Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / 2 Kings 5 (Part 1) Bible Study (Naaman Healed of Leprosy) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Transcript

2 Kings 5 (Part 1) Bible Study (Naaman Healed of Leprosy) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

• 0:00
  Let's come together now to Second Kings Chapter 5, and as
• 0:04
  we turn there, realize with me that the archive of Elisha's
• 0:08
  miracles continues to unfold before us tonight, and they will
• 0:14
  extend in the next few chapters of our study of Second Kings.
• 0:19
  However, the account that is presented this evening is the
• 0:25
  miracle that arguably Elijah is most known for the incredible
• 0:32
  healing of Naaman, the commander of the Syrian Army.
• 0:37
  Now, what's so fascinating about this is that we have a reason to
• 0:41
  believe that this is the most significant event associated
• 0:45
  with Elijah, at least one major reason.
• 0:50
  It is the event that is singularly mentioned in the New
• 0:56
  Testament, meaning out of all the things that Elijah has done,
• 1:00
  this particular miracle is the only thing that is brought up in
• 1:06
  the New Testament. And that is quite striking when
• 1:08
  you consider all the references to Elijah in comparison.
• 1:13
  So with all that is brought up to us in the New Testament
• 1:16
  concerning Elijah, you have one place and all of the New
• 1:19
  Testament library where Elijah is cited.
• 1:22
  Does anybody know where Elijah is cited in the New Testament?
• 1:28
  If you do, you can say it. If you don't know, then you have
• 1:34
  to turn to the Gospel of Luke. And I know I told you to go to
• 1:37
  2nd Kings 5, but I want you to see this briefly because this is
• 1:40
  where we're going to end our study.
• 1:42
  We're going to come back to the statement because Jesus Christ
• 1:46
  Himself references Elijah in this particular moment of his
• 1:50
  life and ministry. Look at Luke 427 and 28, Luke
• 1:55
  427 and 28, and there were many lepers in Israel in the time of
• 2:00
  the prophet Elijah, and none of them was cleansed, but only name
• 2:05
  in the Syrian. When they heard these things,
• 2:08
  all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.
• 2:12
  There it is, the one place where Elijah is mentioned in the New
• 2:16
  Testament. And as I said, we will come back
• 2:18
  to this at the end of our study because you know very well that
• 2:22
  there is so much to uncover in the actual account of Naaman's
• 2:25
  testimony, which we endeavor to do tonight.
• 2:28
  And so turn back with me to 2nd Kings 5.
• 2:31
  We're going to read the first 6 verses and pause and meditate.
• 2:35
  Let's read it. Let's pray and let's trust that
• 2:38
  the Holy Spirit will guide us as He always does.
• 2:41
  Second Kings, chapter 5, beginning in verse one.
• 2:44
  Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great
• 2:48
  man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord
• 2:53
  had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor,
• 2:57
  but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of the
• 3:00
  raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel,
• 3:04
  and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.
• 3:07
  She said to her mistress, Would that my Lord were with the
• 3:11
  prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.
• 3:16
  So Naman went in and told his Lord thus, and so spoke the girl
• 3:20
  from the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go
• 3:24
  now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.
• 3:27
  So he went, taking with him 10 talents of silver, 6000 shekels
• 3:32
  of gold, and 10 changes of clothing.
• 3:37
  And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read.
• 3:40
  When this letter reaches, you, know that I have sent to your
• 3:43
  name in my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.
• 3:48
  Lord, our sincere prayer tonight as a family is that Your word
• 3:54
  would encourage our faith. We pray that it would change us,
• 3:59
  so please let there be nothing that would interfere with the
• 4:03
  transaction of truth that You desire to deposit in our hearts.
• 4:08
  Lord, may the delivery of this word be honorable, may be
• 4:13
  empowered by the Holy Spirit, may it cause Christ to become
• 4:17
  more real to each of us, and may it encourage us in every way
• 4:22
  possible to live in the manner that you desire.
• 4:26
  We honor you with every ounce of our being and we pray that even
• 4:31
  at this time you would be honored more.
• 4:34
  In Jesus name we pray, Amen and Amen.
• 4:39
  The first impression that you and I get from our introduction
• 4:42
  to Naman should be that he is quite an impressive individual.
• 4:46
  He's highly achieved. He is respected.
• 4:51
  You go again at verse 1 and you realize that he was not just a
• 4:54
  commander of the army of the Syrian regime.
• 4:59
  He was a great commander, very successful.
• 5:04
  Not just successful, but very respected by many, including the
• 5:09
  king himself. However, again in our
• 5:14
  introduction to this man, the Holy Spirit is very quick to
• 5:19
  help us remember the source of this man's stellar resume.
• 5:23
  Look back again at verse one says Naaman, the commander of
• 5:26
  the army of the king of Syria was a great man with his master
• 5:29
  in high favor because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria.
• 5:37
  Now that kind of commentary may seem obvious to us.
• 5:40
  Yes, the Lord is the reason behind our success, our
• 5:43
  achievements, absolutely. But what's striking is when you
• 5:47
  understand and you recall that Naman is not an Israelite, he's
• 5:51
  a Gentile and even that title there, right?
• 5:55
  You look here and you see he was a great man.
• 5:59
  You see that he was and high favor, but in the last part of
• 6:03
  verse 1, he was a mighty man of valor.
• 6:08
  Now if you're familiar with the Old Testament, then you would
• 6:10
  remember that such a title is ascribed to Israel, some of
• 6:16
  Israel's greatest judges, kings and warriors.
• 6:19
  And yet it is granted here for the first time to an individual
• 6:24
  outsider, a Gentile. And so that impresses us and it
• 6:30
  should teach us a few things. That simple phrase that by him
• 6:33
  the Lord had given victory to Syria on a broader lever reminds
• 6:38
  us that the Lord is active. He's at work beyond the
• 6:42
  community of faith. In the same way that we're we're
• 6:46
  seeing here that God was an operation outside of the
• 6:49
  boundaries of Israel, so is He in our context as the church.
• 6:53
  The Lord is sovereign over everything.
• 6:56
  He's maneuvering, He's planning, he's deciding, he's executing,
• 7:01
  he is promoting, he is relegating.
• 7:04
  He's always on the move. And that's what we see here now.
• 7:09
  This realization would have been especially shocking to the
• 7:12
  immediate audience of the Book of Second Kings, the Jewish
• 7:15
  people, because it would force them to accept that God is
• 7:20
  active among those outside of covenant with him, that God
• 7:26
  actually has interests and he is actually concerned with the
• 7:30
  Gentiles. So this is powerful and would
• 7:35
  again cause the people of Israel to reconsider the goodness of
• 7:41
  God, the extent of it. But when we look at on a
• 7:45
  personal level, it shows us that whatever any of us accomplish
• 7:49
  before men is the result of what God authorized and enabled from
• 7:54
  heaven. Whether you're in relationship
• 7:56
  with Him or not. The Lord ultimately is the one
• 8:00
  who grants every single person the energy, the intellect, and
• 8:03
  the years of life to do anything.
• 8:07
  And it is the duty of man to acknowledge that as soon as
• 8:10
  possible with a heart of worship.
