Bible Commentaries

2 Kings 5:1-19

1. Now Naaman ["beauty"], captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man Genesis 10:9)] and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance [victory] unto Syria; he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. [Lit, and the man was a brave warrior, stricken with leprosy. His leprosy need not have been so severe as to prevent him following his military duties.]

2. And the Syrians had gone out by companies [or, in troops], and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited Numbers 12:14-15)] of his leprosy.

4. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

5. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him Matthew 26:65)] and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive [ Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6. Leprosy was a kind of living death (comp. Numbers 12:12)], that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

8. And it was 2 Kings 5:3)] that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is [with stress on "there is"] a prophet in Israel.

9. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood [stopped] at the door of the house of Elisha.

10. And Elisha sent a messenger [avoiding personal contact with a leper] unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan [Naaman was to understand that he was healed by the God of Israel, in answer to the prophet's prayer, (comp. 2 Kings 5:15)] seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

11. But [And] Naaman was wroth [he thought he was being mocked], and went away, and said [I said to myself], Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike [wave his hand towards (comp. Isaiah 10:15, Isaiah 11:15)] his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12. Are not Abana and Pharpar [the], rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13. And his servants came near [comp. Genesis 18:23], and spake unto him, and said, My father [implying respect and affection (comp. 1 Samuel 24:11; 1 Samuel 6:21)], if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done [or wouldest thou not do] it? how much rather then, when he saith [hath said] to thee, Wash, and be clean [i.e, thou shalt be clean]?

14. Then [And he went down] went he down, and dipped himself seven times [seven was significant of the divine covenant with Israel, and the cure depended on that covenant] 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.

15. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company [camp, host], and came [went into Elisha's house. Gratitude overcame awe and dread] and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore [and now], I pray thee, take a blessing [accept a present from ( Genesis 33:11)] of thy servant.

16. But [And] he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. [ Matthew 10:8 (compare Acts 8:20). Elisha's conduct, so different to ordinary prophets ( 1 Samuel 9:6-9), would favourably impress Naaman]. And he urged him to take it; but [and] he refused.

17. And Naaman said, Shall there not then [If not, let there be given, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules" burden of earth [he wished to worship the God of Israel on the soil of Israel, Jehovah's own land. (Comp. Exodus 20:24; 1 Kings 18:38)]? for thy servant will henceforth offer [make] neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.

18. In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship [to bow down] there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

19. And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way Genesis 35:16)].

The Danger of Preconceptions

Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper" ( 2 Kings 5:11.) Naaman had heard of a man who could cure his leprosy,—so he thought out how this would be accomplished. He made a plan in his own mind, as we see in the eleventh verse. Now that thought before the thing happened was what is termed a preconception, and suggests our subject, namely, the mischievousness and absurdity of preconception in religious thinking. Religion must not be a discovery, but a 2 Kings 5:20-27

20. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said [thought], Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the Lord liveth, I will run [by the life of Jehovah, but I will run] after him, and take somewhat of him.

21. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him [an oriental mark of respect, literally, fell from off the chariot: denoting haste ( Genesis 24:64)], and said, Is all well?

22. And he said, All is well My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now [this moment] there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.

23. And Naaman said, Be content [Be willing, consent to take], take two talents. And he urged him, and bound [ Deuteronomy 14:25] two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants [gave them to two of his (Naaman"s) young men]; and they bare them before him [Gehazi].

24. And when he came to the tower [perhaps a fortified hill, like the Ophel at Jerusalem, is to be understood (comp. 2 Chronicles 27:3)], he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house [laid them up carefully in the prophet's house]: and he let the men go, and they departed.

25. But he went in, and stood before [came forward to ( 2 Chronicles 6:12)] his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither [literally, Thy servant went not away hither or thither].

26. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee [thus paraphrased in the Targum: "By the spirit of prophecy I was informed when the man turned"], when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive [comp. Ecclesiastes 3:2] money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and maidservants?

