LEPROSY- -A SYMBOL OF SIN IN THE BIBLE- -THE STORY OF NAAMAN

LEPROSY

A SYMBOL OF SIN IN THE BIBLE

THE STORY OF NAAMAN

2 KINGS 5:1-14

Introduction:

Naaman was a valiant soldier and captain of the host of the king of Syria. The Scriptures say that he was an honorable man, and implies that he was well off and successful. He had been of great service to his country and therefore, elevated and respected in the sight of the people. In the kings eyes he was a very acceptable prince.

“But he was a leper,” a loathsome disease, which made him a burden to himself. Naaman was as great as the world could make him, and “yet the basest slave would not change skins with him.”

Leprosy in the Bible is a symbol of sin. It is a devastating disease that now has a cure. Let us examine the parallel between sin and leprosy in the Scriptures, and then, let us examine the cure.

I.    LEPROSY, A SYMBOL OF SIN.

A. Leprosy blemishes the appearance of those infected by it.

1. Every man has something in his life that blemishes and diminishes him. Romans 3:12, “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

2. Leprosy attacks the appearance of man.

a. It attacks the hands causing damage to the nerves and tissue of the fingers.

1) Whatever man touches is defiled by his own sin so that everything he loves is affected.

b. Leprosy attacks the feet damaging the nerves and tissue of the toes, thus affecting his ability to walk.

 Sin in the life of a person affects HIS walk in life.

 His personal life is ruled by the vices that they have such as tobacco, alcohol, drugs, etc.

 His life is ruined by immoral practices such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, etc. – marriages destroyed, family relations destroyed.

B. Leprosy destroys the social life of the individual.

1. Open sin in the life of a person makes that person undesirable in society.

a. Drunkenness.

b. Drugs

c. Crime

2. Even with great success, sin can dog the individual with doubts and despair resulting in:

a. Depression.

(1) Sin in the life of a believer brings him down.

(2) He lives a defeated life until that sin has been dealt with before the Lord.

b. Clinical depression.

c. Mental disorders.

d. Suicide

II. THE CURE

A. A cure has been developed for Leprosy and there has always been a cure for sin.

1. Antibiotics have been developed that will cure leprosy within six month from the start of treatment for the younger cases.

2. For the more advanced cases the cure can be effected within two years.

B. The cure for sin is not by human instrumentality.

1. Naaman was directed to the source of the cure, vs. 5-6; Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

2. Man has preconceived ideas, vs. 6-11;

a. Naaman was sent to the wrong person, vs. 6-8; Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

b. Naaman is sent to the prophet of God, vs. 8-11; In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

1. Naaman comes in all of his pride before the prophet, v. 9.

2. The prophet sends a messenger, v. 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.”

a. Naaman’s preconceived ideas, vs. 11-12, “I thought…”

1) “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.”

2) “Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?”

3. A servant’s suggestion, v. 13, “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?”

4. Naaman is humbled and obeys, v. 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.”

Jesus said in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

CONCLUSION

While leprosy is becoming more rare in our world today, sin is still the major problem. The solution is simple. Luke 4:27, “And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.”

There are many sinners in this world and it could be that God has brought you here today that you might be saved, BUT you have to believe trust Christ to be saved. You might want to continue to try to resolve your sin problem by your own efforts, but like Naaman you will just be frustrated in the end.

Jesus said, “I am the way,..” Why don’t you let the Lord take care of your sin problem?