Bible in one year 6/15/ 2022 2 Kings Chapter 5-7 Elisha healed Naaman, thwarts Syria
By
Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian
Arts Ministries : Biblical precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry &
Counseling
2Kings
5 Elisha and Naaman the leper
Naaman
was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight
of his master and highly regarded, because through him, the Lord had given
victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier but he had leprosy. (v.1). A young
girl from Israel was taken captive as slave to serve Naaman’s wife. She said to
her mistress, ‘ if only my master would
see the prophet who is is Samaria! He would cure of his leprosy.’(v.3). So
Naaman went to his master king of Aram about this matter. The king of Aram sent
a letter to the king of Israel. It said, “
With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you do that you may cure him
of his leprosy.” (v.6). So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of
silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. King of Israel
was angry and said, “ Am I God? Can I
kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be
cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with
me!”(v.7).
When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message, “ Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”(v.9). So Naaman went with his horses and chariots. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “ Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”(v.10). But Naaman went away angry and complained, “ I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel?”(v.12) The Abana is the present-day Barada, which flows through the center of Damascus, and the Pharpar is the the Awaj, which flows further S. both are clear streams, in contrast to the turbid Jordan.
Naaman’s servant convinced him to do what Elisha said. So he went down
and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, and his flesh was restored and
became clean like that of a young boy.(v.14). Naaman went to Elisha and
said, “ Now I know that there is no God in all the world
except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant. ”But Elisha did
not accept a thing and refused it. Naaman think he paid for his healing, which
God had freely given him. Naaman
wanted to take soil from the Holy Land back home to use in worshiping Yahweh.
Nevertheless, he was required to go into the temple of Rimmon, the god of
Damascus, with the king. Elisha assured him that God would understand (v.19).
The servant of Elisha Gehazi thought
that his master Elisha was too easy on Naaman by not accepting from him what he
brought. So he ran to Naaman and pretended that his master Elisha sent him in
order to get two talents of silver, and
two sets of clothing. Gehazi put them away in the house. Elisha asked him, “
where have you been?” his servant Gehazi lied about what he had done. Elisha
pointed out his sin and said, “ Was not
my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this
time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks,
herds, or men servants and maid servants? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and
to your descendants forever.”(vv.26-27). Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s
presence and he was leprous as white as snow. Gehazi’s
greed blinded him to the seriousness of his sin in letting Naaman think he paid
for his healing, which God had freely given him.
The number of the sons of the
prophets had increased, making their quarters too small. They went to the
Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down tree, the
iron axhead fell into the water. Elisha cut a stick and threw it there and made
the iron float. Then the man reached out his hand and took it. (vv.5-7).
Elisha thwarts Syria
Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. Elisha sent
word to the king of Israel “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans
are going down there.”(v.9). twice Elisha warned the king of Israel. This
enraged the king of Aram. And was told that Elisha was in Dothan. Then he sent
horses and chariots and a strong force there. They surrounded the city.
(v.13-14). His predatory raids being thwarted by Elisha’s advice to the king of
Israel, the king of Syria planned to capture Elisha. When the servant of the
man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and
chariots had surrounded the city. The servant asked, “ Oh, my lord, what shall
we do ?” Elisha, the prophet answered, “ Don’t be afraid,
those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”(v.16). And
Elisha prayed, “ O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” The servant’s eyes opened and looked and saw the hills full of
horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (v.17).
As the enemy came down
toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “
Strike these people with blindness.” So He truck them with blindess, as
Elisha had asked.(v.18). Elisha told them, “ This is not the road and this is
not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
(v.19). After they entered the city, Elisha said, “ Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” The Lord opened their eyes and they looked,
and there they were, inside Samaria. (v.20). The King of Israel saw them,
and asked Elisha, “ shall I kill them? my father?” He answered, “ don’t kill them,” set food and water
before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master. So
he prepared a great feast for them, and after he sent them away, and they
returned to their master. (vv.21-23). The purpose of blinding
and then restoring sight to the Aramean soldiers was to cause their king to
acknowledge the mighty power of God. So
the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.(v.23).
Some time later, Ben-Hadad
king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to
Samaria. There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a
donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed
pods, for five shekels. (v.24-25). So severe was the famine that the head of
this unclean animal sold for forty ounces of silver. A fourth of a cab (a
measure of uncertain quantity) may have been one or two pints. Apparently
Elisha had told the king to wait for the Lord’s deliverance, but the king,
believing that the situation was beyond hope, saw no other option but to
surrender to Aram. (v.33).
2
Kings Chapter 7 God produced a sound that frightened the Arameans away and Elisha's prophecy
Elisha said, “ This is what the Lord says, “ About
this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of
barley for a shekel at the gate of
Samaria.” (v.1) a seah, one-third of an ephan, five to seven
quarts. Suddenly food would be plentiful and inexpensive, courtesy of the fleeing
Aramean army’s leaving their supplies behind. (6:25). The officer on whose arm the king was leaning
said to Elisha, “ Look, even if the Lord
should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” Elisha
replied, “ you will see it with your own eyes, but you will
not eat any of it.”(v.3).
There were four men with
leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. (v.3). Lepers were required to live
outside cities (Lev.13:46).They said to each other, “ Why stay here until we
die?...so let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they
spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”(vv.3-4). So they got up and went to
the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was
there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and
horses and a great army, so they said to one another, “ Look the king of Israel
has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attach us! ” so
they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and
donkeys. They ran for their lives. (vv.5-7).
God produced a sound that frightened the Arameans away.
The men who had leprosy
reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank,
carried away silver, gold, clothes, and went off and hid them. then, returned
and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also. (v.
8). They went and called out to the city
gatekeepers and told them, “ We went into
the Aramean camp and not a man was there- not a sound of anyone, only tethered
houses and donkeys, and the tents.” (v.10).
So the king commanded, “Go and
find out what has happened.” They found the whole road strewn with the
clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight.
So the messengers returned and reported to the king. The the people went out
and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for a shekel,
and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel as the Lord had said. The king had
put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people
trampled him in the gateway, and he died. Just as Elisha had foretold when the
king came down to his house. “ About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will
sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of
Samaria. And the officer who mocked Elisha’s
prophecy, “ Look, even if the Lord should open the
floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” Elisha foretold, “ you will see it with your own eyes, but
you will not eat any of it.” that is exactly what happened to him, for the
people trampled him in the gateway and he died. (vv.18-20). Officer’s death was
the judgment for scoffing or mocking at Elisha’s prophecy (v.2).
Bibliography,
Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago,
IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986
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