worship of YHWH and YHWH alone. Meanwhile, one who regularly and even routinely saw the grace and power of God in action through his relationship to Elisha remained an unbeliever.
Think of the miracles Gehazi had witnessed. In 2 Kings 4 Gehazi was there when Elisha promised a Shunammmite woman—an elderly, childless woman—she would conceive and have a son. She gave birth to that son the following spring. Gehazi witnessed this! A few years later this son born to the Shunammite woman got sick and died. Once again Gehazi was present when Elisha—by God’s power and grace—raised this boy back to life. Then one day a group of men had a large pot of stew. One of them mistakenly put some wild gourds into the pot, not knowing they were toxic. Gehazi was there when Elisha “purified” the deadly stew and the men ate and were unharmed. As if that weren’t enough, Gehazi was there when Elisha told him to give bread and grain to a group of 100 men. Gehazi protested that this wasn’t enough food for them but when Elisha insisted there would be leftovers, there were leftovers! He witnessed God’s power firsthand!
After witnessing these miracles, Gehazi witnessed an even greater miracle: the heart of a pagan was transformed by God. God saved Naaman, showing his incredible mercy and grace. Even though Gehazi had witnessed all these things, his unbelief remained. Proximity to God and his work is not sufficient for salvation. Being around others who are transformed by God through faith is not sufficient for salvation. While our faith is lived out corporately, one must still repent and believe as an individual. Though Gehazi witnessed God’s power firsthand, he did not trust in the Lord and the outcome of his unbelief was he was stricken by the very disease from which God had cleansed Naaman.
We must never mistake closeness to God and his work with genuine faith in the Lord. We see people all the time who spend their entire lives in and around the Lord’s church but never have real faith in Christ. Physical proximity does not save.
Here’s where I am very encouraged by this story. Just as physical proximity to the powerful work of God cannot save a person, which we see clearly with Gehazi, neither can physical distance prevent a person from trusting the Lord. Naaman was a pagan who worshiped a false god and lived in a land that was frequently at war with God’s people. Naaman almost certainly would never have heard the gospel of the God of Israel from such a distance, so God found a way to bring him close, that he might hear the good news of the Lord. He used Naaman’s suffering—his skin disease—and he used a little girl’s suffering, for had she not been captured and enslaved, Naaman would not have heard of Elisha and the Lord’s power to heal.
All of us have loved ones who are not following Jesus, whether a child or a parent, a sister or brother, a co-worker or long-time friend or neighbor. It may seem that they are so far off, so far from God and his people that they will never hear and believe. We must recognize that physical distance is no problem for a God who is present everywhere. Many of our loved ones have experienced great pain and suffering and difficulty and have trouble reconciling that with what they’ve heard about God. Naaman’s pain and suffering couldn’t prevent him from believing, anymore than his physical distance could, for God has people everywhere. We cannot know who the “servant girl” in that person’s life might be. Perhaps you are the one who speaks a word of encouragement at just the right time to lead a person to pursue Christ—and most likely, for someone else’s loved one. In those relationships in which faith and the gospel are off-limits, take courage that even a servant girl can speak up where you cannot and God can use a person with no power other than a profound faith in her God who can save even the most distant person.