• 8:16
  Now, interestingly, in the same breath where Naaman's honor is
• 8:20
  described, we are granted a devastating diagnosis.
• 8:25
  He was a leper. Leprosy in the Bible describes
• 8:30
  many kind of ailments, but it is generally recognized as a severe
• 8:34
  skin disease that will lead eventually to a deterioration
• 8:39
  and a disfigurement of the body. It was dreaded, it was
• 8:44
  horrifying, it was hideous. And when you look at the
• 8:49
  exposure of this disease in our Bibles, at least the first time
• 8:53
  it is mentioned, you get an idea of why people were absolutely
• 8:57
  frightened by leprosy. Let me ask you this question,
• 9:01
  and it's actually a question for you to answer.
• 9:03
  Does anybody know the first person in the Bible who was
• 9:07
  infected with leprosy? Very good.
• 9:12
  That was quick. Now some might say it was Moses
• 9:15
  early in his ministry when the Lord called them because God
• 9:18
  told him to put his hand in his cloak as a sign of his calling.
• 9:21
  And what happened when he removed that hand?
• 9:23
  It was leprous. And the Lord said, OK, put it
• 9:25
  back now and it was made clean again.
• 9:27
  But I'm talking about a person who really suffered leprosy, and
• 9:30
  it wasn't Moses. It was Moses's sister Miriam.
• 9:36
  And you know how that leprosy came about from gossip.
• 9:41
  Isn't that interesting? If you don't believe me, turn to
• 9:44
  numbers with me in chapter 12. Look at verse 10 Numbers chapter
• 9:51
  12, verse 10. This is after Miriam and Aaron
• 9:55
  spoke. I'll of their brother challenged
• 9:57
  his authority, criticized his marriage and the Lord heard it.
• 10:04
  The Lord heard it. He he hears our gossip, he hears
• 10:06
  what we say about others and look what happens.
• 10:10
  He didn't just hear it, he did something about it.
• 10:12
  Numbers 12, verse 10 When the cloud removed from over the
• 10:16
  tent, behold, Miriam was leprous like snow.
• 10:19
  And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
• 10:23
  And Aaron said to Moses, Oh my Lord, do not punish us because
• 10:25
  we have done foolishly and have sinned.
• 10:28
  Let her not be as one dead whose flesh is half eaten away when he
• 10:33
  comes out of his mother's womb. So the first mention of somebody
• 10:38
  who was infected with leprosy also provides a vivid picture of
• 10:41
  its horrific symptoms and makes a person who is living look like
• 10:45
  they are rotting corpse. And so you you get a little idea
• 10:52
  of why it was something that people feared so much.
• 10:55
  But it wasn't the only reason. Because yes, it had horrible
• 10:58
  pain and it was a despicable sight.
• 11:02
  It also carried societal implications.
• 11:06
  In the context of Israel, if you suffered leprosy, you were cut
• 11:09
  off from your family, you were cut off from participating in
• 11:12
  the feast in the New Testament, you couldn't be a part of any
• 11:15
  synagogue gathering and you could not even enjoy something
• 11:18
  as casual as walking through the marketplace on an afternoon.
• 11:24
  You were pushed away, you were set aside.
• 11:27
  You were not only cut off, you were also marked.
• 11:31
  You were avoided and in some cases you were even despised.
• 11:36
  And so you can only imagine what it would be like for somebody
• 11:39
  who is outside of the parameters of Israel's law.
• 11:43
  What would it be like to be a Naaman, a gentile suffering
• 11:48
  leprosy? How would you be treated?
• 11:49
  How would you be seen? And to have leprosy for any
• 11:55
  person was a curse. Now, what's interesting is when
• 11:59
  you read this chapter, you get the impression that, yeah, he,
• 12:03
  we obviously know he had leprosy, but he was interacting
• 12:05
  with people as though he didn't, right?
• 12:07
  He talks to the king. He's in his own home.
• 12:09
  He'll engage with other individuals in this chapter.
• 12:12
  So how is it that you have a man who is suffering leprosy but is
• 12:15
  able to live as though he didn't?
• 12:17
  And I think there's a clue at verse 11.
• 12:18
  We didn't read it, but look at it with me very quickly.
• 12:21
  This is when he eventually meets with Elijah.
• 12:25
  And notice what it says in verse 11 and 2nd Kings 5.
• 12:28
  But Naman was angry and went away, saying, Behold, I thought
• 12:31
  that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the
• 12:34
  name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and
• 12:40
  cure the leper. So you see, for Naman to expect
• 12:44
  that Elijah was to come out of his home and do some kind of
• 12:47
  mystical thing to cure him of his leprosy, it says here that
• 12:52
  he expected his hand to be waved over the place could mean that
• 12:57
  there was a place in his body that had leprosy.
• 13:00
  So it was in the early phases of its contamination.
• 13:04
  Regardless, it was destined to ravage the man and to cause him
• 13:09
  to be destitute. And so this is again in the
• 13:13
  early stages and he had little hope at this moment.
• 13:17
  It's going to change in a second here, but let's pause and
• 13:20
  remember this name. It is a clear illustration that
• 13:24
  your status, my salary, doesn't exempt you from the effects of
• 13:31
  the fall in this world. It doesn't matter how many
• 13:36
  riches you have. It doesn't matter if you are
• 13:37
  universally respected. That does never shield you from
• 13:43
  the consequences of Adam's transgression and name in
• 13:47
  situation is a sobering lesson about that.
• 13:52
  And what we should take from that is not that we're all going
• 13:55
  to be visited by advanced cancer, God forbid, or deal with
• 13:59
  the consequences of natural disasters.
• 14:03
  But here here's what it does mean for every single one of us.
• 14:05
  We all have one thing in common, and that is no matter what our
• 14:09
  biographies look like, we all have spiritually leprosy.
• 14:13
  Sin and leprosy is a clear parallel to a spiritual
• 14:18
  condition that at our core, outside of Christ, we are
• 14:23
  rotten, we are outcast, we're hideous.
• 14:30
  And only the God who healed Naaman from this physical
• 14:33
  leprosy can heal us from something far worse than that
• 14:36
  dreaded disease. And that is our corrupt nature,
• 14:41
  our dead hearts, our vile attempt at righteousness.
• 14:48
  That leprosy that we all suffer with is the root cause for all,
• 14:53
  or many at least, of the devastations that we are
• 14:55
  experiencing in this world. So naming here is a wonderful
• 14:59
  example of that. You can't escape things just
• 15:02
  because you are someone. But notice what happens in verse
• 15:06
  2. Now the Syrians go on.
• 15:08
  One of the raids had carried off a little girl from the land of
• 15:11
  Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.
• 15:13
  This verse doesn't focus on a particular war, but it does
• 15:17
  describe a practice of these smaller raids that Syria made
• 15:20
  against the people of Israel. And during one of these
• 15:22
  invasions, what did we learn? We learned that they abducted a
• 15:26
  precious little girl from the land of Israel and this is
• 15:32
  devastating for many reasons. She was tore away from her
• 15:35
  family. It's very possible that her
• 15:36
  parents were even killed and that's why they took her.
