God's Grace to the Gentiles. 2 Kings 5
This is one of those great
chapters in the Old Testament that teaches us about the grace of God. Of all
the doctrines that people can get confused about in the Scriptures grace is one
of the highest in the list, one of the most comm.
on areas of confusion. God’s
grace is given freely to everyone in the human race, it has always been that
way throughout both the New Testament and the New Testament; and even though the
focus of the Old Testament is upon Israel and God’s plan and purposes for
Israel we know that throughout the Old Testament there is also an emphasis on
God’s grace to the Gentiles. We can think of God’s grace to numerous Gentiles
from Adam to the call of Abraham—Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Even
after God’s calling of Abraham and narrowing His plans and purposes in human
history to the descendants of Abraham, He still extended His grace to Gentiles.
There are two great examples of God’s missionary work among the Gentiles in the
Old Testament: Jonah being sent to the Assyrians about 100 years or so after
the time of Elisha, and the episode covered in 2 Kings chapter 5, the healing
of Naaman’s leprosy. Naaman is a Syrian, a Gentile, not a Jew. We see an
example here of how the Abrahamic covenant is being fulfilled in terms of his
salvation in the Old Testament, that the descendants of Abraham are being a
blessing to others.
2 Kings chapter 5 fits the
theme that we have seen in the last few chapters that is a major element in the
ministry of Elisha, and that is the grace of God. God is the one who gives life
where there is death; God is the one who restores that which has been taken
away; God is the one whose grace is sufficient; He is the one who provides when
there is nothing there. The historical contexts of the episodes here are during
the time of tremendous apostasy in the northern kingdom and there are certain
parallels and applications that we can take from these incidents that apply to
us because we are living in a time when western civilization as a whole is in
great apostasy, tremendous paganism. Yet there are tremendous things that are
going on in the midst of all of the negatives that we hear about. God is still
working, He is still on His throne, people are being saved, the gospel is going
out, there are a large number of missionaries still throughout the whole world,
and the
The same thing was true in
the northern kingdom. It had a minority of believers during a time of great
apostasy when the leaders were following after the fertility cults of the Baals
and the Asherah. It was a time of tremendous slavery, political tyranny and
oppression, and spiritual tyranny and oppression. That is why the writer of
Kings spends so much time on this. The more they sought prosperity and wealth
and comfort through the worship of these false gods and goddesses the more God
punished them through famines and droughts; yet, they persisted. That is the
nature of spiritual rebellion against God: persistence in disobedience. In the
midst of this time the northern kingdom is basically following a death cult, and
people are worshipping death and following death. Moses: “Choose today life or
death.” In that context we have seen the various miracles of Elisha where he is
showing that God is the one who gives life where there is death; God is the one
who supplies all that we need for life, even when there may be nothing.
Now God has another lesson
for them and for us because He is going to go out of
Notice as we go through this
chapter all the things that emphasize the greatness of Naaman in terms of his
basic human ability. He has so much—wealth, success, position, power—and he
can’t rely on any of that to solve the problem of his leprosy. Modern leprosy
is not what is referred to in the Bible as “leprosy.” For one thing as a
bacteria modern leprosy would not affect houses and walls, which make up a
large part of what the Levitical laws say about dealing with leprosy. What we
read in the Scripture would more likely fit some sort of mildew or fungus, at
least as it applies to walls and fabrics. Unfortunately there is really a lack
of detail in the Scripture as to what this leprosy (tsaraath) described and so we can’t be sure just exactly what it
was. The central chapters in the Old Testament that deal with leprosy are in
Leviticus chapters 13 & 14. Just as we talk about leaven or yeast as
representing sin and sinfulness when we talk about bread and unleavened bread
and the Lord’s table, so this concept of leprosy or tsaraath in the Old Testament really depicts some sort of contagion
that is easily spread and somehow defiles that which it touches. The word may
be so general that it really isn’t describing one singular disease or problem
but may cover a range of diseases or problems, and so as such leprosy like
leaven is a picture of sin and the contagion of sin and the spread of sin.
Leviticus 13:3 NASB
“The priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in
the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the
skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at
him, he shall pronounce him unclean.
The solution is given under the Mosaic law in Leviticus chapter fourteen. What we need to be impressed with in this chapter is how complex the solution is to the Jew who needs to come into the temple in order to worship God; it is not something that is simple. We see that there is a huge contrast between what God required of the person who had a leprous sore under the Mosaic law versus what is required of Naaman the Gentile who is not going to be coming into the temple at all in order to worship God.
