What is the meaning of 2 Kings 5:20? Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God Gehazi stands in privileged proximity to one of Israel’s greatest prophets, yet proximity does not guarantee purity. • Like Joshua to Moses (Exodus 24:13) and Elisha to Elijah (2 Kings 2:2), Gehazi is meant to learn humility and faith. • Previous snapshots show both usefulness and cracks in his character (2 Kings 4:12, 31). • His title “servant of Elisha the man of God” magnifies the coming contrast: one minister serves God; the other serves self (Matthew 6:24). Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman Gehazi’s opening words drip with contempt. • “This Aramean” reveals national prejudice; Israel and Aram were frequent enemies (2 Kings 6:8). • Elisha saw Naaman as a soul to be healed and a testimony to God’s power (Luke 4:27). Gehazi sees only a foreigner who got off “too easy.” • When grace offends our pride, we are closer to the elder brother than to the Father (Luke 15:28-30). by not accepting what he brought Elisha had just refused lavish gifts so that Naaman would know “there is no God in all the earth except in Israel” (2 Kings 5:15-16). • Salvation cannot be bought (Isaiah 55:1). • Simon the sorcerer’s money met the same rebuke (Acts 8:18-20). • Jesus commands, “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Gehazi interprets Elisha’s generosity as naïveté rather than holiness. As surely as the LORD lives This oath formula is normally the mark of a prophet (1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 3:14). • Gehazi borrows sacred language to sanction selfish plans—proof that even correct theology can be weaponized by a corrupt heart (James 3:10). • His lips honor God while his intentions run the opposite direction (Matthew 15:8). I will run after him and get something from him The plan is immediate and determined. • “Run” signals eagerness; Proverbs 28:22 warns, “A stingy man hastens after wealth.” • Love of money entraps and pierces the soul (1 Timothy 6:9-10). • The parallel with Achan’s hidden plunder (Joshua 7:21) foreshadows Gehazi’s secret but soon-exposed sin (2 Kings 5:21-27). • What begins as “something” ends in everything: Naaman’s leprosy transfers to Gehazi. summary Gehazi’s single sentence exposes a heart unmoved by grace, resentful of mercy to outsiders, and captivated by greed. Though he serves a prophet, he serves himself. The verse warns that spiritual privilege without submission hardens into hypocrisy, while God’s free gift must remain free—offered without price and received without payment, to the glory of the living LORD. |
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