Passage: 2 Kings 5:15-27

The Big Idea

Naaman pictures the way of salvation: a proud sinner who humbled himself, believed God’s word and was made clean, freely. Gehazi pictures the opposite: a man close to God’s work who never trusted God’s power or love. When Elisha refused Naaman’s gifts so that grace would stay free, Gehazi ran after Naaman, lied to get silver and clothes, hid the evidence and lied again to his master. The leprosy that had been washed from Naaman’s skin came upon Gehazi, who had carried its spiritual equivalent in his heart all along. Consider the goodness and severity of God. When you believe Jesus is everything you need, He promises to be everything you need.

Poetic Justice

Wile E. Coyote has a tough life. All he wants is to catch that Road Runner. So he sets traps and schemes again and again, only to get caught in his own traps, crushed by his own anvils and stuck in his own schemes.

Poetic justice.

Naaman: The Way of Salvation

Naaman has been healed of his leprosy, and he has pictured for us the way of salvation!

He returned to the man of God with his whole company and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant” (2 Kings 5:15).

When you believe Jesus is everything you need, He has promised to be everything you need.

When Jesus went back to His hometown of Nazareth, He announced in the synagogue that Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah was fulfilled in Him. The crowd was so offended they tried to throw Him off a cliff. He said, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown.” And He couldn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief (Mark 6:5-6).

Those who should have known Him didn’t believe.
And Jesus explained their unbelief by pointing to this very story: “There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27).
Why Naaman? Because he humbled himself and believed. Humility and faith.
Israel had more knowledge of God than the nations around them, but they didn’t believe.
Many of us know more about God’s love and grace than most people around us. But do we believe?

God shows no favoritism. He’s an equal-opportunity Savior.

Paul says not many of us were wise, powerful or noble. God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, the lowly and despised, even things that are nothing, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:26-30).

When you believe Jesus is everything you need, He promises to be everything you need.
Wisdom. Righteousness. Sanctification. Redemption. All of it, in Christ.

Naaman pictured the way of salvation: humility and faith.

He was proud, with his position and money. But sin was pictured in his leprosy.
When he humbled himself and submitted to God’s word in faith, he was healed completely.
And notice: he had to go down into the Jordan.
Throughout Scripture, crossing the Jordan pictures passing through death into new life.
Death is the penalty of sin.
Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, identifying with us.
When we come to Jesus, we realize it’s death that sets us free: not our death, but His.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20).
Our new life begins when we identify by faith with Jesus’ death on the cross: “Yes! That was for me! I receive it! I believe it! He’s my Savior!”

Consider the goodness and severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but goodness toward you, if you continue in His goodness (Romans 11:22).

Naaman is a beautiful picture of God’s goodness poured out on a humble, believing sinner.
Gehazi is a sobering picture of God’s severity toward a proud, unbelieving one.

Gehazi: Close to God’s Work, Far from God

We’ve already seen Gehazi’s pattern:

He tried to push away the grieving mother whose son had died.
He couldn’t raise the boy, and there’s no sign that he prayed or believed it was possible.
He scoffed at Elisha’s faith: “Shall I set this before a hundred men?”

Grace Must Stay Free (5:16)

Naaman urged Elisha to accept a gift. But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” Naaman pressed him, but he refused.

Elisha wanted all the thanks and praise to go to God.
God was writing a record of His faithfulness. He heals for free!
Elisha wouldn’t spoil this picture of grace by making it about money.

Naaman’s Request (5:17-19)

Naaman said, “Then please let me take two mule-loads of earth, because I’ll never again offer sacrifices to any god but the Lord. But may the Lord pardon me for one thing: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship, leaning on my arm, and I have to bow there, may the Lord pardon your servant.” Elisha said, “Go in peace.”

This is a remarkable picture of God’s mercy.
Naaman knows the Lord is the only God and wants an ongoing relationship with Him.
He takes soil from Israel so he can worship the Lord on “holy ground” back home.
What faith! He wants to keep serving God in a pagan land. He’s becoming a missionary!
Only grace produces that kind of love.
Naaman has chosen sides. He chose the God of Israel.
God isn’t a nitpicker. He cares about the heart. Rules never change the heart. Legalism never produces loving disciples.

Paul says that if we died with Christ, why submit to rules like “Don’t touch, don’t taste, don’t handle”? These have an appearance of wisdom, with self-made religion and harsh treatment of the body, but they have no value against the indulgence of the flesh (Colossians 2:20-23).

Naaman no longer trusts his flesh. He’s alive and free.

But Gehazi is dead inside, and enslaved.

The Chase (5:20-21)

When Naaman had gone a short distance, Gehazi said to himself, “My master let this Syrian off too easy, not accepting what he brought. As the Lord lives, I’ll run after him and get something from him.” So Gehazi chased after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?”

Gehazi is enslaved to greed.
He doesn’t care about God’s glory.
He comes up with a scheme:
It will bring shame on God’s name, but he doesn’t care.
It will benefit him financially, and that’s what he cares about.
Why doesn’t God stop him? Sometimes God lets people follow the desires of their hearts (Romans 1:24).
Naaman is gracious and kind, yet Gehazi’s heart stays hard.
He’s running to commit his sin. Where was that passion when it came to trusting God’s Word?

