Gehazi Ran After the Silver

A Gift Elisha Wouldn’t Take

In 2 Kings 5, God healed a Syrian army captain named Naaman through the prophet Elisha. Naaman dipped in the Jordan seven times, just as he was told, and his flesh came back clean (2 Kings 5:14).

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Naaman came back and begged Elisha to take a gift. Elisha’s answer was firm:

"But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused." — 2 Kings 5:16 (KJV)

Elisha wanted Naaman to know that God’s healing was free. It wasn’t for sale, and it wasn’t a trade.

The Servant Who Ran

But Elisha’s servant Gehazi had other plans:

"But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him." — 2 Kings 5:20 (KJV)

Gehazi ran after Naaman’s chariot. He lied, claiming Elisha had sent him to ask for silver and clothes. Then he took them home and hid them.

One sin led to the next. First he wanted it. Then he chased it. Then he lied to get it. Then he hid it. And when Elisha asked where he had been, he lied again: “Thy servant went no whither” (2 Kings 5:25).

Why Did Gehazi Get Leprosy?

Elisha already knew:

"And he said unto him, 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?" — 2 Kings 5:26 (KJV)

Gehazi walked away with the money, and with Naaman’s leprosy:

"The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow." — 2 Kings 5:27 (KJV)

Notice who else paid: “thy seed for ever.” Gehazi’s choice didn’t stay with Gehazi. It reached his children. What we chase doesn’t only shape our lives. It shapes our family’s lives too.

It Wasn’t the Time to Build

Look closely at Elisha’s question again. He didn’t only say, “Is it a time to receive money?” He kept going: garments, oliveyards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, menservants, and maidservants.

That isn’t a shopping trip. That’s an estate: land, crops, herds, and workers. Gehazi wasn’t just grabbing some spending money. He was planning to build a life with it. Elisha’s answer was that it wasn’t the time to build.

Jesus Said the Same Thing

Jesus warned that the world would be caught building right up until the end:

"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." — Luke 17:26–30 (KJV)

Notice what Jesus didn’t say. When He pointed to Noah’s day and Lot’s day, He didn’t list their worst sins. He listed eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, and building.

Those are ordinary things. That’s the warning. People weren’t destroyed while doing something shocking. They were destroyed while going about normal life, building their futures as if judgment would never come.

Marrying for a “Better” Life

Marriage is on Jesus’ list too, and that may surprise some people. But think about how often marriage today works like a financial deal. Two incomes mean a bigger house. Two credit scores mean a bigger loan. Many couples go into marriage as a partnership for a “better” life, and “better” usually means more stuff.

Paul was clear that marrying isn’t a sin: “But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned” (1 Corinthians 7:28). The question is what the marriage is built for. Paul told believers to hold even marriage loosely, because the time is short:

"But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away." — 1 Corinthians 7:29–31 (KJV)

A marriage built to serve God together will last into eternity in what it produces. A marriage built as a merger for a nicer life is building on the plain of Jordan in Sodom and Gomorrah.

It’s All Going to Burn

Here is why all of this matters. Everything Gehazi wanted to build is going to burn:

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness," — 2 Peter 3:10–11 (KJV)

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." — 1 John 2:15 (KJV)

"And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." — 1 John 2:17 (KJV)

So why build, buy, sell, and pile up possessions when you know it’s all going to burn? Once you see that, chasing those things looks vain. It’s like repainting a house that’s scheduled to be torn down tomorrow.

James says the same thing to people making big business plans:

"Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." — James 4:13–14 (KJV)

Putting It in Perspective

Try this. Picture the things you want most on the day 2 Peter 3:10 describes:

• For kidsthe toy collection or game system you keep asking for
• For teensthe phone, the latest shoes, the car you’re saving for
• For adultsthe dream house, the retirement account, the business you’re growing

All of it, “burned up.” Only what was done for God will remain. That’s why Jesus said to build somewhere else:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:" — Matthew 6:19–20 (KJV)

Treasure in heaven looks like God’s Word hidden in your heart. It looks like real needs met, the gospel shared, and your family taught to love God more than stuff. Fire can’t touch any of that.

What Gehazi’s Greed Looks Like Today

Gehazi treated what God freely gave as a chance to cash in. That looks like:

• serving at church only when you get something out of it
• using your faith to look good
• using your faith to get ahead financially
• turning a ministry into a business, where the money starts deciding what gets taught

We ask that last one of ourselves as a channel. We would make every video the same way even if it earned nothing.

Gehazi’s pattern of hiding shows up in everyday life too:

• a teen buying things online and hiding the packages from their parents
• a husband or wife keeping purchases secret from each other
• quietly fudging an expense report or a timesheet at work
• “forgetting” to mention extra change a cashier gave you

If you have to hide it, that’s your warning. Gehazi hid the silver in the house, but he couldn’t hide it from God.

Jesus gave His disciples the opposite instruction: “freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Your gifts, your time, and your talents were given freely. Give them the same way, without asking what’s in it for you.

There’s Still Hope

The same God who cleansed Naaman can cleanse a heart that’s been cashing in on Him. If you’ve been hiding something, bring it into the light. Confess it to God, make it right where you can, and stop running after the chariot.

This Week’s Verse

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." — 1 Timothy 6:6 (KJV)

Keep reading: Gehazi wasn’t the only one who chased what looked good, and whose family paid for it. Lot Looked at the Plain