Transcript
Today we come to what is undoubtedly one of the most famous stories in the Bible. You probably heard it as you grew up in Sunday school or have heard it someplace else. In case you didn’t grow up in Sunday school, it’s found in the book of Second Kings chapter five.
So will you turn your Bibles please to Second Kings chapter five? We want to begin reading at verse 1.
“Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, ‘If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.’ And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, ‘Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.’
So the king of Syria said, ‘Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’ So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, ‘Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.’
And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.’
So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.’
Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman became furious and went away and said, ‘Indeed I said to myself, “He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over the place and heal the leprosy.” Are not the Abana and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage.
And his servants came near and spoke to him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, “Wash and be clean”?’ So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
A long time ago, but I remember it clearly. The date was May 1958. And it was the night when I was going to graduate from Dallas Theological Seminary. After four years of blood, toil, sweat and tears, I was about to get my Master of Theology degree from the seminary.
As you can imagine, it was with a feeling of pride that I stepped out onto the graduation platform. And I went to the point where I received my diploma and had my master’s hood fastened around my neck and straightened behind my back. And then I went a little further distance across the graduation stage where Dr. John F. Walvoord, the president of the seminary, was shaking hands with each of the graduating seniors.
And it was then that one of the most humorous events occurred that took place in my entire seminary career. Now I need to tell you that every year at graduation the seminary gives out a whole long list of awards, many of which go to graduating seniors. Awards like highest grade point average in the senior class, best work for the year in the New Testament department, best work in the homiletics department, and on and on it goes.
And of course these awards had already been handed out at a previous service. So when I walked up to Dr. Walvoord and shook his hand, he said to me, “Congratulations on all your awards.”
Now I want you to know that I have the highest regard for Dr. John F. Walvoord. And nobody appreciates a compliment from him more than I do. But there was one little problem. At the awards service I had not even received one award, much less several of them.
And I mean to tell you that when Dr. Walvoord said that to me, it took the air out of my sails. It took the steam out of my engine. And as I went the remainder of the way across the stage and took my seat again in the graduating audience, I didn’t feel nearly as triumphant as I had when I walked on the stage, because I felt I had been congratulated for nothing.
Now I know that my audience this morning is not composed of seminary graduates. But I’m hoping that most of you feel that you are enrolled in God’s School of Education which we call discipleship. And I hope that you want to finish that course of education with success and with distinction.
Well let me warn you. Let me warn you. You will not complete your spiritual education successfully unless you grasp one of the most important principles in the entire Bible. And that is a principle that I would like us to consider together for a few minutes this morning.
And it’s a principle that I have tried to incorporate in the title of my message today, which is “Congratulations for Nothing.” Hey, that’s not a hard title to remember, is it? That’s pretty easy to recall. So let me repeat it again. The title of my message today is “Congratulations for Nothing.”
Now maybe as we read our passage of Scripture this morning you thought that the most important person in this story was the commander-in-chief of the Syrian army, a man named Naaman. A man who had been successful on the battlefield and was held in high esteem and honor by the king of Syria, because the Lord had enabled him to win victories for Syria.
And after all, it was Naaman who was healed. But if you thought Naaman was the most important person in this story, you were mistaken.
Or maybe you thought the most important person in this story was Elisha, the man of God, the prophet of God. A man whose career is being spread on the pages of the book of Kings and who performs wonderful miracles. And after all, it is Elisha who is the instrument in healing Naaman of his leprosy.
But if you felt that Elisha was the most important person in this story, you were mistaken again.
I have not a moment’s hesitation in suggesting to you this morning, my friends, that the most important person in the story that we just read was a young Jewish slave girl. A young Jewish slave girl. For without her there would be no story at all.
You see, some time previous to our story a band of Syrian raiders had raided a portion of the land of Israel. And they had taken away whatever they wanted to take away. And among other things they kidnapped a young girl and took her away to Damascus, where she became a slave girl. That’s what happened to prisoners of war. She became a slave girl in the household of the commander of the Syrian forces.
And it was her duty to be a servant, a maiden waiting upon Naaman’s wife. Try to put yourself in her place for a minute, will you? Here she is, miles and miles away from home, taken away from her family, taken away from her friends. She may never see any of them again.
