2 Kings 5:20

GEHAZI'S DISAPPROVAL OF ELISHA'S REFUSAL OF NAAMAN'S GIFT

"But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: as Jehovah liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And Naaman saw one running after him, and he alighted from his chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there are come to me from the hill-country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment. And Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house; and he let them go, and they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went not my heart with thee, when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and menservants and maid-servants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed forever. And he went out from his presence a leper white as snow."

This unhappy episode so closely allied with the healing of Naaman, as pointed out by Henry, strongly suggests the envy of racial Israel who rejected the Christ because of his receiving the Gentiles. Gehazi dearly despised and hated "this Syrian" and determined to take from him whatever he could get. There are spiritual overtones here of the very grandest dimensions.

Note this early example of crooked "fund raisers" who base their appeals upon helping others. Gehazi pretended to be seeking help for impoverished sons of the prophets, but he was merely a lying scoundrel seeking to enrich himself. Many "charities" of our own times are of that same character. "To the shame of all, a few continue to exploit unsuspecting persons on the pretext of giving aid to needy religious causes. Religious charlatans of the twentieth century are little different from Gehazi."[15]

Gehazi was indeed a skillful liar. His trumped up story about those two impoverished sons of the prophets who arrived just after Naaman left must have sounded like the gospel truth to Naaman.

"Is it a time to receive money ... garments ... oliveyards ... vineyards ... sheep and oxen ... men-servants and maid-servants?" (2 Kings 5:26). In these words, the prophet merely pointed out all of those material benefits which would in Gehazi's mind have resulted from that great gift he had extorted from Naaman.

"This is a constant warning to all who would magnify the externals of life at the expense of spiritual realities."[16] Did not our Savior ask, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul"?

"Gehazi was like Judas; his concern for money and material things blinded him to the great realities of Elisha's prophetic mission."[17]

"It was not merely for his avarice that God punished Gehazi, but for his abuse of the prophet's name.[18]

Hammond pointed out not merely the severity of God's punishment of Gehazi, but its immediacy also. "It fell upon him suddenly, as Miriam's leprosy had fallen upon her (Numbers 12:10)."[19]