Restoration is Easy

2 Kings 5

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant."

The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

"If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD.  But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this."

"Go in peace," Elisha said.

After Naaman had traveled some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, "My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him."

So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. "Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Everything is all right," Gehazi answered. "My master sent me to say, 'Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.' "

"By all means, take two talents," said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left. Then he went in and stood before his master Elisha.

"Where have you been, Gehazi?" Elisha asked.

"Your servant didn't go anywhere," Gehazi answered.

But Elisha said to him, "Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants? Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever." Then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence and he was leprous, as white as snow.

I love this chapter. This is, by the way, the entire chapter of 2 Kings 5. I honestly can't say that I have ever read it, I know I have read it, as I have read the entire book of 2nd Kings, but to focus on it, that is something else entirely. Naaman wants to be restored (actually, to health, not to God, but work with me). He can't wrap his head around that restoration is just splashing around in water. He would want it to be big, glamorous, and complicated. And why not? Isn't the problem all that? He has leprosy. That's pretty complicated.

So Naaman gets frustrated. He wants to be clean, he wants a show from Elisha, but it gets put back onto him. No show. And it is a simple as taking a bath. It begs the question: Am I making things more complicated than they should be in getting restoration?

Current Questions That I Have Been Pondering (related):

• I have been praying recently (actually, 11 years) for a righteous change, so can God change me?
• If God can change me, why hasn't he? Does God care?
• Is the so-called creator of this universe not powerful enough to change me or does God not want to change me?
• Is a habit more powerful than God's power?
• If David's heart was a heart that pleased God, and David had a habit of women, how does having multiple wives and sexual partners (concubines) please God? (Note: David wasn't alone in this action, either.)
• Is restoration and change really the same thing?

Restoration Ideas Thus Far:

• A return to God has to happen and Obedience to God is REQUIRED. That is spelled out in Deuteronomy.
• God does the restoring (Also in Deuteronomy).
• Someone has to INTERVENE. And thus far, it has always been an active representative of God. (Ex: David, Elisha, Samuel)
• Action is required (Elisha laid on the boy, David went to restore the land, etc.)

Oh, and Gehazi was greedy. Just touching on that greed can be a downfall, not for just one person, but for the lifetimes of your family tree. It should also be noted that Gehazi's greed led him to lie to Naaman. That's a double sin, greed and lying.

The Restoration Project

res·to·ra·tion [res-tuh-rey-shuhn] –noun

1. the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment.
2. the state or fact of being restored. 
3. a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.
4. restitution of something taken away or lost.
5. something that is restored, as by renovating.
6. a reconstruction or reproduction of an ancient building, extinct animal, or the like, showing it in its original state.
7. a putting back into a former position, dignity, etc.

1 Samuel 7:12-14

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.

Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

Samuel's righteousness restored Israel.

System Restore

re·store /rɪˈstɔr, -ˈstoʊr/ [ri-stawr, -stohr]
–verb (used with object), -stored, -stor·ing.

• to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish: to restore order.
• to bring back to a former, original, or normal condition, as a building, statue, or painting. 
• to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.
• to put back to a former place, or to a former position, rank, etc.: to restore the king to his throne.
• to give back; make return or restitution of (anything taken away or lost).
• to reproduce or reconstruct (an ancient building, extinct animal, etc.) in the original state.

Genesis 40:13, 20-22

Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.

Manna from Heaven

Exodus 16:31

The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.

I am studying about seeds in the Bible. For an image, go here: Manna from Heaven/

Why Would We?

I'm sure you are referring to the "whywouldwe.org" billboards. They really do upset me. To be true, Jesus never did discriminate on basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according to actual merit, but he also didn't approve of people acting out in sin, either.

One of the scriptures referred to on their website is Matthew 8:5-13, which reads:
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.