Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 5
Naaman wanted to give a gift to express his thanks to Elisha. God had cured Naaman, and Naaman was truly grateful.
However, Elisha absolutely refused to accept any gift. He needed to turn away Naaman’s attention from himself, and towards God. It was God and not Elisha who had cured Naaman. It was therefore God alone who deserved honour for this wonderful act of God’s power. If Elisha tried to benefit from Naaman, Elisha would be acting wrongly. He would be taking the honour that belonged to God alone.
It is not wrong for someone who works for God to receive payment for that work (1 Corinthians 9:7-14). God provided for his priests to receive certain parts of the animals that people gave to God (Leviticus 7:28-36). However, God’s servants must not accept gifts in a manner that takes away honour from God’s holy name.
Elisha was very aware of that problem here. He knew that Naaman, as a foreigner, had formerly served false gods. Naaman had now started to serve the true God – but he would still have many wrong ideas about religion. When he returned home to Aram, Naaman would not still have Elisha to teach him. So Naaman needed to learn from God himself. Naaman needed to offer more than just a gift to God. He needed to love God with all his heart and mind and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Next part: Naaman asks to build an altar to Israel's God (2 Kings 5:17)
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