Douglas Jacoby Podcast

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

• CLEAN 21, The Wealthy Shunammites’ Son = also OT character study 64.
• Yesterday we saw how the prophet Elijah saved the life of the son of the Widow of Zarephath. Today we will look at a similar account—and it’s easy to confuse the two!—involving Elijah’s successor, Elisha.
• This woman is probably younger than the widow of Zarephath. Her husband is still living, and out in the fields working, probably as a supervisor. That makes more sense, since they were wealthy. But even wealthy persons have problems, suffer tragedies, and need God.
• Perhaps the woman is the main character because the money came from her family. At any rate, she eclipses her husband.

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-37; 8:1-6

• The couple are friends and supporters of the prophet Elisha -- and his ministry.
• The couple ups their game: hospitality will now include a room (v.10). It makes us think of the guest room Paul anticipates Philemon will provide.
• They were a very giving couple. Elisha wishes to reciprocate, to give them a precious gift for all their kindness (v.14).
• Quite naturally, the woman cannot believe her ears (v.16)! Her dream of being a mother (again?) has died, or lain dormant. Now the Lord is revivifying it.
• Barrenness is a common theme in the Bible. Just think of all the older women who were enabled to conceive (think Sarah and Elizabeth).
• This child wasn’t conceived of the Holy Ghost! Since the baby came a year later, she and her husband obviously took action sometime in the three months after Elisha made the promise.
• Now the scene is several years later (the child can talk (v.19) – perhaps he is two or three years old).
• Notice how the father delegates the care of his son to a servant, and then his wife. Was he overcome with worry, or too busy to help, or overconfident that the child’s medical complaint was minor?
• Just imagine what it must have been like to watch your child’s life slip away, while you were holding it in your lap (v.20)!
  • Those who have lost a child (miscarriage, car accident, cancer, suicide...) face overwhelming and heavy sadness.
  • Sometimes we lose our "spiritual" children. We helped them to become Christians, and we invested in their lives. When they turn back from following Christ, the disappointment and grief can really set us back.
• Then something really surprising happens.
• The surprise is not that she turned to the prophet for help, but that she has completely bypassed her husband (v.22-23)!
• Gehazi seems clueless as to what’s happening, as well as to her deeper emotional state (v.27), which is not all that surprising, since at first Elisha himself hasn’t fathomed the situation.
• It is for the woman to alert them to the horror of the situation.
• The woman will not leave Elisha. He is her connection with God, her source of hope!
• Gehazi simply doesn’t have the spiritual power to bring back the child (v.31).
• The child is resuscitated – or reanimated (vs.32-25)!
• Gehazi is still useful, even if he is slower on the uptake than his master.
• She has her life back (v.37)! Her shattered dreams have been repaired.
• It seems the story is over – but then four chapters later she reappears (8:1-3).
• Elisha stays in touch. Or maybe it’s simply that she knew who to turn to if she really needed help again…
• This is after 2 Kings 5, where Gehazi received the leprosy of Naaman.
• Her family, her household, has already been restored; now it’s her house (2 Kings 8:1-3). People first, then things.
• What a remarkable story! But what makes it remarkable isn’t the plot, the persons, or even the reanimation. It’s God.

Application

• Being healthy and whole isn’t just the absence of impurity. It involves your key relationships, and, to a much lesser extent, your possessions. Nothing is more important than relationships. What relationships need restoring in your life?
• Like the woman, we need to know what’s out of place, where it hurts, what needs to be restored, before we can feel wonderful and clean and in God’s presence.
• Do you relate more to the woman, to her husband, to Gehazi, or to Elisha?
• What will you be willing to do today to have a full, godly, wholesome life?

