Miracles and Deliverance

Lesson 6

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:1-2

II Kings 5:1-21 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:1-2

2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:3-5

II Kings 5:3-53 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:3-5

5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:6-7

II Kings 5:6-76 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:6-7

7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:8-9

II Kings 5:8-98 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:10-11

II Kings 5:10-1110 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:12-13

II Kings 5:12-1312 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

Lesson Text—II Kings 5:14

II Kings 5:14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Focus Verse—II Kings 5:14

II Kings 5:14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan,

according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child,

and he was clean.

Focus Thought

Cleansing from sin is a

miraculous

gift from God.

I. The Maid with a MessageIntroduction

During the ninth century before Christ, the northern kingdom of Israel experienced a series of clashes with their neighbor to the northeast—Syria. At the time of Naaman and Elisha, the king of Syria was Ben-hadad, and the king of Israel was Jehoram. The incident of Naaman’s healing would have taken place sometime between 849 and 842 bc.

I. The Maid with a MessageIn 853 bc, Ben-hadad and his

Syrian forces were defeated at Karkar by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser II. One inscription of Shalmaneser reports that the number of slain Syrians was 20,500. In 845 bc, Shalmaneser again entered Syria with an army of 120,000 and overthrew Ben-hadad along with a large army of allies. However, because they were busy defending their northern border, the Assyrians were not able then to occupy Damascus, the capital of Syria.

I. The Maid with a MessageEventually, however, the Syrian threat to Israel gave way to the Assyrians, who by the end of the eighth century had decimated the kingdom of Israel and carried many of its citizens off into the Assyrian Empire, located in present-day northern Iraq.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

I. The Maid with a MessageAll the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be” (Leviticus 13:45-46).

Leprosy is a terrible disease. It causes the skin to become raw, discolored, and covered with sores. It can also generate the formation of deformities and mutilations, which causes the sufferer to look hideous and freakish. It eventually induces numbness so that the person becomes insensitive to touch. It can even result in atrophy of the muscles and eventually paralysis.

I. The Maid with a MessageIn the nation of Israel, all lepers

were considered unclean. They were not permitted to dwell in the presence of God. The Lord instructed Moses, “Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper” (Numbers 5:2).

Leprosy is a powerful Old Testament analogy of sin. What leprosy does to the body, sin does to the soul. The prophet Isaiah graphically described the sinful people of Israel, saying, “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

I. The Maid with a MessageFrom the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores” (Isaiah 1:5-6). Just as leprosy caused a separation between the Israelite lepers and the presence of God, sin causes a separation between mankind and his Maker. As Isaiah declared, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

I. The Maid with a MessageMost people do not like to think of

themselves as spiritual lepers, but that is exactly the way God sees mankind. Some people may say, “Well, my sins have been small. I haven’t done anything so bad.” However, the Bible asks, “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” (Proverbs 20:9). In his letter to the Romans, Paul declared, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

I. The Maid with a MessageAlthough some people may protest and say they are not so bad, we would all do well simply to admit what God says about us—we are covered from the top of our head to the soles of our feet with spiritual leprosy.

What then can be done about this situation? How can a person be cleansed from this terrible spiritual disease called sin? The Bible informs us that there is a man named Jesus who has the power to cleanse a leper. (See Mark 1:40-42.)

Mark 1:40-42 “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and

saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his

hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had

spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed” (Mark

1:40-42).

I. The Maid with a MessageWhat marvelous words: “I will; be thou clean”! Jesus Christ is the answer to leprosy. All it takes is a touch from His soul-cleansing hand. He also is the only One who can cleanse us of our sins and make us to shine as white as snow with His righteousness.

I. The Maid with a MessageThe Maid

with a Message

We can derive many spiritual lessons from the stories of the Old Testament. (See Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10:11.) Perhaps the story that most vividly teaches important lessons about the cleansing of sin is the story of Naaman, a commander in the Syrian army.

I. The Maid with a MessageThe Bible described Naaman as a “great man . . . and honourable . . . a mighty man in valour,” and that through him the Lord had given Syria great victory in battle. Yet there was one negative mark against him—Naaman was a leper (II Kings 5:1).

