The Curse or Coveting
Last week we talked about how Naaman went from bitter to better. We ended with Naaman taking back a bunch of dirt with him to Syria so he could worship the true God. He was seeking to live the truth and be pleasing to the Lord. Today we will looking at someone named Gehazi, who was a servant to the prophet Elisha. Gehazi was to Elisha, as Elisha was to Elijah.
Even though Gehazi had seen all the miracles of God, he was wallowing in deception and self-desires. The last of the 10 commandments deal with coveting, wanting something that is not yours. When you break one commandment you have the temptation to break the other nine.
Gehezi had been going downhill for a while now. We first read about Gehezi in 2 Kings Chapter 4. We read that there was a Shunem woman, (we don’t know her name) who was wealthy and whenever Elisha would pass through the town, she would invite him over to eat. She even went beyond that and fixed him up with a bed and breakfast in the upper room. They made him a fully furnished small room so that when he came to town he would have someplace to stay.
Elisha was so appreciative that he told Gehezi to go to the woman and ask what he could do for her to show his appreciation. The woman didn’t ask for anything so Gehezi suggested that she was without child and her husband was old. So Elisha told her that this time next year she would have a baby son.
Several years later that same boy became ill. He was out in the field with his dad, and he started crying out, “My head, My head”. So the father sent him home by a servant and he sat on his moms lap till noon, then he died. So the woman placed the boy in the bed she had given to Elisha and left to go find him so that he could save the boy.
2 Kings 4:25-27 So she came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her coming at a distance, he told his servant Gehazi, “There is the woman from Shunem. Run to meet her and ask her how she, her husband, and the boy are doing.” “Everyone’s fine,” she answered. When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi went to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone. She is bitter. The LORD has hidden the reason from me. He hasn’t told me.”
When she was asked how everyone was, she replied, “Everyone’s fine”. Her only son had just died in her lap. This showed her faith. She knew God could heal him. But Gehazi pushed away the woman. It reminded me of how the disciples would try to keep people from coming to Jesus. Even when the little kids would try to get to Jesus they would try to keep them from Jesus. But Jesus told them unless you come to me as a little child you cannot enter the kingdom of God. God never pushes anyone away.
Elisha told Gehazi to take his shepherds staff and place it on the boy’s face. But the woman refused to go until Elisha went with her and so he did. But Gehezi went ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face. He did what he was told to do, but the boy was still dead. I am not sure of his intentions, do so. You could stay that he tried to take matters into his own hands. Maybe he coveted the power or he wanted the credit for healing the boy. So Elisha got there and went to the room, shut the door and prayed to God, layed on his body, gave him some mouth to mouth, and God brought the boy back to life. He sends Gehezi to go get his mom and then Elisha told her to take her son and we find her right back at Elisha’s feet again. Where we all should be.
So let’s pick up where we left off last week after the healing of Naaman and Naaman trying to give Elisha all the gifts and him refusing.
2 Kings 5:19-21 Elisha told Naaman, “Go in peace.” After Elisha had left him and gone some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha (the man of God), thought, “My master let this Aramean Naaman go without accepting what he had brought. As sure as the LORD lives, I’ll run after Naaman and get something from him.” So Gehazi went after Naaman. When Naaman saw Gehazi running after him, he got down from his chariot to speak to him. “Is something wrong?” he asked.
Elisha had not been the best host for Naaman. When Naaman came to him expecting some big show for his healing, Elisha didn’t even come out of the house. He just sent a message to him to tell him what to do. And Elisha would not accept the gifts that Naaman was trying to give him and a way of saying thanks. Elisha wanted him to learn the lesson that it was God and not the gifts that caused the healing.
Gehazi was looking at Elisha’s conduct the way the world would look at it, not the way that God would look at it. Gehazi thought that he was crazy for not taking the gifts. This reminded me when the disciples were saying that it was a waste when Mary was anointing Jesus with the expensive perfume. Jesus told them to leave her alone. She was preparing His body to be placed in the tomb. The world saw it as a waste. Jesus saw it as an act of love and called it a beautiful thing. There will be times in our life as well when we may not understand what God is doing, but that is when the trust comes in. Why am I going through this? Why did I lose this?
In Gehazi situation, it wasn’t waste, it was the wealth he was after. He actually believed that he would be a better person if he were to take the gifts from Naaman and that he had the right to do so. Luke 12:15 He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.”
Surely Gehazi knew that Naamans salvation was simply because of the grace of God and taking the gifts might give Naaman the false impression that he could do something to save himself. Even if not, it could weaken his testimony to others when he got back to Syria. They could think it was the payment, not God who healed Naaman.