• 15:40
  We didn't know all the details, but we can hardly imagine the
• 15:43
  horrors of it. A loved 1 taken by those who
• 15:46
  hate you and hate your God. Imagining that her mother was
• 15:52
  alive. Can you imagine the sleepless
• 15:53
  nights? The nightmares?
• 15:57
  Imagine a father who was called to protect your baby and outside
• 16:01
  of your control, one of your precious babies was taken from
• 16:05
  your hand. So it's it's important to feel
• 16:09
  this sometimes, and I just read it as a distant story.
• 16:12
  Feel it, feel it and look at it and realize that this girl,
• 16:19
  though she had suffered in many ways, will play a crucial role.
• 16:24
  She will be an important link to the redemption of Naman to
• 16:29
  Naaman's encounter with the Lord.
• 16:31
  And we're going to realize in verse three that this girl came
• 16:34
  from a household of faith. What can we take from verse 2?
• 16:40
  Very simple. Providence sometimes is very
• 16:43
  painful, that when the Lord leads you with His invisible
• 16:50
  hand, when He wants to bring you into a situation or before a
• 16:55
  certain person, sometimes suffering is the necessary means
• 16:59
  to accomplish it. We're going to touch on that
• 17:03
  this Sunday as we look at Jesus on the cross when He's ready to
• 17:06
  be buried. But I want you to remember this
• 17:10
  because that might sound frightening.
• 17:12
  You're telling me that when God guides my life that it's very
• 17:16
  likely that there will be chapters in my life that are
• 17:20
  dark and unpleasant? That may sound scary, but in
• 17:25
  reality it isn't. It should embolden you more than
• 17:30
  anything else because what it teaches you is that there is not
• 17:33
  one drop of pain in your life that is pointless.
• 17:37
  Not one. It's all guided by God's Pennant
• 17:41
  of Providence. He's writing that story of yours
• 17:45
  and there's not one line. There's not one paragraph that
• 17:48
  he dismisses or that he let somebody else author.
• 17:52
  And that is certainly true for this young girl.
• 17:55
  You know, by simply affirming this can bring great comfort,
• 17:59
  but acknowledging the theology of Providence is not enough to
• 18:02
  experience the fullness of the glory of it.
• 18:05
  Does that make sense for you to make a mental ascent as a
• 18:08
  Christian and say, I believe that God leads my life whether I
• 18:11
  recognize it in the moment or not.
• 18:13
  It's not enough what you're saying.
• 18:14
  What do you mean? I'm saying when you look at this
• 18:17
  young girl, she demonstrates a faith in this God, a real trust
• 18:23
  in this God to such a degree that listen, it shaped her
• 18:27
  composure and it strengthened her witness as she was brought
• 18:34
  to a place that if it was up to her, she would not have chosen
• 18:38
  in a million years. So don't check off a box in your
• 18:44
  thinking of I no, no, let it let it change you.
• 18:48
  Let it shape you, let it form you, let it filter how you
• 18:52
  interpret and engage and experience everything in life.
• 18:56
  So you have this girl, right? She's taken from her family,
• 18:59
  taken from her home, taken from her friends.
• 19:02
  Her future is stripped from her. Her safety is always, I guess,
• 19:07
  every single day. She doesn't know.
• 19:09
  But here she is in the palace of a Pagan commander, and what
• 19:13
  happens? She hears the whispers of the
• 19:16
  servants in the hallway that Naaman, the very man who was in
• 19:20
  charge of her abduction, is suffering from leprosy.
• 19:24
  She's in charge of serving Naaman's wife.
• 19:26
  And notice what happens here in verse 3.
• 19:28
  She said to her mistress, would that my Lord, or with the
• 19:31
  prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.
• 19:37
  You can do a whole sermon on that verse alone.
• 19:43
  You know, when we often think about faithful Saints in the
• 19:46
  Scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament, who had a
• 19:50
  righteous influence in secular spaces, what names come to mind?
• 19:55
  Exiles who were taken out of their land into these prominent
• 19:58
  places. We have Bible studies on these
• 20:00
  individuals. Can you name a few of them?
• 20:03
  Joseph, yes, anybody else. Daniel, yes, anybody else.
• 20:10
  Esther, absolutely. This young girl here who has no
• 20:15
  name is given little credit, but I would put her in that category
• 20:21
  of faithful exiles who made a remarkable impact in secular
• 20:26
  places. And maybe the reason why she
• 20:30
  isn't given much recognition is because we don't know her name
• 20:32
  and she never is promoted to a powerful position, like Esther,
• 20:37
  for example. But I think that's what makes
• 20:39
  her story so beautiful, because it goes to show that even though
• 20:43
  you never arrived somewhere, you you're never recognized for
• 20:46
  something, you can still be an instrument in God's hand to make
• 20:50
  an impact on someone else's soul.
• 20:53
  This little servant girl, she just flashes on the scene and
• 20:59
  then she disappears as quickly as she shows up.
• 21:04
  And there are a couple of things that I want to notice and and
• 21:05
  mention in your hearing before we move on.
• 21:09
  The first thing I want to bring up is as as as important as it
• 21:12
  is to see her faith. She was a slave, but she was
• 21:16
  free from bitterness. She was a slave, but she was
• 21:21
  free from bitterness. Again, you got to just think
• 21:25
  about her circumstances. Snatched out of innocence,
• 21:28
  snatched out of safety, snatched out of familiarity.
• 21:32
  And yet she finds herself in this place.
• 21:35
  And what does she do? She exemplifies.
• 21:39
  She's not bitter against God, nor is she harboring anything
• 21:42
  against her very captor. How do we know that?
• 21:46
  Because when she learns of the condition of her Master, she
• 21:51
  wants him to be healed, and she communicates a trust in her God.
• 21:59
  How many of us would easily in her position would interpret
• 22:03
  Naaman's malady as God's retribution for what he did to
• 22:08
  you? That's what you get.
• 22:10
  You take me from my family. You take me from my home.
• 22:12
  You take me. You killed my parents.
• 22:15
  Hypothetically. Oh, you have leprosy, huh?
• 22:18
  Good. And she could have so easily
• 22:23
  kept her mouth shut. And day after they watch this
• 22:27
  man rot in his room. She didn't do that.
• 22:34
  She wants him to be made well. Can I tell you something?
• 22:38
  Please never forget this. The Lord will never be able to
• 22:41
  use us maximally if we harbor hate in our hearts.
• 22:47
  Please remember that that you should never expect the Lord to
• 22:51
  use us to touch others if we justify unforgiveness toward
• 22:56
  those who might have even hurt you.
• 23:00
  If you have disdain and you have you loathe those who believe
• 23:04
  differently or act differently or even have done something to
• 23:07
  you that was drastic and life altering.
• 23:12
  You limit yourself as a candidate for God to do miracles
• 23:16
  in people's lives. And one of the ways in which you
• 23:20
  can know that you are free from unforgiveness, that you are
• 23:22
  liberated from bitterness, is that when there is an
• 23:25
  opportunity that arises for something good to be done to
• 23:28
  your enemies, you take it. You take it.
• 23:33
  People always want to know, how do I know if I've forgiven?
• 23:36
  Here's one of the most powerful litmus test that when an
• 23:40
  opportunity comes to your front step for you to do something
• 23:44
  righteous for those who have hurt you and you take it, that's
• 23:49
  a great sign that your heart is healed.
