Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 5:13
And his servants came near, and spoke unto him, and said, 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?
13. his servants came near ] As the chief ministers of the king are called ‘servants’ though they probably are of distinguished rank; so the servants of Naaman were probably persons nearly his equals in everything except reputation, and so they could come and speak freely to him, without fear of giving offence.
My father ] One of them of course was spokesman for the rest. There is no other instance where servants address their master in such terms. Elisha’s exclamation when Elijah was taken away from him does not come into comparison. Joseph says (Gen 45:8) that God has made him a father to Pharaoh, but this is not quite the same sort of relationship. The word however, which because it is unusual some have endeavoured to explain as a corruption, indicates the affectionate relations which existed between Naaman and those about him, and prepares us for his ready listening to their persuasion.
some great thing ] They are thinking perhaps of some deed of prowess, befitting the ‘mighty man of valour’, or some fatiguing journey by way of pilgrimage.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2Ki 5:13
And his servants came near, and spake unto him.
Naaman, a type of the world
The Syrian Naaman, whose story is contained in the chapter from which our text is taken, was a type of the world. As race answereth to face in water, so the heart of man to man; and we cannot read this story without discovering in it the history of ourselves. It needs no argument to convince men that they are sinners, They all acknowledge it–at times with sorrow and grief. They feel the corruption of their own hearts, how incapable they are to live up to their own standard, much more to attain perfection. While they think they are still masters, they have became slaves, and sin holds them in an inexorable grasp; its chains are iron. You have all seen such a man, perhaps the intemperate, striving with tears and sighs against the evil that beggars his family and ruins himself, and alas! how often striving in vain. Then perhaps, when you have found how vain is human help, when you have learned by painful experience how true is that Scripture doctrine of man s inability to reform and save himself, you take up your Bible or you go to church, with the inquiry in your heart, if not on your lips, what must I do to be saved? Go, wash in Jordan seven times, is the reply you hear. Repent of your sins, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; use the means of grace God has placed in your hands, the sacraments and ordinances of the Church. Like Naaman, you are wroth, and go away. You thought surely the prophet would come out to you. You expected, or at least you wished, some miraculous call–that there might be some wonderful interposition of Providence on your behalf; that, like St. Paul, you might see a light from heaven or hear a voice; that, like Cornelius, you might see a vision, or, like the wife of Pilate, dream a dream. So doing, you would give the true reason of your present refusal and delay. You would answer the question of Naamans servants My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? Simply to wash and be clean, simply to repent and believe, to seek grace in the waters of baptism, or in the broken body and shed blood of their dying Lord, or in the laying on of hands, gives them no credit. It adds nothing to their glory; it undervalues, as they think, the Abana and Pharpar of their love. It mortifies their vanity and humbles their pride; for it shows them that, so long as they refuse to look at the brazen serpent or to step into the troubled pool, so long they are not only wretched, but helpless; so long must they be content to move on, great men and honourable it may be, but lepers still. It takes away all pretence for human merit; it is mercy and grace, and not a deserved gift. It robs the rivers of Damascus of their pretended virtue, and remits the world to that fountain in which alone Judah and Jerusalem may wash; which, taking its rise in the blood of the Cross, has extended its cleansing streams into all lands. It is offered freely and without price, and men refuse to purchase; it is the gift of grace, and they will not accept it. What we need is to realise the nature of our own hearts, and to feel that God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble, that obedience is better than sacrifice, and that the humble and contrite spirit is with God of greater price than the rivers of Damascus, or all that the wit of man can devise. (G. F. Cushman, D. D.)
Relation between master and servants
Naaman must have been a considerate master, and his servants must have been reliable men, or that sensible and timely remonstrance of theirs would have been impossible. It implied friendly relations on both sides. Among the ruins of ancient Rome was discovered not long since a broken urn containing some half-burned bones. They were really the ashes of one who, as appeared from the inscription on the tablet, had belonged to the Imperial Household, and whose virtues as a faithful, honest, and devoted servant the emperor himself had taken means to record. Near the grey metropolis of the North is a cemetery, where can be seen a monumental stone, erected by the late Queen Victoria to the memory of an attached and honoured domestic. The gifted John Ruskin once wrote: There is no surer test of the quality of a nation than the quality of its servants
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. My father] A title of the highest respect and affection.
