Then
went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the 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. And he returned to the man of God, he and all
his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know
that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray
thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
2
Kings 5:14-15
There
is much back story to this healing, starting in 2 Kings 5:1. Naaman was captain
of the host of the King of Syria, and he was also a leper. No matter how many
battles he won or how much treasure that he took as spoil, he was still a
leper. He suffered the pain and the shame that went with it. In his
desperation, he went to the prophet Elisha who instructed him to dip in the
Jordan River seven times. It seems rather simple but the diseased man at first
would not do so. He reasons that the waters in Syria are better. It is not
until his servants point out that this is what the prophet said and he should
do it. 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? (2
Kings 5:13). Let those words sink in. Can you relate to that? The truth is that
we all can. While we may not know what it is like to suffer from an infectious
physical disease, we all have suffered or are currently suffering from the
spiritual disease, which has a 100% fatality rate unless cured. We can be the
most successful, we can have great power in this world, and we can be leaders
of men, however, if sin is not taken care of, we will die in it and stand
condemned. Naaman had a choice in the matter, and this is truly a great sign of
the grace of God, even in the Jewish dispensation: God was willing to heal a
foreigner and enemy.
God
does the same for us. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8. Yet, we, like Naaman,
must understand that God's grace is offered, but it requires obedience. If
Naaman would have refused to dip seven times, he would not have been cured. If
a man only believes and does not repent and be baptized, he will not be saved
(see Mark 16:16; Acts 2:37-38; Rom 6:3-6; Gal 3:26-27, et al.). The healing is
available, but obedience to the Gospel is required before one can be cleansed.
Grace and Peace,
Ryan
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