Lessons from Gehazi

The Scriptures are rich with Truth and lessons to be learned, but sometimes these lessons come from stories that live in the shadow of more popular stories. “The Greed of Gehazi,” as it is subtitled in my Bible, comprises the last eight verses of 2 Kings 5, coming right after the story of the healing of Naaman, a popular story. Naaman was the commander of the Aramean army, described as “a mighty warrior” but “he suffered from leprosy” (2 Kings 5:1). So the King of Aram gave Naaman permission to visit God’s prophet Elisha. Naaman expected an audience with Elisha and came baring many gifts, but Elisha would not see him. Instead he sent out a messenger to tell Naaman that washing himself seven times in the Jordan River would restore his skin and cure his disease.

“But Naaman became angry and stalked away. ‘I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!’ he said. ‘I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?’ So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.” (2 Kings 5:11-12)

Naaman’s officers are able to reason with him and calm him down and Naaman does what Elisha said.

“So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed! Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.’
But Elisha replied, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts.’ And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused.” (2 Kings 5:14-16)

That’s usually where the story ends when we hear it in teachings, visual retellings, or from the pulpit, and if we close our Bibles there we will miss the story of Gehazi.

“But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, ‘My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts. As surely as the Lord lives, I will chase after him and get something from him.’ So Gehazi set off after Naaman. When Naaman saw Gehazi running after him, he climbed down from his chariot and went to meet him. ‘Is everything all right?’ Naaman asked.
‘Yes,’ Gehazi said, ‘but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill country of Ephraim have just arrived. He would like 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them.’” (2 Kings 5:20-22)

Gehazi was Elisha’s servant and as such he would have been witness to most if not all of the miracles God performed through Elisha; he may have even been the messenger that Elisha sent out to Naaman! But Gehazi did not agree with Elisha’s choice to reject the gifts Naaman brought, so he went out and lied to the man God had just healed. Naaman then told Gehazi to take twice as much, so he took it and hid it.  

“But when they arrived at the citadel, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants and sent the men back. Then he went and hid the gifts inside the house. When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, ‘Where have you been, Gehazi?’ 
‘I haven’t been anywhere,’ he replied.” (2 Kings 5:24-25)

And the lying continued. This is a common thing with lies: they never seem to stop at one. Gehazi lied to Naaman about his master sending him to collect the gifts and then he lied to his master to cover up where he went to tell his first lie. This is something we’ve all experienced in one way or another; either we’ve told the lie and then another to act as a coverup or we’ve been the one lied to. Here is the man who lived with the prophet of God and he lied to the one God had healed and then lied to his master, the prophet of God. Scripture has a lot to say about lying and the consequences that follow if we choose to tell lies.

“The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.” (Proverbs 12:22)

“A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will be destroyed.” (Proverbs 19:9)

“I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.” (Psalm 101:7)

“Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.” (Proverbs 12:19)

“For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.” (Luke 8:17)

“Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” (Psalm 32:2)

Gehazi did not escape consequences for his lies either.

“‘Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman’s leprosy forever.’ When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow.” (2 Kings 5:27)

There will always be consequences for our words, especially when they are not truthful. We are shocked when we read about scandals in the church or the pastor’s child who leaves the faith or church leaders who declare that their faith is dead, and yet here we read about the servant of the man of God being willing to lie because of his greed. You can be so close to the Truth, you can attend seminars and sermons and be in church every time the doors are unlocked, you can study and read, but you can still miss it if you do not focus on your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the key: let Him transform your heart into a new creature, not just a better person of the same kind. If people do not allow Jesus Christ to transform them, we will always read stories like Gehazi’s. This life with Christ is not simply improving what’s there—it’s tearing down the old and building something new. Here’s how C.S. Lewis described it in his work, Mere Christianity:

“For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders—no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings—may even give it an awkward appearance.”

Gehazi was the servant of the prophet of God and he allowed his greed to control him to the point that he lied and deceived to get what he wanted, and he paid dearly for it. There will always be consequences for our lies. The Scriptures call Satan the father of lies. Flee from him and cling to the Truth. Let Jesus do away with the old and bring in the new.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed