GREED vs GRACE. 2 Kings 5:15-27 May 29, 2016

Transcription

1 GREED vs GRACE 2 Kings 5:15-27 May 29, 2016 We tend to be selective about history. We celebrate the victory over Germany in WW I, but don't say much about how Germany was forced to pay $31.5 billion in reparations - which devastated the German economy and prevented it from growing. To pay the debt, the new German republic printed tremendous amounts of money to disastrous effect. Consequently, hyperinflation plagued Germany between , with their currency became practically worthless. Those troubles and economic hardships produced the climate for a charismatic demagogue to emerge - one who promised to restore the glory of the Fatherland. We tend to ignore the aftermath of the story if it isn't as rosy as the beginning. We do this with Bible stories as well. For instance, we all know the story of Daniel in the lion's den. We admire his courage and conviction. He refused to stop praying openly to God in defiance of the King's edict. We marvel at how Daniel was kept safe, because God shut the lion's mouth. But we usually stop there - ignoring the part about the king ordering his accusers to be thrown into the same den of hungry lions - along with their wives and children. We love the story of David defeating the giant Goliath, but often refrain from telling the rest of the story - how David hacked and chopped the massive neck of the giant until he severed that enormous head and carried it back to Jerusalem as a trophy of war! We haven't time this morning to recount the many other Bible stories that have unpleasant postscripts. They're stories about God's grace (making us smile) but also of God's judgment (causing us to wince). While we prefer that everyone lives happily ever after, that's not the real world and it's not God's world. While His grace is amazing in its power to deliver and transform, we cannot forget that God hates sin and judges individuals and entire societies because of it. His mercy and his judgment march together in tight formation throughout history. And if we choose to ignore the judgment part, we fail to teach the whole counsel of God and mishandle the Word of truth. And we rob ourselves of the richness and depth of God's eternal truth when we ignore the harsh realities that offend our sensibilities. Our text this morning tells the "rest of the story" concerning Naaman, the Syrian general who was a leper. Obeying the prophet Elisha's instructions, he went down to the river, dipped 7 times, and was restored, with perfect skin - like a baby's - wrinkle free, with no age spots! Naaman's washing in the Jordan was God's way of bringing the man to his knees. He couldn't enter the kingdom of God any other way, but on his knees. And so it is with you and me. If we enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must enter on our knees! God humbled Naaman, but did not humiliate him. (It's kind of like a hospital stay for us in that we'll probably lose our modesty - beginning with those silly gowns that tie in the back - but not our dignity. When we come to Jesus Christ, we're brought to humble submission, but not utterly ashamed. There's much to

2 be learned from this story, so let's continue this fascinating episode in the life and times of Elisha the prophet. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; GRACE Naaman was a poster child of God's amazing grace that transforms a person's life and eternal destiny. The healing that began in Naaman's body quickly reached his mind and heart. Well if you don't believe that I've been redeemed Oh follow me down to that old Jordan stream. I stepped in the water and the water was cold Oh it chilled my body but not my soul. The angels in Heaven done signed my name! In his joy and excitement Naaman could have hurried back home to Damascus, but he didn't. Instead, he made the 30-mile trip, or a two-day journey from the Jordan River to Elisha's home in Samaria. He wanted to return to the prophet to give his testimony, to express his gratitude, and to make a request. HIS TESTIMONY His testimony was: Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; It was a huge step for a pagan, idol worshiper to take - to confess that the God of Israel is the one true and living God! It's a big deal to admit that what you thought you knew about God and how to worship Him was all wrong. The gods that Naaman and his people worshipped were limited and regional. Naturally, he had regarded Jehovah as a local deity, worshipped only by the Jews. Back in 1 Kings 20, the Syrians (Arameans) led by Ben-Hadad lost a battle to the Israelites - a conflict that had been waged in the hills. Because of their perspective on their gods, they figured that Yahweh (Jehovah) must be a god of the mountains. So they changed their strategy to engage Israel not in the hills, but on the plains. God then instructed Elijah to tell king Ahab: "Because the Arameans have said: Yahweh is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys, I will hand over all this great army to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord."(v 28) The Arameans approach had been to manipulate and sidestep and work around their limited, local gods and goddesses. But notice that Naaman says very specifically I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel... This confession to Elisha is the first thing to fall from his lips. It's top priority to the general. His world had been turned upside down - no other God in all the world but Jehovah! He's the God of everywhere - Israel, Syria, Egypt, South Carolina...He didn't even mention his healing. That's significant, for it suggests that Naaman regarded the transformation of his heart and his head more important than his bodily healing. HIS GRATITUDE