Leviticus 14:2 NASB
“This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. Now he shall
be brought to the priest.” Cleansing always relates to the individual being
ritually purified or cleansed so that they can come into the temple, so this is
going to be a picture of salvation or a picture of experiential sanctification
in order to come into God’s presence. [3] “and the priest shall go out to the
outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, and if the infection of
leprosy has been healed in the leper.” The individual is separated, indicating
that we should be separated from sin. [4] “then the priest shall give orders to
take two live clean birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for
the one who is to be cleansed. [5] The priest shall also give orders to slay
the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water.” Notice how detailed
this is. [6] “{As for} the live bird, he shall take it together with the cedar
wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live
bird in the blood of the bird that was slain over the running water. [7] He
shall then sprinkle seven times [indicating the fullness of God’s work] the one
who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean, and shall
let the live bird go free over the open field.” The dead bird pictures the fact
that there has to be a death for sin and the living bird represents that life
comes after cleansing takes place. [8] “The one to be cleansed shall then wash
his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water and be clean. Now
afterward, he may enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven
days. [9] It will be on the seventh day that he shall shave off all his hair:
he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. He
shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and be clean. [10] Now
on the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without defect, and a yearling
ewe lamb without defect, and three-tenths {of an} {ephah} of fine flour mixed
with oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil; [11] and the priest who
pronounces him clean shall present the man to be cleansed and the aforesaid
before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting. [12] Then the
priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it for a guilt offering, with the
log of oil, and present them as a wave offering before the LORD.” Then is
verse 13 is mention of a sin offering and a burnt offering. All the offerings
are involved. This is a massive approach to ritual cleansing that has to take
place. This is because the leprosy pictures the total defilement that comes
because of sin. All of these different sacrifices all represent different
aspects of the work of Christ on the cross and the totality of that work has to
be applied to the individual in order for them to be cleansed and come into the
presence of God.
The leprosy in 2 Kings 5
was not the same as modern leprosy. A second difference is that the symptoms of
Hansen’s disease progressed very slowly over a period of several years; the
descriptions that we have in Leviticus 13 are of something that takes place
rather quickly. Hansen’s is curable only through drug therapy, but a person who
has the leprosy spoken of in Leviticus can recover from it without any
necessary drug treatment. A fourth difference is that Hansen’s is a disease
that causes the destruction of flesh, but that is not characteristic of what
the Bible refers to as leprosy.
There is a solution to
Naaman’s problem. This comes from a young Jewish girl who has been brought back
as a slave, taken captive in a military campaign. Once again we see that
2 Kings 5:6 NASB “He
brought the letter to the king of
2 Kings 5:9 NASB
“So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of
the house of Elisha.” Again this is reinforcing his wealth, his power, his
position, his prestige; all that he has, and all which should impress Elisha.
Who ever heard of this prophet living in some clay hovel down in the northern
kingdom of
Naaman really gets angry.
He wants to do something, to somehow impress God with who he is so that he can
be healed; so he reacts in anger. He is angry at the fact that Elisha doesn’t
even come out to talk to him but just sends his servant out, and he is angry
because he has to go wash in that muddy little Jewish stream, the Jordan. 2
Kings 5:11 NASB “But Naaman was furious 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 wave his hand over the place and cure
the leper.’” God didn’t do it the way Naaman thought it should be done. [12]
‘Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of
2 Kings 5:13 NASB
“Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, ‘My father, had the
prophet told you {to do some} great thing, would you not have done {it?} How
much more {then,} when he says to you, ‘
2 Kings 5:14 NASB
“So he went down and dipped {himself} seven times in the Jordan, according to
the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a
little child and he was clean.” This shows that Naaman has humility. He
listened; he was teachable. He gets past his anger, he humbles himself and
listens to the advice of his servants and he does what Elisha told him to do.
“Clean” is a term that relates to man’s relationship to God. [15] “When he
returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him,
he said, ‘Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in
Israel; so please take a present from your servant now.’” This shows that he
understands God. This is when Naaman is converted and he recognizes and is
expressing his devotion to the one true God of Israel. He wants to express his
appreciation. Normally that is a good thing, but Elisha understands that there
is a higher issue here: that if he takes a gift it is going to appear as if
somehow there was a barter made, and exchange made, that somehow he paid for
the healing. Elisha wants to make sure it is abundantly clear and that there is
no money going to be exchanged, the healing was totally free. So his response:
[16] “…As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.’ And
he urged him to take {it,} but he refused.”
2 Kings 5:17 NASB
“Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules’
load of earth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he
sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.” What is he going to do with the earth? It is the
promised land, he is going to take that back to
This shows something about
the grace of God. This is not a license to sin
but God recognizes that there are times, perhaps, when we are in
circumstances where we might have to do certain things required in a certain
position that we know basically is not what God would want us to do if we were
on our own. He is a Gentile, he is not under the Mosaic law. He is not required
to follow all of those strict commands related to idolatry as a Jew would be,
and so there is an extension of grace here because of that circumstance. Naaman
learns about grace.
But that is not the end of
the story because we have an epilogue here with Gehazi, the servant. Gehazi
hasn’t learned that lesson yet and he has his eye on all that gold and silver.
He thinks there ought to be a little something there for him. What is described
is the episode where he goes after Naaman and makes up a story. 2 Kings 5:22 NASB
“He said, ‘All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two
young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of
Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.’”
Naaman is extremely gracious and appreciative of what God has done. Gehazi goes
back and hides what he has taken from Naaman and then goes to see Elisha who
begins to interrogate him. [25] “But 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.’ [26] Then he said to him, ‘Did not my heart go {with
you,} when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive
money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen
and male and female servants? [27] Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling
to you and to your descendants forever.’ So he went out from his presence a
leper {as white} as snow.” Consequences! This was teaching him a lesson, i.e.
that God’s grace is free. It is extremely dangerous and sinful—leprosy speaks
of sinfulness—to pile legalism on grace, to create systems where people are
required to do something in order to gain the grace of God.