In studying the Old Testament, I found an interesting story; it is found in the book of II Kings chapter five. To understand, we must read verses 9-14:
So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
In these verses, we see a man named Naaman healed by a prophet named Elisha. As we look deeper into these words, we can see another story.
It is not only a story of a man being healed of leprosy, but it is also a picture of a man being saved by the grace of God.
As we look into this story, we see these characters representing others found in Salvation's story. Here is a list of those characters.
NAAMAN: the lost man
ELISHA: the Lord Jesus
MESSENGER: the preacher
SERVANTS: the Holy Spirit
JORDAN: Salvation
Naaman
Let us look at Naaman. There is much to learn about Naaman in verse 1 of chapter 5:
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valor, BUT HE WAS A LEPER.
The story starts out by Naaman hearing about God from his wife's maid; chapter 5 verse 3:
And she said unto her mistress, Would God my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! For he would recover him of his leprosy.
Naaman now knows a way to be healed. He knows he is a leper and he knows he must be healed to live. He must have not been able to find
help in his own country. We know he must have been desperate to go so far. The time and expense must have been great to travel from Damascus to Samaria.
It is the same way in the life of a lost person. When a man knows without a doubt he is lost, he is willing to give all he has to find God. The pilgrimage is long, and sometimes he almost wants to give up because it is so hard. Yet in the back of his mind he knows he must go on. The valleys get deeper and deeper and the baggage he carries - religion, good works, and pride - gets heavier and heavier.
We see that Naaman was the leader of the armies of the king of Syria and a great man with the king. He was an honorable man, and the king was well pleased with his great works. He was a mighty man in valour: ready, willing, and able to go into battle. He was a pleasant man, which is implied by his name. Even with all the great things he had done and all the power and honor he had, he was still a leper.
All through the Old Testament, leprosy is used as a picture of a sinner or a lost person. In Numbers 12:10 Moses' sister Miriam became leprous when she and Aaron spoke against Moses. Leviticus chapter 13 tells us about the laws concerning leprosy. Leprosy starts as a little sore and spreads all over the body. The priest was always the one who told a person he had leprosy. It was also the priest that pronounced a leper clean.
Sin is a lot like leprosy. It starts small but grows very fast. It is the spirit of God through the preacher that tells a sinner about sin. It is also the spirit of God through the preacher that convicts a lost person that he or she is a lost sinner.
Leprosy takes over until it eats away the flesh. In the end, the leper will die. Sin is the same way; it eats away at a person's life, and in the end he will die. Romans chapter 6 verse 23 tells us, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." We see now why John 3:16 is so important; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
God has put all this in motion from the beginning of time. When the fall of man occurred, salvation was on God's mind. To show it was all of God, the price would be out of man's reach. The price is the blood sacrifice of God's own son.
Elisha
Now, in this light, let us look at Elisha. First of all, his name means "God is salvation". We also may look at Elisha as a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can forgive sin and heal the sick. We can see now why Naaman was looking for Elisha. A leper or a sinner needs to come to Jesus for healing and salvation.
In II Kings chapter 4, Elisha raised a Shunammite woman's son from the dead showing us that God gave Elisha great healing power. In John 3:35; we see, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." Jesus dwelt among men healing the sick, forgiving sin, and showing man that his ways were wrong. However, like man today, some rebelled and some ran away. Jesus continued teaching, healing and forgiving, and did not follow after them. Such is the case in Mark 10:21:
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Men that wanted eternal life followed after Jesus. Peter said in John 6:68:
. . . Lord, to whom shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
The Messenger
Now let us look at the messenger. In verse 10, Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman. This messenger gave Naaman words whereby he could be healed. Look at the messenger for a moment. This word comes from a root word meaning to dispatch as a deputy or a representative. This messenger looks much like a preacher. A preacher is sent out like a deputy and is given the authority by the one in power to bring the unjust to justice. He is also a representative of God and is empowered with words whereby the lost may be saved and the sick may be healed. I Corinthians 1:21 says, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."
