Elisha Healed Naaman of His Leprosy – Childlike Faith (2Kings 5:1-14)

Elisha Healed Naaman of His Leprosy – Childlike Faith

 

2Kings 5:1-14

 

Today’s word is the story that Israeli Prophet Elisha healed the leprosy of Naaman. This story is cast with prominent figures who were commanding the world in those days. In addition to the main character Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, we see King of Aram (Ben-Hadad II), King of Israel (Joram), and Prophet Elisha. Actually, however, the true main character of this story is “a young girl” mentioned in Verse 2. It is because the whole of this amazing story took place out of the young girl’s childlike faith, which I want to talk about in this sermon. In Verse 14 of this passage, when Naaman was healed of his disease, his flesh was restored and became clean like the flesh of a young boy. I would like to say that childlike faith is like “the flesh of a young boy.”

I want to share a YouTube video which scored a great number of hits in a few days about two years ago while South Korea was going through a political chaos due to the nationwide candlelight rallies for the impeachment of the Korean President. This video is about a man named Robert Kelly and his young daughter. Robert Kelly was an American, but he married a Korean woman and was teaching politics at Busan National University in Korea. At that time, in order to cover the rapidly changing political situation of Korea, BBC was having a live interview with Professor Kelly through online video conferencing. While Robert Kelly, sitting in front of his computer in his study room, was concentrating on the interview, the unlocked door opened and his four-year-old daughter came into the room. For some reason, she was so excited as to dance, and soon, she was followed by her 9-month-old brother dragging his walker into the room. All of a sudden, the room became messy. Embarrassed in the middle of the live interview, Mr. Kelly pushed away the daughter approaching to his side. Again their mom rushed into the room, and dragged the children out of the room. Mr. Kelly apologized repeatedly for the unexpected “accident,” but the interviewer and the viewers took it in a different way. To them, it was a lovely smile-inducing episode looking like a pretty flower in the middle of the dreary land piled up with gloomy political issues.

 

Going back to today’s passage, we can learn what “childlike faith” is from the journey of Naaman. According to Verse 1, Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram. He was a great man to his master, and was highly respected because, through him, the Lord had given victory to Aram. Aram was a kingdom located to the north of Israel, the same area as Syria today. According to records, Aram at that time was strong enough to stop the advance of Assyria, and Naaman was the second highest-ranking person in the powerful kingdom. Despite his lofty status, however, he had a very serious life problem. He was a leper. This incurable disease was destructive enough to eclipse all of his honor and glory. What was worse was that he couldn’t have any hope to get well. Naaman might have covered his disfigured skins with his stately armor. Although outwardly he was the king’s commander high and noble, inwardly he had to live a life of a leper with ugly and smelly skins.

 

At Naaman’s house, there was a young girl working as a housemaid for Naaman’s wife. She was an Israeli but had been taken captive to Aram by a band of Aramites. Then, she said a surprising word to her mistress. “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” The girl might know how incurable this disease was. Furthermore, if her saying was found to be false, she could be punished severely for fooling the master. Despite all these, she said without an iota of doubt, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” Even more surprisingly, Naaman took the young girl’s word. He told his king what he had heard, and the king of Aram granted him to go to Israel. However, Naaman did not take the young girl’s word “exactly as it was.” The girl said, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria!” Then, Naaman should have gone directly to the prophet in Samaria, namely, Prophet Elisha. But Naaman did not have such childlike faith, which the young girl had. Because of his lack of childlike faith, he had to walk a long way with many troubles until he received from God what he needed.

 

Lacking childlike faith, Naaman trusted in money. When setting out his journey to Israel, Naaman prepared a large amount of money including ten talents of silver (about 730 pounds), six thousand shekels of gold (about 155 pounds), and ten sets of clothing. The sum of these properties is said to be equivalent to 4 million dollars today. This is really a huge amount. Naaman might carry this money as a payment for the treatment. He was going to buy God’s grace with money. God’s grace is not something we can buy with money. It is of course because God’s grace is too precious to be priced, and furthermore, because God is not a receiver but a giver. When we stand before God, it is like a child who has nothing is coming to its father who has everything. And we are enjoying and rejoicing in the rich Father and his generous grace. In Mark 10:15, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” People are often concerned about whether they can go to heaven, and with this concern, they look at themselves and question, “What have I given to God and what have I done for Him?” However, the kingdom of God is not given to us based on what I have done. The only foundation of God’s grace is the “gracefulness of the Father to His children” We are only receiving it like a little child.

 

Lacking in childlike faith, Naaman trusted in big names. on hearing from Naaman, the king of Aram wrote a letter to the king of Israel. “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” The two kings were the most powerful men in their respective kingdoms. With their royal authority, almost nothing was impossible. The king of Aram might think that he would be able to exert influence on the king of Israel, and through him, on Prophet Elisha, and furthermore, on Jehovah, the God of Israel. But when the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his robes and cried, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cure of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” The king of Israel had authority to rule his country, but he didn’t have faith in God at all. Because of his unbelieving, he didn’t have any means to move God despite his worldly power. To him, curing Naaman of his leprosy was as impossible as raising one from the dead. These big names, with their unbelieving, became another big obstacle on Naaman’s journey toward God’s grace. There are many kinds of big names in the world, famous for their wealth, popularity, political power, and even for their religious influence. Without faith in God, however, they are themselves a bundle of broken straws. Relying on a big name is just like holding a straw.

