Jehovah-Rapha The Lord Who Heals

Jehovah-Rapha The Lord Who Heals

 2 King 5:1-6

Now 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. Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. “By all means, go,” the king of Aram, replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. ^The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman, a high dignitary of the Syrian’s army, a commander, a might man of valor, a great man in the sight of his master, was highly respected because the Lord had graciously given Aram victory through him. But Naaman had a blemish on his glorious accolades: he was a leper. A major concern for Naaman, though in its infancy, if left untreated could aggressively damage his skin nerve, which could lead to social isolation labeling him as unclean. This heavy burden Naaman carried cause him to search for or be receptive for a cure.  

…Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe His prophets, and you will succeed.

Jesus said:“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Selah

The people of Aram had a reputation for attacking a land, capturing its people and bring back the spoil to Aram, as in the case of the young girl from Israel who was taken captive to Aram to serve Naaman’s wife because the dictates of the Lord’s law were ignore by Israel. Despite this young girl being in a pagan society, which must have been against her will, she submitted to authority, loved her enemies and the Lord appeal through her as His ambassador to reconcile Naaman to Himself and in the process heal Naaman’s leprosy.  The young Israelites spoke words of faith to Naaman’s wife saying:” If only my master were with the prophet who are in Samaria, he would cure him of his skin disease” Naaman’s wife believed her message ,conveyed the message of hope to her husband who in turn dispatched the hopeful message to the King of Aram with hope of alleviating his burden of leprosy.”

 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

The king of Aram, who cared for his highly decorated solider sent dignitaries to the King of Israel with a letter which stated:”I have sent you my servant Naaman for you to cure him of his skin disease.” This letter omitted the pertinent information of an Israelite young girl who told Naaman of a prophet in Israel who could heal him. The king of Aram, also sent lavish and impressive gifts of seven-fifty pounds of sliver, one hundred and fifty pounds of gold, and ten set of clothing to covey the importance and urgency of his request to seal a lasting partnership with Israel, if all goes well.

2 Kings 5:7-10

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes 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! ”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.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 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.”

The king of Israel, whose heart was not set on the Lord, after reading a letter from the king of Aram which asked him to do the impossible, did not seek counsel from the Lord nor counsel from his multitude of counselor, rather he went to into a defensive mode.  In fear and lack of self-control, he tore his clothes in anger; similar to Joshua tearing his clothes when Israel were delivered into the hands of the Amorites when Israel sinned.  The king of Israel felt the king of Aram asks for the “impossible” was a covert attack, so he asked himself a rhetorical question: “Am I God, killing and giving life that this man expect me to cure a man of skin disease.

Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.

The king of Israel tore his robes because he taught it blasphemy for the King of Aram to ascribe power that belong to God to men, liken to Caiaphas the high priest who tore his clothes when Jesus said He is Christ, the Son of God. The king of Israel did not considered God had manifested His power through men like Elijah and Elisha to cure diseases and raised the dead and this same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in the believers this day to heal the sick and raised the dead, God permitting.

Therefore let us go beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.

The Lord does nothing without telling his prophet. Elisha the anointed prophet of God to Israel at this time, heard the king of Israel had tore his robes – which was typical of Israel leaders when faced with a national threat – and so Elisha intervened.  He, told the king of Israel to send Naaman to him- a true prophet of God in Israel. Naaman went to Elisha with his entourage that included horses and chariots. Elisha at the Lord’s directive told his servant to go and say to Naaman “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” This message confirmed the message of hope he received from the servant of his wife, which initiated his journey to Israel.

But, Naaman blinded by national pride, prestige, and power was not receptive to the simplicity of Elisha command and approached to him as a dignitary.  He said to himself” He will surely come out and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the skin disease”.  As if God has one solution for all healing.  Naaman assumed Elijah demeaned Aram by asking him to go wash in the muddy Jordan River while the Abana and Pharpar rivers, clean and pristine in Damascus flows from Mount Hermon, but the power of God was not present in them.  Naaman preoccupied with how God ought to work or how events should have pane out left Israel enraged because his ego was bruise and he taught his expectation were not met.  Contrary, to Naaman, Jesus, the Son of the living God, who has the words of eternal life, was baptized in the muddy Jordan so all righteousness should be fulfilled which enables believers to be right with God through Him.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Therefore, if any man in in Christ, he is new creation, the old has gone, the new is here

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus .In His great mercy has given us a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

2 Kings 5:13-14

Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Naaman servant offered a good and timely word to his master and reasoned with him to consider Elisha’s command. This servant must have had a trusting relationship with his master to call him father. In trust, he told him to adhere to Elisha simple command to “wash and be clean.”  A word for the wise is enough, Naaman went and dipped himself into the Jordan seven time as instructed by the man of God and his fleshed was restored and became clean like a young boy. 

Naaman’s washing in the Jordan foreshadowed the relationship he would have with the Lord, where he would renounce the gods of Damascus and declared God to be the one true God with whom he would begun a new life. Parallel to believers through the act of baptism into death; die to self, and raised by the glory of God to live a new life. ”We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Neeman, washed in the Jordan also signified the purification that took place in him from being unclean to clean, from harden heart to heart of flesh– he had a skin and heart changed. Similar to believers being cleansed by the washing of the water of the word that causes heart and attitude change when we repent, put faith in Christ as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead and obey His word.  Jesus said; the time has come, the kingdom of God has come near you, repent and believe the good news.

 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.

Neeman humbled himself, repented, and turn to God and did what was befitting of repentance when he obeyed the word of God through His prophet. Subsequently, God graciously manifested his power to save and heal him according to his faith. The grace of God that brings salvation to men appeared to a decorated solider of the Syrian army, from a loving God, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Are you willing to accept God’s gift of salvation this day?