Had bid thee do some great thing] If the prophet had appointed thee to do something very difficult in itself, and very expensive to thee, wouldst thou not have done it? With much greater reason shouldst thou do what will occupy little time, be no expense, and is easy to be performed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
My father; or, our father; so they call him, both to show their reverence and affection to him, and to mitigate his exasperated mind.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And his servant came near, and spake unto him, and said, my father,…. Or my lord, as the Targum; this being not a familiar and affectionate expression, but a term of honour, reverence, and submission:
if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? something that was hard and difficult to done, or painful to bear, to go through some severe operation, or disagreeable course of physic:
how much rather then when he saith to thee, wash, and be clean? which is so easy to be done; though Abarbinel observes it may be interpreted, the prophet has bid thee do a great thing, and which is wonderful; for though he has said, wash and be clean, consider it a great thing, and which is a wonderful mystery, and therefore do not despise his cure.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) Came near.Comp. Gen. 18:23.
My father.A title implying at once respect and affection. (Comp. 1Sa. 24:11; 2Ki. 6:21.) Perhaps, however, the word is a corruption of im (if), which is otherwise not expressed in the Hebrew.
Great thing.Emphatic in the Hebrew.
Wouldest thou not have done?Or,wouldest thou not do?
He saith.He hath said.
Be clean?i.e., thou shalt be clean: a common Hebrew idiom.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. My father A form of address peculiar to an intimate and confidential servant, who might have great power over his master.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 365
NAAMAN HEALED OF HIS LEPROSY
2Ki 5:13. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, 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?
MEN universally claim a right to do what they will with their own; but they are extremely averse to concede that right to God. Indeed there is scarcely any doctrine against which the carnal heart rises with such acrimony, as against the sovereignty of God. Nevertheless we must maintain that the Governor of the universe ordereth every thing after the counsel of his own will, and dispenseth his gifts according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself. He once chose the Jews for his peculiar people, not for the sake of any righteousness of theirs, but because he had ordained that he would magnify his grace in them: and for the same reason has he now transferred his favours to the Gentiles. Our Lord, in his first sermon at Nazareth, warned his hearers, that, if they rejected his gracious overtures, the blessings of his Gospel should be transferred to the Gentile world: and, to shew them how futile all their objections were, and how delusive their hopes of impunity in sin, he reminded them, that God had in many instances vouchsafed mercy to Gentiles, not only in conjunction with his people, but even in opposition to them: for that there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha; but them had God overlooked, whilst he shewed mercy to Naaman the Syrian [Note: Luk 4:27.].
The history to which our Lord referred, is that which is contained in the chapter before us: which we propose to consider,
I.
In a way of literal interpretation
Under the pressure of a leprosy, which was an incurable disorder, Naaman, the Syrian, applied to Elisha for a cure. Doubtless every thing that the Syrian physicians could devise had been tried, but to no purpose. It happened however that an Israelitish maid, whom the Syrians had taken captive, was living in the service of Naaman; and that she, knowing what great miracles had been wrought by Elisha, suggested, that by an application to him her master might be restored to health. The idea being suggested to Naaman, he determined without delay to apply for a cure. This he did erroneously at first to the king of Israel; but afterwards to Elisha himself: but through his own folly and wickedness he nearly lost the benefit which he was so eager to obtain: for, instead of following the direction given him by the prophet, he turned, and went away in a rage [Note: ver. 12.]. Here let us pause to inquire, what it was that so nearly robbed him of the desired blessing? It was,
1.
His offended pride
[He had come in great state, and with rich rewards in his hand, to the house of a poor prophet: and the prophet had not deigned to come out to him, but had only sent him word what he must do in order to a cure. This was considered by Naaman as an insufferable insult. In his own country he was regarded with the utmost deference; and was he now to be treated with such indignity by a contemptible Israelite? No: he would not listen for a moment to a message sent him in so rude a way.
Alas! what an enemy to human happiness is pride! How acute are its feelings! how hasty its judgment! how impetuous its actings! But thus it is with all who have high ideas of their own importance. They stop not to inquire whether any insult is intended; but construing every thing according to their own conceptions, they are as full of resentment on account of a fancied insult, as they would be if they had sustained the greatest injury: and in many instances do they sacrifice their most important interests to this self-applauding, but delusive, passion.]
2.
