=ELISHA – A MAN OF MIRACLES=

The Covetousness of Gehazi

Review:
1. – (890 BC) – II Kings 2:13-14
2. – (890 BC) – II Kings 2:20-22
3. – (890 BC) – II Kings 2:24-25
4. – (890 BC) – II Kings 3:12-27
5. – (890 BC) – II Kings 4:6-7
6. – (890-891 BC) – II Kings 4:11-17
7. – (c. 886 BC) – II Kings 4:33-37
8. – (c. 886 BC) – II Kings 4:38-41
9. – (c. 886 BC) – II Kings 4:42-44
10. – (c. 886 BC) – II Kings 5:1-19

I. THE OF GEHAZI (c. 886 BC) – II Kings 5:20-21

A. Gehazi is .
1. When Gehazi set out to obtain some gifts from Naaman that Elisha had refused, he dirtied Elisha's
reputation.
a. Elisha wanted to make sure Naaman saw his healing as a result of God's , and so
he refused any payment for his services.
b. But because Gehazi was controlled by covetousness, he did not care about Elisha's teaching on
grace because he was motivated by .
2. Gehazi had no concern for the well-being of Naaman.
a. Gehazi would only rejoice in Naaman's healing if it put money in his pocket.
b. His disrespect for Naaman is seen by his calling Naaman “the .”
Syria was Israel's enemy and Gehazi never forgot that.
3. While God was glorified in Naaman's profession that Jehovah was the only God in all the earth, there was
nothing about Gehazi’s that honored the Lord.
B. Gehazi is driven by .
1. Gehazi's drive for material gain is seen in his “I will after him” (verse 20).
2. Some people are so ambitious about materials things that they are willing to chase after them at the
expense of their spiritual well-being.

II. THE OF GEHAZI (c. 886 BC) – II Kings 5:22-23

A. Gehazi acquired a sizeable gift from Naaman.
1. He asked for “a talent of silver, and two changes of garments” (verse 22).
2. Instead, Naaman gave him “ talents” (verse 23) instead of one besides the two changes of raiment.
B. Gehazi received what he did because of his and Naaman's .
1. When Gehazi came to Naaman, he said, “My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be
come to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a
talent of silver, and two changes of garments” (verse 22).
a. Gehazi's story was very possible, but it was totally .
b. Mount Ephraim was the location where schools for the sons of the prophets existed.
c. They were not too far from Samaria either, and so it would not be unusual for them to come to
Elisha in time of need.
d. He knew that Naaman, a recent convert, would be especially to
helping out some servants of Jehovah.
2. Gehazi's success in acquiring a great handout was not only a result of his lying but was also a result of
Naaman's generosity.
a. Gehazi asked for but one talent; Naaman “urged him” to “take two talents” (verse 23).
b. By Naaman getting “down from the chariot to meet” (verse 21) Gehazi shows his great concern
and respect.

III. THE OF GEHAZI (c. 886 BC) – II Kings 5:24-27

A. Gehazi had no sooner brought the gifts from Naaman back to Samaria than Elisha blew the whistle.
B. “When he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house; and he let the
men go, and they departed” (verse 24).
 1. Gehazi did not let Naaman's servants come all the way into the or to Elisha's house.
2. “ ” does NOT refer to a building or structure but rather to a well-known hill
outside of Samaria.
3. Since Gehazi could not carry the entire gift himself, sent two servants back with
Gehazi to help carry the bounty because a talent of silver would be as much as one person could carry.
4. But these two servants presented a problem in trying to keep the crime .
5. So Gehazi stopped the two servants at the edge of town, and made a couple trips to hide the goods out of
sight - “bestowed them in the house.”
a. always leads to hiding.
b. Adam and Eve sinned; so they “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God” (Genesis
3:8).
c. Achan stole goods from Jericho, and they were “hid in the earth in the midst of my tent”
(Joshua 7:21).
C. After he had stowed all the goods away, “he went in, and stood before his master” (verse 25).
1. The of a servant was to stand before his master, ready to receive orders.
2. Gehazi wanted to give an that everything was normal, that he was
loyal and ready to serve Elisha.
D. Elisha asked such an innocent question, “Whence comest thou, Gehazi?” (verse 25).
1. Gehazi had a ready answer—a . “Thy servant went no whither.”
2. Gehazi's attempt to avoid the arrest through reminds us of the fact that one lie
necessitates another lie, and one sin leads to another sin.
E. Elisha told Gehazi, “Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee?
Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and
menservants, and maidservants?” (verse 26).
F. After learning that Elisha knew all about his criminal activity, he then heard Elisha pronounce a terrible judgment
upon him. “The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed forever. And he went
out from his presence a leper as white as snow” (verse 27).
1. Gehazi wanted Naaman's , but he also got his .
a. Leprosy was a terrible disease that only got worse.
b. Gehazi’s leprosy was the most pronounced kind - “white as .”
2. Gehazi had a tremendous spiritual of helping one of God's greatest
prophets. But his took all of that away - “He went out from his presence.”
3. When Elisha pronounced the curse of leprosy upon Gehazi, he said it would also come “unto thy seed
forever” (verse 27).
a. His would always be troubled because of leprosy.
b. Leprosy quarantines and restricts the intermingling of lepers with people.
G. The account of Gehazi's life is a tragic story. Only the Lord knows what might have been if Gehazi had not
allowed covetousness to rule his soul.
H. There are a few significant comparisons and relationships between Elisha's two miracles regarding leprosy.
1. The first miracle brought the of leprosy; the second brought the infliction of
leprosy.
2. The first miracle was one of ; the second was one of .
3. The first miracle was on a ; the second was on a .
4. The first miracle involved a man in , Naaman; the second involved a
, Gehazi.