And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him; and he said, Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; and now, I pray thee, take a present of thy servant.
Naaman has just washed in the Jordan, and his flesh has come back clean. Now he goes back to Elisha, and the verse shows what a healed man does first: he stands, he confesses, and he tries to pay.
The change in Naaman shows in his body before it shows in his words. He had come to Elisha's door as a great man in a chariot.
The result for Naaman was that his flesh came again like the flesh of "a little child." What a marvellous change! The story calls him "a great man" at the beginning. At the end he becomes like "a little child." What is more, a new spirit had taken hold of him. The pride of a great man has given way to the lowliness of a little child. We read, "Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him." He is no longer a great man sitting in his chariot, but a humble man standing before the prophet.
The healing gave him clean skin. His words show he received something more than that.
This, however, is not all. He has believed in his heart; now he confesses with his mouth, "There is no God in all the earth, but in Israel." Not only is he cleansed, but he is brought to know God. "I know," he can say. The gospel that meets our need reveals God to our souls.
Another writer traces the same movement — from the cure to the One who gave it:
As soon as Naaman had experienced this power by simple faith in the divine word, thankfulness brought him before the prophet. He is now put into direct relation, no longer with the work, but with the Person who has accomplished it; he is brought to God.
He does not say it to Elisha alone. His whole travelling party hears it — men who had watched him win battles against Israel.
The one who has received blessing from God is bound to be grateful, and his lips hurry to make their due confession. So we find Naaman returning from the Jordan to the house of Elisha. In front of all his attendants he said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel." That was a great deal for the famous captain to say. He had won victory after victory over that people. But God, not men, was now before his soul, and God had become his light and his salvation. How could he do anything but publicly confess Him!
Earlier this same man had wanted the cure on his own terms.
"Behold, I thought," revealed the pride of a corrupt heart. In the matter of salvation, such a heart would dictate terms to God. But the light of God had still dawned on him. So in the end we hear him confess it: "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel." What an amazing discovery! And in what a way of grace to make it! The only God in all the earth had been found by a poor Gentile leper — found, too, in Israel's land, while Israel's king certainly did not acknowledge Him.
Naaman asks Elisha to accept a present, and Elisha refuses. The refusal protects what Naaman has just received.
In the beginning, Naaman had wanted to give in order to receive; now he wants to give because he has received, but that may not be. He must learn that when God gives, it is to give again, for His riches are inexhaustible. His work is entirely free. He allows nothing that might even give the impression that He is anything other than a free Giver.
Naaman had spent his life in a world where money settled everything.
Elisha refuses the gift in case he should in any way appear to falsify the grace of God in the eyes of this Gentile, who had received the blessing without money and without price. Naaman owned great wealth. He had no doubt picked up the habit of thinking that money could buy anything. He has to learn, as the sinner does today, that some things cannot be bought. There are blessings beyond all other blessings, joys beyond all earthly joys, and the life that is eternal. All the riches of this world cannot buy them. Worse still, those riches may block the road that leads to life and blessing.
- Returned. The healed man goes straight back to the prophet. He no longer rides in his chariot; he stands before him like a servant.
- Known. The cure led him past the gift to the Giver. He is not only clean; he knows God, and can say so: "I know."
- Confessed. Belief in the heart came out of his mouth, in front of his whole company — whatever it cost a famous captain to say it.
- Found. A foreign leper found the only God in all the earth — and found Him in a land whose own king did not acknowledge Him.
- Free. Elisha refuses the payment, so nothing can make the blessing look bought. What God gives, He gives without money — and He gives so that He can give again.
But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none! And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
Naaman has just come up out of the Jordan clean, and he wants to pay for it. What Elisha does with the silver and the gold will shape the God this Syrian soldier carries home.
Naaman's offer is not a bribe. It is thanks. He has confessed the God of Israel in front of his whole company, and now he wants to leave something behind. Elisha still says no, and one writer points to what was at stake.
In his gratitude he would leave a tangible blessing behind him. He had brought ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold and ten changes of clothing with him from Syria. Payment was doubtless his thought when he started out; to leave behind him a grateful offering was now his heart's desire. But the circumstances forbade Elisha to accept it. "As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none." Even strong pressure from Naaman would not make him touch what he had brought. The healing of the Syrian was meant as a picture of completely free grace to people outside Israel. Gold and silver changing hands must not spoil that picture.
Naaman had wealth in abundance, and he had already seen God's power. One commentator names what he still had to learn.
He was already convinced about the power of God. Now he had to learn what His grace was. This is a hard lesson for a proud man to learn. Riches may be money, or fame, or self-righteousness. Naaman had plenty of such wealth, but it did not and could not cure his leprosy. And it certainly cannot atone for a sinner's sins or save his soul. I am sure Naaman learnt the great lesson as he stood before Elisha: God will not sell His blessing. There were two reasons. With all his wealth, Naaman was too poor to buy the blessing, and God was too rich to sell it.
after_note: DISCUSS
Naaman's motive had changed since his first journey. One commentator weighs that change, and says why the prophet still refuses.
He draws near and desires to give Him something, to offer Him a present. This is the devotion of a heart that understands that he owes everything to the God who has delivered him. But despite his insistence, the prophet refuses. In the beginning, Naaman had wanted to give so as to receive; now he wants to give because he has received, but that may not be. He must learn that when God gives, it is to give again, for His riches are inexhaustible. His work is free from start to finish. So He allows nothing that might even seem to give Him a different character.
Elisha does not simply decline the gift. He names his position, and that phrase has a settled meaning.
To stand before another is to place oneself at the other's disposal, to occupy, in fact, the position of a servant. We read, for example, of Gehazi. After he had followed Naaman and obtained from him the talents of silver and the changes of clothing, he went in and "stood before" his master, so taking up his place of service again. It is a blessed position and attitude, because it holds the two great principles of the Christian life: dependence and obedience.
Gehazi runs after Naaman and takes what Elisha refused. The punishment matches the offence.
With a heart untouched by the display of God's grace and power towards this stranger, he only thought how he might use him to his own selfish ends. He was covetous. By deceit and lies he got what he wanted. He did not care that his wicked conduct might confuse Naaman's ideas of grace, and so dishonour the God of Israel. His sinful act might make the Syrian think that after all the gift of God could be paid for, if not purchased. So the punishment that fell on him was severe.
One writer sets Elisha's refusal beside the Lord Jesus, who healed people and then claimed nothing from them.
He claims nothing on the ground of what He did in the way of service. Grace, I may say, would not so dishonour itself. Its nature is to give, and not to receive; to impart to others, and not to enrich itself. The time for healing must not be the time for demanding. Elisha's spirit could not bear the thought of taking money, clothing, sheep and oxen after he had cleansed a leper. And the spirit of the prophet was but the faint breathing of the spirit of the Son.
- Free. God healed Naaman without money. A payment afterwards would have made the cure look bought.
- Freely given. He was too poor to buy the blessing and God too rich to sell it — the gift stays a gift.
- Free to give again. When God gives, it is to give more. His riches are never used up.
- Free servant. Elisha stands before the Lord, at His disposal, with nothing of his own to trade.
- Freely lost. Gehazi took what his master refused. He blurred grace and carried away the leper's disease.