A. God’s Perfect Timing A. God’s Perfect

Timing

After one of their raids on Israel, the Syrians captured a young Israelite maid and assigned her to serve Naaman’s wife. At some point, having observed the condition of her mistress’s husband, the girl offered, “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy” (II Kings 5:3).

I. The Maid with a MessageNaaman never would have known that healing was available had someone not told him, which shows the vital importance of believers witnessing to others about the saving power of Jesus Christ.

Apparently, something about Naaman attracted God’s attention. God obviously wanted to heal this man. Through what seemed on the surface to be an ordinary military excursion, God had brought just the right person into Naaman’s sphere of influence.

I. The Maid with a MessageBy speaking up at the right time, this maid brought the saving message to ears that were ready to hear. We should be careful not to hold back at those key moments when God is urging us to speak out. Otherwise, someone might miss out on a miracle!

B. God’s Perfect Placement B. God’s Perfect

Placement Having heard about the

possibility of a miraculous healing, Naaman reported this to the king of Syria, who said, “Go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel” (II Kings 5:5). So Naaman departed for Israel, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. After presenting his gifts to the king of Israel, he handed him the letter.

I. The Maid with a MessageAfter reading the letter, the king tore his clothes and cried, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me” (II Kings 5:7). Apparently, the king of Syria had misunderstood who it was that had the power to heal. Furthermore, the king of Israel’s misinterpretation of the Syrian king’s intentions compounded the error.

I. The Maid with a MessageWe learn from this incident the

importance of clear and straightforward communication. One way to be sure that we have heard what a person is really saying to us is by repeating back to him what we believe he has said. We also learn that when a person wants to get his sins washed away, he must go to the right place. Just as there was only one man in Israel who could initiate God’s healing of Naaman’s leprosy, so there is only One today who can take away our sins.

II. The Man with a PlanThe Man with a Plan

Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord gave us a wondrous glimpse into His heart and mind: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11). The New King James Version translates the latter part of this verse of Scripture, “To give you a future and a hope.” Where mankind has a need, God has already worked out a plan for providing a solution.

I. The Maid with a MessageThe only thing we need to do is discover that plan and respond to it. In the story of Naaman, God wanted to give him a future and a hope free from leprosy, so He revealed His plan to Elisha the prophet.

A. The Prophet Heard from God

A. The Prophet Heard from God

Apparently Elisha heard about the king’s clothes-tearing episode, so he sent him a note to send Naaman to him (II Kings 5:8). The name Elisha is an abbreviation of Elishua, which means “God saves.” His name was very similar to the name Yeshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus, which means “Yahweh saves.” In the story of Naaman, Elisha provides a great illustration of the future Savior, Jesus Christ.

I. The Maid with a MessageLike Jesus during the days of His

flesh, Elisha had a keen sensitivity to the voice of God. God communicates His plan to one of His intimate followers who is then responsible to deliver the message to those in need. When Jesus walked the earth, He spoke the heavenly words of the Spirit into the earthly dimension. As a type of Christ, Elisha did the same. Today, Christ dwells in His people by the Holy Spirit and continues to speak His words to a lost and hurting world.

B. The General Heard from the Prophet

B. The General Heard from the Prophet

After hearing of Elisha’s communiqué, Naaman promptly traveled over to the prophet’s house. As he stood at the door, one of Elisha’s messengers appeared and instructed him, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean” (II Kings 5:10). Elisha’s instructions to Naaman came through a messenger.

I. The Maid with a MessageSome people have the attitude, “Well I’m not going to do anything unless the Lord Himself speaks directly to me.” Throughout the New Testament, however, God’s primary method of communicating with people was through messengers otherwise known as preachers. People should realize that they will either have to hear and receive from a messenger of the Lord or they may not hear Him at all.

I. The Maid with a MessagePaul the apostle wrote, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). Indeed, how shall anyone hear without a preacher? Since sin came into the world through mankind, the solution for sin—obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ—must also come to the world through the communication of human vessels.

I. The Maid with a MessageTherefore, Paul explained, “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Corinthians 1:21). Preaching is foolish, of couse, only in the minds of those who reject the message.