And can’t you imagine there were many times that she cried herself to sleep at night out of sheer loneliness and frustration? It wouldn’t have been easy for this slave girl to think, “I hate this place. I hate the Syrians. I hate my master Naaman who is holding me in slavery. I want to go home to my family. Oh yes, I know he has a bad disease called leprosy, and I hope he dies of it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.”
Wouldn’t it have been easy for her to feel that way, to think that way? And I am utterly astounded and I am deeply impressed that apparently she didn’t feel that way at all. In fact, apparently she cared about her master.
And one day she said to her mistress, “I just wish that my master were with the prophet in Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.” You believe it. You believe it. She cared about Naaman.
You know what’s wrong with most of us? We’re hopelessly selfish. We’re hopelessly self-centered. And when somebody does us wrong we say, “I’ll fix their wagon,” or “If I don’t fix their wagon, God will fix their wagon. I hope they get what’s coming to them.”
But not this little Jewish slave girl.
A visitor was leaning on a rail fence one time and he was watching a friend of his plow his field with a mule. And finally this visitor spoke up and he said, “I hate to butt in, but you could save yourself an awful lot of work if you would say ‘gee’ and ‘haw’ to that mule instead of just pulling all the time on the reins.”
And the guy that was doing the plowing took a big handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his brow. And he said, “Yep, I know. But,” he said, “this here mule kicked me six years ago and I ain’t spoke to it since.”
All right, folks, sometimes people act like mules. But we cost ourselves an awful lot of energy and effort when we try to act like mules in return.
As Abraham Lincoln was once criticized for the kindly way that he treated his enemies, and one of his assistants said to him, “Why do you try to make friends of them? You should destroy them.” And President Lincoln calmly replied, “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my friends?”
And Jesus said, my friends, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
And I can’t think of a better example of that in the entire Old Testament than the little slave girl in this story.
Well, the words of the little slave girl really got things rolling, didn’t they? They really got things rolling. And so Naaman went in to the king of Syria to report what she had said. The king of Syria wrote a letter to the king of Israel. And Naaman brought the letter to the king of Israel.
And when he read it, this is what he read: “Be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.”
Hey, wait a minute. Something has been lost in the translation, hasn’t it? The little girl had said, “I wish my master were with the prophet in Samaria,” not with the king of Israel. And now there is no mention of the prophet at all.
Though the king of Israel says, “Oh well, he’s got it a little mixed up. Naturally I can’t heal anybody of their leprosy. But we have a mighty prophet of the Lord right here in Israel. He happens to be in Samaria at this very time. And I know that he can heal this man’s leprosy.”
That’s not what he says at all. He takes hold of his royal robes and in a typical Middle Eastern practice he tears those robes through to express his despair. And he says, “Who does the king of Syria think I am? God? Does he think I can kill and make alive? Is he going to send me somebody to heal of his leprosy? I know what he’s up to. He wants a quarrel with me. He wants to start another of the many wars that we have had between Syria and Israel. I can see what he’s trying to do.”
Do you see the contrast here, my friends? Do you see the contrast? The little girl knows that there’s a prophet who can heal Naaman. And the king of Israel acts as if he’s totally, totally blind to that. He doesn’t have a clue.
And when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
And if I may paraphrase his words, I think he is saying to the king of Israel, “Shame on you. Why did you tear your clothes? Don’t you know there’s a prophet in Israel? Well, send him to me.”
You know, even if you don’t, the little girl knows it. The king of Israel is floundering. And I’m reminded of a remarkable prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ prayed while he was here on earth. He prayed to His Father in heaven, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank You that You have hidden these things from the wise and from the prudent and You have revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.”
And listen closely. God makes Himself known not to the mighty and the wise and the educated, but to those who are childlike in heart.
Do you know that all over this country this morning there are sophisticated and educated people? There are people in high places and in important positions who know less about the living God than some of the kids in our Sunday school. Did you know that? That’s the way God works.
There was a father one time who wrote a poem. Unfortunately I don’t know his name. But it’s a poem that you probably won’t forget. He wrote these words:
“Last night my little boy confessed to me some childish wrong. And kneeling at my knee he prayed with tears, ‘Dear God, make me a man like daddy, wise and strong. I know You can.’ Then while he slept I knelt beside his bed, confessed my sins, and with full bowed head prayed, ‘O God, make me a child like my son here, pure in sadness, trusting, with faith sincere.’”