When a lost man finds God, things begin to change. The man wants God to look at his good works, not his sin. Often the lost man gets mad because what the preacher says is difficult to understand, yet it is so simple. Man looks for the great things; all the things worth having are supposed to be hard. Many times the lost man thinks the preacher has been reading his mail, because the things he tells are so close to home. God empowers a preacher to tell the things God shows him.
"I Thought"
A lost man thinks he knows how God is going to save him. The pride and arrogance comes out. "I thought, He will surely come out to me"(and show respect to me). "I thought, he would come out and stand" (to show that I am worthy of his admiration). "I thought, he would call on the name of the Lord his God, I thought, he would strike his hand over the place" (and magically make the leprosy go away). "I thought, he would heal me my way." The main one is, "I thought I knew God." A lost man always thinks he has something to do with salvation, but it is totally God. Man just needs to stop thinking long enough to hear God talking to him.
Man has always thought too much due to his pride. He gets angry when God gets too close. He gets angry when the truth tells him too much. The main reason he gets angry is fear. He no longer has control of what is going on in his life. Pride keeps him wanting to be in control all the time. Pride keeps more men lost than any other thing.
The Servant
The servant is there to help man understand and to guide him to God. Often man tries to run when the Holy Spirit shows him he is an unbeliever. The more the Spirit shows him, the more he runs, but the Spirit will not give up. One thing about it, he can't outrun God; he is always one step ahead. It is the goodness of God that leads man to repentance. When man stops running, stops looking at himself, stops looking at his "good works" and begins looking at God, things happen.
Verse 13 "And his servants came near..." In this servant we see a picture of the Holy Spirit or Comforter. John 16:7-13 tells where and when the Spirit comes:
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Jesus sent the Comforter to guide man into all truth that he might see how bad sin really is. The word Comforter means to come along side of. Jesus sent the spirit to come along side of a sinner to convict and convince him of his unbelief, as in the case of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch was traveling along in his chariot reading the Scripture when he looked down and saw a man running along side him. This was quite an uncommon sight in the desert. Little did he know that Philip was sent there by the Spirit of God to comfort and guide him in the truth of God. Philip gave him words whereby he could be saved, proving that man can only reach salvation God's way.
The Jordan
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, ACCORDING TO THE SAYING OF THE MAN OF GOD: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and HE WAS CLEAN.
The river Jordan is a picture of salvation, but the water had nothing to do with it. It is the obedience of following the instructions of the Holy Spirit. It is when man stands before God and says, "Yes, I deserve to die." He throws himself on the mercy of God.
Sometimes this process takes a little longer than others. Some have to get rid of pride. Others make their last effort to do it their way: working up Godly sorrow, working up repentance, and working up faith. When man sees that he has no hope, can not save himself, and can no longer go on with his heart, he cries out to God.
In verse 14 we see saving faith. Saving faith is the point of faith when an unbeliever becomes a believer. This is done by obedience, repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The spirit of God gives a lost person a commandment. This is used to show him what to do when he gets to the point of faith. It is when he takes his eyes off his accomplishments and puts them on God. It is God that saves, not man. In the Gospel of Mark chapter 10, Jesus tells his disciples this:
And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men [ it is ] impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
When God's perfect work is finished, there is peace, love, and joy to which there is no end. Peace is knowing that no matter what happens you will be with God forever. It also means having a new life on earth because you are a new creature in Christ.
Then you begin to think about God. He created Heaven and Earth, and he loves us so much, that he allowed his only son to die on the cross so that we may live. In salvation, God also puts a greater love in our hearts for others that we can't understand. I think Ephesians 3:19 explains it best:
And to know the love of God, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
We are being filled every day through bad times and good. We learn to live and love through Jesus.
The thought that God did all this to us and for us, gives us joy beyond measure. He did all things that we may know him more each moment.
God did all this just because he wanted to.
- Brother Dale Fuqua