and that the Bible contains many, many interesting stories. Our children love to hear these stories. And so do many of us who are a little bit older. But when we listen to these stories, we must remember that they are not just fiction. They are not fiction. Nor are they fantasy or even ordinary stories of human exploits. They are not even near historical accounts. They are historical accounts alright, they are things that did happen, but they are part of the inspired Word of God. They are recorded for a divine purpose. They are there to teach us, to reprove us, to correct and to instruct us in righteousness that we may be mature, powerfully furnished unto all good works. The story of Naaman the leper is no different. Therefore we must not take this as just another story. We should rather study diligently to see what God has to teach us about Himself. and about our relationship with Him. This is especially as Naaman is held up by the Lord Jesus Himself in the New Testament, in Luke 4, as an example of how God's grace reached unto the Gentiles, even in the Old Covenant. The Lord Jesus says, and many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian. The story of Naaman is recorded in the text that we have just read in 2nd Kings chapter 5. The event recorded in this chapter occurs toward the end of the ministry of Elisha the prophet during the reign of King Jehoram in the Northern Kingdom and King Ben-Hadad II in Syria. It is an event so significant that the whole chapter is dedicated to it. And the main character in this chapter is not Elisha nor is it the kings. In fact the names of the kings are not even given in this chapter. The main character is Naaman the Syrian. up to this point he was an unknown and after this chapter he would not be heard of again until his name is mentioned by the Lord in the New Testament. We can therefore be very certain that the Holy Spirit intends this chapter to convey a very important message to us. We may approach this chapter by looking at the three stages in the life of Naaman that is presented to us in this chapter. First we see Naaman the general, verse 1 to verse 10. Then Naaman the leper, verse 11 to verse 14. And finally, Naaman the child of God, verse 15 to 18. Consider first Naaman the general. Our story begins with a description of the greatness of Naaman the Syrian. He was a captain of the host, the commander of the Syrian army. He was a great man, a mighty man of valor. He led the Syrian army into many victories. The Lord used him as instrument for the Syrian army that they may win many battles. It was, we can almost read from there, A man who never say die. A man who knows no fear. A man who knew no failure. A man who's great. But he was a leper. What a letdown. What a great man. But he was a leper. His skin was rotting away because of some disease. and there was no cure. The best doctors in Syria could not heal him. The prophets of Rehman, the Syrian God, could do nothing because Rehman was but an idol. So Naaman lived his life in misery, unable to enjoy the wealth and honour that he had accumulated. Not only had he to bear with the probable rotting stench of his own skin and perhaps an itch that would not go away But they live in suspense, wondering when will be his last day. When a person is struck with leprosy, you find the extremities starting to break off one by one. I think he must be wondering when is he going to die, and that miserable death. And to add to his misery, he knew that no one envied him. In fact, he would know that they would not only be bearing with his stench and the horrible sight of him whenever he exposes any part of himself, he'd know that they are pitying him. He's not that great after all. His greatness, wealth and prestige amounted to nothing. He was a miserable, dying man. In the final assessment, he was a hopeless man. Hopeless in this life, hopeless in the life to come. But Naaman was a general. A general must live in pomp and splendor. A general must not show his fears. A general must not appear helpless and needing help. Naaman was a general. He presented himself as a general. He expected to be treated like a general. He sought and felt like a general. And if the Lord had not intervened, Naaman would have gone down into history with all his pomp and splendor, another nameless victim of sin and misery, a general in the dust. But the Lord intervened, and He intervened most remarkably by a captured slave girl. an Israelite girl who by the providence of God was brought into the household of Naaman during one of the conquests that Naaman led, no doubt. Did the Lord not perhaps allow this little girl to be separated from her family for this very purpose? That salvation might be brought to Naaman and his household. Naaman the general would not have discussed his plight with his subordinates and his servants they must have known but they probably would not have dared to ask him or to talk about it in front of him had it not been that Naaman's wife was worried about his condition and probably expressed her fears in the presence of this slave girl there would have been no hope for Naaman But this insignificant, nameless little slave girl who had been separated from her family during the battle with Syria, this little girl became the Lord's instrument to set this mighty general on the road to Christ. This little girl, perhaps in her pre-teens, knew of the problem with Naaman, and she knew his hopelessness. More importantly, she knew that there was hope, and most importantly, she was not selfish to keep the hope to herself. She spoke to her mistress. Verse 3, Would God my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy. what compassion, what words of confidence, what words of faith. Naaman would probably not have paid attention to the words of a slave girl under normal circumstances, but he had reached desperation and so he was willing to try anything now. He went to the king to apply for leave. The king was glad that there was perhaps some hope and because he treasured his general so much, he wanted to ensure that his trip would be a success. Thus with a mentality that is so familiar to us in this day and age, the king felt that he must contribute his influence to gain success. I will send a letter to the king of Israel. Naban himself thought it wise to facilitate his success with his wealth. He took with him 10 talons of silver. How much is 10 talons of silver? 