THE SERVANT WHOSE WISH CAME TRUE

Gehazi was tired of not having everything he wanted. His master Elisha, didn't seem to care if he had to wear the same old clothes or eat the same old kinds of foods every day. Gehazi was very bitter about the way he had to live. When he first started serving Elisha he didn't think it would be like this. Just the other day all of the sons of the prophets had to go out into the woods to gather wild herbs and gourds to try to make something to eat. It didn't matter to Gehazi that God had made a delicious meal out of that stew or that shortly after that God had provided another miraculous meal. Gehazi was tired of being poor and having to live off charity.

Besides all of this Gehazi was still angry about the Shunamite woman who had recently acted very strangely towards him. She had come a long way to see Elisha and Elisha had told Gehazi to go and see what she wanted. Instead she pushed past Gehazi as if she didn't trust him. He didn't know that she had noticed his bitter spirit whenever he and his master would stay at her house. Perhaps she detected Gehazi's feelings that the world owed him something. Anyway she had ignored Gehazi and came straight to Elisha saying that her child was dead. Gehazi had tried to push her away from Elisha but instead of gratitude for his service Elisha had given him an embarassing job to do. Gehazi had to take Elisha's staff and lay it on the dead child's face.

Well of course, as is always the case when someone tries to do God's work with a wrong attitude, nothing happened. This made Gehazi even more angry. He went back and told Elisha that the child was dead. When Elisha prayed for the boy he was raised from the dead. Elisha could have went without sending Gehazi because he knew what was in Gehazi's heart but God wanted to show Gehazi that there was something wrong in his ministry. It is too bad that Gehazi ignored God's warning.

One day a group of soldiers and chariots showed up at the door of Elisha's house. The leader of the soldiers was sick with leprosy. He had come to ask Elisha to pray that he would be healed. After the Lord had tested the captain, He healed him. Another kind of test was being prepared for Gehazi. The captain offered Elisha money and expensive clothing. Elisha refused and sent the soldiers away.

Gehazi felt that it was time that he be rewarded for serving Elisha. He followed the soldiers and lied to them saying that Elisha had changed his mind. The captain gave Gehazi some silver and some clothing. Gehazi then made his way back to the house and hid the gifts. When he came out of the room he lied to Elisha and told him he had not went anywhere. Elisha told him that in his heart he knew what Gehazi had done. This shows us that Elisha had been concerned about his servant for some time.

There was nothing Elisha could do for him now except to let him experience the punishment for what he had done. He told Gehazi that the leprosy of the captain would stay on Gehazi and his family forever. Gehazi's plans for his family were ruined by his greed. Now he and his family would always know the punishment of God for greediness.

Taken from II Kings 4,5

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