• 23:53
  And if you think that that's just with this case, No, no,
• 23:57
  it's with one of the most notable cases with Joseph.
• 24:00
  You remember Joseph. OK, let me read to you these
• 24:02
  verses from Psalm one, O 5, verse 17.
• 24:05
  This is about the Lord and what He did to deliver the nation of
• 24:09
  Israel. And at this point in redemptive
• 24:10
  history, look what the Lord says through the psalmist writing in
• 24:14
  Psalm one, O 5, verse 17. He had sent a man ahead of them,
• 24:18
  Joseph, who was sold as a slave. Pause.
• 24:22
  This confirms what I just said earlier, that Providence often
• 24:25
  times is painful. What is Psalm 105?
• 24:29
  Verse 17 says that he sent a man ahead of them.
• 24:33
  God sent a man ahead of that small people group, Jacob and
• 24:37
  his family, who later become a mighty nation.
• 24:39
  God sent someone ahead of them. And how did he send them?
• 24:44
  Red carpet? No, Joseph who was sold as a
• 24:48
  slave. That's how God sent Joseph to
• 24:52
  deliver his people. I'm going to make you into a
• 24:54
  slave. Look at verse 18.
• 24:57
  His feet were hurt with fetters. His neck was put in a collar of
• 25:02
  iron until what he had said came to pass.
• 25:05
  The word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him.
• 25:09
  The rule of the people set him free.
• 25:11
  He made him Lord of his house and ruler of all his
• 25:14
  possessions. And verse 22 is what I want to
• 25:17
  highlight, to bind his Princess at his pleasure and to teach his
• 25:23
  elders wisdom. Do you realize that when Joseph
• 25:26
  was promoted to be second in command, he was not just given
• 25:29
  charge of the survival plan for Egypt and the world?
• 25:32
  Really, he was given authority to do whatever he wanted to do
• 25:35
  with his power. Whoever he wanted to arrest,
• 25:39
  whoever he wanted to put into prison, he could do it.
• 25:42
  The snap of the finger. Now, after that point, was
• 25:46
  Joseph treated well by a lot of people?
• 25:48
  No. No he wasn't.
• 25:50
  I'm sure if he let his heart go in the direction of the flesh,
• 25:54
  he would have had a hit list of people to throw into prison.
• 26:02
  And when it came to his brothers who made a surprise visit, he
• 26:05
  recognized them. They didn't recognize him.
• 26:07
  What does he do? He takes care of them, you say,
• 26:11
  boy, he does arrest them. He does put them into prison for
• 26:15
  a few days. He does do that.
• 26:17
  But he didn't do it out of vindictiveness.
• 26:18
  He didn't do it out of a malicious place.
• 26:20
  He did it to test them and to find a way to get Jacob to send
• 26:23
  Benjamin and ultimately bring Jacob into that place.
• 26:25
  And So what do you have? You have a man who even, yes,
• 26:29
  who did treat him in a certain way.
• 26:30
  But if you really think about it, he took care of them.
• 26:33
  You always sent them back with food.
• 26:36
  He protected them in many ways. And when it came at the right
• 26:40
  time, he unveiled himself and he embraced them.
• 26:43
  And it was so hard to believe that even when Jacob died, the
• 26:45
  brothers were terrified. He's going to change his mind.
• 26:48
  He just did this because he wanted to really please his
• 26:50
  father. And Joseph broke down when he
• 26:53
  realized how their brothers were thinking.
• 26:55
  He reassured them. I, I, I'm here to take care of
• 26:57
  you. One of the ways in which you
• 26:59
  know that you have been free from unforgiveness is that when
• 27:01
  the opportunity of good arises toward your enemy, you take it.
• 27:05
  And sometimes that good just looks like you praying for
• 27:07
  somebody who really did hurt you, but you found out something
• 27:10
  devastating happened to them. And God is very creative in
• 27:14
  giving us opportunities to do something to show that we've
• 27:17
  truly forgiven. We have a second thought to
• 27:21
  consider the knowledge that this little girl had.
• 27:26
  We don't know her age, right. We just told that she was a
• 27:28
  little girl from the land of Israel.
• 27:31
  But what she conveyed showed something remarkable about her
• 27:35
  understanding and awareness of God.
• 27:38
  What did she say? She says here.
• 27:40
  Oh, and she says it with this earnestness.
• 27:43
  Would that my Lord with were with the prophet who is in
• 27:45
  Samaria now if she's a little girl and she knew this meaning
• 27:52
  she knew who Elijah the prophet was.
• 27:54
  She knew of his whereabouts, then that tells me she was
• 27:58
  instructed about these things. That tells me that she was not
• 28:03
  like those band of boys in the city of Bethel.
• 28:05
  You remember that when Elijah early in his ministry crossed
• 28:07
  and and walked through Bethel or by Bethel and this band of boys
• 28:11
  came and harassed them and told him go up you bald head.
• 28:13
  She wasn't she wasn't like those boys.
• 28:15
  She was part of the remnant of Israel who believed in the true
• 28:17
  and living God. And her parents instilled in her
• 28:23
  this kind of faith. They taught her well.
• 28:28
  And when I, when I look at this, I, I thought to myself, what an
• 28:31
  encouragement for parents to know that this girl, the way she
• 28:34
  was raised in her home, would touch the leader of a nation.
• 28:40
  Don't doubt for a moment that the seed that you plant in that
• 28:43
  child's heart has the ability not just to remain, but to shine
• 28:50
  and not just shine in dark and difficult places.
• 28:52
  Listen, what you put at an elementary phase can nurture and
• 28:59
  grow to be something that you never even expected as a
• 29:02
  guardian, as a mother, as a father, as an older sibling.
• 29:05
  You know how I know that this young girl's faith is beyond
• 29:10
  what even she was taught? We studied many of Elijah's
• 29:16
  miracles, did we not? Was there ever a time where
• 29:19
  Elisha was recorded of healing a leper before this?
• 29:25
  How did she know that Elisha would heal this man of his
• 29:27
  leprosy then? She's never witnessed God using
• 29:32
  a man to heal somebody of this disease.
• 29:35
  But she believed it. Don't you think that's amazing?
• 29:39
  It's because she knew the character of God.
• 29:41
  She knew what God could do. She heard what the things Elisha
• 29:44
  did in the name of this God and that translated when she saw an
• 29:48
  obstacle. When she saw a problem, she
• 29:50
  truly trusted that God can do something about it.
• 29:55
  Do not underestimate your investment in that younger
• 30:00
  person's life and that child of yours.
• 30:03
  This little girl shows us a remarkable thing to never
• 30:07
  hesitate to disciple them while they're young, to trust that
• 30:09
  they can take it even from a young age and touch those who
• 30:12
  are much more advanced in life. So she said this right without
• 30:16
  my Lord, we're with the prophet who is in Samaria.
• 30:18
  He would cure him of his leprosy.
• 30:20
  Now what do we find? Verse 4?
• 30:21
  So Naman went in and told his Lord thus, and so spoke the girl
• 30:24
  from the land of Israel, and the king of Syria said, go.