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

• Reanimation = back from the dead.
• Why this is important will be explained more fully in the 10th reanimation podcast.
• How does this tie in with the theme of purity? Keep in mind that in Jewish thought, death is associated with uncleanness.
• Some positive feedback: "I'm enjoying CLEAN in '17. Very needed lessons. I've often wondered if impurity is like a story I once heard about a dirty river. The teller of the story said that once pollutants stopped being poured in the river, the river over time 'got pure' again, which is such a hope of mine, as I've struggled to live purely during my whole Christian life. Thank you again. Life giving-rebukes these are!"

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 4:34-35; Luke 16:29-31; Luke 4:25-26 

• This miracle and the next are very similar: children of older parents being brought back to life. There are multiple parallels between the lives and miracles of Elijah and his protégé and successor, Elisha.
• Sidon (v.9) is in modern Lebanon, well north of the land of Israel.
• Elijah asks for water, then bread. It seems she fears he may soon ask her for something she doesn’t have.
• Notice the defeatist attitude of the widow (v.12).
• Elijah requests food (v.13). Often the Lord asks us to take action – to do something specific – before he grants our wish.
• The supply of flour and oil  -- essentially, the basic stuff of mealtime – will not run out, as long as it is needed (v.14). God is not a stingy giver.
• Some time later there is another problem: The woman’s son is dying (v.17). The brain and heart may still be working, but every outward indication is that he has given up the ghost.
• Or not. He may already be dead.
• This is a triple tragedy:
  • As an outsider to Israel, she would normally have little access to the blessings of being a member of God’s people, worshipping at this temple, sharing in the heritage and tradition of the Jews, and so on.
  • She has lost her husband. It would have been hoped the son would grow up to be her protector and provider.
  • And now she has lost her son, too. Quite possibly the widow is now childless. Maybe her relations died in a war, or through famine or disease. (I say that because it seems she has no support group—such as would have been provided by a network of children and grandchildren.)
• Yet God specializes in impossible situations!
• The seems to be a sort of resuscitation ritual (vs.19-22).
  • See 2 Kings 4:34-35.
  • This procedure is accompanied by prayer.
• The miracles confirms the prophet’s status (v.24).
• At various times in the Bible miracles confirm the spoken word of God – or perhaps we could say they confirm the speaker. (See Acts 14:4; Heb 2:4; Exod 4:5; and esp. Luke 16:29-31.) Note: Miracles never confirm the written word of God.
• Not only does the child have a new lease on life, but his mother also does. She transitions from hopelessness to hope.
• Jesus points to this account in his opening sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4:25-26).
  • There were many widows in need in Elijah’s time, but he did not work wonders for them. Jesus, too, healed or exorcized or reanimated only a small percentage, or fraction of a percent, of those in desperate straits in his day. His purpose was far more to preach than to work miracles.
  • God loves Gentiles, too.

For us

• God meets our needs.
• Or, if we have suffered for some time, he sends a friend to bring relief.
• Obviously there are exceptions, but the real point isn’t about miracles or even getting our prayers answered. It’s about learning what kind of a God we serve. It’s about coming to grips with his character.
• He reanimates dead hopes and restores shattered dreams!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Hebrew & Greek words:

• chuldah = mole. See the Huldah Gates (entrance into Temple precinct).
• nevi'ah = prophetess (Greek prophêtis)
• navi' = prophet (Greek prophétēs)

Prophetesses of the Bible:

• Old Testament
  • Miriam (Exod 15:20)
  • Deborah (Judg 4:4)
  • Huldah (2 Kings 22:14-20)
  • Isaiah's wife (Isa 8:3)
  • Traditional extras (in Judaism): Sarah, Abigail, Esther
• New Testament
  • Anna (Luke 2:36)
  • Philip's daughters (Acts 21:9)
  • See also Acts 2:17-18; 1 Cor 11:4-5.
• False prophetesses
  • Noadiah (Neh 6:14)
  • "Jezebel" (Rev 2:20)

Text: 2 Chron 34:8-28 (selections)

What we learn about Huldah:

• She is one of three named prophetesses in the O.T.
• She was married, from a prominent family, and "high up" in the hierarchy.
• She realizes the spiritual seriousness of the situation, and responds accordingly.
• She's willing to convey challenging words to the king himself.
• The king listens to her (2 Chron 34:29-35:19). He respects her.