 

Lacking in childlike faith, Naaman trusted in religious ceremonies. When Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his robe, he sent a message to the king. “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman, along with his horses and chariots, went to Elisha. It must have been a long great procession, and Naaman, the highly honored commander, might have expected Elisha’s cordial receiving and welcoming. But Elisha didn’t come out to meet the noble guest. He just sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and you will be restored and you will be cleaned.” At this, Naaman got angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot, and cure me of my leprosy.” His expectation to experience a sacred religious ceremony conducted by the famous Israeli prophet was totally frustrated. Even he couldn’t see the prophet’s face, and only received “a word” delivered by his servant. In fact, that was enough. What we believe is God and His Word. It is not a religious ceremony, which may look holy but does not have any power.

 

Lacking in childlike faith, Naaman trusted in good facility. When he heard Elisha’s word, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan,” Naaman thought of Abana and Pharpar, the two rivers flowing over Damascus, the capital city of his kingdom Aram. He said, “Are not Abana and Pharpar better than any of the waters in Israel?” To him, the bigger rivers with cleaner, deeper, and fuller water seemed more efficacious than the Jordan River, which was merely a thin stream rather than a river. But what we believe is not a better facility. Faith does not come from a big church building, or majestic music, or gorgeous lighting. With these things, people seek not God’s glory but human glory. With these things, people often take pride in themselves rather than humbling themselves before God and seeking His grace.

 

Lacking in childlike faith, now, Naaman had to go back home without curing of his disease. Then, his servants persuaded him, saying, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed!’?” As the servant said, the word of God spoken to him by Elisha was quite easy and simple. It was just washing the body seven times in the Jordan. It didn’t require a large amount of money, or help of a great man, or a serious religious ceremony, or any big facility. It required just listening and obeying. It was just “receiving.” At last, Naaman went down to the Jordan River, and dipped himself in the water seven times. Then, as Elisha had said, his flesh was restored and became clean like the skin of a young boy. He received the word of God, and it turned into his receiving of God’s healing power, and as a matter of course, into his receiving of God’s healing grace.

 

Although it is was not so difficult to dip the body in the water seven times, still it might not be so easy for Naaman who had the insurable disease. Whenever he came out of the water, he must have examined his skin, which looked all the same. once, twice, thrice …… He washed his body again and again with the river water but it didn’t make any difference in the skin and this made him anxious. But on the seventh wash, his flesh was cleaned like that of a baby just as the prophet’s word. God said “No” to Naaman six times, and then He said “Yes” at the last time. Did He? No, He didn’t. God doesn’t say “No” to us even if sometimes it sounds “No.” All what Naaman remembers now is that God healed him of his leprosy, God’s final and absolute “Yes” to him. God’s love is always “Yes” to us, and childlike faith is to believe the Father who is so graceful and merciful. In the YouTube video of Robert Kelly’s family, the dad in the live interview was embarrassed at the unexpected invasion of her young daughter and pushed her away. The astonished mom dragged out the children ruthlessly. But nobody frowns at the scene, and even we cannot help smiling at this lovely family. It is because we know well that the dad’s “rejection” is not rejection at all. We all know that the young girl will forget what happened a few minutes ago and she will plan another invasion into the dad’s room. We all know that she will continue singing and dancing, buzzing and chirping around her dad day and night. Even if she is dragged out of her dad’s room thousands of times, even if she hears her mom’s screaming of “No!’ thousands of times, the young girl has the faith that her mom and dad are always “Yes” to her. And we, with this childlike faith, know that God is always “Yes” to us.

 

In his commentary on Romans 4:5 “However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness,” Karl Barth said, “He (Abraham) heard the ‘No’ of God and understood it as His ‘Yes’ – this is Abraham’s faith.” Abraham experienced God’s “No” more than anyone else. Although he wanted a son, his wish was rejected not once or twice but thousands of times until his body became as good as dead and Sarah’s womb also died out. He could have thought deeply why God kept saying “No” to him. He could have tried to understand his situation under God’s persistent negation. He could have devised some way to win God’s favor, for example, what we reviewed today such as the gift of money, king’s recommendation, or more sacred worship in a greater facility. But he didn’t. Instead, he understood God’s “No” as His “Yes,” even with all of his wickedness. There was nothing between holy God and wicked Abraham. There was only God’s mercy of justifying the wicked and Abraham’s faith in the merciful God, and nothing else. Abraham knew that God’s “Yes” to him transcends all human yes and no, all human merits and demerits, and all human possibilities and impossibilities. With this childlike faith, he understood God’s “No” as His “Yes,” and then his dead body couldn’t stop his faith in God. Abraham just believed in God, having new faith every day, new faith like the flesh of a young boy.

 

When we think about the young girl’s faith and Abraham’s faith, we can see how far Naaman’s religious actions are from true faith. Still what he did is also what we are doing today. What we want earnestly is having childlike faith in God, which is like the flesh of a young boy. I pray that God restores our faith in Him until there is nothing between Him and us but God’s fatherly love and our childlike trust.

2019-8-18