• 30:27
  Now I will send a letter to the king of Israel.
• 30:29
  So he went, taking with him 10 talents of silver, 6000 shekels
• 30:33
  of gold, and 10 changes of clothing.
• 30:36
  Here's the thing, the knowledge that this little girl had,
• 30:39
  unfortunately, would not be processed appropriately, nor
• 30:44
  would it be found possessed by those who should have owned it
• 30:47
  already. And here's example #1 when Naman
• 30:51
  heard this, went to the king, got permission, the king was
• 30:53
  more than willing. I mean, this is one of his top
• 30:55
  guys. He doesn't want to see him
• 30:57
  become a leper. If you're saying that there's
• 30:59
  somebody in Israel that can make you, well, let's get this going.
• 31:02
  And what did he do? He sends Naman and gives him the
• 31:04
  green light, but he also provides something, a massive
• 31:08
  gift. What kind of gift?
• 31:10
  10 talents of silver 6000 check. I mean this, this is coming on a
• 31:14
  train and 10 changes of clothing.
• 31:20
  What do you think? This is a gesture of respect?
• 31:23
  Less likely. More than anything, I believe
• 31:25
  that this is name and understand that he's going into enemy
• 31:27
  territory and he has to try to find a way to persuade whoever
• 31:32
  it is for him to be healed. You're talking about a foreign
• 31:37
  foe. Somebody was caused harm and
• 31:39
  harassment, and now they're coming to your front step asking
• 31:42
  for some help. He's got to.
• 31:43
  He's got to get them with something.
• 31:47
  So it comes with all these resources, all these rewards,
• 31:49
  all these treasures. But here's the thing.
• 31:51
  Did the little girl was very knowledgeable mention anything
• 31:53
  about payment to the prophet? No.
• 31:58
  So where do they get this idea from?
• 31:59
  I think it's Pagan, and here's what you and I can take from
• 32:06
  this. Do not be surprised if
• 32:09
  unbelievers cannot immediately grasp the simplicity and the
• 32:14
  accessibility of our faith. Don't be shocked by that.
• 32:20
  Don't be surprised by that name. It is a wonderful picture here,
• 32:23
  and there are millions of people who believe, as I am speaking to
• 32:27
  you tonight, that they have to come up with some elaborate,
• 32:32
  complex protocol to have an audience with God, or that they
• 32:37
  have to pay something for some kind of favor from God.
• 32:42
  Many people think this way, and I can't help but think of the
• 32:46
  words of the Apostle Paul when he stood before those Athenians,
• 32:49
  those philosophers, those supposed scholars and debaters.
• 32:54
  And he said this marvelous thing in Acts 1727.
• 32:57
  And speaking about God, he says, yet he is actually not far from
• 33:02
  each one of us. He said that in the context of
• 33:07
  God placing us in different parts of the world and
• 33:09
  determining the boundaries of our dwelling place.
• 33:11
  And he says, look, no matter where you're at, God has made
• 33:14
  himself so accessible. And he preached that to these
• 33:21
  learn men. And it's something that you and
• 33:23
  I supposed to embrace for ourselves.
• 33:27
  Naaman could understand it. So he comes with all of this,
• 33:31
  and he hopes that it will weaken any resistance on Israel's part.
• 33:36
  But there's another mistake that he makes.
• 33:39
  When the king sends a letter, he sends it to the king of Israel.
• 33:43
  And what does he say in the letter Says here in verse 6,
• 33:45
  when this letter reaches, you know that I've sent to you
• 33:48
  Naman, my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.
• 33:52
  Wrong guy, you're saying? No, he's speaking generally.
• 33:56
  That's not how the king of Israel interpreted it.
• 33:58
  Because when he reads the letter, well, let's just read it
• 34:01
  for ourselves. Look at verse 7.
• 34:02
  And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes
• 34:05
  and said, Am I God to kill and to make a lie that this man
• 34:09
  sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?
• 34:13
  Only consider and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.
• 34:18
  Practical lesson. We are prone of misinterpreting
• 34:22
  the words of people sometimes, right?
• 34:25
  So may we all have the wisdom and the maturity not to take
• 34:30
  things to heart, especially if it's not so clear.
• 34:35
  Let's come back to the main lesson.
• 34:37
  So you have this man here who is obviously overwhelmed by this
• 34:41
  request and he rightly affirms the sovereignty of God.
• 34:44
  Look what he says am IA God to kill and to make alive.
• 34:47
  So he acknowledges that God has power over life, the final say
• 34:52
  over life. He acknowledges it, but he
• 34:55
  doesn't apply it to the situation because he panics.
• 35:00
  And we have every right to hold this man accountable.
• 35:02
  Do you know why? Because the context suggests
• 35:04
  that this is King Jeho Ram. Who's king?
• 35:09
  Gerald Ram. He was one of the three kings
• 35:11
  that wandered into the wilderness as they came as a
• 35:13
  coalition in the fight against the Moabites.
• 35:16
  They got lost. Their water resources are
• 35:18
  running low, so they come to Elijah.
• 35:20
  Elijah was the conduit by which God performed a miracle and
• 35:23
  saved them. The king of Israel back then is
• 35:26
  the same king of Israel here. If there was anybody who should
• 35:31
  have known better, it was him. Evidently what he experienced a
• 35:36
  couple chapters ago did not make a lasting impression on him.
• 35:39
  So when there was another dilemma, what he should have
• 35:42
  done was I know just the guy that can help us because he's
• 35:44
  helped us before, but instead he doesn't.
• 35:47
  He gets overwhelmed, he freaks out and he thinks that he's
• 35:51
  about to enter into a war. And what's so amazing here is
• 35:54
  that this this king who we are tempted to love, to hook for his
• 35:58
  unbelief, when you compare his awareness to the little girls in
• 36:03
  verse 2 and verse three, he has no excuse.
• 36:08
  And how many comparisons have we made of this through our study
• 36:11
  of the Old Testament? That when it comes to the lowly,
• 36:13
  the impoverished, the unfortunate, the destitute, they
• 36:17
  often carry a knowledge of what matters way more than those who
• 36:22
  have a lot in this life. So you have this little girl who
• 36:27
  knows God and what he can do, and yet you have this king who
• 36:31
  doesn't know God and what he can do.
• 36:36
  Before we move on, I want to point out that this text here in
• 36:38
  verse 7 is the basis for us understanding the culture of
• 36:43
  Jesus's day. That this understanding that
• 36:46
  only God can restore the leper. There's no other cure.
• 36:49
  There's no other hope for a leper.
• 36:50
  That belief was carried into Jesus time where all the Jews
• 36:55
  understood that if you suffer from this disease you were at
• 36:58
  the mercy of God. No doctor can help you, no
• 37:02
  remedy can aid you, nothing. It has to be something from
• 37:04
  heaven and if that is true, then understand the implications of
• 37:10
  Jesus ministry when he arrives on the scene that when he went
• 37:14
  around, not like Elisha, Elisha is going to be used to heal this
• 37:18
  leper, but he sends them away for God to heal him as an act of
• 37:21
  faith. What does Jesus do?
• 37:23
  He lays his hands on the untouchable.
• 37:26
  So you got to imagine how the Jews would interpret that.