27. The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave [or, cleave, i.e. let it cleave: imperative] unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. [If it be thought that the sentence is too strong, it should be remembered that the prophet is pronouncing the judgment of God (comp. Exodus 4:6; Numbers 12:10). An outbreak of leprosy may follow upon extreme fright or mortification],

Gehazi

The name Gehazi means "valley of vision," and is appropriate enough if we think of what Gehazi saw as to the nature of wickedness when the prophet opened his eyes. Let us note what points there are in this case which illustrate human life as we now know it. In this way we shall test the moral accuracy of the story,—and that is all we are now principally concerned about.

Gehazi was "the servant of Elisha the man of God." Surely then he would be a good man? Can a good man have a bad servant? Can the man of prayer, whose life is a continual breathing unto God of supreme desires after holiness, have a man in his company, looking on and watching him, and studying his character, who denies his very altar, and blasphemes against his God? Is it possible to live in a Christian house and yet not to be a Christian? Can we come so near as that, and yet be at an infinite distance from all that is pure and beautiful and true? If 2 Kings 5:22). The case was admirably stated. It was stated too with just that urgency which increases the likelihood of that which is declared. Elisha spent his time amongst the sons of the prophets; they all looked to him as a father, as he himself had looked to Elijah; he was the young man's friend, the young minister's asylum; they all knew gracious, gentle, Christ-like Elisha—the anti-type of the Messiah; and what more likely than that two of them in the course of their journeying should have called upon Elisha unexpectedly? It was a free, gracious life the old ministers lived. They seemed to have rights in one another. If any one of them had a loaf, that loaf belonged to the whole fraternity. If one of them, better off than another, had a house or part of a house, any of the sons of the prophets passing by could go and lodge there. It was a gracious masonry; it was a true brotherhood. Then the moderateness of the statement also added to its probability: "Give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments:" they are on the road, they cannot tell what is going to happen; how long the next stage may be they do not yet calculate, and if they could have this contribution all would be well. Do not suppose that wicked men are intellectually fools. They can state a case with great clearness and much graphic force. "The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." Would God they were children of light! How acute they are! How rapid in thinking power! How inventive and fertile in mind! They would make the Church a success; they would turn it to broader uses; they would rebuke the narrowness of our thinking, yea, they would put us into inferior positions, and taking the natural lead they would conduct the Church to fuller realisations of the Lord's purpose concerning his dominion over all men. We have no hesitation in saying that the men of the world in most cases overmatch the men of the Church in matters of strong thinking regarding practical subjects and practical ministries and uses. We who are in the Church are afraid: we want to be let alone; not for the world would we be suspected of even dreaming of anything unusual; we would have our very dreams patterns of neatness, things that might be published in the shop windows, and looked upon without affronting the faintest sensibility on the part of the beholders. But the Gehazis, if they were converted, they would be men of energy, dash, courage, fire; we should hear of them and of their work. If one might pray at all regarding others, who would not pray that many who are in the Church might be out of it, so far as activity of leadership, inspiration, and enthusiasm are concerned? What excellent people they might make where there was nothing to do! and how gratefully they would receive wages for doing it! But who would not desire that many a journalist, many a merchant, many a man who is outside the Church might be brought into it, because with his brains, with his mental fire, with his soldier-like audacity and gracious violence, he would make the age know that he was alive? But whilst we thus credit such men with high intellectual sense, we are bound to look at the moral character which they but too frequently represent. Gehazi was no model man in a moral sense. His invention was a lie; his cleverness was but an aspect of depravity; his very genius made him memorable for wickedness.

