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2 Kings 5
Book of Kings
2 Kings 5:1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great
man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given
deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
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Leprosy = it is a plague
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Lev 13:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and
Aaron, saying,
2 When a man shall have in the skin of
his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot,
and it be in the skin of his flesh like
the plague of leprosy; then he
shall be brought unto Aaron the priest,
or unto one of his sons the priests:
3 And the priest shall look on the
plague in the skin of the flesh: and
when the hair in the plague is
turned white, and the plague in
sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it
is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall
look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
4 If the bright spot be white
in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not
deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be
not turned white; then the priest shall
shut up him that hath the plague seven days:
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of
the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that
is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
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She was saying, If Naaman would go to Elisha he
would be healed
4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that
is of the land of Israel.
5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king
of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six
thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter
is come unto thee, behold, I have there with sent Naaman my servant to thee,
that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
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Recover him = to snatch or destory
7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent
his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth
send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you,
and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel
had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent
thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet
in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of
the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven
times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
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Notice again seven times =
Spiritual
completion
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Wash = bathe
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will
surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and
strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
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I thought. Compare 2 Kings 5:15 = "Now I know".
Human thought and Divine certitude.
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Strike = wave, move, or pass
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of
Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a
rage.
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In a rage = One of eleven rulers offended with
God's servants for speaking the truth.
13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the
prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how
much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the
saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a
little child, and he was clean.
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Came again = tenth miracle of Elisha
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Child = boy
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and
stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all
the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy
servant.
16 But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none.
And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
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Before = A phrase referring to priesthood,
for the sacrifices
17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant
two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt
offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.
18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the
house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in
the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord
pardon thy servant in this thing.
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Simmon = The Assyrian storm-god Ramman
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Worship = bow down himself = leaneth
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The lord pardon = God pardon.
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Some add "I pray thee", but marked "to be
cancelled"
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He was asking Elisha, will God forgive me for
going into house of The Assyrian storm-god
Ramman = other gods?
19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.
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Go in peace = God's servants are not "directors
of conscience", but ministers of His Word.
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To have sanctioned it would have recognized
idolatry.
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To have forbidden it would have put Naaman under
a yoke to Elisha.
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It was for Naaman to decide whether he could do
this thing, and be at "peace".
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A little way = A phrase found only here = a
stone's throw.
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master
hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he
brought: but, as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of
him.
21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him,
he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?
22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now
there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the
prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of
garments.
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Mount Ephraim = There were two schools of the
prophets there: Beth-el and Gilgal.
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This was a lie, Elisha didn't say this
23 And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound
two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them
upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.
24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed
them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.
25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence
comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
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Elisha is asking Gehazi, what have you done?
26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned
again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to
receive garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and
menservants, and maidservants?
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Elisha knew what Gehazi done?
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Gehazi took God's money
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If Elisha had taken the money, he would of put
the money into the house of God
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God healed Naaman not Elisha
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This is example of false pastors, they take
God's money
27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for
ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
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What did God do?
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He went out from his presence a leper as white
as snow.
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Cleave = Elisha's eleventh miracle.
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A leper = One of the nine afflicted with leprosy
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As snow = completely a leper; but not clean
ceremonially.
• Exactly 2520 years from the exile
of Benjamin, Iceland became an independent nation.
•
The first tribe to be
conquered by the Assyrians was Manasseh,
in 745 B.C. Exactly 2520 years later America became a nation on July 4, 1776.
(Leviticus. 26: 28-46) God warned Israel that if they persisted in continually
breaking His Laws, not only would curses come upon them.
He would punish them for seven times, (a time being 360 years, seven times would
be 2520 years) and would banish them from the land of Palestine and scatter them
among the heathens (like lost sheep)
• Study the book: Abrahamic Covenant,
(A study outline of the identity of God's people) By E. Raymond Capt
- page 25
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