The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 75

when be ~aith to thee, Wash, and be clee.n?" The means to Nae.man seemed to bo too ;:,ir'.1ple to ans~Pr the end he sought. Had there been somo severe regimen, or some pam;,ul operat!?n, or some co_stly expe~diture, he would _have e.ccepted it more readily; but to was~, seemed too s1~ple. 'Ihe means of spmtual recovery are very simple, But men d~1re them oth~rwise. Hence vain ceremonies, pilgrimages, penances, pro- longed fastmgs, and the hke. "Believe, . . . and thou she.It be saved " says God • man wants t-0 ~o some~hing more. ?· It _demands individual effort. ~. Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times m Jordan according to the saying _of the IJ?an of ~d." Naaman ~ad to go down himsel,f to the river, and to dip him8eif seven times m 1t-s waters. His restoration depended upon his individual effort. And so it is i~ spiritual _ma~ters. Eac~ me.n must believ:e, repent,_and pray, for himself. There 1s no subst1tut10n. 6. It 1s completely efficacious. "His flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child." The means employed for this leper's cure fully answered the end. Every vestige of the disease was gone, and he was restored to more than the vigour of his former manhood. Herein once more, "Believe, . . . and thou shalt be saved." VII. The force OF A NEW CONVICTION. "And he returned to the man of God" etc. Observe: 1. The subject of this new conviction. What was the subject? Th~t the God of Israel was the only God. This new conviction reversed his old prejudices and the religious creed of his country. It was not reasoning, it was not teacbiag; experience had wrou12bt this conviction into his soul. He felt that it was God's band that healed him. 2. The developments of this new conviction. A conviction like this must prove inflnPntial in some way or other. Abstract ideas ma.y lie dormant in the mind, but convictions are ever operative. What did it do in Naama.n? (1) It evoked gratitude. Standing with all his company before the prophet, be avowed his gratitude. "Now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant." Just before his cure he bad anything but kindly feelings towards the prophet. He was full of "ra.ge." New convictions about God will generate new feelings toward ma.n. (2) It annihilated an old prejuciice. Just before bis cure be despised Israel. Jorda.n was contemptible as compared with the rivers of Damascus. But now the very ground seems holy. He asks of the prophet liberty to take away a portion of the earth. "Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth?" A new conviction about God widens the soul's sympathies, raises it above all those nationa.lities of heart that characterize little souls. (3) It inspired worship. "Thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice ... but unto the Lord." His whole nature wa.s so flooded with gratitude to God who had healed him, that his soul went forth in holy worship. Through the force of this new conviction, he felt as St. Paul did when he said, "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss." VIII. The force of ASSOCIATES. N aaman had been in the habit of worshipping " in the house of Rimmon," with hiR master the king. This, probably, he had done for years ,rith other officers of the state. The influence of this he now felt counteracting the new conviction of duty. He felt that, whilst it would be wrong for him to go there any more, yet he could not but go. "In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant," etc. Loyalty and gratitude towards the king contributed much to prevent him renouncing 1111 connection with the house of Rimmon. How often do our associations prevent us from the full carrying out of our convictions I It ought not to be so. " He that loveth father or mother," etc. It is somewhat rema.rkable that the Prophet Elisha., instea.d of exhorting Na.a.man to avoid every appearance of idolatry, said to him," Go in peace." The prophet, perha.ps, ha.d faith in the power of Naaman's conviction to guard him from any moral mischief. IX. The force of SOBDID A VA RICE. Gehazi is the illustration of this. Jn his case we have: 1. Avari<".e eager in its pursuits. "But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha," etc. He saw, as he thought, a fine opportunity for his greed, and he_ eagerly seized it, ".I will run after him." Avarice is one of the most hungry pass10ns of the soul. It 18 never satisfied. Had the avaricious ma.n, like the fa.bled Briareus, a hundred hands, he would employ them all in ministering to himself-Dryden calls it "A cursed hunger of pernicious gold." It is that pauion that makes all men like Gehazi "ron." Men are everywhere out of on. v. 1-27.J THE SECOND IlOOK OF THE KINGS. 113