What we learn about God:

• God can speak authoritatively through a woman just as easily as through a man. (Huldah's message back to the king read and feel every bit as serious and authoritative as the words of Jeremiah!)
• He holds us responsible for our knowledge of his Word. When we learn the truth, Yahweh expects us to act.
• We are to do what is right, whether or not we are "successful." Josiah's revival movement was a case of "too little, too late." Still the Lord was pleased that he listened to Huldah and strove for righteousness and obedience to God's Law.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Hebrew words:

• Mikhál = brook
• 'Avigail = my father is joy
• Bath-sheva' = daughter of the oath

David's wives:

• Ahinoam, Maachah, Haggith, Abital, Eglah
• Michal, Abigail, Bathsheba—and possibly more
• Note: this does not include concubines (secondary wives)

Michal: 1 Sam 14:50; 18:20, 28; 19:11-17; 25:44; 2 Sam 3:13; 6:14-15; 16-23; 1 Chr 15:29

What we learn about Michal:

• She is Saul's daughter; there was a political dimension to the marriage.
• She loves David, but is tempted to control him.
• Michal she has a sharp tongue, and can be sarcastic.
• She is scandalized by his expressive worship, despising her husband. Yet her critical attitude is based on her opinion. David did not dishonor anyone.
• David seems to respond by withdrawing conjugal love from her—unless the Lord was disciplining her by denying her children. (I lean towards to former possibility.)
• Are we sometimes like Michal, embarrassed by others' expressions of religious fervor, or evangelistic bluntness, or strong biblical convictions? Do we care too much about our own reputation?

Abigail: 1 Sam 25:14-42; 30:5, 18

What we learn about Abigail:

• She is beautiful and intelligent.
• Whereas her husband lacked character and integrity, she was abounding in these qualities.
• Like Michal, she can think on her feet—and she is discreet.
• Like Michal, Abigail was connected to a controlling, ungodly, manipulative man.
• She is diplomatic—a "defuser," not a "detonator." (Most men greatly need such voices of reason in their lives.)
• She is "rescued" twice by David. Interestingly, Michal too is removed from David, then restored.
• How about us? Are we wise, able to defuse sensitive situations? And if for the moment we are locked into a negative or abusive relationship, are we patiently waiting for the Lord to bring about a change?

Bathsheba: 2 Sam 11-12; 1 Ki 1-2

• She's the most famous (and beautiful) of his wives.
• For more about David and Bathsheba, please listen to the amazing keynote message on Bathsheba given by Sara Barton at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures, 2 May 2019.

What the three wives have in common:

• All were married to other men, not only to David.
• Abigail and Bathsheba marry David after their husbands die. Michal doesn't marry as a widow, but she too is separated from her husband and remarried.
• These remarkable women learn the political game. Bathsheba apparently learned quickly. Michal was less successful. Abigail is already exhibits maturity and wisdom when we first meet her.

What we learn about God:

• God works for the good, altering our life circumstances. This is obvious in Abigail's life, and could have been in Michal's, too. Abigail is the wiser of the two. To some degree, God works things out for us in proportion to the wisdom and spirituality of our decisions. Although Bathsheba must have experienced a good deal of pain, God works through her life, too.
• God isn't necessarily on the side of the rich and powerful. Nabal dies for his wickedness. So does Saul. David is condemned for his adultery and murder. God's righteousness is always more important than the things we tend to value: power, comfort, pleasure...
• Women are important characters on the world stage, valued and loved in the grand scheme of God's wise and providential will. Let's determine to pay attention to all the men and women of the Bible. We just might learn something.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

