2 Kings 5:1-19 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable… Let us cast our eyes upon Naaman himself; and then upon the method of his restoration. I. NAAMAN'S CONDITION. 1. Official. 2. Personal 3. Bodily. "But he was a leper" — the one drawback, and that a terrible one. II. NAAMAN'S RESTORATION. 1. First notice the providence of God. It was by means of a little captive maid. 2. Thus, what must have seemed a great calamity to the little maid's friends and to herself — to be captured and carried away into an idolatrous country — became a blessing. 3. Then we have the picture of Naaman, with his equipage and servants, in state at the door of Elisha, and the prophet sending a message to him with the command in the text. 4. Let us see the moral and spiritual purposes of Elisha's treatment. The spirit of pride had to be subdued. The prophet's method is unexpected, but not without design. There is no prayer or personal contact, only a message by a servant. 5. But for the kindly expostulation of the servants, Naaman would have returned into his own country a leper, as he set out from it. III. LESSONS. 1. From instances of natural virtue in the heathen world, we learn that nature, though fallen, is not totally corrupt. We must keep a middle course between and Calvin. 2. What weak and often unworthy means God uses for making known His truth! — the enslaved Israelite maid! 3. How children should strive to remember what they were taught in youth about God and His ministers, that it may be a blessing to themselves and to others! (Canon Hutchings.) Parallel Verses KJV: Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. |
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