Lessons from the Life of a Leper
by: Dalton Gilreath

I.              The Disease (2 Kings 5:1-5)

A.   Naaman is described as a man with great qualities

                                          i.    Captain of Syria’s army

                                        ii.    Great man of honor

                                       iii.    Great man of valor

B.   All these details get pushed to the side as we learn he was a leper

                                          i.    Leprosy was an incurable disease

                                        ii.    Naaman was a dead man walking in the eyes of the people

C.   Leprosy is a symbol of sin (Leviticus 13)

                                          i.    It is deeper than the skin (verse 3)

1.    Sin affects the soul

                                        ii.    It affects the whole man (verse 8)

1.    A sinner has no righteous bone in his body

                                       iii.    It is incurable and isolates (verse 46)

1.    Sin is incurable by man and separates us from God

                                       iv.    The affected clothing must be burned (55)

1.    We will be burned if we do not become washed here on Earth

II.            The Direction (2 Kings 5:6-9)

A.   Jehoram, the king of Israel, receives a letter requesting Naaman’s healing

                                          i.    Apparently he does not know about Elijah and he assumes the king is up to something

                                        ii.    There is a great point to be made about assumptions

1.    Assuming the worst about others is not the Christian attitude

2.    Paul says love “believeth all things” (1 Cor 13:7)

B.   God gave Naaman providential direction

                                          i.    Naaman longed for a cleansing and God physically did so

                                        ii.    Jesus promises those who hunger for righteousness will be filled (Matt 5:6)

1.    God will providentially make a way for those who long for the Truth

2.    People and circumstances can lead us there

III.           The Disgust (2 Kings 5:10-12)

A.   When Naaman hears his instructions to dip in the Jordan he becomes angry

                                          i.    He felt that his rivers near home should have been fine

                                        ii.    Additionally, he thought Elijah would just pray over him and be done

B.   God’s thoughts and ways are not our own (Isa 55:8)

                                          i.    Man cannot find his own way to salvation (Jer 10:23)

                                        ii.    We must obey God’s word from the heart (Rom 6:17)

                                       iii.    Many today believe we are saved by prayer but God’s Word never teaches such

IV.          The Decision (2 Kings 5:13-14)

A.   Naaman finally washed and was cleansed like a child’s flesh

                                          i.    Children are pictured as innocent and pure (Matt 18:3)

                                        ii.    We can be pure like a child with baptism which washes our sins away (Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16)