• 37:29
  And that's why I made such a ruckus in that culture because
• 37:32
  this Jesus, only God can heal a leper.
• 37:35
  And yet this Jesus lays his hand on these contagious Walking Dead
• 37:41
  men and women. Am I God to kill him to make
• 37:48
  alive of this man sends word to me.
• 37:52
  He just rips his clothes. It's like a very disturbing
• 37:55
  thing to him. Leaders would do this when there
• 37:58
  was something blasphemous or horrendous.
• 38:02
  What happens verse 8, But when Elijah, the man of God heard
• 38:05
  that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king
• 38:08
  saying, why have you torn your clothes?
• 38:11
  Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet
• 38:14
  in Israel. Verse 8 says something about the
• 38:21
  character of God. How?
• 38:26
  Because you have a man named Naman who's doing his best from
• 38:30
  an honest heart to get in touch with this God, the true God.
• 38:35
  He fumbles in the beginning before he even makes way to
• 38:37
  Israel, right? He thinks that this God is maybe
• 38:40
  like all these other gods that needs great sacrifice, great
• 38:45
  donations, whatever the case may be.
• 38:48
  And then he goes to the king. He has very limited information,
• 38:51
  I guess. And then now you have this king
• 38:55
  who stumbles himself by not being able to direct name into
• 38:58
  the right source. And this could have easily
• 39:02
  failed. But what does God do?
• 39:05
  God meets Naaman on his journey. God sees Naaman's heart and he's
• 39:11
  willing to meet him halfway. How does he do that?
• 39:17
  Somehow word gets to Elijah and Elijah sets up an appointment
• 39:22
  with Naaman. And I'd like to think that
• 39:24
  that's how God is today with those who are searching for the
• 39:27
  truth and maybe don't know what to work with, where to begin.
• 39:30
  They just have limited understanding.
• 39:32
  And as they make those steps, and though they may trip, and
• 39:34
  though they may be misguided for a season, God meets that person.
• 39:40
  He guides that person until that person realizes the truth for
• 39:45
  what it is and then makes a decision if that's something
• 39:47
  that they want to give themselves to.
• 39:48
  And notice even Elisha's response to the king as a rebuke
• 39:52
  to the king, because the king should have known, right?
• 39:56
  Look what he says again. Why have you torn your clothes?
• 39:58
  It was a gentle rebuke. You didn't need to do that.
• 40:02
  And notice what else he says. Bring him to me so that he will
• 40:05
  know that there is a prophet in Israel.
• 40:08
  In other words, hey, if remember King Jerome was a Pagan, he was
• 40:13
  an idolater. He acknowledged Yahweh in some
• 40:16
  ways, but he he loved false gods.
• 40:19
  So here's what Elijah is essentially saying.
• 40:20
  Where are your other prophets? Why are you in such panic?
• 40:25
  Can't you have any of your supposed mediators come to your
• 40:29
  help? Evidently not.
• 40:32
  So bring them to me, because I represent the true God.
• 40:36
  So the appointment is set. Look at verse 9.
• 40:38
  So Naman came with his horses and Chariots and stood at the
• 40:41
  door of Elijah's house. That was no quiet visitation.
• 40:45
  That was a scene. That was a procession.
• 40:48
  There was noise. People looked out the window.
• 40:51
  People opened the front door, people wondering what's this all
• 40:53
  about? And so Naman comes to Elijah's
• 40:57
  humble home and you would expect that Elijah would open the door
• 41:01
  with a smile and with a little excitement.
• 41:08
  I'm going to meet one of the top generals of the Syrian Army.
• 41:12
  Instead, look what he does in verse 10.
• 41:14
  And Elijah sent a messenger to him saying go on washing the
• 41:17
  Jordan 7 times and your flesh shall be restored and you shall
• 41:20
  be clean. Talk about anticlimactic.
• 41:27
  So a servant is sent out. How do you think Neyman took
• 41:34
  this? You might think, Elijah, this is
• 41:38
  a little bit rude. This is a little unnecessary.
• 41:40
  This man already made such a great way to come to you.
• 41:42
  He didn't ask for you to come to him.
• 41:44
  He he came many miles and who knows the journey, what it
• 41:49
  entailed, But here he is. He came to your front step and
• 41:51
  you you didn't step out to acknowledge him.
• 41:56
  Is Elijah being inconsiderate? No, actually I believe he's
• 41:59
  being very kind because Elijah as a man of God perceives
• 42:04
  something. He perceives that Naaman needs
• 42:09
  correction with something else apart from his leprosy saying
• 42:14
  what is that? His pride?
• 42:21
  Naaman did humble himself to some extent, but not enough, and
• 42:26
  Elijah is going to help him be healed in that area by refusing
• 42:33
  to meet this man face to face. The man of God is teaching this
• 42:37
  mighty man of valor something about the character and the
• 42:40
  nature of God that he's not interested in how much you can
• 42:43
  give him, nor is he impressed by your entourage, nor is he moved
• 42:48
  by your accolades. Do you know what the Lord is
• 42:50
  after Naaman? Humble yourself, come in
• 42:56
  humility, come in loneliness, come in brokenness.
• 43:02
  Don't come expecting and and demanding and thinking.
• 43:07
  That has to be a certain way. And my mind went to that famous
• 43:11
  verse in Micah 6-8 where the prophet there says he has told
• 43:16
  you, oh man, what is good? What does he tell man?
• 43:21
  What does the Lord require of you to do justice, to love,
• 43:25
  kindness, And here's the last part.
• 43:26
  And to walk humbly with your God.
• 43:30
  And one of the ways in which you humble yourself before God and
• 43:33
  walk humbly with your God is that when His Word is made known
• 43:37
  to you, you align yourself to it, no matter how much it
• 43:41
  challenges your preconceived notions or your desires.
• 43:45
  That that's what humbleness looks like.
• 43:47
  Here's what God's Word asks of me.
• 43:50
  And no matter how much it might challenge my flesh, my
• 43:56
  understandings, I am willing to comply with it because that's
• 44:00
  what God is after, and that's what Neyman is going to have to
• 44:05
  learn, which is something he refuses to do at first.
• 44:08
  God's word is made known to him, and he resists it with anger.
• 44:12
  It actually irks him. By the way, I have to pause here
• 44:17
  and say I admire Elijah so much because he is yet another at
• 44:22
  this moment model for ministers. So if anybody here aspires to be
• 44:26
  in ministry in any capacity, especially as a leader, know
• 44:29
  this. What I love about Elijah is that
• 44:31
  his message was not changed nor was he swayed by this pomp
• 44:38
  political figure. He wasn't influenced by a
• 44:45
  potential monetary reward. He gave Naaman what Naaman
• 44:49
  needed. So imagine being a minister,
• 44:53
  maybe even in this context, and a famous person walks in.
• 44:56
  You know what the temptation might be of some people who are
• 44:59
  called to preach the truth, to alter it, to try to win that
• 45:03
  person in a clever but fleshy way.
• 45:06
  Elijah was not such a man. It didn't matter who stood
• 45:09
  before him, didn't matter who visited him.
• 45:11
  He gave it the way God told him to give it.
