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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in Second King's chapter five,
Speaker 1: and this is what we read. The King of Aram
Speaker 1: had great admiration for Naman, the commander of his army,
Speaker 1: because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories.
Speaker 1: But though Naman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.
Speaker 1: At this time, Arami and raiders had invaded the land
Speaker 1: of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl
Speaker 1: who had been given to Naman's wife as a maid.
Speaker 1: One day, the girl said to her mistress, I wish
Speaker 1: my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria.
Speaker 1: He would heal him of his lepre see. So Naman
Speaker 1: told the king what the young girl from Israel had said,
Speaker 1: Go and visit the prophet. The King of Aram told him,
Speaker 1: I will send a letter of introduction for you to
Speaker 1: take to the King of Israel. So Naman started out
Speaker 1: carrying as gifts seven hundred and fifty pounds of silver,
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty pounds of gold, and ten sets
Speaker 1: of clothing. The letter to the King of Israel said,
Speaker 1: with this letter, I present my servant Naman. I want
Speaker 1: you to heal him of his leprosy. When the King
Speaker 1: of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in
Speaker 1: dismay and said, am I God that I can give
Speaker 1: life and take it away? Why is this man asking
Speaker 1: me to heal someone with leprosy. I can see that
Speaker 1: he's just trying to pick a fight with me. But
Speaker 1: when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the King
Speaker 1: of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent
Speaker 1: this message to him, Why are you so upset? Send
Speaker 1: Namon to me and he will learn that there is
Speaker 1: a true prophet here in Israel. So Namon went with
Speaker 1: his horses in chariots and waited at the door of
Speaker 1: Elisha's house. But Elishah sent a messenger out to him
Speaker 1: with this message, go and wash yourself seven times in
Speaker 1: the Jordan river. Then your skin will be restored and
Speaker 1: you will be healed of your leprosy. But Namon became
Speaker 1: angry and stalked away. I thought he would certainly come
Speaker 1: out to meet me, he said, I expected him to
Speaker 1: wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the
Speaker 1: name of the Lord is God and heal me. Aren't
Speaker 1: the rivers of Damascus, the Abinah, and the far far
Speaker 1: better than any of the rivers of Israel. Why shouldn't
Speaker 1: I wash in them and be healed. So Naman turned
Speaker 1: and went away in a rage. But his officers tried
Speaker 1: to reason with him and said, Sir, if the prophet
Speaker 1: had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn't you
Speaker 1: have done it? So you should certainly obey him when
Speaker 1: he says, simply go and wash and be cured. So
Speaker 1: Naman went down to the Jordan river and dipped himself
Speaker 1: seven times as the Man of God had instructed him,
Speaker 1: and his skin became as healthy as the skin of
Speaker 1: a young child, and he was healed. Then Namon and
Speaker 1: his entire party went back to find the Man of God.
Speaker 1: They stood before him, and Namon said, now I know
Speaker 1: that there is no God in all the world except
Speaker 1: in Israel, So please accept a gift from your servant.
Speaker 1: But Elisha replied, as surely as the Lord lives whom
Speaker 1: I serve, I will not accept any gifts. And though
Speaker 1: Namon urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused. Then
Speaker 1: Namon said, all right, but please allow me to load
Speaker 1: two of my mules with earth from this place, and
Speaker 1: I will take it back home with me. From now on,
Speaker 1: I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to
Speaker 1: any other God except the Lord. However, may the Lord
Speaker 1: pardon me in this one thing. When my master, the King,
Speaker 1: goes into the temple of the God remen to worship
Speaker 1: there and leans on my arm, may the Lord pardon
Speaker 1: me when I bow too, go in peace? Elisha said.
Speaker 1: So Naman started home again. But Gahazi, the servant of Elisha,
Speaker 1: the man of God, said to himself, my master should
Speaker 1: not have let this Aramian get away without accepting any
Speaker 1: of his gifts. As surely as the Lord lives, I
Speaker 1: will chase after him and get something from him. So
Speaker 1: Gahazi set off after Naman. When Namon saw Gahazi running
Speaker 1: after him, he he climbed down from his chariot and
Speaker 1: went to meet him. Is everything all right, Naman asked, yes.
Speaker 1: Gahazi said, but my master has sent me to tell
Speaker 1: you that two young prophets from the hill country of
Speaker 1: Ephrium have just arrived. He would like seventy five pounds
Speaker 1: of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them.
Speaker 1: By all means, take twice as much silver name and insisted.
Speaker 1: He gave him two sets of clothing, tied up the
Speaker 1: money in two bags, and sent two of his servants
Speaker 1: to carry the gifts for Gahazi. But when they arrived
Speaker 1: at the citadel, Gahazi took the gifts from the servants
Speaker 1: and sent the men back. Then he went and hid
Speaker 1: the gifts inside the house. When he went to his master,
Speaker 1: Elisha asked him, where have you been, Gahazi. I haven't
Speaker 1: been anywhere, he replied, But Elishah asked him, don't you
Speaker 1: realize that I was there in spirit when Naman stepped
Speaker 1: down from his chariot to meet you. Is this the
Speaker 1: time to receive money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards,
Speaker 1: sheep and cattle, and male and female servants. Because you
Speaker 1: have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from
Speaker 1: Naeman's leprosy forever. When Ghazi left the room, he was
Speaker 1: covered with leprosy. His skin was white as snow. Let's pray, Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege of being able to look at this
Speaker 1: portion of Scripture today, and Lord, in this portion of Scripture,
Speaker 1: we've had the opportunity to see what it looks like
Speaker 1: to be miraculously healed by your power. And we've also
Speaker 1: seen an example of what it looks like to be
Speaker 1: tempted by the things of this world. Lord, we know
Speaker 1: that through faith in your son Jesus Christ, we have
Speaker 1: been healed of the ultimate infection that we were dealing with,
Speaker 1: that being our sin. We know Lord that we are
Speaker 1: declared righteous in your sight the moment we trust in
Speaker 1: your son Jesus Christ, and so we're grateful, Lord for
Speaker 1: the fact that you have healed us from the ultimate
Speaker 1: effects of our sin. We know Lord that through faith
Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ, we will live forever. We will not
Speaker 1: ultimately die if we have placed our trust in your
Speaker 1: son Jesus who saves us by grace through faith in him.
Speaker 1: But Lord, we know that in the midst of our
Speaker 1: journey here on this earth, the things of this earth
Speaker 1: are going to seem quite tempting to us. And Lord,
Speaker 1: we pray that we would not allow the affections of
Speaker 1: our hearts to be drawn toward worldly idols, or worldly goods,
Speaker 1: or the things of this earth. That we are convinced
Speaker 1: are going to somehow provide us a level of comfort
Speaker 1: and peace that we can ultimately only truly find through
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. Lord, we wrestle with this daily, but we
Speaker 1: pray Lord for your strength in the midst of this struggle.
Speaker 1: And we're grateful, Lord that you are present with us
Speaker 1: today and every day. So we commit this day to
Speaker 1: your care. Lord, We thank you for being with us
Speaker 1: in it, and we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.