• Our O.T. character today is a minor character. And yet doesn't mean he isn't important.
• The relationship between David and Jonathan (Saul's son, next in line for the throne) was intimate.
• Jonathan's son becomes disabled -- but this is not what matters most. Rather, what we are about to study is an excellent illustration of grace.
• 2 Sam 4:4 — Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
  • Distressing news led to his nurse dropping him. (Reminds us of death of Eli on hearing another battle report.)
  • Escaping potential assassins, nurse runs
  • Source of medical condition = human error.
    • Born blind v. blinded in acid attack
    • Born with heart problem (Kurka) v. asbestos / careless company
  • Quite possibly that in time he couldn’t even remember ever being able to walk without assistance or crutches.
• Image of grace, not just for medical situations
  • Mental health issues
  • Trauma (e.g. PTSD or abuse)
  • Sin cripples us

9:1 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”

• Lo-debar means nothing.
• This underscores the humble situation of Mephibosheth.

9:5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” 7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” 8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”

• Mephibosheth need not fear; David is not assassinating potential political rivals -- quite the opposite!
• "Dead dog" => humility

9:9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. 10 And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table.”

• There is no merit in the case of Mephibosheth. Disability brings no entitlements.
• Provision in perpetuity
• The "king's table" (provision, not necessarily presence)

Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

• Grace brings us to the King’s presence.
• Sons (and daughters) of the King!
• Mephibosheth is no longer a boy -- he is a grown man and a father.

16:1 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.” 3 And the king said, “And where is your master's son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’” 4 Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” And Ziba said, “I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

• Ziba shows grace to the king and his men -- or is this disingenuous?
• Mephibosheth has political aspirations -- really? (Is Ziba speaking the truth?)
• Compare Mephibosheth's disposition to that of Adonijah in 1 Kings 2:15.

16:24 And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. 25 And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame. 27 He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. 28 For all my father's house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?” 29 And the king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home.”

• Mephibosheth's lack of grooming indicates his grief over the coup, not giddy expectancy that his own situation now stands to gain.
• Betrayal
  • Deception
  • Slander
  • How do we react when this happens to us?
• Is Ziba speaking the truth?
• Division of property is redolent of 1 Kings 3:26 (“Let him take it all” —  like the prostitute who spoke honestly)

Grace

• Mephibosheth shows grace.
  • Doesn’t try to fight his steward, who betrayed him
  • Could also have been bitter towards his nurse. But he models a better way.
• Received grace, and therefore shows grace?
  • David -> Mephibosheth
  • Mephibosheth -> Ziba
• The story of Mephibosheth is there to answer a question: What sort of man should be the ruler of God's people? What kind of a man deserves to be king? The one who realizes he too is crippled in both feet. The world has a tendency to exalt bullies. See 1 Sam 8.
  • As "Son of David," Jesus treats the lame outcast poor marginalized in the same way.
  • Luke 14:14; 18:14.
  • The human tendency is to turn a story of humility into one of personal triumph. (How a David reaches out to a Mephibosheth!
• What should the church look like? It should picture restored humanity. A church of elevators. Not going up if someone is left behind. Walk alongside those who are lame. Yet to find healing.
• Examples of disabled persons who respond graciously.
  • Richard Turner, card mechanic, blind yet grateful for his condition (Watch Dealt).
  • My friend Tom, who thanks God for his Multiple Sclerosis every day.
  • A middle-aged Christian leader recently stricken with diabetes -- and yet does not evince even a trace of bitterness.
  • A one-legged Christian sister, wounded in drive-by shooting, who models joy and love (not self pity).
• Our own suffering may lead to our developing empathy -- to a ministry (see 2 Cor 1).