The degree of your knowledge of the living God, the degree of the knowledge of His truth, will be the measure in which you have the heart and spirit of a little child.
So Naaman reached the goal of his journey. He now stands before the house of Elisha. Try to get this picture, folks. There he is, a highly successful and wealthy man. He’s standing there with his chariot and horses and servants and with a load of silver and gold and ten changes of clothes. He’s standing before the prophet’s house.
And guess what? The prophet doesn’t even come out and say hi to him. He sends him a messenger, probably his servant Gehazi. And the messenger says, “Go and wash seven times in the River Jordan and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.”
Get out of the way, folks. There’s an explosion coming. And Naaman explodes. He’s furious. And he says to his servants, “Indeed I thought he would come out and stand here and call on the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over the place and heal the leprosy.”
And I’m sure that in his heart he is saying, “He didn’t even come out to greet me.” And furthermore, says Naaman, “He wants me to go and wash in that muddy little stream that they call the River Jordan. And there are better rivers in the city of Damascus for me to wash in and be clean than that.”
“Come on, everybody. We’re going home.” And he turns around and he starts home.
Now folks, at this point in the story you know what I want to say to Naaman? You know what I want to say to Naaman? “Congratulations for nothing.” You have a big problem. You’ve been to two different kings. You’ve come all this way. You’ve stood before the house of Elisha. You had a lot of money and changes of clothes. And you had the opportunity of a lifetime to get healed.
Congratulations for nothing, Naaman. You’re throwing it all in the trash basket.
And don’t you see that leaping out of this story is one of the great principles of the Word of God? And it is this: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Is it possible, is it possible that I’m talking to somebody in this audience this morning and you want to say this to me? If you were being completely frank with me, this is what you would say. You would say, “Zane, if I were being completely frank with you, I think that Victor Street Bible Chapel is very lucky to have me in the congregation because I have an awful lot to offer this church. I am a model Christian. I have a lot of wisdom and understanding. And I’m afraid people don’t appreciate me very much. They don’t pay attention to me like they should.”
Is it possible I have anyone in the audience that feels like that? You know what I want to say to you? Congratulations for nothing. For as long as you have that kind of pride in your heart you will accomplish nothing, nothing for God. God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble.
Fortunately, fortunately Naaman had some level-headed servants with him. And as he started away these servants came to him very humbly and very respectfully. And they said to Naaman, “My father, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, if the prophet had asked you to do some great thing, spend a lot of money, do something difficult, would you not have done it? And how much more should you do it if he’s only asking you to wash in the River Jordan?”
And right here the biggest miracle in the story occurred. The biggest miracle in the story occurs right here. You know why? Because Naaman humbled himself. Naaman humbled himself. And he submitted to the instructions that God had given to him through His prophet.
And he went to the Jordan River, which was some distance away, and dipped in it seven times. And the result was that his leprosy was gone. And now that he has the heart of a little child, God gives him the skin to match, because the Bible says his flesh became like the flesh of a little child.
And Jesus said, with a little child standing before Him, Jesus said, “Whoever humbles himself as this child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Many years ago a rider on horseback encountered a group of soldiers who were having a lot of trouble moving a very large piece of timber. There was a corporal standing there and he was yelling loudly and lordly orders. And he said, “Heave, heave, heave.”
And the rider on horseback said to the corporal, “Why don’t you help them?” To which the corporal replied, “Me? I’m a corporal.”
So the rider on horseback got off of his horse and he joined the soldiers. And he said to the men, “All right boys, all together, heave.” And together they heaved the piece of timber into the place it was supposed to go.
And then the rider on horseback climbed back onto his horse. And he said to the corporal, “The next time you have a piece of timber for your men to move, corporal, send for the commander-in-chief.”
And the rider on the horse was George Washington.
And my dear Christian friends, the next time you have trouble being humble and accepting authority, send for the commander-in-chief. Because the Lord Jesus Christ, we read, humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And if you are too big for that, you are too big.
Let’s pray.
Father, teach us to be little and humble and obedient that You may use us. We ask in Christ’s name. Amen.