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An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
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"Lessons From A Leper" Naaman
was a very successful man.
He was commander of the Syrian army, a great
and honorable man in the eyes of his king, a
victorious general, and a mighty man of valor.
But, he had a terrible disease:
leprosy. Please
read 2 Kings 5:1-14 concerning Naaman. Naaman
learned from a young Israelite slave girl that there
was a prophet in Israel who could heal him of his
leprosy. As
we read the account of how Naaman sought a cure for
his leprosy, we may learn some valuable lessons about
our own need for cleansing from an even greater malady
than leprosy, that is sin. Naaman
thought his healing could be purchased.
When the King of Syria granted him permission
to go to Israel, Naaman "took with him ten
talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and
ten changes of clothing" (2 Kings 5:5).
Apparently he thought he could pay someone in
Israel to heal him. Like
Naaman, we cannot purchase our cleansing from sin.
However, a price must be paid for our
redemption, but not with "corruptible things,
like silver or gold” (1 Peter 1:18).
Christ paid the price for our redemption on the
cross. The
Apostle Peter states that Christians have been
redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter
1:19). Naaman
had an idea about how he thought his healing would
take place.
He said to himself, “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'" (2 Kings 5:11).
When the servant of Elisha the prophet told him
to go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and his
flesh would be restored and he would be clean (v. 10),
he became furious. His preconceived ideas concerning
his healing were wrong. When
it comes to our own cleansing from sin, we must also
seek God’s instructions instead of what we might
think would work.
We must not approach God’s word seeking to
justify our current beliefs; rather, we must seek to
know God’s will through His word, and believe His
word. Naaman
tried to substitute his own terms of obedience instead
of the Lord’s.
He did not want to wash in the Jordan River.
He asked, "Are not the Abanah and the
Pharpar, 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" (2
Kings 5:12 NKJV). We
must never try to substitute our own doctrines in the
place of the teaching of God’s word.
Only through our obedience to His commands may
we ever have the blessings attached to them. Finally,
Naaman humbled himself and obeyed the Lord’s
instructions.
Naaman could see no logical connection between
dipping in the Jordan River and being cured of his
leprosy, but he obeyed.
Obedience brought its reward:
Naaman was healed. A
penitent believer in Christ may not see the logical
connection between being baptized (immersed) in water
and having his sins washed away (Acts 2:38; 22:16).
Certainly, as in the case of Naaman, it is not
the water that saves.
It is God who saves us, when we obey Him.
Obedience has its reward:
the cleansing of our sins. Will
you obey? God
bless you. To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
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