• 45:14
  Why? Because Elijah loved God and he
• 45:15
  loved Naman too much to compromise in any way he wanted
• 45:21
  to and he needed to. It was his duty to give this man
• 45:24
  exactly what God wanted to give him.
• 45:26
  And it should be no different for you and I, no matter who
• 45:29
  crossed your paths. They are all equal.
• 45:32
  They are all in need of the same gospel.
• 45:36
  And so Elijah doesn't budget. I love that.
• 45:40
  And nor does he respond and react when Naaman becomes angry
• 45:45
  at this initial message, right? It's not like Elisha was at the
• 45:49
  window and he said, OK, I want you to go and tell him that he
• 45:51
  has to go to the Jordan and dip himself 7 times.
• 45:54
  And then when he tells him he sees Naaman's face get red and
• 45:56
  he's ready to pack and go back to Syria.
• 45:58
  You don't see Elisha kicking the door open saying, oh, I'm sorry,
• 46:00
  I didn't mean to do that. Misinterpretation, my messenger,
• 46:02
  sometimes he doesn't get it. So let me just he doesn't do any
• 46:05
  of that. Like this is what God said.
• 46:08
  I'm saying it in boldness, yes, but in love.
• 46:10
  Accept it, take it or leave it. And so what's Naaman going to
• 46:15
  do? Verse 11 But Naaman was angry.
• 46:21
  Why, why, why are you angry? You would think you would be
• 46:28
  thrilled because you now have been given a divine prescription
• 46:31
  for your leprosy. Do you know why he was angry?
• 46:36
  Because at this moment here, what troubled him even more than
• 46:39
  his burning leprosy was that his pride was hurt.
• 46:44
  Look what it says here. But Naima was angry and went
• 46:46
  away saying, behold, I thought that he would surely come out to
• 46:51
  me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God and
• 46:55
  wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
• 46:57
  I thought I had a certain notion, concept of how this was
• 47:01
  going to go down, that this was going to be a process that was
• 47:03
  honorable to me, that would be even showy.
• 47:06
  It would be public. It would be.
• 47:10
  And it didn't happen the way I thought.
• 47:14
  And so he became angry. He believes he deserves some
• 47:20
  dramatic manifestation, and if not that, then at least to be
• 47:25
  sent to a more dignified body of water.
• 47:28
  That's what he says in verse 12. Are not Abana and far par the
• 47:33
  rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?
• 47:36
  Here's Naman who compares the rivers and the waters of
• 47:41
  Damascus to that of Israel, and he goes, what we have back home
• 47:44
  was way better than this. But you know what came to mind?
• 47:47
  A verse from Ezekiel. And you don't have to turn
• 47:49
  there, but I want to just mention it to you.
• 47:50
  In Ezekiel 20, verse 6, when the Lord speaks about the land of
• 47:54
  Israel, He says that it is most glorious of all lands.
• 48:03
  Many people do not see what God sees as beautiful being
• 48:08
  beautiful. Many people do not interpret
• 48:13
  what is good, what God deems to be good.
• 48:17
  The natural man cannot accept the things of the Spirit, so God
• 48:23
  says this is a glorious thing. Naaman says I think there's
• 48:26
  something better and he would not accept these instructions.
• 48:29
  And Naaman's reactions to Elisha's instructions is no
• 48:33
  different than the attitude many have when they learn what God
• 48:36
  requires of them to be saved. Isn't that true?
• 48:41
  What does the prophet tell him? Go to the Jordan, dip yourself 7
• 48:46
  times and you'll be healed. What does the Bible say?
• 48:49
  Go to the cross, repent and believe in you shall be saved.
• 48:55
  And how do some people react? The cross, a crucified savior.
• 49:04
  Put my trust in that. There's got to be something that
• 49:10
  demands more of me. There's got to be something more
• 49:12
  logical, There's got to be something more attractive,
• 49:15
  there's got to be something more respectable than believing this
• 49:21
  message as the basis of my righteousness.
• 49:26
  And Galatians says that the gospel is offensive in that
• 49:32
  regard. Paul says in Galatians 5, If I
• 49:35
  preach circumcision, then why am I being persecuted?
• 49:38
  And the offense of the gospel is gone, The stumbling block, the
• 49:40
  gospel is gone. What does he mean by that?
• 49:44
  That when you preach the sufficiency of the cross, people
• 49:47
  will see it as foolish, especially those who who want to
• 49:51
  attain their own righteousness, especially those who are
• 49:55
  religious, They, they think it can't be that, that can't be
• 50:00
  what God is asking of me. That's the offense of it, among
• 50:05
  other things. And I'm reminded of the Paul's
• 50:07
  words when he was describing the unfortunate belief of his Jewish
• 50:13
  brethren when they denied Christ.
• 50:14
  Listen to these words in Romans 10/3.
• 50:17
  It's so powerful, he says, for being ignorant of the
• 50:19
  righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own.
• 50:25
  They did not submit to God's righteousness.
• 50:31
  That's what it boils down to. Why did the majority of Jews not
• 50:36
  receive God's righteousness that that provided righteousness?
• 50:40
  Because they could not accept the notion that God provided an
• 50:48
  alien righteousness, meaning outside of themselves being
• 50:50
  imputed unto them as the basis of their salvation.
• 50:54
  They couldn't. That's what Paul saying.
• 50:56
  They could not surrender to that.
• 50:58
  They could not give themselves over to that.
• 51:01
  They could not find it within themselves to rest in belief and
• 51:05
  belief alone. That's what he says in verse 4.
• 51:11
  And that's modeled here by Naman.
• 51:13
  God's word goes out and he goes dip myself in the Jordan 7
• 51:17
  times. Seriously, seriously.
• 51:23
  And So what happens? He's filled with wrath, but his
• 51:29
  servants in verse 13 came near and said to him, my father, it
• 51:33
  is a great word. The prophet has spoken to you.
• 51:35
  Will you not do it? Has he actually said to you wash
• 51:38
  and be clean? Another translation says if he
• 51:42
  spoke to you a great word, would you not have done it?
• 51:45
  If he told you to jump through all these hoops or to pay a
• 51:48
  great price, would you not be more compelled to that?
• 51:51
  But he, he just simply told you to do this.
• 51:53
  And what's so amazing is this story began with a little
• 51:55
  servant girl that that really put all of this into motion.
• 51:58
  And the story is now coming to a near end.
• 52:01
  And who who's coming to the rescue once more his servants.
• 52:08
  And so this man was ready to go back to Syria, but there is
• 52:11
  people in his life who love them enough to correct them when he
• 52:14
  needed correction. And they did it respectfully.
• 52:16
  Notice they said, my father, my father, please do something.
• 52:23
  Please pray fully, ask the Lord and be vigilant for people in
• 52:28
  your life who love you enough to redirect you when you're headed
• 52:33
  in the wrong direction, and seek to be the person who loves
• 52:37
  people enough who will do the same for others.
• 52:41
  These servants, again nameless, but played a huge pivotal role
• 52:47
  in this man's story and he takes it to heart.
• 52:53
  Notice what happens in verse 14 in our last verse of the study.