In Acts 17, Paul preached the gospel to the people of Thessalonica, a city of Macedonia. He later wrote to those who had believed his message and commended them (I Thessalonians 2:13).

I. The Maid with a MessageGod has placed the treasure of the gospel in earthen vessels (II Corinthians 4:7). Unless a person recognizes this reality, he may never receive what God is speaking to him. Elisha gave Naaman the plan of salvation through his faithful messenger; the only question was, would Naaman receive it?

III. The Man with a MiracleThe Man with

a Miracle

Miracles can be dangerous because they cut a sharp line between belief and unbelief. They reveal who is open to God and who is not. For example, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the people were divided into two camps. (See John 11:45-46.) It was upon hearing of this miracle that the Pharisees plotted Jesus’ death.

I. The Maid with a MessageWhen Naaman heard of the miracle that awaited him, he had to decide whether to come to God and receive cleansing or reject the message and remain leprous.

A. The General Resented A. The General Resented

Sadly, Naaman was full of pride and became furious. As he stormed off, he muttered, “Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper” (II Kings 5:11). Naaman had settled in his own mind how he thought the Lord should heal him. Like many people, he was looking for something more like a magic trick than a faith-driven miracle.

I. The Maid with a MessageSome people think, Just wave the magic wand, preacher! Say some spiritual equivalent of abracadabra! However, this is not how God works.

Naaman also second-guessed the divine instruction. (See II Kings 5:12.) Naaman’s actions suggested that he was saying, “Why can’t I be saved my way? After all, my way is better than God’s way.” The Bible cautions, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25). We are not in a position to tell God how to save us.

I. The Maid with a MessageHe alone is “the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9).

In spite of God’s grace toward Naaman, the general was extremely unhappy with the messenger’s instructions. It was too simplistic. It was too demeaning. It was too humbling. But that is exactly the point! God saw the arrogance in Naaman’s heart and gave him a plan that required humility, because God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. (See James 4:6; I Peter 5:5.) Moreover, He wanted Naaman to receive healing by His grace.

B. The General Repented B. The General Repented

As they headed back to Syria, one of Naaman’s servants drew near to him and encouraged him to reconsider. (See II Kings 5:13.) The servant’s message to Naaman was clear: “If you had been told to do something that would have glorified you, you would have gladly obliged.” It seems that this servant knew his master well. The amazing thing is that he dared to express himself.

I. The Maid with a MessageThis servant was either

extremely brave or had somehow formed a unique relationship of trust with his master. It may have been the latter, since he began his address not with the term “my master” but with a term of endearment, “my father.” Perhaps this is why Naaman listened to the man, revealing the importance of maintaining good relationships with those near to us. We never know when we might be the one called upon to provide vitally important encouragement.

I. The Maid with a MessageAt the moment when Naaman

changed his mind and stopped resisting the command of God, he stopped walking in pride and moving away from the Jordan and began moving toward it. By doing so, he demonstrated repentance, the absolute necessity of which John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles all preached. (See Luke 3:3-4; 13:3; Acts 17:30.) On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached that everyone who comes to God for the “remission of sins” must “repent, and be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38).

I. The Maid with a MessageToday many people have

watered down the meaning of repentance, considering it to be mere sorrow for one’s sins. However, the Bible declares that godly sorrow produces repentance, but it is not repentance itself. Biblically, repentance means to reconsider and make an about-face; to stop operating according to our will and start doing God’s will.

I. The Maid with a MessageIn the New Testament plan of

salvation, there can be no repentance apart from the offer of water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Peter preached, “Repent, and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). These are inseparable concepts. Just as Naaman’s repentance was contingent on knowing what God had instructed him to do (dip in the Jordan), so it is that no one can truly repent except by turning away from his sin and self-will and being immersed in water in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. The Maid with a MessageWhile kneeling at an altar and crying and praying may indicate that repentance is happening, such actions are not necessarily the evidence of repentance. Paul declared that people should “repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20). In other words, he expected to see some works or actions, which demonstrate that repentance actually has taken place.