340 kilograms of silver. And he brought along 6,000 pieces of gold, 70 kg of gold. He must have all the caravans and a huge entourage bringing all these things with him. And he brought 10 changes of raiment, the best clothes of the finest silk. Naaman was not a believer but he was going to seek the Prophet and he knew that he ought to either show gratitude or pay for his services or perhaps ensure that he get the best treatment so he brought all these things along in any case, Naaman brought the letter to the King of Israel it was probably King Jehoram And what did the king do? He sent for Elisha? No! He was either absolutely faithless or he was too proud to send for Elisha. I'm sure you know about Elisha. But he was too proud. He was exasperated when he received the letter and he rent his clothes and he start mourning. He thought that the king of Syria was using this as an excuse to attack him because he couldn't do anything to heal his general. The king felt helpless, hopeless, defeated. What a contrast with a little slave girl. How through the saying of the Apostle Paul, God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty. but God's purpose could not be frustrated. Elijah soon found out from the Lord what was happening in the palace and so he sent word to Jehoram to ask the king to send Naaman to him so that, verse 8, he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. Do you not detect a hint of sarcasm in Elisha's letter it is a veiled rebuke to Jehoram so here was Naaman in all his pomp, his chariots and horses and all his gifts making his way to Elisha's house he must have thought that Elisha would surely be waiting for him anxiously to greet him and his royal company but no one came to the door And so he came down from his chariot and he stood in front of the door of Elisha's house, surrounded by all his servants. I'm sure these servants have gone ahead to announce, here comes the great Naaman, the general of the great Syrian army to see Elisha. They must have shouted louder and knocked at the door and all the pomp and splendor expected Elisha to come forward and bow himself down to this great general. But nothing happened. Elisha didn't come out. Worst still, when the door finally opened, who was there? A lowly servant of Elisha. And what did this servant of Elisha say? Go and wash in Jordan seven times and thy flesh shall come again to thee and thou shalt be clean. Can you imagine? David's jaw must have almost dropped as he looked at this servant and what he's saying and he must have become redder and redder filled with fury and anger. Behold I thought he will surely come out to me and stand and call the name of the Lord his God and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Papa rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean Am I not a great general of Syria? Not only did he show me no respect, but he asked me to wash in this murky, dirty river of Jordan. Who does he think that I am? Yabana and Parfah, the rivers of Damascus are cleaner, better than the rivers in Israel. Why should I come all the way down here to wash in this murky river? This is not a typical response even in our modern day when the gospel of salvation is presented. Who does the pastor think that I am? Calling me a sinner. Saying that I'm wretched. Telling me that all my righteousness are filthy wrecks. That my life is meaningful, meaningless, purposeless. What does he have to write? to tell me anything, to be a moral judge of me, to say that my life is evil in the sight of God. Who does he think he is that I should listen to him? Why should I believe in that unsophisticated story that he has to tell? Does he know anything about all the psychology in the world? Does he know anything about the science that I know? What does he know about human nature? Why would he have me believe such a primitive theory of God? Who does he think that he is to tell me what to do? Herein is the fallen, depraved human nature. desperate, knowing that he has no hope, yet hoping against hope, yet too proud to listen to the word of God, too wise to consider the scripture to be anything but foolishness. That is a fact. Man by nature, like Naaman the general, are dying and left to themselves. And yet, we make ourselves to be great like gods and kings. We think ourselves to be somebody, although we are dead in sin and trespasses. We think that we are on the path to glory when we are heading to eternal damnation. We think of ourselves as Naaman the general when we should in fact be identifying ourselves with Naaman the leper. Consider Naaman the leper. Naaman the general had come to Elijah. He could have returned unchanged. Naaman the general, a leper. Had the Lord not intervened again, he would have been lost in history and eternity. Thank God for the Lord's intervention. And again, intervention came by way of the lowly, this time by the servants of Naaman. They had probably kept quite quiet until now. Servants are not allowed to speak in the presence of their masters or to talk about their problems. the master would lose face, the servants would tell the master what to do but they could