• 52:55
  So he went down and dipped himself 7 times in the Jordan
• 52:59
  according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was
• 53:03
  restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
• 53:07
  I wonder what that looked like. I wonder if naming was just
• 53:11
  quiet the whole time. I wonder if part of his
• 53:15
  hesitation was that he had to remove his clothing and expose
• 53:21
  his skin condition and he gets into that water, he dissed
• 53:28
  himself once, does it again one more time until he does it.
• 53:35
  The amount of times Elijah told him to do it.
• 53:38
  Why 7? I mean, the simple answer is
• 53:41
  that 7 is a consistent number of the Bible that depicts divine
• 53:45
  perfection, but I think it's deeper than that.
• 53:50
  And again, it's only when you're familiar with a book called
• 53:53
  Leviticus where there is an entire chapter that describes
• 54:00
  the cleaning rituals and the process of renewing somebody who
• 54:06
  suffered from leprosy but was deemed clean.
• 54:10
  So let's turn there as our final text in Leviticus 14 and notice
• 54:13
  something that correlates with what we see here in Second Kings
• 54:17
  chapter 5. You're going to notice that
• 54:20
  there are many rituals that deal with the leper that are tied to
• 54:24
  the #7 Leviticus 14, beginning in verse 6.
• 54:28
  Let's just look at a few examples in this chapter.
• 54:35
  Leviticus 14. Six.
• 54:36
  He shall take the live bird with the cedar wood and the scarlet
• 54:39
  yarn and the hyssop, and dip them, and the live bird in the
• 54:42
  blood of the bird that was killed over fresh water.
• 54:45
  And he shall sprinkle it 7 times on him who is to be cleansed of
• 54:50
  the leprous disease. And he shall pronounce him
• 54:52
  clean, and shall let the living bird go go into the open field.
• 54:56
  Verse 8 of Leviticus 14. And he who is to be cleansed
• 54:59
  shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and
• 55:02
  bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean.
• 55:05
  And after that he may come into a camp.
• 55:07
  Into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days.
• 55:12
  Leviticus 1415 The priest shall take some of the log of oil and
• 55:17
  poured into the palm of his own left hand, and dip his right
• 55:20
  finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and sprinkle some oil
• 55:23
  with his finger 7 times before the Lord.
• 55:27
  So we see it over and over again. 7 * 7 * 7 What's the
• 55:31
  point? What's the connection?
• 55:32
  Elisha's instructions for naman were based and rooted in God's
• 55:36
  Word. And so he obeyed God's Word.
• 55:44
  And what's the result? And his flesh was restored.
• 55:47
  He could have just had his flesh was restored, but it says his
• 55:50
  flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child.
• 55:57
  Have you ever seen the skin of a of a baby?
• 56:02
  Elisha walked out of that water brand new.
• 56:06
  Similarly, when you're cleanse of spiritual leprosy, as you
• 56:13
  respond to God's Word and you humble yourself to receive
• 56:17
  something outside of yourself to renew you, what happens?
• 56:23
  You're a new creation. You're what John 3 says, born
• 56:27
  again. You're tangibly transformed.
• 56:33
  And so we even see a gospel picture here.
• 56:36
  And Speaking of gospel, let's come back to how we started.
• 56:40
  Jesus uses out of all the miracles, this one to
• 56:43
  communicate something so vital for the Jews of his own day.
• 56:48
  At the beginnings of his ministry, he taught in the
• 56:50
  synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth.
• 56:52
  The people heard him gladly, but very quickly became sour and
• 56:56
  began to criticize his origins and doubt the claims that he
• 56:58
  made himself about himself being Messiah.
• 57:01
  And so Jesus gives these different illustrations and
• 57:04
  references, and one of them being what you heard in Luke.
• 57:07
  What did he say early on? He told them, he told this
• 57:11
  people that there are many lepers in the days of Elijah in
• 57:15
  Israel, but there was only one who was healed.
• 57:18
  And the one who was healed was name in the Syrian.
• 57:23
  That was in Luke 427 and 28. But why did they respond?
• 57:27
  Why did they elicit such wrath? Here's how you understand it.
• 57:35
  There are many people who are suffering, but God chose the
• 57:39
  grant mercy to an outsider. And it wasn't just that.
• 57:44
  It was the fact that this outsider heard God's word and
• 57:49
  received it that led to his healing.
• 57:52
  And here now you have Jesus confronted by the unbelief of
• 57:54
  his own people, and they refused to humble themselves by
• 57:59
  receiving His word and applying it.
• 58:01
  And So what is the Lord alluding to?
• 58:02
  What is he trying to communicate by mentioning Naaman?
• 58:05
  If you will continue and persist in your unbelief towards what I
• 58:08
  have to say, Like God under the old covenant, Messiah will
• 58:13
  consider the Gentile and He will be willing to save and rescue
• 58:18
  and redeem them. He's the same God.
• 58:22
  And that caused them to explode. Why?
• 58:25
  Because they put so much confidence in their
• 58:27
  nationalistic identity, in their heritage of the sentence of
• 58:31
  Abraham. And here's the Lord Jesus saying
• 58:35
  you missed the story that even when Israel had a monarchy, God
• 58:41
  was still willing to reach out to the Gentile due to your
• 58:45
  unbelief. And I'm here to tell you that
• 58:47
  I'm willing to do the same. And we we read there in verse 20
• 58:51
  that what they became angry like who became angry when they heard
• 58:55
  God's word initially Naaman. But what's the difference?
• 59:02
  Naaman's unbelief was short lived.
• 59:05
  The Jews of Jesus day carry their anger until they killed
• 59:09
  him. The gospel message in Naaman's
• 59:16
  story is this. He doesn't consider your
• 59:18
  ethnicity. He doesn't consider what you
• 59:20
  possess. He doesn't consider who you are
• 59:23
  or who knows your or your achievements.
• 59:25
  The one thing he looks for is humility.
• 59:29
  The one thing that attracts and magnetize God to sinners is when
• 59:33
  they realize that they need His saving.
• 59:38
  I wonder if anybody at this Bible study tonight has not yet
• 59:42
  made that decision. I pray today that you'd be moved
• 59:45
  by this story and apply it to your own life.
• 59:47
  God is waiting to restore you and heal you, and you come empty
• 59:51
  handed. And He'll do it.
• 59:55
  He's faithful to do it. Let's pray.
• 1:00:09
  Thank you for the story, Lord. Thank you for your word.
• 1:00:14
  Thank you that in one story you can teach us something about the
• 1:00:17
  cross. You can teach us about your
• 1:00:18
  guidance. You can teach us about practical
• 1:00:20
  wisdom. Your word is infinite and is
• 1:00:23
  provision. We pray, Lord, that these things
• 1:00:28
  would make an impact on our lives.
• 1:00:29
  We would not be like King Joram where we are moved by something
• 1:00:32
  at one point and then that evaporates at another crucial
• 1:00:35
  time in our lives. May these things be deeply,
• 1:00:39
  deeply embedded so that they will show up when we need it the
• 1:00:44
  most. Lord, as we sing and worship to
• 1:00:47
  you, we pray that you'd be glorified in our response to
• 1:00:50
  your glorious truth. In Jesus name we pray.
• 1:00:54
  Amen. Praise team, can you help us end
• 1:00:57
  this night with a song on our lips and joy in our hearts?