His disappointed expectation
[Naaman had formed an idea of the manner in which the prophet would effect the cure: nor do we at all condemn the notions he had formed. But what right had he to be offended because the cure was not wrought with all the formalities that he had pictured to himself? If he received the benefit, did it signify to him in what way he received it? or had he any right to dictate to the prophet and to God, in what way the cure should be wrought? Yet behold, because his own expectations were not realized, he breaks out into a passion, and will not accept the blessing in Gods appointed way.
This throws a great light on innumerable occasions of offence which are taken even among good people. We paint to ourselves the way in which we think others ought to act; and then, because they do not answer our expectations, we are offended. We forget that another person may not view every thing in precisely the same light that we do, or have exactly the same judgment about the best mode of acting under any given circumstances; and yet, as though we were infallible, and the other person were in full possession of our ideas, we are offended at him for not acting as we would have him; when most probably we ourselves, had we been in his situation, should not have followed the line of conduct which we had marked out for him. It is surprising how much disquietude this mistaken spirit occasions in mens own minds, and how many disagreements it produces in the world.]
3.
His reigning unbelief
[Though Naaman came expecting that a miracle should be wrought by the prophet, yet would he not use the means which the prophet prescribed. He did not expect the effect to be produced by the power of God, but by the mere act of washing in a river; and then he concluded, that the rivers of his own country were as competent to the end desired, as any river in Israel. Thus, because he saw not the suitableness of the means to the end, he would not use the means in order to the end, notwithstanding they were so easy, and so safe.
It is thus that unbelief continually argues: God, I am told, would do such and such things for me, if I would apply to him in the use of such and such particular means: but what can those means effect? This is an absurd mode of arguing: for, when God commanded Moses to smite the rock with his rod, did the promised effect not follow, because a stroke of his rod could not of itself produce it? God can work equally by means or without means; and whatever he prescribes, that it is our wisdom to do, in full expectation that what he promises shall surely be accomplished.
When Naaman was made sensible of his folly, and complied with the direction of the prophet, then his disorder vanished; and his flesh became like the flesh of a little child. And thus shall we find in relation to every thing which God has promised, that according to our faith it will be unto us.]
We now proceed to consider this history,
II.
In a way of spiritual accommodation
We are not in general disposed to take Scripture in any other than its true and primary sense: though, as the inspired writers occasionally take passages of Holy Writ in an accommodated sense, we feel it to be a liberty which on some particular occasions we are warranted to take. We think it would be too much to say that this history was intended to shew how the Gentiles are to be washed from the guilt of sin; but sure we are that it is well adapted for that end: and, as the leprosy was certainly a type of sin, and the mode of purification from it was certainly typical of our purification from sin by the Redeemers blood, we feel no impropriety in accommodating this history to elucidate the Gospel of Christ.
We have here, then, a lively representation of,
1.
The character of the Gospel
[Sin is absolutely incurable by any human means: but God has opened a fountain for sin and for uncleanness; and has bidden us to wash in it and be clean: he has even reasoned with us, as Naamans servants did with him, saying, Come now, let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be as wool. In all the word of God there is not a more beautiful illustration of the Gospel method of salvation than this. We are simply required to wash in the blood of Christ by faith; and in so doing we shall immediately be cleansed from all sin. And with this agrees the direction given to the jailer, (the only one that can with propriety be given to one who inquires after the way of salvation,) Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.]
2.
The treatment it meets with
[Multitudes not only disregard it, but turn from it with disgust. In their eyes, the direction, Wash and be clean, Believe and be saved, is too simple, too free, too humiliating.
It is too simple. What! have I nothing to do, but to believe? Will this remove all my guilt? it cannot be
It is too free. Surely some good works are necessary to prepare me for the Saviour, and to make me in some measure worthy of his favour. Must I receive every thing without money and without price, and acknowledge to all eternity that it is altogether the free gift of God in Christ Jesus, as free as the light I see, or the air I breathe? I cannot but regard such a proposal as subversive of all morality.
Lastly, It is too humiliating. Must I no more bring my good deeds than my bad ones, and no more hope for mercy on account of my past life than publicans and harlots can for theirs? This is a mode of righteousness which I never can, nor will, submit to [Note: Rom 10:3.].
Now persons who argue thus against the Gospel, are not unfrequently full of indignation against it, and against all who believe it. If called upon to do some great thing for the Gospel, they would engage in it gladly, and do it with all their might: but, if invited to accept its benefits by faith alone, they resent the offer as a wild conceit and an Antinomian delusion.]