not contain it anymore they suddenly found courage to speak up you may be a general but you're also a leopard, they must have thought in their heart and so they exclaimed verse 13, my father if the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather than when he says to thee wash and be clean It is based on human wisdom, no doubt, but it was sound reasoning. If the Prophet had asked you to give all your wealth to the poor, required you to learn Hebrew, memorize the scriptures in Hebrew, you would have done it. So why not such a simple task that he has asked you to do? The question of the servant struck a chord. It hit the pride of Naaman. At once, he recognized why he objected to what the Prophet was telling him to do. It was pride. It was his self-sufficiency, his self-assertiveness, his high-mindedness. As long as he continued to think of himself as some great general, he was not going to be helped. As long as he thought himself of deserving recognition, he would not receive the blessing of the Lord. As long as he thought he deserved anything good at all, he would not receive anything. As long as he thought he could help himself, he was doomed to perish. Is there anyone of us like Naaman? You pride yourself as a general? You pride yourself as being very successful in your career, a top student, or being in a top school, doing well in life. You can take care of yourself. You do not need God. Is there anyone whose heart is proud and hardened? Oh, will you not take heed? to the word of the Lord. For it says, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way. They are all together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Is there any one of us who thinks that we are righteous enough? That we are on the right way by our own? There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death, the word of God warns us. As long as our ways are not the straight and narrow way of the Lord, we are heading along that broad road to destruction. The only way to life is the way of the cross. It is the way that we must walk by grace through faith. By the mercies of God, Naaman was struck by the statement of his servants. For the first time he saw the condition of his own heart and his real condition was that he was a leper. He was, as it were, awakened to the knowledge of his own sin. He was like the prodigal son when he began to be in want and came to himself. He came to his senses. What is there to lose if I obey? He would surely have perished if he refused to obey. But if he obeyed, there was a possibility that he might be healed. Then he went 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. I believe that there in the river, by the grace of God, Naaman became a changed man. He went down the river a leper, he came out a healthy man. He went down a wretched sinner, he came up a saved man. What a joy! How the angels must have rejoiced in heaven. over the conversion of this man. This proud and pompous general has become a newborn child of God. Consider Naaman, the child of God. Naaman, we must observe, did not become a believer by his own efforts. Neither was he saved by his own efforts. neither did the washing in the river save him rather it was his sovereign work wrought in his heart that saved him this change was manifested immediately though he was yet a young believer first he came to Elisha and openly and humbly declared before his servants and soldiers now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel What a remarkable public pronouncement of faith from a man of his stature. It was immediately a statement of faith in the living and true God and at the same time a denunciation of the false gods of Syria and the other gods of the world. Naaman was not afraid to speak what he believed that the God of Israel is the alone living and true God. Secondly, he expressed his gratitude and thanksgiving to Elisha by urging him to take a gift. But in order to ensure that Naaman understood that salvation is by grace through faith, Elisha would take nothing. How many of us know this virtue of gratitude? How many of us feel genuinely grateful to the Lord for salvation? Thirdly, Naaman demonstrated his new loyalty and reverence to the God of Israel. He was yet to be taught in the faith and he thought that the best way to demonstrate that he was worshipping the God of Israel was for him to bring some soy back to Syria. We do not read of Elisha correcting him, perhaps he did. But the point is he was willing to be different from the rest of the people. He and his family would worship the God of Israel. Others may look, asking, why is it you always worship there and that place there? Well, of course, he had this superstitious idea that, you know, you bring the soy there and you will be able to worship the God of the land. Because in those days, most of the people were henotheistic. But the fact is that he was willing to be different. all the other people will be wondering. He might lose credibility amongst the nobles in Syria, amongst his colleagues, but worship the Lord he must. Fourthly, he demonstrated a renewed conscience. He knew that he would still be required to accompany the King of Syria into the Temple of Rimen, verse 18, but he knew that the Lord would not be pleased He had a renewed conscience, you see. So he says, the Lord pardoned thy servant. And notice he said it twice. He was quite concerned about that. But Naaman never did do that again. Perhaps on his way back to Syria, he resolved in his heart against this very deed. But at that time, he thought about his newfound faith. And as he thought about it, he thought ahead about the duties that he was going to have to do with the King of Syria. The King of Syria is going to have to go in with the King of Syria and as the right hand man of