Sunday Nuggets: Great Future Overran By Greed

With no reference to his background or how he was brought into the company of prophets, the scriptures introduced Gehazi as a servant and confidant of Elisha. Lucky man, his future looked great at that moment. He represented the next generation of prophets who would stir the face of the nation towards God. But Gehazi had a different plan.

Gehazi came into ministry at a very difficult time for the nation of Israel; their military was subdued by Syrian soldiers and the entire nation was ravaged by economic woes and spiritual wretchedness. They needed help from above.  As Elisha seek the face of God concerning the nation in many crises, Gehazi explored with his naked eye, ready like a hawk to pounce and covet whatever was left in the hands of the people.

Amidst his obedience and diligence, Gehazi harboured self-destructive greed that eventually summed up his account in the scripture. As he followed his greed down the Syrian road, in pursuit of cloths and money, Gehazi ignorantly abandoned his office in chase of ephemeral things. But that wasn’t the first sign that Gehazi would be a big liability to the ministry.

When he was sent to raise from death the son of a Shunammite woman, the rod of the prophet didn’t work in the hand of Gehazi. It could be that he spent the entire day not praying and fasting but trying to figure out how to exploit the woman should her son come back to life.

So Gehazi returned with Mycobacterium leprae infested cloths he coveted from Naaman who was recovering from leprosy, thereby admitting himself into the ward of unrecoverable diseases and lived with it for the rest of his life.