I. The Maid with a MessageWe know, for example, that Naaman truly repented because we can see that he did exactly what the plan for healing required; he dipped in the Jordan. The only indisputable evidence that a person who has come to God has repented is his being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and rising to live a righteous life.

C. The General Received C. The General Received

The Bible says that Naaman dipped seven times in the Jordan River. The Hebrew word translated dip means “to dip, to immerse” (Strong’s Concordance). It is equivalent to the Greek word that is used for “baptism” in the New Testament, baptizo. Some people believe it is acceptable to be sprinkled or have water poured on them. However, suppose Naaman had walked right up to the edge of the Jordan and said, “Look, just sprinkle some water on me.

I. The Maid with a MessageThat’ll be good enough.” Certainly, he would not have received God’s cleansing for his leprosy.

Other people suggest that since we are saved by grace through faith, water baptism has nothing to do with our salvation. Such is not the case because the Scriptures command us to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. How can we be saved if we refuse to obey the Scriptures? Our obedience through faith empowers the grace of God to work in our hearts.

I. The Maid with a MessageIt is true that God healed Naaman by His grace; Naaman did not earn his healing, work for it, or deserve it. Naaman was healed because he responded to God’s offer of healing by acting in obedient faith—by obeying God’s instruction to dip in the Jordan. Would it have been enough for Naaman to have simply confessed, “I believe God will heal me”? For his faith to be effective, Naaman had to actually go through with what God had told Him to do.

I. The Maid with a MessageJames expressed this idea quite well: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:24).

Jesus sent out His apostles telling them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). He made baptism an essential element of our salvation. Later, after Paul preached the gospel to the people in Corinth, “Many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized” (Acts 18:8).

I. The Maid with a MessageJust as Naaman’s faith-inspired

immersion in the Jordan brought the cleansing of his leprosy, so it is that our faith-inspired immersion in the name of Jesus Christ brings us the cleansing of our spiritual leprosy. Peter described it as the “remission of sins” (Acts 2:38) and later called it a blotting out of sins (Acts 3:19). Paul called it a washing away of sins and the “forgiveness of sins” (Acts 22:16; Colossians 1:14). Regardless of which terms we use, it is always a gift of God’s grace given to those who respond to the gospel with obedient faith.

IV. The Master of MercyThe Master of MercySome say it is sufficient to be

baptized in the titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but if we want cleansing from our sins, we must go to Jesus Christ. He alone is the Master of mercy. After His resurrection, He told His disciples to preach “repentance and remission of sins . . . in his name” (Luke 24:47). Peter declared, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

I. The Maid with a MessageSpeaking of Jesus, Peter later preached, “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12). John wrote that by believing in Jesus Christ we “have life through his name” (John 20:31).

I. The Maid with a MessageTo be cleansed of spiritual

leprosy, a person must do more than just accept Christ as his personal Savior. He must do more than simply profess to believe in Him. He must repent and be baptized by full immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ. As Ananias declared to Paul, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

I. The Maid with a MessageConclusion

Jesus revealed that the cleansing of Naaman teaches us about the relationship between obedient faith and cleansing. In the fourth chapter of Luke, Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read (Luke 4:16). Having been handed the Book of Isaiah, He read the portion where the prophet described the Messiah’s ministry of healing and deliverance.

I. The Maid with a MessageThen, as every eye rested on Him, He made what must have seemed to be an outlandish statement: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21).

Even as the people marveled at the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth, questions began to arise in their hearts. “Is not this Joseph’s son?” someone asked (Luke 4:22).

I. The Maid with a MessageUpon hearing their expressions of doubt and unbelief, Jesus cautioned the people to be careful about rejecting His ministry: “Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country” (Luke 4:24). He then referred them to a familiar story from the Old Testament: “And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27).

I. The Maid with a MessageAccording to Jesus, Naaman was the only leper during the days of Elisha who accepted the words of the prophet and believed in God’s healing power. He showed his acceptance by submitting himself to the command to immerse seven times in the Jordan River. Jesus held up Naaman as an example of someone who was healed of leprosy by his faith in the Great Physician.

I. The Maid with a MessageIf we desire salvation from our

sins, it is available only through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only when we respond to His Word through obedient faith will we experience redemption.