Nearly three thousand years ago there was in the land of Syria a great man named Naaman. He was commander-in-chief of the army, and a mighty warrior—the king’s righthand man in fact. But, alas! that awful disease, leprosy, has fastened on him, and he was a doomed man. No doubt every possible remedy would be tried, but leprosy, God alone could cure, so poor Naaman only got worse.
He is just a picture of what you and are by nature, dear reader; for leprosy is used in the Bible as a type of sin. It is a supreme moment in our history when we learn, deep in our hearts, that only God can meet our case.
But God had His merciful eye on Naaman. One day a little voice said to Mrs. Naaman,
“Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy.”
Ah! that was splendid news. No uncertainty about it, no ifs or buts! But who was the speaker? A little captive Jewish maid. How could she speak with such certainty? I expect she had heard how Elisha had raised to life the Shunamite’s little boy, and made the widow’s oil to increase, and performed other miracles of mercy; and she knew him, I am sure, as the prophet of Jehovah.
Can you speak thus of Jesus? Can you direct poor sinners to Him as the One who will assuredly save them? First of all have you sought and found Him yourself? If you have, you know He can cure the sin-sick soul. If you have not, you need Him as the Great Physician for yourself.
Well, the little maid’s words were carried even to the King of Syria.
“O!” says he; “a capital idea! Go to, go, I will send you to the King of Israel!”
So Naaman came to the king at Samaria, and produced his master’s letter. But note, Naaman had come to the wrong man. Then next, at the word of Elisha, he went to the prophet’s house, and drew up before the door in great pomp. Now he had come in the wrong way.
The only One who can cleanse the soul is Jesus, and the only ones He saves are lost sinners—
“Who have nothing else to plead
But God’s own love,
And their exceeding need.”
Naaman wanted to be cured as a great man, but the greatest have to come to Jesus in just the same way as the least. For king and beggar, there is but one way of blessing. Naaman did not like to be treated like a beggar, so he went away in a rage. But his need still stared him in the face; he was still a leper, so at length he did as the prophet directed, and as he emerged from the waters of Jordan the seventh time, he was a new man— every trace of his leprosy was gone.
Jordan is a well-known type of death. It is only by dying that Jesus could save, and only His precious blood can cleanse from sin.
Dear young reader, have you sought the cleansing you need? I do not ask, “Are you a leper?” because God’s Word tells us that all are defiled by sin; but I do ask, “Are you cleansed yet?”
The Lord Jesus tells us that there were many lepers in Israel at that time, but that only Naaman was cleansed.
O dear reader! many a dear heathen boy and girl are being blessed now: see to it that you who have so many privileges are not left out. Like Naaman, seek the Saviour; seek Him as one who needs Him, who cannot do without Him, and cleansing from all sin will be your happy portion.
He was a leper, and he knew it;
He heard of cleansing, and he sought it;
He disagreed with the treatment, but tried it;
He was immediately cleansed, and confessed it;
He was sincerely grateful, and he showed it.
ML 11/26/1939