9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
One Christian Radio announcer reported prideful people do not pray much because humility is the key ingredient to admitting need and reaching out to God. The same can be said for Naaman and his need for cleansing. But to humble himself to go to a foreign country, a nongovernment official, a servant of the prophet, and to be humiliated to dip seven times in the dirty Jordan river, was too much for General Naaman.
Elisha sent a letter to the king of Israel instructing him to send this general with leprosy to him. Naaman comes to Elisha’s house expecting the treatment he thinks he deserves, but he was offended when only the servant came out to give the message from the prophet.
He was angry that he would be treated in such a manner. It was only after the advice of his own servants that persuaded him to try it. They looked at the facts. He had leprosy. His position would be over. He was told to do something for free and there is no loss to try it. The question was simply whether he would be humble enough to believe and obey it.
So it is with salvation today. No one can come to the Lord his own way, by his own works, or his own position. This is why Jesus highlights the faith of a child over the efforts of religious men. Jesus Himself went places without a bed to lay His head. He came as the humble servant willing to give His life that we might be saved. The path to cleansing comes by the gracious gift of God and putting our faith in Christ. Obeying Him becomes the step of faith.
Why dip seven times? The number seven refers to completion. Seven days in a week became the pattern of God to show things were now completed. This was God's way of meeting the Naaman as a sinner. He needed to not only look at his need but be brought to a point where he turned to God. Repentance also shows we are powerless and He is all powerful.
I got a call from a very prideful woman, used to getting her way. When her husband left her and filed for divorce, her neat world came crushing down. She wanted me to confront to her husband telling him of his Christian duty to return. This experience was used to force her to look at her part in the marriage and her own sinful behavior.
She admitted that she didn't want to join the church or be baptized because she didn't want to do what was expected of members, and she certainly didn't want the embarrassment of being wet in front of a congregation. Baptism by immersion would ruin her hairdo and she would not want to be seen in public in such a condition. But God convicted her of her pride and selfishness.
She submitted to God and cried out to Him for forgiveness. It didn't change her marriage as she hoped, but it changed her. She found the cleansing she needed. She came to the point of honestly praying, “Lord whatever you want me to do, I will do it. If Jesus could publicly go to the cross to die for my sin, I can go into the baptismal waters to tell people that I believe completely in you.” She did join the church and took up tasks and served to the best of her ability.
Cleansing came in response to humbly accepting the gift God gave.
