2 Kings 5:15-27

2 Kings 5:15-27

Elisha was not a prophet because he wanted to receive the gifts and blessings that people might offer him as a result of his service. He was not seeking payment for the miracles he performed (through God’s strength). He knew that this was the task God had called him to, and living in obedience to God was enough “payment” for Elisha. So when Naaman offered him payment for his services, for healing Naaman of his leprosy, Elisha refused. He knew it was not his place to receive anything for something he had not done. God was the one who had performed the miracle, not Elisha. Elisha was just the instrument that God used. The fact that Naaman had declared that he would serve God and God alone from that moment forward was enough “payment” for Elisha.


However, this was not enough for Gehazi, Elisha’s servant. Gehazi was the man that had been the messenger between Elisha and Naaman in the first part of 2 Kings 5. He was the one who had explained to Naaman what he needed to do to be cured from leprosy. He also felt that they should accept Naaman’s offer, so he set out after Naaman. But he did not just ask for whatever Naaman had previously offered. Instead, Gehazi made the situation worse by lying to Naaman. He created a lie about two men who had just arrived and were in need of money and clothes. Oblivious to the situation, Naaman did as he said. He believed that Elisha had sent Gehazi with the message and did not question the situation.

The situation only got worse when Gehazi returned home. Elisha asked him where he had been, and Gehazi once again had to lie. He could not tell Elisha that he had gone to accept gifts from Naaman when Elisha had already declined Naaman’s offer. Furthermore, he could not tell Elisha the story he had made up to get Naaman to give him the gifts he had received. So he told Elisha that he had not gone anywhere. Elisha knew that Gehazi was lying and knew what he had done. So as punishment, a curse was put on Gehazi and his family, and they suffered from the disease of leprosy that had once troubled Naaman.

The lesson here seems pretty obvious; do not lie. It is such a simple lesson. Lies always lead to more lies. The more you lie, the harder it is to come clean later. We see what happened to Gehazi as he had to continue to lie in order to stay in Elisha’s good graces. However, his lies eventually caught up with him, and they always well. Even the best liars will eventually slip up, and when they do, there can be some severe ramifications.

That is not the only lesson we learn from Gehazi, however. Another is this; when we serve God, we should not expect anything in return. While it is true that God does indeed bless His children, it should never be our motivation in serving Him. Elisha refused to accept the gifts from Naaman because he saw them as payment for his service to God. Elisha served God because he loved God. He wanted to live in obedience to God’s commands. He wanted to do as the Lord asked, and he did not expect God to reward him for his service. That does not mean that we have to feel guilty if God rewards us in some way for obedience and service. Again, God does want to bless His children, and He might choose to reward us in some way. But if we ever become more focused on what we might receive from God than on our service to God, we have fallen into the same trap that Gehazi fell into.

Matt