But Gehazi was successful. He took the two talents of silver in the two bags, with the two changes of garments; he brought them to the tower, and bestowed them in the house; then he sat down—a successful man! Now all is well: lust is satisfied, wealth is laid up; now the fitness of things has been consulted, and harmony has been established between debtor and creditor, and Justice nods because Justice has been appeased. Were the test to end with the twenty-fourth verse we should describe Gehazi as a man who had set an example to all coming after him who wished to turn life into a success. Who had been wronged? Naaman pursues his journey all the happier for thinking he has done something in return for the great benefit which has been conferred upon him. He is certainly more pleased than otherwise. The man of God has at last been turned, he thinks, into directions indicated by common-sense. All that has happened is in the way of business; nothing that is not customary has been done. Gehazi is satisfied, and Elisha knows nothing about it. The servant should have something even if the master would take nothing. It is the trick of our own day! The servant is always at the door with his rheumatic hand ready to take anything that may be put into it. We leave nothing with the master; it would be an insult to him. So far the case looks natural, simple, and complete; and we have said Elisha knows nothing about it. Why will men trifle with prophets? Why will men play with fire? When will men know that what is done in secret shall be published on the housetops; when will men know that there can be nothing confidential that is wicked? Observe Gehazi going in to his master as usual, and look at his face: not a sign upon it of anything having been done that is wrong. Look at his hands: large, white, innocent-looking hands that never doubled their fingers upon things that did not belong to them. Look at Elisha: fixing his eyes calmly upon Gehazi, he says, "Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither;" the meaning being that he was on the premises all the time; always within call; the lifting-up of a finger would have brought him. Then came the speech of judgment, delivered in a low tone, but every word was heard—the beginning of the word and the end of the word, and the last word was like a sting of righteousness. "Went not mine heart with thee?" Oh that heart! The good man knows when wickedness has been done: the Christ knows when he enters into the congregation whether there is a man in it with a withered hand; he says, There is a cripple somewhere in this audience. He feels it. "Went not mine heart with thee?" Was I not present at the interview? Did I not hear every syllable that was said on the one side and on the other? Did I not look at thee when thou didst tell the black, flat, daring lie? "Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and maidservants?" Has the age come to this? Is this a correct interpretation of the time and of the destiny that is set before men?

Then the infliction of the judgment: "The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever" ( 2 Kings 5:27). Thou hast touched the silver, thou didst not know that it was contagious and held the leprosy; thou didst bring in the two changes of garments, not knowing that the germs of the disease were folded up with the cloth: put on the coat—it will scorch thee: "He went out from his presence a leper as white as snow." A splendid conception is this silent departure. Not a word said, not a protest uttered; the judgment was felt to be just: "Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness;" "These shall go away into everlasting punishment." Oh the hush, the solemn silence! The judgment seemed to begin with the sound of trumpets and the rending of things that apparently could not be shaken; at the end there is simply a going away, a silent motion, a conviction that the sentence is right. See Gehazi as he goes out of Elisha's presence, and regard him as a specimen of those who having been judged on the last day will—depart! Men should consider the price they really pay for their success. Do not imagine that men can do whatever they please, and nothing come of it. Every action we perform takes out of us part of ourselves. Some actions take our whole soul with them, and leave us poor indeed. Yes, the house is very large, the garden is very fruitful, the situation is very pleasant, the windows look to the south and to the west, birds are singing on the sunny roof, roses and woodbine are climbing up the south windows, and the bargain was monetarily very cheap; but, oh! it was wrenched from honest hands, it was purloined, it was taken over in the dark; the man who signed it away was half-blinded before he attached his signature to the fatal document. Will the house stand long? Will the sun not be ashamed of it? Will the roses bloom? Will the woodbine curl its long fingers round the window-posts, and feel quite happy there? No! there is a worm at the root, there is a blight on every leaf; no sooner will the roses and the woodbine know that a felon lives there than they will retire from the scene, and the sun which blessed will now blister with judicial fire. "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked." If any of us have gotten anything by false accusation, by sharp practice, by infernal skill and energy of mind, better pour it back again, and stand away from it, and say, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" Better for a man that he should cut off his right hand and enter into life maimed than having two hands be cast into outer darkness. Was not the leprosy a severe punishment for such a sin? What do you mean by "such a sin"? What was the sin? Think of it! The prophet was falsified, religion was debased, God's mercies were turned into merchandise, the Holy Ghost blasphemed, and to all the Gentile world was sent the evil tidings that whatever Israel did it did for gain. The punishment was a great one, but just. At the last the most wicked men amongst us being adjudged to everlasting punishment cannot reply: for a voice within says, The time is not too long!

