2 Kings 5:19b-20(ESV Strong's)
But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
Subject: Greed and Service
Gehazi was a servant of Elisha. Elisha was a prophet of God, who at one time, was a servant of Elijah. When Elijah went to be with God in a miracle accession, Elisha had one request: He wanted a double portion of the Spirit of God, that was resting upon Elijah. His request was granted and as a result the miracles Elisha did were "over-the-top" and out of the norm. The miracles he performs restore the water for some, the stew for others, and, in the case above, heal a man of leprosy, named Naaman. However, unlike Elisha when he was the servant of Elijah, Gehazi was a man who didn't want more of the Spirit of Elisha, he wanted to "get something" from Naaman. After healing Naaman, Elisha had refused his gifts. Gehazi was not as humble. He follows Naaman, makes up a story in order to have his greed feed. He wants "something.". Gehazi is the perfect picture of today's servant who serves to get an easy life and live off the goodness of God's people. He wants to live a life of ease and comfort; at the hand of those God heals and saves. Elisha discovers this and the leprosy that once was Naaman's falls on Gehazi. Rather than rejoice in the power of God, Gehazi wants to "earn" from that power. The same was true of a man in Acts who saw God work His power through Peter. He didn't want the power of God to see God's will done, he wanted the power of God to earn a living and live in comfort (Acts 8:17-24); Greed in the heart of the servant of God is an awful sin. We must protect ourselves in our service that we don't end up like Gehazi and want to "get something" for our service.
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