2 Kings 5:15-19a (ESV)
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” 16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mules’ load of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord. 18 In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.” 19 He said to him, “Go in peace.”
After Naaman, the Syrian military commander, was healed by God of his leprosy, he made the 25 mile journey back from the Jordan River to the house of Elisha. Naaman is overjoyed. Naaman is also changed. He knows that from now on, there is only one God he can worship, the Lord, the God of the Bible.
Naaman tries to give Elisha a gift in return for his healing, but Elisha will not accept anything from Naaman’s hand. Elisha certainly does not want Naaman to think that he had paid for what God had done.
When Naaman asks to take home a load of earth from Israel, he is showing a changed form of worship. Many people in those days thought that the only way to worship a god was on the land of that god. Naaman, whose theology has not yet been all worked out, knows that he only wishes to worship the Lord, and so he will build an altar out of the dirt that he brings home from Israel. This is serious stuff, Naaman is changed.
But there is one odd request that Naaman has. He asks for understanding and pardon in regard to somewhere he has to go as he works. Naaman is a servant of the king of Syria. This king worships a false god in Syria. Naaman knows that his job will require him to assist the king, physically offering the king support or giving him an arm to lean on as the king goes into the temple of his false god. When the king bows down to his false god, Naaman has to bow too. This is not that Naaman wants to worship the false god, but he cannot stand and still help his king. Nor would it be acceptable in any of those cultures for the army’s general to remain standing and have his head above the head of his king. Thus, in order to be the general, Naaman has to bow down.
Naaman asks Elisha to pardon him in this, because he has no intension of worshipping that false god. Naaman wants to do his job, but not to dishonor God. Elisha simply tells Naaman to go in peace, which seems to indicate that Elisha understands Naaman’s request and is allowing him to go with the peace of God upon him.
We learn certainly that Naaman is changed, but we also learn here that anyone who has come to faith in Christ will also be changed.
Saved people worship only the one true God.
As Naaman said in verse 15, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.” Similarly, anyone who truly comes to faith in Jesus Christ will realize that there is no other god in the universe. There is one God, the Lord. You cannot be both a Christian and a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Hindu. Part of trusting in Jesus is forsaking all other religions for saving faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Saved people are grateful to God, but do not try to repay God for grace.
When Naaman tried to give Elisha a gift, Elisha would not receive anything from his hand. It is very good to be grateful to God for saving your soul just as Naaman was grateful to God for his healing. However, we cannot repay even an ounce of what God has done for us.
Imagine for a moment that your favorite musician comes to your house to play for you a private concert. The musician tells you that he or she is doing this out of kindness to you. What would it say to the musician if, at the end of the concert, you offered them a five-dollar-bill? If you did that, you would insult the musician. He or she already has enough money. Your puny little gift would only serve to cheapen the event and rob the musician of his or her kindness.
In our sin against God, we owe an infinite debt. Only the infinitely glorious Son of God, Jesus Christ, could ever pay our debt. For us to think we are going to pay Jesus back for his work is insulting, and it is insulting on a major level. We are to be humbly grateful to Jesus, but we dare not think even for a moment that we are repaying him for his work on the cross.
Salvation always leads to worship.
Naaman wanted to take earth home from Israel to build an altar. This is because, once you are saved by God, you will worship God. No person who has truly had their life changed by God will refuse to worship God. And no person who has been truly changed by God will refuse to worship God in the way that God requires. To the best of their ability, those who have been saved by God will obey the commands of God to worship God.
So, for example, when we tell a new Christian to be a regular attendee in church, we are not telling that person to earn his or her salvation. When we call on believers to be in church, all we are doing is inviting them to do what all believers will naturally do. All who are saved will worship. God commands us to worship together as a body. Thus, if a person is saved, he or she should worship in church. Salvation always leads to worship.
Salvation causes us to examine every aspect of life.
Naaman raised the question about bowing down as he helped his king. Why that question? Naaman was doing what saved people do. When you have been cleansed by God, it will lead you to look at all that you do. Everything you think, everything you enjoy, every part of your job, all of it will be stuff you examine to see if you are doing what pleases God. Saved people examine their lives and look to see if they are able to do what they do and still please their Lord.
Ask yourself if these things are true of you. Christians, have you totally recognized that no other gods exist and that no other religions in the world will lead to salvation other than salvation by grace through faith in Christ? Is your life full of gratitude to Jesus for his work but not full of attempts to repay Jesus? Has your faith led you to genuinely worship Jesus as often as you can? Have you examined all aspects of your life to see if they are honoring to God?
Pastor Travis Peterson 