the King, he is going to have to bow with the King. His conscience struck him. Whether or not he went ahead to do that, the fact is that his conscience was renewed. He knew that what he would do was displeasing to God. Such are the evidence of conversion in Naaman. What is the point of this? The point is that true Christian conversion is no mere mental ascent. We do not become Christian simply because we choose to become Christian. Sinful fallen man is never able to choose to become Christian. A person may choose to become a politician by standing for election, and if he's elected. Even if he's not elected, he can still continue to be a politician. A person may choose to become a student by just enrolling in a school to study. He may even choose to become a Roman Catholic by going to a Roman Catholic church and asking to be baptized. All you need to do is attend a Catechism class, be baptized, and he's a Roman Catholic. He may choose to become a Muslim by going to the mosque, talk to the Imam, get himself circumcised, get his name changed, and he's a Muslim. But no one becomes a Christian by choosing to be a Christian. At least no one becomes a true Christian by choosing to be a Christian. Neither do you become a true Christian by being baptised, by coming to church, by signing a card that says, I'm now a believer. You become a Christian only if God chose you and changed your heart so that you begin to love Christ, to follow Him gratefully. No one becomes a Christian, a true Christian, simply by being born in a Christian family. You become a true Christian when the Lord gives you a new birth. No one can become a true Christian except by being born again. Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God our Lord teaches us. When you are born again, the foolishness of the cross becomes the wisdom of God as you begin to see that apart from the cross there is no heaven and no hope for you. Naaman's testimony shows that God had begun a work of grace in his heart. Naaman did not become a believer by sheer choice. God prepared him and brought him to Israel by afflicting him with leprosy. Naaman perhaps prepared for the trip by starting up on the God of Israel. Then he came to Elisha But he was not prepared to obey. He was not prepared to humble himself to wash in the river. Had he turned back, he would have been lost. But here was Naaman. He listened to his servants. He took that first step of humility. Yes, indeed, he must have been initially out of a selfish motive of self-preservation, but he did. what God required. Do not be mistaken. Naaman's selfish act did not merit salvation. It is not the act in itself, you see. But God by His grace healed him and changed him. God need not have required Naaman to go down to the river But God did so to teach Naaman a lesson of humility and submission. God was breaking Naaman's heart, first by the leprosy, then by bringing him to do that act of humility, washing in the river. Naaman submitted. He found life. Is there anyone who is like Naaman before his conversion? Is there anyone in our midst this evening like Naaman? Proud, high-minded, opinionated, self-sufficient, self-reliant? I am afraid that if you do not know the Lord and do not grieve in your heart for these things, that you may yet be covered with leprosy, the leprosy of sin that eats away our life, that we have no hope in this life, no hope in the life to come. Such as are like Naaman before his conversion are dying even as they live, dying without cure, for the wages of sin is death. Unless we repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ humbly, we'll be heading on the way to damnation. So it's important for us, even as we profess to know the Lord, to search our heart to see if there's leprosy in our soul. We find ourselves to be good enough to deserve salvation like Naaman, then we may not find salvation at all. If God is small in our eyes and we are great in our own eyes, then we cannot find salvation. Then we must repent. only such as will go unto the Lord in humility, acknowledging that they are sinners, will find salvation in the Lord. So if there's anyone this evening who thinks, I'm okay. I'll just go continue in my own ways. I'm good enough. May I urge you to turn to the Lord. Turn to the Lord. and acknowledge what the Word of God says concerning our own condition, that you are a sinner needing grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there anyone I will miss this evening who may be here? You have gone to many churches. When people ask you, you say, I'm a Christian. I've gone to churches, I believe. But your life continues to be not in submission to the King because you live as you like. You do the things that you like. Your attitude is as of the world. There may I urge you, humble yourself like Naaman before it's too late. One thing to remember, There is a broad way that leads to damnation and a narrow way that leads to life. There is a signposting on the narrow way that leads to life. It says to heaven. What is the signposting that points to that way, the broad way? The signposting says to heaven. Because the devil is the is the master of lies, is the father of lies. As long as you think, because I'm good enough, I'm going to heaven, you're on the broad way. None of us is good enough. Come to the Lord, for He alone can give us salvation, for He came to die for sins. If you and I are good enough, Christ need not have come at all. He came precisely because, like Naaman, were lepers in our heart, deserving eternal damnation. May the Lord help us, young and old, to turn away from ourselves, from our own high and mighty hearts, humble ourselves before the Lord, to follow that way that is given us in His Word. the way of submission, the way of faith in Him and Him alone. Amen.