But not only did Gehazi deceive himself, thinking he would be better off with the wealth, he deceived Naaman as well.
2 Kings 5:21-24 Gehazi answered, “No. My master has sent me. He says, ‘Just now two young men from the disciples of the prophets in the hills of Ephraim have arrived. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing.’ ” Naaman replied, “Please let me give you 150 pounds of silver.” Naaman urged him to take the silver. Naaman tied up 150 pounds of silver in two bags with two sets of clothing. He gave them to a couple of his own servants to carry in front of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the Ophel in Samaria, he took these things and put them away in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they left.
Naaman did a noble thing when he stopped the chariot and stepped down to meet Gehazi. Remember this was the same guy that Elisha didn’t even come out and meet him. Maybe he thought that Elisha had another message for him or maybe he wanted him to stay for dinner? For a Syrian general to show such curtesy was an indication of a change of heart. He greeted Gehazi with concern, asking is everything was OK. But it wasn’t OK. Gehazi’s heart was filled with greed and his lips were filled with lies, you know there would be trouble coming.
In carrying out his plan, he lied and said that Elisha had sent him. Then not to look suspicious, he concocted another lie, that while Elisha would not take the gifts, the two priest would. Naaman was a new believer. Naaman not only gave Gehazi more than he asked for, but gave him a couple of servants to carry it for him. Then after Gehazi got home, he sent the servants back to Naaman, so no one would ask about why they were there. He was trying to cover his sin.
That’s something that has been going on sense the beginning of time. After Adam and Eve sinned, they tried hiding from God. It would be like when you are playing with a little kid, and they put their hands over their eyes, thinking that you would not be able to see them. Proverbs 28:13 Whoever covers over his sins does not prosper. Whoever confesses and abandons them receives compassion.
Gehazi knew what he did was wrong, and while your sins may be forgiven, your consequences still remain. So back to our text.
2 Kings 5:25-27 He went and stood in front of his master. Elisha asked him, “Where were you, Gehazi?” “I didn’t go anywhere,” he answered. Then Elisha said to him, “I went with you in spirit when the man turned around in his chariot to speak to you. How could you accept silver, clothes, olive orchards, vineyards, sheep, cattle, or slaves? Naaman’s skin disease will cling to you and your descendants permanently!” When he left Elisha, Gehazi had a disease that made his skin as flaky as snow.
So when he got back to Elisha, he acted all innocent. But he found himself on trial and being questioned. God knew what he had done and he had told Elisha.
Elisha not only saw what Gehazi had done, but he saw his heart and he knew why he had done it. This reminded me of Ananias and Sapphira Acts chapter 5. This was the beginning of the church, the honeymoon stage as I would call it. In Acts 4:32 The whole group of believers lived in harmony. No one called any of his possessions his own. Instead, they shared everything. Some would sell their land or houses and would give the money to the apostles, and they would distribute the money to anyone who needed it. So in Chapter 5 we read where Ananias and Sapphira had sold some property and they told everyone they were donating all of the money, but then had a change of heart and decided they would keep some for themselves and only turned in part of the money. Deception again. After all, no one would know how much they sold it for.
Acts 5:3-5 Peter asked, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill you with the idea that you could deceive the Holy Spirit? You’ve held back some of the money you received for the land. While you had the land, it was your own. After it was sold, you could have done as you pleased with the money. So how could you do a thing like this? You didn’t lie to people but to God!” When Ananias heard Peter say this, he dropped dead. Everyone who heard about his death was terrified.
Latter his wife came in, she didn’t know what had happened to her husband, and when Peter asked her if the amount they had given was the amount they sold the land for. When she said yes, they carried her body out as well.
Gehazi didn’t die instantly like they did, but his sin was passed down to all his descendants. His intent may have been to leave them wealth, but instead he left them with a curse. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, Abraham and Isaac was wealthy and so was David, a man after God’s own heart. It is the love of money that is the problem.
Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t make everyone millionaires? That way, all of His work could be funded. The truth of the matter is that most when they become self-efficient, then they will turn form God, thinking they don’t need Him.
So, in closing, what do people want, and they will go to extremes to get it?
Wealth- (taxes, dishonesty, working a job they hate just to keep up with the Jones)
Power- (Putin, my job when a manager’s job came open)
Prestige- (They want to be the big man, the one calling the shots)
There is nothing wrong with having any of these or all of these as long as you have your priorities right.
Luke 12:33-34 Make a treasure for yourselves in heaven that never loses its value! In heaven thieves and moths can’t get close enough to destroy your treasure. Your heart will be where your treasure is.
Mark 8:36 What good does it do for people to win the whole world yet lose their lives?
