2 Kings 5[i]
Leprosy
terrorized humanity for millennia. Before
the age of antibiotics, leprosy was untreatable, incurable and terminal. The disease started with skin lesions and
insensitivity of the body’s extremities (fingers, toes and such), and
progressed to disfigurement and death.
Today,
leprosy is considered curable and although approximately 180,000 cases exist in
the world, it is considered rare. In
2015, 63 cases of leprosy were diagnosed in the United States.[ii]
In 1873, a
doctor, named G. H. Armauer Hansen, discovered the bacterium that is the cause
of leprosy. As a result, the disease is
now also known as “Hansen’s Disease.”[iii]
The
bacterium that causes leprosy can live in a person’s body for many years
without causing any symptoms. Therefore,
leprosy has a long or unpredictable incubation period. A person exposed to the disease may never
develop symptoms or may develop symptoms 6 months, a year or 20 years after
exposure.
Because of
these characteristics of the disease, its unpredictable incubation and
incurable nature, it is used typologically to represent sin and impurity in the
Bible. God does not fear, hate or misuse
the victims of leprosy. However,
humanity has done so in the past. As
long as it was considered incurable and was not understood, leprosy was greatly
feared, and to be diagnosed with leprosy was to be instantly made an
outcast. The only way to control the
spread of the disease was to isolate those infected, separating them from the
general population. The similarity with
sin breaks down at this point, because humanity is all infected with sin
without a single exception.
In 2 Kings
5, we meet Naaman. Naaman was the
commander of the army of Aram, a mighty warrior and a leper.
In his day,
this was a certain death sentence. There
was no cure. However, Naaman was
valuable to the king of Aram. Naaman led
his troops to great victories.
Therefore, the king was willing to commit the resources of the nation to
curing Naaman.
For a
disease or condition without a cure, no amount of resources, money or effort
can help. Sin is like this. No amount of resources, training, effort or
money can alter the natural course of sin in a person’s life.
Our world
screams, “Where is God in all of this?”
“God is silent.” “He does not
speak.” However, humanity refuses to
acknowledge we have a problem. We refuse
to acknowledge that we are sick, disfigured and infected with a terminal
illness.
Naaman was
not in denial. The Scripture does not
tell us Naaman tried to hide or deny his disease. However, it does tell us that a young servant
girl told Naaman’s wife, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in
Samaria. He would heal him of his
leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:3)
The first
step in finding healing, help or a cure is to acknowledge the problem.
Whether the
problem is physical or spiritual, this acknowledgement must be honest. It will not do to treat leprosy as if it is a
simple wart or acne. It will not do to
treat cancer as if it is a simple cold.
It will not do to treat alcoholism as if it is a simple desire for
alcohol. It will not do to treat sex
outside of marriage as if it is a simple desire for pleasure or happiness. At what point are we willing to acknowledge
we have a problem?
Naaman was
on the right track. He knew he had a
problem.
God
provided an answer.
He always
does. In the case of Naaman, it was
through a servant girl. Of course,
Naaman would not have listened to the servant girl. However, he did listen to his wife. We do not always listen, but occasionally God
gets through to us.
Naaman
listened and told the king there was hope in Samaria. Therefore, the king sent money and a letter
to the king of Israel, who lived in Samaria, saying, “With this letter I
present my servant Naaman. I want you to
heal him of his leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:6)
The king of
Aram and Naaman made the mistake we all tend to make. They looked to other people for the answer.
Other people are not the answer. Other
people help us in so far as they bring us to the One who is the Way, the Truth
and the Life. (John 14:6)
The king of
Israel responded by tearing his clothes and saying, “He is trying to pick a
fight with me.” There was no way that he could cure Naaman’s leprosy. However, Elijah heard of the king’s dilemma
and sent the king a message saying:
Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that
there is a true prophet here in Israel.
(2 Kings 5:8)
At this
point, Naaman is being directed to the only One who can help.
Naaman went
to Elisha’s house. He went with horses
and chariots, because he was an important man.
He represented a nation and came with a letter of introduction from his
king.
This is
human. We like to be important.
Elisha is
unimpressed. He does not bother to come
out of the house. He sends a messenger
out to tell Naaman:
Go and wash yourself seven times in
the Jordan River. Then your skin will be
restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy. (2 Kings 5:10)
Naaman is
outraged. He said:
“I thought he would certainly come
out to meet me!” he said. “I expected
him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God
and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of
Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” (2 Kings 5:11-12)
However,
Naaman’s officers reasoned with him and said:
“Sir, if the prophet had told you
to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says
simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” (2
Kings 5:13)
As a
result, Naaman went and washed himself in the Jordan River and he was healed of
his leprosy.
Our
expectations keep us from the healing God has for us.
We want to
be treated as important, but we must humble ourselves and acknowledge our
leprosy (read sin). We want to pay for a
cure or earn a cure, but no price can pay for what we need. We want to do some great deed in order to
merit being cured. However, God has
provided only one Way.
Acts 4:12
says, “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by
which we must be saved.”
Our
expectation is that we should be able to find our own way to God, but He says
there is only one Way.
Ephesians
2:8-9 says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a
gift from God. Salvation is not a reward
for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Our
expectation is that nothing is free. We
have to work for it. However, God takes
away our right to boast. We cannot earn
it. If Naaman had done some great deed
to take healing for himself, he could have boasted, but God did not give him
that option. Neither does God give any
of us that option.
Our world may
scream, “Where is God in all of this?”
However, as long as we refuse to acknowledge we have a problem and as
long as we refuse to accept His solution, God’s voice falls on deaf ears.
God gave
His Son to save us from our sins, what more do we expect?
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996,
2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
[ii]
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=leprosy
[iii]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please Share thoughts comments or questions.