05.4. Naamans Leprosy

Naaman’s Leprosy

2 Kings 5:1 In this booklet, we shall consider Naaman’s leprosy and its cure from a New Testament perspective. His cleansing provides a clear illustration of the purification of the sinner from sin. After first becoming briefly acquainted with the main characters of this Bible chapter, we shall deal with the question why leprosy is a figure of sin. The main characters

Actually, this well-known story is a masterpiece of narrative power. A number of persons are portrayed here in a way that is sharper and clearer than in the most fascinating novel. That is not amazing since it is the Word of God, which is living and powerful. Let us first introduce the principal persons:

(1) Naaman, commander of the Syrian army: a very esteemed and loved man, in the eyes of both his master and his servants (2 Kings 5:1, 2 Kings 5:13). Yet he had an unsolvable problem: he was a leper.

(2) A young girl from the land of Israel. She lived as an exile in a foreign country, but remained faithful to the God of Israel. She had a great faith and she loved her enemies (2 Kings 5:3). This young girl remains anonymous, but she is quite remarkable because of her spiritual qualities.

(3) The king of Israel. His name is not mentioned either, but we suppose it was Jehoram, the son of the wicked Ahab. He was characterised by unbelief, despair, and suspicion (2 Kings 5:7).

(4) The prophet Elisha, the spokesman of the living God. He is the central character in this chapter and is noted for his simplicity and decisiveness towards both the earthly rulers and his own servant Gehazi.

(5) Gehazi, the servant of the prophet. He stands here in sharp contrast to his master because of his greed, ignorance, and worldliness. The deepest stirrings of his heart are laid bare, just as later a Judas was to be exposed by the Lord Himself. The chapter finishes as it begins: with a leper! Naaman’s leprosy would cling for ever to Gehazi and his descendants (2 Kings 5:27).

Naaman, commander of the Syrian army

Naaman was a very esteemed and popular man. His name also means "pleasantness" or "friendliness". The respect others had for him may have been due to his high-principled character. Both his master and his servants seem to have been sincerely sympathetic towards him (vv. 4-5, 13). However, in verse 1, the favour he had is connected with his military success, "because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria". This last statement is a revealing one. It says, in fact, the Lord reigns! God governs not only his own people, but also the nations of the earth. And that is still the case, although His government is often unsearchable and His ways past finding out. This is the first lesson we learn here. God is not a local god, a mountain god or a god of the plains, or of one of the elements. That is what the Gentiles thought; that is what the Syrians also thought (1 Kings 20:23 ff.). But that was a mistake. God is the living God, the Lord of heaven and earth. He holds the whole world in His hands.

Secondly, however, He uses the nations, if necessary, to judge His own people. Aram (Syria) was such a disciplinary rod in the days of the wicked Ahab and his successors. And Assyria, the world power that was then emerging, would be that to an even greater extent (Isaiah 10:5). Aram had already been threatening Israel from the north since the time of Solomon (1 Kings 11:25). There were not always wars going on between the two small states, for sometimes they would make peace treaties (compare the treaty between Ahab and Ben-Hadad in 1 Kings 20:34). The relation between Syria and Israel at that time looked more like an armed peace. The same was the case here, since the king of Israel saw a pretext for a new war in this letter from the king of Syria (2 Kings 5:7). God, therefore, used this northern enemy as the rod of His anger. Aram means "high", or "elevated". In Aram we see a picture of the world as the proud adversary of God’s people, an enemy that is convinced of his own excellence and that speaks in a self-satisfied way about his own possibilities (compare Naaman’s attitude in 2 Kings 5:12). If the people of God find themselves in a bad condition, they must taste defeat in their confrontation with the world. And today, that is still the case. Are we aware of that? We assume that the victory of Naaman was indeed gained over Israel, although that is not said in so many words. There is an interesting Jewish tradition that says that Naaman was the archer that wounded King Ahab in the battle near Ramoth in Gilead (1 Kings 22:34). Others think of a victory of Aram over Assyria. The second book of Kings, however, makes it clear that Elisha played an important part in the wars between Aram and Israel. The prophet even appeared in Damascus and was involved in the appointment of Hazael as king of Aram (2 Kings 8:7 ff.). All this belonged to God’s plan to chastise His people that had gone astray, and to call them to repentance. Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, was therefore a great man. Everyone was favourably disposed towards him. He had even been an instrument in the hands of the Lord. We would say that he was successful in everything. Yet, it was all show, it was only the outward side of his life. Naaman had a hidden problem. His leprosy The beautiful portrait of 2 Kings 5:1 is marred by a serious "but". It is said in such a striking way, "but he was a leper". He had an incurable disease, and nobody could help him. It is possible that the disease was still in its early phase, for 2 Kings 5:11 speaks of the affected "place" on his body. But the illness would spread insidiously and increasingly affect various parts of his body. That was a terrible prospect. What lay ahead for him? How could he go on living with this problem? What does the Bible mean by leprosy? It seems to have been a comprehensive term, which also applied to clothing and houses (Leviticus 13:1-59; Leviticus 14:1-57). According to some expositors, it comprised all sorts of rash and skin diseases. But the law concerning leprosy itself already makes a distinction between "the leprous plague" and "a harmless rash" (Leviticus 13:39 NIV). When it concerns people, we will have to think specifically of leprosy, certainly so in the case of Naaman and Gehazi and in that of Miriam (Numbers 12:1-16).

We see other examples of it in the lives of Moses (Exodus 4:6), King Azariah or Uzziah (2 Kings 15:5; 2 Chronicles 26:16 ff.). We know that sickness and death, sorrow and sadness are all the consequences of sin (cf. Genesis 3:16 ff.). Death entered the world through sin (Romans 5:12). The connection between sin and sickness is, however, a very complex matter. But concerning leprosy, it can be said that this illness gives a very striking picture of sin and its deadly, destructive consequences. The following arguments can be mentioned to support this:

(1) Leprosy was an infectious disease, that continued to spread insidiously and affect the entire body. Similarly, we know that nothing good dwells in our sinful flesh (Romans 7:18).

(2) The leper was regarded as living dead. Aaron spoke about his sister "as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed" (Numbers 12:12). As sinners, we are dead in our trespasses and sins, and alienated from the life of God (Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 4:18). Only God can make us alive (cf. 2 Kings 5:7).

(3) The leper was considered unclean. He had to tear his clothes as a sign of mourning, and to cry, "Unclean! Unclean!" (Leviticus 13:45). In the same way, the uncleanness and the shamefulness of sin cling to us, by nature.

(4) The leper stayed outside the camp because of his uncleanness, outside the place where a Holy God dwelled in the midst of His people (Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:2; Numbers 12:14; 2 Kings 7:3; 2 Chronicles 26:21). We once lived without God in the world, being alienated from Him.

(5) The leper was not cured by a physician, but was cleansed in the presence of the priest. The ceremonial cleansing on the basis of the prescribed sacrifices (among them a trespass and a sin offering, to make atonement for the healed leper), prefigured the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only His redemptive work was able to take away the defilement of sin. Furthermore, as people who have been cleansed by His death, we are to walk in newness of life by the power of His resurrection. The anointing with the Holy Spirit (the "oil") will enable us to do so. Therefore, when we look at Naaman the leper, we really see a picture of ourselves. We may have all kinds of talents. We may be successful. People may appreciate us. Yet, in everyone’s life there is a serious "but", i.e. the problem of sin. The "sickness of sin" affects us all and ruins us. We ourselves cannot solve the deadly problem that ruins our lives. But what is impossible with men is possible with God.

Questions