This is the third part of the lessons from 2 Kings 5. The similarities of the 3 people of interest show some things about our lives. At the forefront is Naaman, a sinner who needs to understand Grace and be willing to humble himself and receive healing. Then there is the slave girl whose faith in God led her to stand up for what she believed in ,even in a hostile land in chains to proclaim the news about God. Here is the third person. Gehazi. Gehazi was the servant of Elisha. He is seen two more times in the Bible. Both in account of the woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4 and 2 Kings 8). I would refrain from condemning Gehazi as we see him again after this incident although it is likely the events are not recorded in Chronological Order. We are to look at some Biblical concepts through the life of Gehazi.
Gehazi was an important servant of Elisha. He has been with Elisha for a while and has seen and seen the miracles of Elisha. Gehazi was there when the woman of Shumite was blessed, when she came running in saying her child was ill and then he himself ran with the stick to do what the prophet asked him to. Gehazi was with Elisha as God brought the child back to life. Gehazi, Judas Iscariot and many others in the old and new testament serve as examples for us about people who were there in the time when miracles and mighty works of God took place.
Gehazi had known about Elijah. Elisha was the student of Elijah. Gehazi had seen how God took away Elijah in a whirlwind. Gehazi had seen Naaman just been healed and the prophet refused compensation. This was beyond his mind. Gehazi was not interested in self gain, he was interested in the needs of the ministry of Elisha. Else he could have taken the money from Naaman and went on his way. Gehazi might have felt some lack in the house. Why should the house of the prophet of God suffer lack, he might have thought? There were more than many poor prophets in the land, maybe some of them could be supported. Naaman just walked away with wealth that could have fed and housed many many generations. So he rushes off and finds Naaman and tells that two men have come from the hill county and they need financial support. He takes the silver from his servants, binds them and keeps them for himself. Look at how he asks for one but is happy in accepting 2 talents of silver.
Elisha asks him the question, if it were the time to accept gifts and pursue a lifestyle of luxury. Gehazi, having done this, has been infected with the same disease as Naaman, and so have his descendants. Israel having cultural and religious cleanliness laws prevents Gehazi from serving Elisha again.
These same actions remind me of Judas Iscariot. Jesus had been talking about his death and he was teaching at the house of Simon the leper. Mary the sister of Lazarus comes with her expensive alabaster oil and breaks the jar and uses her hair to anoint the oil on Jesus’s feet. This irritates Judas who remarks that her action was not worth it. How does our Lord rebuke Judas in that situation? He says that what Mary had done was anoint him for his burial. This was a custom to anoint the body with spices and sweet scents. What Mary has done is still being preached today resonating Jesus’s words. There is an irony there too. Jesus was at the house of Simon the leper, possibly someone who had leprosy and now been ritually clean. This can be understood from the fact that not just Jesus and his disciples being there, but also Pharisees who observed the law. They would not be seen with lepers. Simon has not offered to even have Jesus’s leg washed although Jesus was invited as guest there or as John says in John 12, Jesus was as the guest of honour. John’s gospel also states the heart of Judas. Judas did not care about the poor, he is called a thief.
Judas and Gehazi have the same intentions. They are there in the midst of miracles, crowds, people of importance but their heart is far away from the truth. They are interested in themselves and the message of God just goes away from their hearts. They are those who Jesus says the seeds that the farmer sowed that landed on the edge and birds took them away. They are like the chaff the winds blow away. Their hearts were never there. The miracles were coincidences, they are not concerned that salvation happens in front of their eyes, that the dead are raised in front of them. All they care about is the excitement, the cost and what they can gain from the friendship and company of such great men. Jesus to Judas, Elisha to Gehazi are just means to their wealth and fame. I could believe that if they were here today, they would have released books about what happened and got riches from them too. So dry and hard is their heart. Just like Gehazi walking away from Elisha, so too does Judah. They have remorse for their sins but have no Gospel in their heart to make them understand that there is a God who they could come for forgiveness.
Look at another example, Saul (1 Samuel 15:14-23 ) and David , both were kings of Israel and both sinned terribly. When Saul was exposed by Samuel, Saul begs Samuel to come with Saul to the sacrifice so that Saul is not shamed. When Nathan the prophet tells David of his sins, David tears his clothes, cries and lie in dust. David is undignified. How does David pray (Psalm 51) - he says take not your Holy Spirit away from me. He asks God to wash him and that he would be clean. Create God in me a clean heart. Brothers, have we this prayer on our lips? Create o Lord, for I am an unclean / unholy man. This is what Jobs says (Job 23:12), I have treasured your words more than my daily bread. Is His word more important than your daily bread?
Jesus warns us about this, saying (Matthew 7:21-23) that there are many who would say that they performed miracles. Did Judas not one among the many who collected the 12 baskets full of food, was he not partaker at the Lord’s table? Was Judas not there when Jesus raised Lazarus or the widow’s son? Was Judas not there when Jesus sent 72 disciples to proclaim the good news? Yet, he was not of the fold of Jesus. Look at the verse Jesus says, they do not say that they loved the Lord or they have treasured His words, but rather they say they have done many miracles and mighty works. What are miracles or mighty works? They are just places when God uses supernatural means to work into the ordinary. But that is not what the gospel is about. There are many who can do miracles. Look at the advisors of Pharaoh in Genesis, they were too able to turn their sticks into snakes (Exodus 7:12). Brothers, we should be done chasing miracles. We are not children who need to be shown proof after proof of God’s care and sovereignty. Miracles are not a symbol of holiness nor are they symbols of God’s work. The demons are not powerful enough to stand Jesus’s name. Look at Isaiah 29:13, God says that there are people who do the right thing and say the right thing, but their hearts are far away from God.
These people knew the correct thing, they called Jesus Lord. They had the right response and emotions and they did the miracles yet they did not know God. John 3:19, John 12:43 says of such people: it is not that they did not see the gospel, but their hearts were hard and they loved their sin and their lives more than the Gospel. 1 John 2:19 says such people are there in the Church, in the front and in the midst of everything. They love the hype, they want the attention and the importance they get. But they would leave us. Some of them, as John says, were even teachers in the church. See also 2 Timothy 4:3 and Philippians 3:18-19. Such people have their minds (or their God) as their belly. This is a part to examine ourselves too. Are we in this for the right reason? Are we in the church for a career, a family name, a hype, a part to play or to be remembered or any reason? If so, we should examine ourselves.
2 Peter 3:9, says that God is patient and does not rejoice in sending people to hell. You see, if he wants to send people to hell, the work of the cross is useless. We read that God loved the world that he sent his begotten son so that anyone who believes in their heart may have eternal life. This is a free gift and open to all. Come to the cross, let the words of the Lord that is sharper than a two edged sword examine you and be baptised into the Lord for he is worth it all. Even when all that we hold dear and near fall away, we too like the writer in Psalms 63:3-4 say I love you more than life. Galatians 4:9 says that we know God but more than that we are said that we are known by God. This is why Paul warns us to be cautious to not be led into the worth of the world forsaking the worth of the heaven.
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| Title | Elisa and Gehasi | |||
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