From the striking resemblance which there is between the conduct of Naaman and that of those who reject the Gospel, we shall take occasion to add a few words of advice
1.
Bring not to the Gospel any pre-conceived notions of your own
[Every man, of necessity, forms to himself some idea of the way in which he is to obtain acceptance with God: but when we come to the Holy Scriptures, we must lay aside all our own vain conceits, and sit at the feet of Jesus, to learn what he has spoken, and to do what he has commanded. We must not dictate to God what he shall say, but with the docility of little children receive instruction from him.]
2.
Let not passion dictate in matters of religion
[Many who hear perhaps a single sermon, or even a single expression, are offended, and shut their ears against the truth from that time. But, if candid investigation be ever called for, surely it is required in the concerns of religion; where the truths proposed must of necessity be offensive to the carnal mind, and where the consequences of admitting or rejecting them must so deeply affect our everlasting welfare.]
3.
Be willing to take advice even from your inferiors
[Naaman, under the influence of pride and passion, thought himself right in rejecting the proposals of the prophet: but his servants saw how erroneously he judged, and how absurdly he acted. Thus many who are our inferiors in station or learning may see how unreasonably we act in the concerns of our souls, and especially in rejecting the Gospel of Christ. The Lord grant that we may be willing to listen to those who see more clearly than ourselves, and be as ready to use Gods method of cleansing for our souls, as Naaman was for the healing of his body!]
4.
Make trial of the method proposed for your salvation
[No sooner did Naaman submit to use the means prescribed, than he derived from them all the benefit that he could desire. And shall any one go to Christ in vain? Shall any one wash in the fountain of his blood in vain? No: the most leprous of mankind shall be healed of his disorders; and the wonders of Bethesdas pool be renewed in all that will descend into it. Only remember that you must wash there seven times. You must not go to any other fountain to begin or perfect your cure: in Christ, and in Christ alone, you must seek all that your souls can stand in need of.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Father has the same sense and meaning here, as master. Every master of a family may be said to be the father of it, in this point of view. But what I principally desire of the Reader in this verse is, to trace the hand of the Lord in the work. It was the Lord that caused this little maid of Israel to be tarried captive into Syria: and perhaps among other causes, very principally with a view to lay a foundation for the cure of this leper. Our Lord himself expressly tells us, that while many lepers were in Israel at this very time when Naaman was healed, Elisha had commission to cleanse none but him. Luk 4:27 It was therefore the Lord which caused this little maid to be taken captive. It was from the same overruling providence of the Lord, that she was brought into Naaman’s house. It was the Lord which brought to this young Israelite’s mind, while in Damascus, the recollection of Elisha the prophet, in Israel. And it was the Lord which prompted her to recommend Israel’s prophet to Naaman’s wife. And was it not the same Almighty Lord which operated upon Naaman’s other servants to cool down their master’s rage, and induce him to listen to reason. And above all, who but the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working, could have influenced this haughty Syrian to go down into Jordan, after all the hatred and rage he had manifested against it. Pause, Reader! in the review of the many means adopted to the accomplishment of this one purpose, and learn with me to admire and adore the providences of God, thus wonderfully carrying on the sacred purposes of his will. And do not stop here. From the world of nature press on and contemplate the same Almighty hand unremittingly engaged in the world of grace. Who was it, my soul, that first gave me to see, amidst all my fancied greatness and importance, that I was but a poor leper! Who was it first told thee of Jesus Christ? Who inclined me to seek from this Almighty Prophet in Israel, the cure of my leprosy? And when, like another Naaman, I came to him in all my best things, hoping to purchase his favor by presenting him his own gifts; and the mortifying message from his holy word was sent me, to wash in his blood and be clean, my proud self-righteous heart was lifted up to reject, in rage, such a doctrine; who was it that rooted out that pride, that softened that rage, and made me willing to be saved in God’s own way, and by the Lord’s own power? Oh! precious, precious Jesus? never, never let me lose sight of thy Person, grace and mercy, but delight to give thee, what is so justly thy due, all the glory!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 5:13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, 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?
Ver. 13. And his servants came near, &c. ] These were faithful servants indeed; not such Aiones and Negones as great men are now-a-days set up with, that – right or wrong – will say as they say, soothing them up in their sinful practices. It is a great happiness for a man to be attended with wise and faithful followers. Many a one hath had better counsel from his heels than from his elbows.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
servants. Again used by God. Compare verses: 2Ki 5:2-4.
