What truly led to the fall of Gehazi? Dive into 2 Kings 5:15-27, unveiling the deeper spiritual truths behind Gehazi’s fall and how his actions became a tragic example of hypocrisy, greed, and divine judgment. Just like leprosy spreads through the body, Gehazi’s sin spread from the heart, leading to devastating consequences. Discover how Gehazi’s fall also serves as a poignant illustration of the dangers of spiritual compromise and the urgent need for repentance. Read this material from Being Content God’s Way or watch the accompanying sermon to learn from Gehazi's tragic example.

https://youtu.be/zbC01GX3EUc

Table of contentsGehazi Was a Religious HypocriteGod Faithfully WarnsWhen God Warned DavidGod Faithfully Warns UsWe Escape and EndureGehazi’s DeceptionsSin Often Leads to More SinElisha Saw What Gehazi Did as God Sees What We DoElisha Had a Heart for Elisha as God Has a Heart for UsGehazi Already Had Spiritual LeprosyWe Must Be Cleansed of Our Spiritual LeprosyGehazi Ruined a Picture of the GospelLeprosy Must Be Cleansed

On the fifteenth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, the record industry honored him as the best-selling singer of all time. He seemed to have many of the most common things people seek: wealth, fame, and success. But on August 16, 1977, at only forty-two years old, his fiancée, Ginger Alden, found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor of his Graceland mansion. Attempts to revive him failed, and he was pronounced dead.

Photos and videos of him at the end of his life show a bloated man with distorted features. Most people will say the years of drug use and careless living took their toll. But I would say the biggest cause of his death was covetousness. 

Here’s what I mean: even as his health deteriorated, he continued to tour intensively because he desired even more fame and success. In 1973, only a few years before his death, he had his busiest schedule with 168 concerts.1 The day he died, he was scheduled to fly out of Memphis to Portland, Maine, to begin another tour. No matter how successful and famous he became, he always wanted more.

We would be hard-pressed to find someone whose health was damaged by covetousness more than Elvis's. But we do with Elisha’s servant, Gehazi. His covetousness caused him to get leprosy!

Here’s the background to the account. The prophet Elisha told the Syrian general, Naaman, how to be cleansed of leprosy. After Naaman was cleansed:

2 Kings 5:15 Then [Naaman] returned to the man of God (Elisha), he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”

Naaman was incredibly grateful and tried to repay Elisha:

2 Kings 5:16 But [Elisha]  said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 

Naaman attributed his cleansing to God, and Elisha wanted to keep it that way, so he refused the gift. 

2 Kings 5:19 [Elisha] said to [Naaman], “Go in peace.” But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

Gehazi was Elisha’s servant, and he knew that Naaman had tons of wealth. Briefly look back at 2 Kings 5:5:

2 Kings 5:5 And the king of Syria said [to Naaman], “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So [Naaman] went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.

Naaman travels with more changes of clothing than most of us. When Gehazi watches Naaman walk off without giving anything, he thinks he’s missing out on a fortune.

Gehazi Was a Religious Hypocrite

Gehazi said, “As the Lord lives.” He likely heard his master, Elisha, use this phrase frequently. This is a classic illustration of religious hypocrisy. Gehazi spoke the right words, but the spiritual reality was far from his heart. He would have feared God if he thought He was alive.

Why did Gehazi mention God? He couldn’t just say, “I want all Naaman’s money,” so he brought the Lord into it to legitimize his actions. He wanted to sound spiritual and justify his disobedience. 

Sometimes, we put on religious fronts for the same reason. We do something we should not be doing, and someone confronts us about it, so we say something like, “God knows my heart,” “God opened this door for me,” or “God told me to do this.” Then nobody can argue with us because they would be arguing with God. But if we bring God into our plans when it isn’t His will, that’s blasphemy. There didn’t seem to be many sins in the Old Testament that upset God more than using His name to act as if something was His will when it wasn’t.

God Faithfully Warns

When Naaman saw Gehazi:

2 Kings 5:21 “So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” 

Naaman knew Gehazi was Elisha’s servant, who might want something or have a message for him, so he responded inquisitively. Gehazi is about to sin.  He reaches the chariot, and Naaman climbs down, stands before him, looks him in the face, and says, “Is everything okay?”

This seems like a faithful warning that should’ve turned Gehazi back from what he was planning to do. He should have thought, “No, everything is not okay. I am about to do something terrible.”

When God Warned David

Think about the moments before David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Even though David gave in to temptation, we can see “the way of escape” that God provided: 

2 Samuel 11:3 “David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, ‘Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’”

It is as though the servant warned, “David, this is a married woman. Her husband, Uriah, and her father, Eliam, are two of your mighty men. Eliam is the son of Ahithophel, your advisor and close friend. Bathsheba is off limits.” David was given ample warning.

God Faithfully Warns Us

God also faithfully warns us. Imagine you are going to do something foolish, such as watch a movie you should not watch, buy something you should not buy, see someone you should not see, or go somewhere you should not go. You get a text message, receive a phone call, or run into a friend and are asked, “How are you doing?” 

It would be best if you said, “I am not doing well. I was thinking of doing something foolish, but God faithfully used you to warn me. Thank you!” Then turn around, go home, and praise God that He loved you enough to provide a way of escape, as Paul said God does:

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

The words “beyond [our] ability” mean we have limits when it comes to temptation. There is a point at which everyone gives in when tempted strongly enough. But this verse states that there are two things God graciously does for us:

First, He knows the threshold for each of us and does not let us experience temptation “beyond [our] ability to resist it.” This means when we experience temptation, we call God a liar if we say, “This is too difficult. I cannot resist.”

Second, “[God] will also provide the way of escape,” so we can avoid sinning. And this means when we experience temptation, we call God a liar if we say, “There was no way to avoid sinning.”

We Escape and Endure

But 1 Corinthians 10:13 sounds contradictory. It says, “Provide the way of escape” versus “You may be able to endure it.” Which is it? Do we escape temptation or endure it? Yes! This is resolved by understanding the struggle against temptation. No, we don’t need to sin, but resisting is hard. God doesn’t remove the temptation, but He gives us the grace to endure it. We can escape from sinning, but we cannot escape from having to resist the temptation.

Consider a weightlifting analogy. We have the strength to lift the weight, but we must still lift it. With temptation, God gives us the strength to resist, but we must still exercise that strength. He does not lift the weight for us. It’s heavy, but it’s never too heavy. God does not allow too much weight on the bar. The question is whether we want to lift the bar or set it down.

Gehazi’s Deceptions

Gehazi chose to set the weight down:

2 Kings 5:22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’”

A talent is 75 pounds, so Gehazi didn’t hold back in his request. He could have said, “You offered a gift for your cleansing, and I came to get it.” But he concocted two lies instead. First, he said Eisha sent him, which made Naaman believe he was obeying Elisha by giving the gift.

Second, he said two young prophets unexpectedly visited Elisha, and he needed money and clothing for them. This made the request seem benevolent and urgent: “These two prophets just showed up, and we were unprepared. They need money and clothing, which you brought with you. Elisha did not need your gift before, but now he does to care for them.” It was very manipulative. Naaman responded as we’d expect:

2 Kings 5:23“‘Be pleased to accept two talents.’ And [Naaman] urged [Gehazi] and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi.”

Naaman was so trusting that he gave Gehazi more than he had requested, wrapped it neatly,