3 He also wanted to express his gratitude to the prophet....so accept now a present from your servant. But the man of God refused any gift. But he said, As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it, but he refused. Elisha was in the business of serving the Lord. He couldn't take credit for this miracle. It was God's alone. He didn't need gold and silver - his God (who was supreme over debt, deficits, danger, and death) supplied all his needs. Elisha didn't want the glory. Do you struggle with wanting some credit or recognition for the work you're doing in God's kingdom? Elisha didn't need it or want it. Perhaps another reason he declined was that there was a little slave girl in Damascus who was working for nothing. She's the one who had set this story into motion, without any thought of compensation. For Elisha to accept a gift from Naaman at this point would be a desecration of her pure testimony to the grace of God for her master. By refusing the goods, Elisha preached a powerful and persuasive sermon - the free offer of the gospel. And he was instructing Naaman that from henceforth, the general too should have a different mindset about this world's goods and this world's values - just as you and I, as followers of Jesus Christ, know that seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness is the road we must travel. HIS REQUEST Then he made a request. Then Naaman said, If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD. In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter. He said to him, Go in peace. (vs ) Need more evidence of Naaman's transformation from haughtiness to humility? Note the five times he refers to himself as "your servant" in this brief passage. That's quite a shift from the arrogant ranting of verses He was a radically changed man, with a sense of holy ground connecting the soil of Israel with the God of Israel. The dirt was a tangible reminder of his experience with God. He knew full well that Jehovah is the God of all the earth, and isn't tied to any particular turf. He'd already testified to that. But he wanted a visible tie with the community of faith once he got back home. Others have engaged in soil transport. After the American Revolution, Lafayette carried home enough American soil for a grave, and was buried in it in (Barbara Tuchman, The First Salute, p. 292) His second request had to do with his new faith and a conflict he anticipated in the workplace. He asked for pardon in advance. Accompanying his king to the pagan temple for worship was part of his job. He wanted Elisha to know that he wouldn't be worshiping the false god Rimmon, but he'd be required to enter the temple. Some might see that as compromise, but this converted foreigner was miles ahead of many in Israel at the time. His tender conscience felt the rub between his allegiance to Yahweh and the demands of the workplace.

4 GREED Then the story takes a turn that causes us to wince. Gehazi was Elisha's servant. He was to Elisha what Elisha had been to his mentor and master Elijah. He had seen and heard his master decline the gifts Naaman offered. But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him. So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master has sent me to say, There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing. And Naaman said, Be pleased to accept two talents. And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. What a sad contrast between the converted pagan and the perverted, prevaricating Israelite. Gehazi coveted what Elisha refused, then invented a story to tell Naaman, suggesting it was Elisha's idea. By implicating his master in the scam, he undermined Elisha's word and reputation as a prophet. But Gehazi's greatest offense was in distorting the truth about Jehovah. Gehazi's greed made Him look like all the other deities of the ancient near east. Blinded by greed, Gehazi unwittingly tried to undo what God had done. God wanted Naaman to know his free grace, but Gehazi put a price on God's goodness. The God of all the earth didn't accept bribes; He couldn't be manipulated by money and wouldn't accommodate human pride. His grace was utterly free. Yet Gehazi suggested otherwise. Gehazi's greed and deception must have confused Naaman. Why had Elisha - so adamant before - changed his mind? Apparently Naaman did have to pay something for a relationship with Israel's God. Apparently Israel's God wasn't much different from other gods. Apparently Elisha owned a franchise on the grace of God and could charge for dispensing it. Fast forward 800 years and hear the words of the Apostle Paul pleading with Christians in Galatia to get this straight: salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. "Yet I say that if I, or an angel from Heaven, were to preach to you any other Gospel than the one you have heard, may he be damned! You have heard me say it before and now I put it down in black and white may anybody who preaches any other Gospel than the one you have already heard be a damned soul! (Gal. 1:8-9 J. B. Phillips) This angry tone, this righteous indignation is aimed at any and all who argue that salvation is achieved by Jesus plus something - Jesus plus circumcision, Jesus plus observing Moses' Law, Jesus plus good works, Jesus plus the sacraments.

5 By his actions, Gehazi attacked the very heart of the gospel. The text says that his actions sprang from a feeling that Elisha had "spared" Naaman from paying anything. Other translations say he thought that Elisha let Naaman "off lightly" or was "too easy" on him. This attitude was precisely how the scribes and Pharisees raged about Jesus. They constantly complained about him eating meals with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners of all kinds. It's why they castigated him for healing a man born blind, arguing that he'd been born in sin. And when he pardoned the woman caught in adultery, they felt he was too easy on her - that he let her off lightly - that he spared her. And that very attitude was shown by the older brother in Jesus' story of the Prodigal Son. He deeply resented the younger brother who had messed up so bad, and had came slinking back to the farm. He was angry that his father would celebrate the younger son's return - and thus let him off easy. Gehazi, the older brother, the scribes, the Pharisees were all in the same boat. They were too blind to see what the Jewish slave girl in Damascus, Elisha, Jesus, and the prodigal son's father saw. They didn't see a poor sinner critically in need of healing, cleansing, friendship and welcome. They didn't see the free and abundant grace of God. They didn't see "Where sin abounded, grace abounded more" (Rom. 5:20). [Mark Belz, A Journey to Wholeness, p. 98] Gehazi paid a grave price for his greed and distortion of grace. He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, Where have you been, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant went nowhere. But he said to him, Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever. So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow. (25-27) Elisha transferred Naaman's leprosy to Gehazi. How ironic that the condition that plagued the outsider was now afflicting the insider. Gehazi was a child of the covenant and in a favored position as the servant of the great prophet Elisha. The outside Syrian Naaman desperately needed God's grace. Now Gehazi needed it badly. And praise God! For the good news is available to both insiders and outsiders. God disciplines his children, but His mercy knows no end. It appears that Elisha retained Gehazi as his servant, because he's identified in chapter 8. Maybe he was healed by then, but whether healed in this life or the next, as a child of God he would always be under the sovereign mercy of his Heavenly Father. Discipline from God's hand is to teach us and to restore our souls. Gehazi learned a hard lesson, but he was no foreigner to grace. He had seen it transform others, and he would experience it. He would never be a great prophet like his master who had once been a servant to another great prophet. The Spirit of Elijah would not rest upon him. But God would not forsake him - He never forsakes his own. FINAL THOUGHTS God's Grace

6 God's Glory God's Good News Our Gratitude When greed vies with grace in our hearts, may grace prevail - like a river!