Conclusion

1. Life isn't always fair. (In fact, it usually isn't fair.)
2. The point is not to receive justice or equality. In Mephibosheth's case, the point was not to receive healing, but to draw near to God -- to receive and model grace.
3. We are all needy.
   1. Disabled by damage inflicted by others -- or by myself
   2. Handicapped by ignorance
   3. Crippled by sin
4. Show grace; let things slide.
   1. Mephibosheth does not demand equality (50/50 split with Ziba), nor in fact anything at all (he is happy for Ziba to have it all). His life is not defined by material possessions.
   2. Example: Christians and lawsuits.
      1. To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? - 1 Cor 6:7
      2. The early Christians did not take people to court (see NT chapter notes on 1 Cor 6) -- especially one another!
5. Care for the needy, the infirm, and the disabled.

Further

• Meriba’al seems to have been Mephibosheth's original name (1 Chr 8:34; 9:40). Mephibosheth = "from the mouth of shame" (Hebrew).
• Yet there is no shame in being needy, nor in receiving help from others.
• For, as Jesus said, "Freely you have received; freely give" (Matt 10:8).
   
• Listen also to the podcast on Jonathan, father of Mephibosheth, and David, his benefactor.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

• Previous studies in Section II (Leprosy) have studied four individual lepers. Today we will consider the lives of four lepers all together.
• Although these men are not healed of their leprosy, they end up in a positive, victorious place nonetheless.

Scriptural study: 2 Kings 6:24-31; 7:3-5, 8-10.

• Siege conditions in Samaria: famine!
• Cannibalism was forewarned in Deut 28—and mentioned several times in scripture.
• This is a desperate situation!
• The king’s anger is misdirected—towards Elisha—who soon predicts and end to the famine (7:1)
• We’re skipping the story of the faithless captain, as well as other important parts of the story, as these lie outside the text we are examining.
• Meet our lepers—four in all (7:3).
• Notice the role of reason. They have nothing to lose!
• Instead of encountering the Syrians, the camp has been abandoned -- full of food, supplies, money...
• A sumptuous feast was just a short walk away! (The Great Banquet is potentially as close to your neighbors as the distance to your home!)
• Their initial reaction is to horde. Yet, as with the message of Christ, the good news is to be shared!
• Since others are starving, not sharing would be a culpable, criminal behavior (v.9).
• They make a reasonable decision: to share.
• The matter is time sensitive. People are starving. People are dying.
• They came… and told… (v.10). Like the words of John: “Come… and see…” (1:39,46; 4:29; 11:34)
• Although these men were not cured of their leprosy, they are still winners:
  • Their lives are saved.
  • They purposed to save the lives of many others, and they saved a city.

Application

1. We are but poor lepers. We have nothing to lose!
2. We are in sin if we are keeping the message to ourselves.
3. People are starving for the truth, for an a authentic relationship with God.
4. Let’s share the good news: “Come and see!”
5. It’s time sensitive!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Scriptural study: 2 Chron 26:15b-21a

• The highly successful king lets success go to his head (vs.15-16).
• Pride goes before a fall. Prov 16:18. Deut 8:11-20 (please read Deut 8 if this is unfamiliar to you). The king becomes overconfident.
• His specific sin:
  • He disobeyed the law of priesthood (he is not a priest, as a king of Judah).
  • He arrogated to himself the priestly prerogative—thus his sin was arrogance.
• See the courage of Azariah (vs.17-18).
  • His concern is for God’s honor—a strong contrast with Uzziah’s agenda.
  • If the priests had deferred to Uzziah, giving in to fear, how could the people have been expected to challenge their leader--to hold him accountable to the Torah?
• Though totally outnumbered (80:1), the king will not listen. See Prov 26:16.
• His response is emotional (v.19). He is defensive. We could say he was "incensed." Yet his anger is misdirected anger.
• Leprosy breaks out on his forehead (where strict Jews actually tied small boxes containing scripture).
• This isn’t just a pimple… It’s leprosy!
• The priests hurriedly escort the king out of the Temple (v.20).
• Uzziah himself is eager to make his exit—but not so much because he is a humble man. Now the priests’ agenda and his own coincide—that’s all!
• Excluded from the Temple – not just from serving as a priest, which was never his right, but excluded from going up to the Temple, as any Jew was expected to do at least three times a year.
• His arrogant behavior affected him from that day till the day of his death!