My father. A title of honour and affection.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2Ki 5:13-14
2Ki 5:13-14
NAAMAN OBEYED GOD’S WORD AND WAS HEALED
“And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee to do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in the 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.”
“If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing” (2Ki 5:13). The very simplicity and insignificance of what the man of God commanded appears to have been another one of the reasons why he, at first, refused to obey. Alas, this is an attitude often found in mortal sinners on the brink of the grave. This writer vividly remembers an incident in 1932 at the base hospital in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, when the wife of a high-ranking military officer fell while visiting her son in that area. She sent word to this young preacher to visit her, and she asked what to do to be saved, since she realized that her death was near. The great passages pertaining to the forgiveness of sins, as found in the holy N.T., were read in her hearing, prayers were offered, and she was invited and urged to obey the gospel. She thought about it awhile; and then said, “Well, baptism has always seemed to me to be such an insignificant thing that I just can’t believe that it would do any good!”
“His flesh came again” (2Ki 5:14). It appears from this that some of Naaman’s flesh had been lost, as also indicated by the words of the prophet, “Thy flesh shall come again to thee” (2Ki 5:10). When this writer visited a leper compound in Pusan, Korea in 1953, he observed sufferers from this disease who had lost their nose, or eyelids, or ear, or portions of their lips, and it is certain from the terminology used here that Naaman had suffered such loss of flesh. If there had been any doubt of what his disease was, these words would have certified the diagnosis as confirming a case of Hansen’s disease, or leprosy.
E.M. Zerr:
2Ki 5:13. Servant and father are used as opposite terms in the present connection; the conclusion is that. Naaman was regarded as their master. The line of thought the servants were following was that some great thing would have been done on the theory that it would have accomplished the desired end naturally, or as a logical consequence. The simpler instructions, however, should have commended themselves as coming from a person of authority. An uninspired man would need to use some great method, if the outcome sought were to be obtained. Therefore, this simpler and illogical plan should indicate to the interested party that it was no ordinary person who was directing him.
2Ki 5:14. The inspired writer tells us that when Naaman dipped himself, it was according to the saying of the man of God. See comments on wash in 2Ki 5:10. When “seven” is used figuratively it denotes completeness. One dipping would have ended in the cure of the leprosy, had the prophet seen fit to command only one. The desired result was obtained from the Lord, because Naaman went to the end of the commandment.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
his servants: 2Ki 5:3, 1Sa 25:14-17, 1Ki 20:23, 1Ki 20:31, Job 32:8, Job 32:9, Jer 38:7-10
My father: 2Ki 2:12, 2Ki 6:21, 2Ki 13:14, Gen 41:43, Mal 1:6, Mat 23:9, 1Co 4:15
how much rather: 1Co 1:21, 1Co 1:27
Wash: 2Ki 5:10, Psa 51:2, Psa 51:7, Isa 1:16, Joh 13:8, Act 22:16, Eph 5:26, Eph 5:27, Tit 3:5, Heb 10:22, 1Pe 3:21, Rev 7:14
Reciprocal: Gen 35:2 – clean Rth 2:8 – my daughter 1Sa 9:10 – Well said 1Sa 24:11 – my father 1Sa 25:17 – that a man 2Ki 6:12 – Elisha 2Ki 7:13 – one 1Co 9:11 – a great 2Co 11:15 – no Eph 6:7 – good 1Ti 6:1 – count
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
GREAT THINGS AND SMALL
My father, if the prophet had did thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
2Ki 5:13
I. How many persons are there sufficiently desirous of salvation to have been tolerant of a very burdensome ritual, had the Gospel prescribed it, who yet find in the fewness and simplicity of its authorised observances an excuse for disregarding them altogether.There is evidently something in human nature, not only which is roused by difficulties, but which is flattered by demands. Let a man suppose that heaven is to be won by punctuality of observance, and he will count every added ceremony not only a fresh stimulus but a new honour. And yet the same person cannot be brought to regard with proper respect the moderate and quiet services of his own Church, the humble instrumentality of preaching, or the two sacraments which Christ has ordained. If he brings his child to the font, it is in compliance with the worlds custom rather than with the Saviours word. He cannot see that the very simplicity of the sign is rather an argument for than against its Divine origin. If man had had the ordaining of it, certainly it would have been something more difficult, more cumbrous, and more costly. In the same way he refuses to believe that there can be anything beneficial to the soul in eating a morsel of bread or drinking a few drops of wine at the table of his Lord. He asks again, What can be the connection in such matters between the body and the soul? He cannot believehe will almost say so in wordsthat it can be a matter of the slightest moment whether or no he performs that outward act of communion which nevertheless he cannot deny to be distinctly ordained and plainly commanded in the Gospel. If the prophet, if the Saviour, had bidden him to do some great thing, he would certainly have done it; but he cannot bring himself to believe and obey, when the charge is that simple one to wash and be clean.
