The whole world struggles with disease.  Medical insurance, government funding for healthcare, and public health plans are high on political agendas.  Often, the greatest fear is not death itself, but the suffering and illness before death.  Then one hears of someone who passed away in their sleep or was suddenly struck down, and secretly hopes that this will happen to them one day… not now… but when the time comes.

The medical world grapples with chronic diseases, the “death sentence” of certain conditions, rare phenomena that lack sufficient research, suffering children, and all sorts of viruses and germs that everyone fights against. Vaccinations and preventive tests are the subject of sharp debates and heated opinions.

One of the miracle stories of the Old Testament is the healing of Naaman, which we discussed last time (2 Kings 5).  We talked about his arrogance, his expectations, and the great spiritual shift that took place in his life.  All his expectations and plans had to bow before the prophet of God.  His servants pleaded with him to obey the words of Elisha, and his healing came through the process of bathing seven times in the Jordan—not the great rivers of Syria, but the humble Jordan of Israel, as instructed by the prophet.

His obedience had great power.  The seventh time was a triumph.  He was healed.  His frightful, leprous skin became “like that of a young boy, and he was clean,” says the Bible.

In the process, nothing remained of his arrogance.  He returned to the man of God and declared his complete conversion before Elisha. “There is no God on earth except in Israel.”

His words are interesting.  In those days, people (including the Hebrews) believed that God was territorial.  Naaman held onto this idea when Elisha refused to accept his gift.  In his mind, it was no longer a payment but rather a gift—one might say a small token of gratitude.  Really?  The entire 342 kilograms of silver, 68 kilograms of gold, and ten sets of clothing (5:5) that he had brought with him.

A healing from the hand of God cannot be measured in gold and silver.

Elisha won the argument about accepting the gift, despite Naaman’s strong insistence.  He accepted nothing.  He was not rewarded for God’s work.

Naaman’s mind was working overtime.  He asked for two mule-loads of Israelite soil so that he could take the terra (territory) of Israel with him to create “holy ground” to worship the true God.  He asked in advance for forgiveness for his presence in the temple of his idol, which he would have to visit under the obligation of his king. Elisha and Naaman parted very amicably, but…

Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had a mission.  He had seen the gold, the silver, and especially the clothes.  Wow, the wealth of Syria had been displayed right on his doorstep, and his desire got the better of him.  He told Elisha about his plan to accept something from Naaman and ran off.  He had his story ready.

Gehazi fabricated an excuse, claiming that Elisha had supposedly changed his mind and would now accept some of the riches.  Gehazi asked for a significant amount—34 kilograms of silver and two sets of clothes.  Perhaps his entire retirement plan was on his mind.  Naaman was so happy to give that he doubled the silver to 68 kilograms, packed in money bags, along with two sets of clothing, and sent two slaves to carry them for Gehazi.  In his mind his future was secure.  The greatness of his life would easily be displayed in lovely imported clothing. 

Just beyond the hill, Gehazi took his newfound wealth from the slaves and hid it in his room.  He dismissed the men and returned to Elisha.

The dialogue that followed became the basis for the idiom: “Where have you been, Gehazi?“—used when someone is suspected of lying.

“…and when he came in and stood before the prophet, Elisha asked him, ‘Where have you been, Gehazi?’
He answered, ‘I didn’t go anywhere.’” (5:25)

Elisha’s rebuke was sharp… accompanied by a curse.

He said to him:
“Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take silver and to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, flocks and herds, male and female slaves?

Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and your descendants forever.”

When Gehazi left Elisha, he was leprous, as white as snow. (5:26-27)

Elisha “saw,” with spiritual insight, Gehazi’s entire retirement plan—the money, the clothes, the farming, and the slaves.  Gehazi’s disobedience robbed him of all the pleasures of his plan.  All the wealth could not heal him of leprosy.  He should have known.  Naaman had arrived with a fortune and was as sick as a beggar.  His wealth had not helped him at all.

Gehazi’s leprosy is a symbol of the pursuit of wealth and future security—the idols of our time.  That is what everyone works for.

Just as suddenly as Gehazi’s leprosy, a medical crisis can overtake a person and shift all perspectives.  The leprosy of wealth and status, the grandeur of life, and the esteem of others cling to humanity and its descendants like the white sores of disease.  If children are not taught what truly matters, they will inherit the leprosy of worldly ambition.

Let’s read together Jesus’ remedy for the leprosy of our day:

The Worries of Life (Matthew 6:25-33)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

C.S. Lewis sums it up as follows:

“You can’t get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first.”

“All these things” come in the package of the Kingdom. It is part of the promise of the Covenant—an abundance of provision.

And included in that: healing!