CHALLENGE

• Obey what is written! You are not an exception. The Torah did not allow Uzziah to serve as a priest, to march into the inner Temple—and there are places we are not permitted to go, either.
• For leaders, especially: Accept input humbly, and seek feedback from those you know will speak candidly.
• Don’t assume, just because God seems to be smiling on you now (things are going well), that you no longer need to work diligently to be spiritual. The situation could change. Just as we must work out our salvation (Phil 2:12), so we must work to stay humble and open—teachable.

Further study: Old Testament Character Podcast 39, on Uzziah.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

• Gehazi is the third leper in the Bible.
• He appears in 2 Kings 4, 5, 8.
• Chapter 4 gives us insight into the kind of person Gehazi was: not as spiritually aware as Naaman.

Scriptural study: 2 Kings 5:15-27

• Elisha will not be enriched by a Gentile (although now Naaman is within the covenant). Similar to Abraham’s stance in Gen 14.
• Notice how he is critical of Elisha, his master.
• In running after Naaman, Gehazi isn't seeking something for Elisha, but for himself alone.
• A total lie (v.22)! Knowing Naaman’s new-found respect for Yahweh and his prophets, this particular lie was intended to manipulate.
• He asks for just a small fraction of what Naaman has (only 10% of the silver). This is probably intended to trigger a more generous counteroffer. And it does (v.23).
• Gehazi secretes his loot on the back side of a hill, out of the line of sight of Elisha.
• His actions should make us all think: What behaviors do we conceal?
  • What things do we do only when there is no one around to see us? (Forbidden fruit? Sneaking food… or something else that we would be ashamed of reaching for were there witnesses?)
  • Or, on the other side, do we act like Christians only when there are witnesses to our behavior (like praying only when someone is watching)?
• And he tells another lie (v.25).
• But Elisha is God’s man, a prophet, and has supernatural insight (v.26).
• He knows the things Gehazi plans to purchase with his ill-gotten gain (v.27). His materialism is redolent of Ecc 2.
• And so Gehazi becomes a leper, a divine punishment.
• This will affect his descendants. (“Forever” normally means without cessation within a particular frame of reference. No lepers today are descended from Gehazi, as far as we know.)

Challenges

• Am I behaving furtively or sneakily? Is there something I'm hiding?
• Similar to Miriam and Aaron vis-a-vis Moses, Gehazi has a critical spirit towards his master. Am I harboring a critical spirit?
• Are there traces of materialism or envy in my heart? (Ecclesiastes 4:4)
• Is there any deceit in my life? Am I living a double-life in any sense at all?
• Consider the long-term, lifelong consequences of my actions!
• Fortunately, it wasn’t the end for Gehazi.
  • We encounter him one last time in the OT in 2 Kings 8.
  • So perhaps, like Naaman’s leprosy, his affliction was lighter than full-blown leprosy; he could still go about his daily work.
• But that’s not a rationalization for his sin, only recognition that the Lord tempered his punishment of Gehazi, the Bible’s third leper.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Scriptural study: 2 Kings 5:1-19

• Note: Naaman is also mentioned in the NT (Luke 4:27).
• Syria = Aram = Syria, not Assyria
• His qualities:
  • Leadership
  • Courage
  • And the flaw of leprosy (both visible and humiliating).
• Physical and spiritual health are found in the land of Israel (not Syria, where false gods are worshipped).
• See how God works through circumstances, through people, through conversations!
• Naaman is willing to pay! He knows that cleansing is worth it! (Do we?)
• He proceeds to the king of Israel, to whom this looks like a trap.
• Elisha finds out what has happened, and invites Naaman to come to him (v.8).
• Elisha's instructions are humbling. In the presence of Naaman's entourage, to follow the prophet's instructions would have been humiliating.
• Instead of responding in humility, Naaman has a strong and negative emotional reaction. Furthermore, his reasoning is defective.
• He received some sound counsel – again, from a servant (v.13). Notice the role servants play, as opposed to the roles of the powerful!
• The miracle leads to his conversion.
• It is also a nice prefiguring of baptism, as the early Christians did not fail to notice (Irenaeus of Lyon, fragment 34).
• He was probably already circumcised so didn’t need to be circumcised again!SeeCircumcision in ancient Syria.
• Naaman requests a double load of Israelite dirt – so that he may worship "in" the land of Israel.
• The problem of his accidental bowing when his master enters the temple of the god Rimmon could be a problem, but Elisha tells him to go in peace.

