Title: 13
Author: Joe Griffin
Last saved by: Paul J. Davey
Company: GDC

Clanking Chains

		07-09-16-B.CC02-804/

Naaman Is Healed & Believes in Jehovah, Elisha Refuses Payment; Naaman Asks for Israeli Soil, 2 Kgs 17-19a; the Lord Quotes Isaiah to Show He is Messiah, Lk4:17-19; Isa 61:1-2

2 Kings 5:17 -	Naaman said, “If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry, for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but only to the Lord.
v. 18 -	“May the Lord forgive your servant for this: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon \rim'‑on\ to worship, and he leans on my arm and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”
v. 19a -	Elisha said to him, “Go in peace [ <olv* shalom ].”
 20)	In the belief systems of the day it was thought that a deity could only be worshipped on the soil of the nation to which that deity was obligated.
21)	Yahweh Elohim is the God of Israel, and it was Yahweh Elohim that healed Naaman at the Jordan River.  As a believer in Jesus Christ, Naaman desired to worship Him in his home country of Syria.
22)	The means by which he could fulfill his obligations to the person to whom he was temporally assigned while remaining loyal to the God of Israel was to take two mule-loads of Israeli soil back to Syria, spread it in front of the altar of Rimmon, and thereby worship the Lord while the king of Aram worshipped the idol.
23)	Elisha grants divine approval of the proposition with the response, “Go in peace.”  The peace referred to here is the tranquility of soul that can only be possessed by the believer who harbors no misgivings, guilt, or reticence about what he is doing.
24)	The Lord gives in His second example the message that even when a prophet heals it may not have an impact upon the people to whom he was assigned but rather to those of heathen societies.
25)	Jesus had healed and performed miracles in the provinces of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee and those who responded were more interested in the temporal application of the Lord’s power to them personally rather than the eternal implication that He was Messiah.
26)	He gives the crowd at Nazareth two examples of how Israelites’ negative volition had ignored divine power and grace in the past while it was received with great benefit by those outside of Israel.
27)	Elisha would take no payment for his part in the miracle that restored Naaman to good health and recognized his salvation with the comment, “Go in peace.”
28)	Peace is established between a Jew and a Syrian because the Syrian first established peace with the God of Israel.
29)	The number seven speaks of completeness and perfection.  Naaman’s seven-fold washing in the Jordan demonstrated his submission to divine mandate and the ritual cleansing of the body illustrated the spiritual cleansing of his soul.
30)	The Lord’s citing of two well-known events in Old Testament history are directed toward the citizens of Galilee.  They challenge His authority as a prophet and Messiah.
31)	The Lord initially set them up by reading from the prophet Isaiah by choosing a passage that forecast His First Advent:
Luke 4:17 -	The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
v. 18 -	[ Isaiah 61:1-2a ] “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,
v. 19 -	to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
32)	“The year of the Lord’s favor” is the First Advent.  After reading it the Lord will assert that those gathered have witnessed its fulfillment.  By stopping in the middle of the verse He emphasizes that Isaiah draws a distinct line between the Incarnation and the Second Advent.
33)	The passage quoted is Isaiah 61:1-2a, a prophecy well-known to the citizens of Nazareth accumulated in the synagogue:
Isaiah 61:1 -     “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me [ Jesus Christ ], because the Lord [ God the Father ] has anointed Me [ jyv!m* Mashiach: “Anointed One” ] to bring good news [ “the kingdom has come near to you” ] to the afflicted [ Israel ]; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives [ the 50-year Jubilee allowed all land to be returned to their original owners; this references the offer of the Kingdom and client nation status ],and freedom to prisoners [ the 50-year Jubilee also set all slaves free; this makes reference to freedom from the slave market of sin accomplished by the Lord’s redemptive work on the cross ];
Isaiah 61:2 -	to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [ the First Advent; the Lord stops His reading at this point ], (Church Age) and the day of vengeance of our God [ the Second Advent ]; to comfort all who mourn.”
34)	Through omnipotence, the Lord knew that the Church Age would ultimately separate the dispensations of Israel and the Tribulation.  But at this point it was hypothetical with regard to Israel.  
35)	The Jews would be given a chance to respond to Him as Messiah during the Incarnation but Isaiah does not have a need to know about a hypothetical dispensation, therefore the Lord remains silent about it.
36)	In fact, the Lord quotes Himself in this passage by quoting Isaiah who quotes Him in Isaiah 61:1-2a:
Luke 4:16 -	And Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
v. 17 -	And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him.  And He opened the scroll and found the place where it was written,
v. 18 -	[ Isaiah 61:1-2a ] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden,
v. 19 -	to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
v. 20 -	And He closed the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him.
v. 21 -	And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

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