By Pst. Dr. Shana Wise
2 Kings 5:1-19 (NIV)
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.
· Title and status do not exempt you from going through personal issues in your life. Naaman had a disease that his money and his position could not cure. He needed divine healing.
2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
· Romans 8:28. The young girl was an Israeli slave in this commander’s house, but she still remembered the God she served and his prophet Elisha.
4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”
· Naaman was sent to the wrong man for healing. The king of Israel was not the prophet of God. Obliviously the king of Aram did not know about the prophet Elisha. He assumed the king of Israel would be able to help Naaman.
· We cannot assume that just we can just seek anyone for healing. We need to seek the people of God and God himself.
8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be cleansed.”
· Elisha gave instructions for Naaman to be healed, but they were unconventional. There will be times in our lives when God will have us do something that does not make sense to us in our natural minds, but we must obey him. If we choose not to do exactly what God says, we can miss out on our blessing.
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
· Have you ever got so mad and enraged because you got news that didn’t agree with your spirit? What did you do and how did it work out?
· At this point of the text Naaman was leaning on his understanding. What Elisha said did not make sense to him, he got angry and enraged. What other factors contributed to Naaman’s rage?
· Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
· We can get upset like Naaman when we want to do things our way and not God’s way. Our ways do not work when it comes to the spiritual things of God. Healing is spiritual and if we want to be healed, we need to follow the instructions of God when it doesn’t make sense.
13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
· Thank goodness for Naaman’s servant who gave him wisdom and understanding! Who do you have in your circle that can help you obey God?
· Naaman decided to follow the instructions that Elisha gave him, and he was healed. What would have happened if he didn’t follow the instructions exactly as they were given?
15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
16 The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.
17 “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. 18 But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”
19 “Go in peace,” Elisha said.
· Naaman acknowledged The God of Israel for his healing, and he wanted to bless the man of God to show his gratitude. He also wanted to go home and continue to worship The God of Israel by taking dirt from the land of Israel and setting up a place where he could worship him back home. The true blessing of Naaman was not his physical healing, but his experience in Israel led him to become a worshipper of God.
· Has God ever healed and blessed you? What was your response? How did it change you?
· Continue to read the rest of this chapter (2 Kings 5:20-27) and see what happens to Elisha’s servant Gehazi. Compare Gehazi to Naaman’s servants.
Watch the video of this message on the Wise Choice Ministries YouTube channel.
About the Author
Dr. Shana Wise is an ordained Pastor who founded and oversees Wise Choice Ministries with her husband Pastor Ron Wise. She is also the CEO and founder of The Well Christian Women’s Network. Dr. Wise is the author of Women’s Devotionals Acts of Intercession and Chief Women Arise, The Impact of Your Election, and the Basic Ministry Training Manual (all available on Amazon). She received a Doctor of Divinity degree in 2019 from St. Thomas Christian University. Her passion is to teach and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, equip others to apply the Word to their lives, and demonstrate it through the power of the Holy Spirit. She is a televangelist who appears on social media outlets. Shana is married and has four children.
For speaking engagements email: wisechoiceministries512@gmail.com.
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Basic Ministry Training Manual
Chief Women Arise
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