Key Verse
“Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants for ever.”
— 2 Kings 5 : 26–27 (NIV)
1. A Privileged Position
Gehazi served as the personal attendant to the prophet Elisha — a position of immense spiritual privilege. He witnessed miracles of divine provision and healing: oil multiplied for the widow (2 Kgs 4 : 1–7), the Shunammite’s son raised from death (2 Kgs 4 : 32–37), and Naaman cleansed of leprosy (2 Kgs 5 : 14).
Gehazi thus lived at the centre of divine activity. He believed in God’s power, saw it daily, and worked beside His prophet. Yet spiritual proximity did not ensure spiritual purity. His faith in God’s existence never matured into obedience to God’s nature.
2. The Test of Integrity
After Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, was healed of leprosy, he offered Elisha lavish gifts in gratitude. The prophet refused, declaring that God’s grace cannot be purchased (2 Kgs 5 : 16).
Gehazi, however, reasoned otherwise. As Naaman departed, Gehazi murmured, “My master was too easy on this Aramean… I will run after him and get something from him.” (2 Kgs 5 : 20). Driven by greed disguised as fairness, he pursued Naaman, fabricated a story of need, and secured silver and garments.
His deception blended ambition with rationalisation — the belief that divine service entitled him to personal compensation.
3. The Exposure of Greed
When Gehazi returned, Elisha confronted him:
“Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you?” (2 Kgs 5 : 26).
Nothing hidden from the prophet’s sight escaped God’s. Gehazi’s lie fractured trust and profaned the ministry’s integrity. The consequence was immediate and severe:
“Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants for ever.” (2 Kgs 5 : 27).
In one act, Gehazi exchanged proximity to holiness for perpetual defilement. His pursuit of silver became his inheritance — wealth without wellness, service without sanctity.
4. The Later Years: Symbol of Decay
Later, in 2 Kings 8 : 4–5, Gehazi appears recounting Elisha’s miracles to the king of Israel — an ambiguous glimpse suggesting that his voice remained useful even after his fall. Yet Scripture never records his repentance or healing. He remains an emblem of squandered potential: one who served the prophet but missed the prophetic heart.
The irony is painful: Gehazi sought what Naaman freely surrendered — worldly honour — and gained what Naaman lost — leprosy.
5. Theological Reflection
- Closeness to power is not closeness to God. Gehazi walked beside Elisha yet failed to walk with God.
- Greed distorts the purpose of ministry. When service becomes transaction, faith becomes commodity.
- Divine judgement protects divine reputation. Elisha’s rebuke preserved the truth that grace cannot be sold.
Gehazi’s story warns that covetousness is not mere materialism but idolatry — a subtle worship of self over service.
6. Lesson for Today
Spiritual privilege becomes peril when purity is lost.
Modern disciples, like Gehazi, may serve within sacred work yet harbour divided motives. When ministry becomes a means of gain, moral leprosy spreads silently — outwardly active, inwardly diseased. The cure lies not in distance from wealth but in detachment from greed.
God’s question to Gehazi still echoes: “Is this the time to take money?” In every generation, the answer must remain: grace cannot be bought, and truth cannot be traded.
Key References
- The Holy Bible (NIV). (2011). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
- Wiseman, D. J. (1993) 1 and 2 Kings: Tyndale Old Testament Commentary. Leicester: IVP.
- Provan, I. (1995) 1 and 2 Kings: New International Biblical Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
- Cogan, M. and Tadmor, H. (1988) II Kings: Anchor Bible Commentary. New York: Doubleday.
- Wright, C. J. H. (2004) Old Testament Ethics for the People of God. Leicester: IVP.