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Meaning in the Miracles: 2 Kings 5
Elisha continues his awesome miracles in 2 Kings 5 and 6. It’s important to understand the purpose of all these miracles.
Miracles will:
- Demonstrate God’s power. No matter who a miracle comes from…Moses, Elijah, Elisha, or Jesus…the main purpose of miracles is to demonstrate God’s power so People will believe in God and worship Him alone.
- Establish a prophet as a powerful voice for God. In the story of Elisha replacing Elijah, to get the people to listen to him, Elisha must prove himself. He does that by doing twice the miracles of Elijah.
- Show God’s love and care for His people. Elisha’s miracles often met practical needs such as providing food, water, and healing. These acts of compassion and provision show God cares for His people and desires to meet their physical and spiritual needs.
- Provide judgement of sin. Some of Elisha’s miracles were used to judge and punish those who defied God’s commands. These acts serve as a warnings and demonstrate the consequences of disobedience.
- Point to the ultimate deliverer. Elisha’s miracles point to the coming of the Messiah who will fulfill all God’s promises. These miracles foreshadowed the greater miracles Jesus will perform, including the resurrection of the dead and the ultimate victory over sin and death.
A God Who Sees
By 2 Kings 5:1-3, the Lord has given Aram victory through Naaman. As a result, he has attained a high status as an important and highly regarded commander.
However, Naaman has leprosy. This is a disease with varying degrees of severity, and it could be any one of the many skin diseases such as psoriasis or scabies.
The Israelites have very strict rules for isolation to prevent all skin diseases from spreading, but the Arameans do not. While Naaman’s affliction does seem to be minimal, there is always a chance it will get worse or be fatal due to infection, so naturally Naaman and the king want him healed.
Through the providence of God, Naaman happens to capture a young girl from Israel. She knows of Elisha’s powerful gifts and tells Naaman’s wife.
This girl rocks. She has been forced into slavery but still loves the Lord so much she sings his praises even to her captors. Her praise benefits her captors in one of the purest examples of the second greatest commandment to love your neighbor.
Reflection Point
This slave girl is a light for the Lord in a dark place. She uses what little influence she has to influence someone who has more influence, the commander of the Aramean army.
We may never know the impact our faithfulness has on others, but we must press on in faith trusting God can use whatever influence we do have for His great glory. That is, after all, our purpose in life, to glorify God no matter where we are or who we are with, from prison to a palace.
A Letter from the King
In 2 Kings 5:4-7, not only does Naaman get permission from the king to go get his leprosy taken care of, but he also gets a letter from the King of Aram to Joram, the King of Israel. Little does Naaman know, King Joram has no connection to God and is not on Elisha’s friends and family list.
When King Joram gets the letter, he tears his clothes in dramatic despair. He’s worried if the commander isn’t healed the King of Aram will start a war with him. His reaction of despair is a stark contrast to the little slave girl’s offer of hope.
When difficulty arises, who do we most closely resemble? Do we calmly call upon the Lord? Or do we dramatically despair? Are we faith-filled or faithless?
Pride at the Door, Faith in the Water
Elisha hears of the king’s dramatics and, in 2 Kings 5:8-14, tells the king just to send the commander his way when he gets there. But when Naaman arrives at the palace and is sent away to another house he is not impressed.
He is a man of standing and his foreign entourage is causing a scene. He knocks on the door and isn’t even allowed inside. In fact, Elisha doesn’t even come to the door. The whole village is gathering to see what’s going on. It’s embarrassing.
Naaman scoffs at the simplicity of Elisha’s instruction to submerge himself in the Jordan River seven times. He no-doubt felt like he wasted his time on this wild good chase for a slave girl’s fancy.
It’s ridiculous, and he is leaving. Then Naaman’s servants are wise and prevent his departure with valid points. To his credit, Naaman listens, relents, and obeys Elisha.
Because of his obedience, he is healed. Because of God’s miracle, he believes.
In 2 Kings 5:15-19, Naaman returns to Elisha a different man. And Elisha does want to meet with this new man. Perhaps this was Elisha’s way of testing a heart being drawn to the Lord.
Elisha doesn’t waste time on those who refuse to believe and obey. He doesn’t try to get the man to believe washing in the Jordan River is the only way to be healed. He simply writes out his miracle prescription, and the man either follows it or he doesn’t.
