“What is this? What does it mean? This man means war. This Assyrian king
means to have a war with me. Who ever heard of such a thing as a man
cured of leprosy?”
And the king rent his mantle.
Every one knew something was wrong when the king rent his mantle, and the
news spread through the streets that they were on the eve of a war. The
air was filled with rumors of war; everybody was talking about it. No
doubt the news had gone abroad that the great general of Assyria was in
the city, and he was the cause of the rumors, and by-and-by it reached
the prophet Elisha that the king had rent his mantle, and he wanted to
know the cause. When he had heard what it was he just told the king to
send Naaman to him.
Now you see the major-general riding up in grand style to the prophet’s
house. He probably lived in a small and obscure dwelling. Perhaps Naaman
thought he was doing Elisha a great favor by calling on him. He had an
idea that he was honoring this man, who had no influence or position.
So he rides up. A messenger is sent in to announce Major-General Naaman
of Damascus. But the prophet does not even see him. He just tells the
servant to say to his master:
“Go and wash in Jordan seven times.”
When the messenger comes to Naaman and tells him this, he is as mad as
any thing. He considers it a reflection upon him--as if he had not kept
his person clean.
“Does the man mean to insinuate that I have not kept my body clean? Can’t
I wash myself in the waters of Damascus? We have much better water than
they have here. Why, if we had the Jordan in Syria we certainly would
look upon it as a ditch. The idea--wash in that contemptible river!”
Naaman was as full of rage as he well could be, but suddenly he said:
“Behold, I thought.”
That is the way with sinners; they always say they thought. In this
expression we can see that Naaman had thought of some plan, and had
marked out a way for the Lord to heal him.
Keep this in mind: “My ways are not your ways, nor my thoughts your
thoughts.” If you look for the Lord to come in one direction, He
will come in another direction. “My ways are not your ways,” thought
the leper. No man gets into the kingdom of God until he gives up his
thoughts. God never saves a man until he gives up his own thoughts and
takes up God’s.
Yes, Naaman thought the moment the prophet knew he was outside he would
come out and bow and scrape, and say he was glad to see such a great
and honorable man from Syria. Instead of that, he merely sent him the
peremptory prescription: “Go wash in Jordan seven times.”
When we were in Glasgow we had an employer converted, and he wanted to
get a man in his employ to come to our meetings, but he would not come.
If he was going to be converted, he would not be converted by those
meetings. You know, when a Scotchman gets an idea into his head he is the
most stubborn man you can find. He was determined not to be converted by
Moody and Sankey. The employer argued and pleaded with this man, but he
could not get him to come to the meetings then being held.
Well, we left Glasgow, and got away up to the north of Scotland--in
Inverness--and the employer sent his stubborn friend up there on
business, thinking he might be induced to go into the meetings. One night
we were singing “On the Banks of That Beautiful River,” and he happened
to be passing. He wondered where the sweet sounds were coming from. He
came into the meeting, and I happened to be preaching that evening on the
very text: “I Thought.”
The stubborn man from Glasgow listened attentively, and soon did not know
exactly where he was. He was convicted--he was converted--and he became a
Christian. Verily, a man must yield his own way to the way of the Lord.
Now, you can see all along that Naaman’s thoughts were altogether
different from those of God. He was going to get the grace of God by
showing favors--just as many men now believe they can buy their way into
the kingdom of God. But we can not purchase the favor of Heaven with
money. If you get a seat in Heaven, you must accept salvation as a gift.
Naaman had another thought. He believed he could get what he wanted by
taking letters to the king--not to the prophet. The little maid told him
of the prophet, yet he was going to pass the prophet by. He was too proud
to go to the prophet. But pride, if you will allow me the expression, got
a knock on the head on this important occasion.
It was a terrible thing for him to think of obeying by going down to the
Jordan and dipping seven times. He had got better rivers in Damascus,
in his own wisdom, and he queries: “Can’t I wash there, and be clean?”
Naaman was angry, but when he got over it he listened to his servants.
I would rather see people get angry than see them go to sleep. I would
rather see a man get as angry as possible at any utterance of mine than
to see I had sent him to sleep. When a man is asleep there is no chance
of reaching him, but if he is angry we may get at him. It is a good thing
for a man to get angry sometimes, for when he cools off he generally
listens to reason.
So Naaman’s servant came to him and said: “Suppose Elisha had bid thee do
some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it?”
Probably, had Elisha told Naaman to take cod liver oil for ten years, he
would have willingly done it. If he had told Naaman he wanted as much
money as the leper brought along, that would have been all right. But the
idea of literally doing nothing--just to go down into Jordan and wash
himself! It was so far below his calculations that he thought he was
being imposed upon by some charlatan.
But Naaman’s sensible servant said to him: “If the prophet had bid thee
do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? Hadn’t you just
better go down and wash in Jordan?”
Possibly, Naaman answered: “If I go down into Jordan and am not cured,
what will my enemies say of me when I get back to Damascus?”
But he was influenced by the servant, and he went. That was one good
point in Naaman’s character--he was influenced by an humble messenger.
A good many people will not accept a messenger unless he is refined and
cultured and educated. But it is the message you want--not the messenger.
It would be the message I would want. And so it was with Naaman.
She was a little Hebrew girl who first told him to go to Samaria, and now
he was told to wash by his servant. So Naaman goes down and dips into the
waters. The first time he rose he said: “I would just like to see how
much my leprosy has gone.” He looks, but not a bit has left him. “Well, I
am not going to get rid of my leprosy in this way; this is absurd.”
But the servant persisted. “Do just as the man of God tells you; obey
him.”
And this is just what we are told to do in the Scriptures--to obey Him.
The first thing we have to learn is obedience. Disobedience was the pit
Adam fell into, and we must get out of it by obedience.
Well, Naaman goes into the water a second time. If some Chicago
Christians had been there, they would certainly have asked, sneeringly:
“Well, how do you feel now?”
He did not see that he was any better, and down he went a third time; but
when he looked himself over, he saw just as much leprosy as ever. Down he
goes a fourth, fifth and sixth time. He again looks at himself, but not a
speck of leprosy is removed.
Naaman now chides his servant. “I told you so! Look at me! I am just the
same as ever.”
“But,” says the servant, “you must do just what the man of God tells you
to do--go down seven times.”
Naaman takes the seventh plunge, and comes out. He looks at himself.
Behold, his flesh is as that of a little child. He says to his servant:
“Why, I never felt as good as I do today. I feel better than if I had won
a great battle. Look! I am cleansed! Oh, what a great day this is for me!
The leprosy has gone.”
The waters to him had been as death and judgment, and he had come out
resurrected--his flesh as that of a little child. I suppose Naaman got
into his chariot, and away he went to the man of God. He had lost his
temper; he had lost his pride; he had lost his leprosy.
That is the way now. If a man will only lose his pride, he will soon see
his leprosy disappear; leprosy will go away with pride. I believe the
greatest enemies of men in this world are unbelief and pride.
Naaman drives back to the man of God, and takes his gold and silver.
He offers him money. “I do not want your money,” replies the prophet.
If Elisha had taken money, it would have spoiled the beautiful story.
Naaman had to take back every thing he brought from Damascus except his
leprosy.