The Curse Of Coveting

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.