Finding Faith in a Foreign Land
Naaman is now a believer of the one, true God, but he is limited in knowledge of God and his ways. Naaman plans to take back some of the precious soil from God’s Promised Land and use it as a foundation for an altar. Not necessary, but sweet. Israel holds a special place in his heart now.
Naaman also has an exception that he begs to be forgiven for because it is part of his job. He may have to escort the king into the temple of Rimmon to worship. He might even have to bow down with the king to this false god. Elisha accepts this request for forgiveness and tells him to go in peace.
Some commentaries have a problem with Elisha’s acceptance and condemn the commander. But the fact is, Elisha sent Naaman off in peace, perhaps because the commander is already exhibiting a more sensitive conscience than most Israelites.
Jesus confirms the true faith of Naaman in Luke 4:4 when he lists him as an example. God reads the heart and reaches for those with the right heart, no matter who they are or what they have done…or where they live.
Lie, Loss, and a Lesson
Now, we get an ironic back-to-back story contrast. We just read about a foreigner, Naaman, who obeyed and found God. This story is about an Israelite who disobeys and attempts to deceive God.
In 2 Kings 5:19-27, Gehazi decides Elisha was too easy on Naaman, so he takes matters into his own hands. It’s baffling he thought he could lie to the most powerful prophet in the land and get away with it, but greed makes us do crazy things.
And in his greed Gehazi manages to break three commandments in one act. He covets what Naaman has and gives false testimony by lying about someone needing the money. Then he throws in the name of the Lord and swears by it.
God is not a taker like those fake foreign gods. He wants Naaman to understand the concept of free grace. But Gehazi’s greed gets in the way, so he is punished with acquiring the disease Naaman was cured from.
In Ephesians 2, Paul wants us to understand that, like Naaman, it is by grace we have been saved. It is the gift of God, freely given so no one can boast.
God Cares About the Small Stuff: 2 Kings 6
In 2 Kings 6:1-7, a man is cutting down a tree and the iron ax head he’s using falls into the water. You can just hear the stress in his voice as he cries out, “It was borrowed!”
In other words, he didn’t have enough money to own an ax head, let alone replace someone else’s. Such a relatable problem. Elisha miraculously gets the ax head back and saves the day.
It seems like such a trivial story to be in a book as important as the Bible. Yet it beautifully demonstrates that God is present in our lives and cares about us as individuals.
God doesn’t just care about important people like Naaman. He cares for all of us, and our ordinary problems matter to Him.
Open Our Eyes
In 2 Kings 6:8-14, the King of Aram thinks he has a mole in his camp leaking news of where they are camping. His officers inform him the mole isn’t in the camp. It’s a know-it-all, see-it-all man of God named Elisha.
The king says…get him.
When the men attack in 2 Kings 6:15-23, Elisha isn’t worried, but his servant is terrified. Elisha asks God to open his servant’s eyes and suddenly the man can see “hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
Maybe we should pray for ourselves the way Elisha prayed for his servant. “Open my eyes, Lord, so that I may see.”
Just imagine if we could see a heavenly host protectively standing all around us. But even when we can’t see chariots of fire, Paul’s promise in Romans 8:31-39 reminds us we have nothing to fear.
We will face enemies, but we will not be alone. Battles will come our way, but God will fight with us. We may even become a casualty in the war, but God will win the final battle. As Paul later says in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 we need only to persevere in Christ.
God Transformed a Battle into a Banquet
Elisha shows no fear in what he does next, asking God to blind his approaching attackers. Then he single-handedly leads the men straight to the King of Israel.
In a strange twist, the Arameans and Israelites enjoyed a feast together rather than fighting a battle. Did any of them see the grace of God in this? Probably. Perhaps, along with Naaman, there was a band of believers growing in Aram.
🎧 Ready to dive deeper? Listen to episodes of the Bible Book Club Podcast here.
Themes of this podcast:
God’s power has a purpose. Miracles aren’t just wonders for wonder’s sake—they reveal who God is. Whether healing a commander or rescuing a poor prophet’s tool, each act displays God’s authority, justice, and mercy to draw hearts toward belief.
Faithfulness in small places changes lives. From a captive girl to a prophet’s servant, we see how God uses everyday people in ordinary moments to do extraordinary things. Obedient faith, even in hard places, often becomes the catalyst for someone else’s transformation.
Grace is a gift, not for sale. Naaman’s story highlights the free and undeserved nature of God’s grace. God’s miracles point us to a Messiah who offers salvation—not as a transaction, but as a gift.