Selected Note

The grateful Syrian would gladly have pressed upon Elisha gifts of high value, but the holy man resolutely refused to take anything, lest the glory redounding to God from this great 2 Kings 8:1-6). As lepers were compelled to live apart outside the towns, and were not allowed to come too near to uninfected persons, some difficulty has arisen with respect to Gehazi's interview with the king. Several answers occur. The interview may have taken place outside the town, in a garden or garden-house; and the king may have kept Gehazi at a distance, with the usual precautions which custom dictated. Some even suppose that the incident is misplaced, and actually occurred before Gehazi was smitten with leprosy. Others hasten to the opposite conclusion, and allege the probability that the leper had then repented of his crime, and had been restored to health by his master.

Prayer

Almighty God, thou art doing wonders every day: open our eyes that we may see. The miracles have not ceased, but our power of seeing seems to have expired. Lord, our prayer is that we might receive our sight. We are blind, and cannot see afar off, because of our sin; take thou away our sin, and we shall see. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. We bless thee for the wonders of our life, as well as for things that are usual, coming and going every day, yet all of them speaking of thy care and love and tenderness: but the great event is thine, the special circumstance, the exciting incident, the tumults that rise and fall because of thine influence;—behold, all these are signs in the midst of the age, only the age cannot see them or read them aright, because of selfishness and worldly-mindedness and vanity and idolatry, if we loved thee more we should see thee more. If any man love me, I will manifest myself unto him, said the Son of God. Blessed Christ, thou didst come not to our genius and cleverness and learning, but to our love, our simplicity, our need, our brokenheartedness. To this man—said the high, the lofty one, that inhabiteth eternity—will I look, to the man that is of a humble and contrite heart, and who trembleth at my word. May we be enabled to supply the happy conditions under which thou wilt visit our hearts; then thy coming-in shall be like the dawn of a summer day, and all that is within us will rejoice, as flowers are glad when blessed by the sunlight. We thank thee for thy holy book, thy sacred altar, the place of common and public prayer, and the ground on which the rich and the poor alike can meet to call thee Father, and to lift up their eyes with a common expectation to the all-blessing and all-giving heavens. We will say of such places and such times, These are the miracles of God: these are the creations of love: these are the outcoming of the spirit of the cross of Christ. We would grow in wisdom; in understanding we would be men; in all things evil we would be as children, having no understanding of them or liking for them. We would be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. We pray for solidity of character, massiveness of manhood,—the great and complete nature which finds its rest in God's own peace, and its heaven in God's continual smile. Help us to live that we may grow, and so to grow that we may come to perfectness of being in Christ Jesus. He died for us. We remember his going unto death; we see him bearing his cross; we watch him as he is nailed to the accursed tree; we see the Son of God in his last agony; we wonder why the uplifted cross, why the cry of pain and orphanhood, why the darkness and all the wonders that accompanied the crucifixion; when, lo! we see written in the darkness, as with stars set in their places by the hand divine: God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. This is the explanation of all: it satisfies the imagination; it comforts the heart; it appeases the conscience; it reconciles the whole nature unto God. Now we say, God forbid that we should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now we exclaim, We are crucified with him; yet each can say—"Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." This is our highest joy; out of this comes the music of light; out of this comes the hope of heaven. We pray for one another. May our hearts be touched by all circumstances that are pathetic; may our hands instantly move to the help of those who have no helper; may it be our joy to add to the joy of others. Inspire all noble men who care for the poor and the lost, the destitute and the lonely; comfort them and sustain them in their ministry of love, and grant them great success. Now let thy word open itself to us, and become an old word yet a new message. May we reverence it as coming up from eternity, and apply it as addressed to our immediate necessities. Take away all prejudice from the mind, all darkness from the understanding, all stubbornness from the heart, and let thy word have free course and be glorified, and as it sounds in our hearing may we say, This is the music of eternity, this is the message of the most high God. And to the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost,—the one in three, the three in one; the great mystery of being, the great mystery of love, be the praises of all the worlds throughout the universe, throughout unending time. Amen.