After Being Made Clean

And he (Naaman) returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant. But he (Elisha) said, “as the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.”  And he urged him to take it, but he refused.  So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. – 2 Kings 5:15-17

After Naaman was made clean, he did a couple of things that let us as Bible readers know that old things had passed away, and all things had truly become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The very first thing he did was return and give thanks to Elisha. Remember in Luke 17 when Jesus healed 10 lepers? Only one returned to give thanks. Jesus gave us, in my opinion, a picture of what it looks like when God heals the outside without first dealing with the inside. 90% went on with their lives and didn’t return. When preachers basically talk people into saying a prayer and pronounce them clean without repentance, we can expect maybe a 10% success rate in producing a thankful heart that returns thanks to God. Naaman returned because the man of God dealt with his pride before he dealt with his leprosy.

The second thing Naaman did was offer up anything he had. Elisha refused any kind of material gift. Salvation comes only from God and it has no monetary price tag. What a cheap religion we would have if it could be bought. Elisha would not have Naaman go back and say it cost repentance AND some amount of money. There is only one Name, the name of Jesus, by whom we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

The last thing I want to mention that Naaman did is he asked Elijah for two mule-loads of earth to bring back with him. He was going to use this dirt to make a place to sacrifice unto God. If there was one thing that I wish every person who claimed to be Christian would do, it is find a regular time and place to sacrifice to God. Thank God we don’t have to sacrifice animals or anything like that any more. However, it seems that would almost be easier for us “busy” Americans than to sacrifice a few minutes away from Facebook, Instagram, X-Box, iPhones, television, and countless other devices that make us actually believe we have no time.

What is your plan for spending time with God? If you don’t have one, Jesus offers one.

“But when (notice he doesn’t say “if”) you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6

Later

Adam