II. The same tendency is exemplified in reference to the doctrines of the Gospel.They who would have done some great thing will not do that which is less; they who would be willing to toil on under hard conditions, to walk mournfully and fearfully along the path of life before the Lord of Hosts, if haply they might at length attain, by pains and cares and tears, to the resurrection of the just, will not accept the tidings of an accomplished forgiveness, will not close with the offer of a positively promised Spirit; and thus fulfil, again and again, the description of the text, If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
III. Yet another illustration, drawn from the requirements of the Gospel.So long as a person is walking altogether in darkness, the demands of the Gospel give him little trouble. They may be light, or they may be grievous, the commands of God are for him as if they were not. If he keeps any of them, it is by chance. But when, if ever, he begins to feel that he has a soul to be saved, how often is it seen that, in the pursuit of some great thing, in the search for something arduous and something new, he loses altogether the duty and the blessing which lay at his very door, in his very path, could he but have seen them, and shows, unknown to himself, a spirit of self-will and self-pleasing at the very moment when he seems to be asking most humbly, what is the will of God concerning him.
How have whole systems of religion been founded upon the forgetfulness of this principle? Men have either gone out of the world, or sought to render themselves or others miserable in it, just because they thought it necessary to do some great thing in order to please God! What is asceticism in all its forms and degrees, the refusal to ones self of lifes simple comforts, the prohibition of marriage and the commanding to abstain from meats, the substitution of a system of self-torture for a spirit of temperance and of thankfulness, but a neglect of the same wise and wholesome caution, that what God looks for in us is, not the doing of some great thing, but the endeavour to be pure and holy in the performance of common duties and in the use of lawful enjoyments? How true is it, in all these cases, that the easy thing is not always the small thing! He who would have buried himself in a cloister, or forgone every luxury, without murmuring or complaint, cannot bring himself to be an exemplary man in lifes common relations, or set himself vigorously to that which brings with it neither applause nor self-congratulation, the fulfilment, as in Gods behalf, as in Christs service, of the little every-day duties of kindness, of self-denial, and of charity, the careful walking in a trivial round, the punctual, loving performance of a common task!
Dean Vaughan.
Illustration
May my pride of reason be humbled. Behold, I thought, said Naaman, he will surely come out to me. So I have my preconceived ideas of how my salvation is to be achieved. But Gods thoughts are not my thoughts; and, if I am to be blessed at all, my intellect must become more submissive and lowly. And may my pride of heart be humbled. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, Naaman asked, better than all the waters of Israel? So I, too, imagine that I have at home the means and instruments of redemption. I can carve out my own path to the City of God. I can build up my own character. Must I avail myself of a method of deliverance which has been provided for the chief of sinners? Must I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes? Yes, I must. It is only the contrite and broken heart that sees Gods face in love. Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, and he was clean. Blessed be God, in the fountain filled with blood I lose all my guilty stains!
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2Ki 5:13. His servants came nearThough at other times they kept their distance, and now saw him in a passion, yet knowing him to be a man that would hear reason at any time, and from any one, they drew near, and made bold to argue the matter with him. Happy they who have such servants as these, who both had the courage to speak the truth, and prudence to order their speech with skill, submission, and reverence. My father Or, our father; a title of honour in that country, and a name by which they called their lords, as kings are called the fathers of their people. They use it to show their reverence and affection for him. If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing Had ordered thee into a tedious course of physic, or enjoined thee to submit to some painful operation, suppose blistering, or cupping, or salivating, wouldst thou not have done it? No doubt thou wouldst. And wilt thou not submit to so easy a method as this, Wash and be clean? It appears they had conceived a great opinion of the prophet, having probably heard more of him from the common people, whom they had conversed with, than Naaman had from the king and courtiers.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5:13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, {g} 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?
(g) This declares that servants should reverence and love their masters as children their fathers, and likewise masters toward their servants, must be affectioned as toward their children.