Application

• Cleansing comes when we obey God’s message.
• God’s messengers are often humble persons. Don’t be too proud to listen.
• When we are cleansed, the proper response is a life of devotion towards God.
• All of us who are true Christians have been cleansed from spiritual leprosy.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

• 19 lepers are healed in the Bible, several in the OT and even more in the NT (though there's no healing of lepers in John and Acts).
• Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) can be cured, with multi-drug therapy -- and cheaply!
• The first leper in the Bible was Moses’s sister, though you could also argue it was Moses himself (Exod 4:6).
• In the case of 3 of our lepers, the person begins healthy, and then contracts leprosy suddenly, as a punishment for sin. That is not the normal order: when we meet the leper, he or she is already leprous, and then is healed.

Scriptural study: Numbers 12:1-15

• It seems Moses had taken a second wife, unless Zipporah wasn’t a full Midianite. Aaron and Miriam are miffed!
• Notice the jealousy. “And the Lord heard it.” Nothing we say, or even think, escapes God’s notice.
• V.3 is a hyperbolic statement. The point isn’t about how humble Moses was. It’s about the contrast between him and his older sister.
• The Lord sets up a four-way meeting.
• God’s anger was justified. Miriam should have been afraid to speak up.
  • Yes, God had spoken through her. Technically, Miriam and Aaron were prophets, too.
  • But it's not such a great comparison since God spoke face to face with Moses.
  • Besides, Moses was humble -- in this instance he wasn't the problem.
• What was the real issue? Something else (Cushite wife -- they didn't like her)
• Punishment of leprosy (v9). How horrible!
• Notice that Aaron feels the punishment – When one part suffers, they all suffer. A close-knit family.
• Notice also the reversal of the normal chain of communication:
  • Usually God speaks to Moses, and then Aaron relays that message to the people (Exod 7:1)
  • But now it is Aaron speaking to Moses, who in turn beseeches God. Sin can cause all sorts of inversions.
• Though Miriam is punished
, Aaron is the one who seems to have a more humble attitude.
• Moses cares for her (“O God, please heal her—please.”) The text implies that Miriam was healed, though we do not read of this explicitly.
• Yet Miriam still has to go outside the camp. Uncleanness brings about a separation.
• There's no exception because she’s a big-time leader. One standard for all!
• The punishment is temporary, but it slows down the people of God.
• Our sin affects the body of Christ. It affects our relationships, and never more so than when there is ongoing sin in a leader’s life. His or her sin can affect the entire body.

Application
What can we learn? How does this relate to our lives—and our desire to be clean in the presence of God?

• Jealousy, rivalry, envy, resentment: let them never control our lives as God’s people!
• Guilty conscience: affects sleep and thus health.
• Bitterness and a critical can lead to changes in our physical appearance, our behavior (esp. in relationships) and how others perceive us.
  • Usually sickness doesn’t indicate sin (John 9:1-2), but it may in some cases (psychosomatic connection). In Miriam’s case, it was a punishment.
  • But the leprosy of Miriam also reflected the onset of spiritual decay and dysfunction that come from tolerating sin, including sinful attitudes.
• Inward focus: We don’t go out so much, get exercise. Nor do we want to be with people.
• Sin blunts our effectiveness as ambassadors of Christ.