The Lies (5:22-24)

Gehazi said, “All is well. My master sent me to say, ‘Two young prophets just arrived from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.'”

Gehazi doesn’t care about truth, only gain.
He doesn’t care about his master’s reputation. He throws Elisha under the bus.
The flesh uses lies to manipulate people for selfish gain.
If you ever find yourself justifying lies, your flesh is in control of your heart. And God’s answer to the flesh is to put it to death with Christ (Romans 6:6).

Naaman said, “Please, take two talents,” and insisted. He tied up two talents of silver and two changes of clothes and gave them to two servants to carry ahead of Gehazi. When they reached the hill, Gehazi took the goods, stored them in the house and sent the men away.

Naaman’s joy isn’t affected. His joy is in the Lord now.
God protects him even without his knowing it. That’s the benefit of humility and faith: God takes responsibility for your well-being.
Now Gehazi enters the cover-up phase:
He gets rid of the witnesses.
He hides the evidence.
It looks like he’ll get away with it!
Like Adam and Eve, or Achan (Joshua 7), no one ever really gets away with sin.

A word for the “sin sniffers” among us: it isn’t your job to make sure everyone’s sin gets exposed. God will do that in His time.

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins (Proverbs 10:12).
Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends (Proverbs 17:9).

There is a right way to confront sin while trusting the Lord. If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently, watching yourself so you aren’t tempted too (Galatians 6:1). How? Humility and faith.

“Where Have You Been?” (5:25-27)

Gehazi went in and stood before his master. Elisha asked, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He said, “Your servant didn’t go anywhere.”

Like God asking Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).
This was Gehazi’s chance to come clean, like Naaman. He could have been forgiven and free!
Lies don’t lead to repentance.
He didn’t realize he had the same disease as Naaman. It was just hidden in his heart.

Elisha said, “Didn’t my heart go with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money and clothes, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and your descendants forever.” And Gehazi went out from his presence leprous, white as snow.

Elisha seems to have had a spiritual bond with Naaman now.
He also saw into Gehazi’s plans.
Gehazi apparently wanted to leave ministry and use the stolen goods to start a farm: olive groves, vineyards, flocks and servants.
Remember, farming was the life Elisha left to follow God.
If you’re in ministry but your heart longs for a different life, it may be that ministry isn’t your calling.
Spurgeon told his students: “Do not enter the ministry if you can help it.” If you could be content as an editor, a grocer, a farmer, a doctor or anything else, “let him go his way.” A man truly filled with God’s Spirit for ministry would grow weary of anything else.
Gehazi wanted something from Naaman, and he got it: leprosy.
Poetic justice.
He’d had the disease all along; it was hidden in his heart. Now God brought it into the open.
But for him it wasn’t the first step toward healing, because he wouldn’t humble himself and seek the Lord.

God gave us this picture: His grace is free! He’ll heal even the worst person who comes to Him. But those who won’t admit their need will remain in their sin.

“You and your descendants forever” reminds us that those who follow Gehazi’s example of rejecting God’s Word end up sharing his condition.

Two Paths

Naaman is a beautiful picture of a sinner saved by grace.

Gehazi is a frightening picture of someone rejecting God’s will and Word, living in deceit and doubting God.

Both started as sinners. The difference came at the point where faith was tested.

Naaman went through the struggles of a newborn faith, like the pains of birth, but he was born again into a life of simply trusting God.

Gehazi refused faith at every step. He never seemed to believe that God loved him or that God was powerful. God’s promises seemed too wild for him. Maybe he had a skeptical mind that wanted a reason for everything. Maybe he’d been deeply hurt. I don’t know his reasons. But I know this: God is always faithful.

God deserves our complete trust and surrender.

Continuing in His Goodness

How do we “continue in His goodness”?

Keep trusting His Word. Keep believing it. Keep surrendering to it.
Who is the Word? Jesus (John 1:1).
Abide in the promises and work of Jesus.
Let your heart be captivated by His selfless love.
Let your mind be filled with His challenging parables.
Feast your soul on His very life given to you, His Holy Spirit.

Gehazi was cut off, no longer welcome in God’s presence or among God’s people. He was infected.

Don’t be like Gehazi! Jesus wasn’t his only hope. He had other hopes and desires. But Jesus wants to be everything we hope in.

Grace Takeaway

When you believe Jesus is everything you need, He has promised to be everything you need. Have you been hoping in other things? Today you can fully put your trust in the Lord. Maybe that means letting go of a dream, humbling yourself in a broken relationship or giving God the first part of your time. Whatever it is, you can believe God’s Word. He saves through His own faithfulness, received by our humility and faith. We bring no good works into the deal; He creates the good works out of our surrender. As you take communion, receive Him again: the bread broken for you, and the cup of new life.

For Discussion

Compare Naaman and Gehazi. Where was each one’s faith tested, and how did they respond?
Why did Elisha refuse Naaman’s gift?
What does Gehazi’s cover-up teach us about how sin works?
What “other hopes” compete with Jesus in your heart?

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Gehazi: Poetic Justice