Now and again there pass before us in Scripture those who lie and deceive: but there is no more deliberate liar than Gehazi. As with Ananias and Sapphira, so with Gehazi, covetousness was the root of the lying.
The wealth of Naaman—the ten talents of silver, the six thousand pieces of gold, the ten changes of raiment—had stirred up the unjudged covetousness in the heart of Gehazi. The need of Naaman drew forth the grace of God in the prophet; the wealth of Naaman drew forth the covetousness of his servant. The grace of God had brought blessing to Naaman; the covetousness of Gehazi would belie the grace of God. A rich man willing and delighted to bestow a handsome gift, was too good an opportunity for a covetous man to let pass.
To gratify his greed, Gehazi does not hesitate to act lies as well as tell lies. He runs after Naaman and says, " My master hath sent me." This was the first lie. Then he invents the story of the visit of the two young men of Ephraim—a second lie. Having obtained two talents of silver, and two changes of raiment, he returns with two of Naaman's servants to help him carry the gift as far as the hill (not " tower " as in the Authorized Version). To go further would be to come into view of Elisha's house; so he pauses at the hill, and lets the men go. Having hidden the goods in the house, " He went in, and stood before his master " as if nothing had happened. He acts a lie. When asked by Elisha, where he had been, he attempts to cover his former lies by telling another lie, " Thy servant went no whither." One lie leads to other lies.
Then follows the solemn exposure. The whole terrible sin, in all its detail, was known to the prophet: but more, the motive that prompted the sin was known. Hidden in Gehazi's heart was the desire to acquire social position as a possessor of oliveyards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, menservants and maidservants.
Lastly the exposure is followed by the judgment. If Gehazi had taken of Naaman's wealth, he must also take Naaman's disease. He had acquired two changes of raiment from Naaman by lying and deceit; he also obtains a change of skin by the judgment of God. And the leprosy that he acquires will cling to him all the days of his life. The wealth he has obtained will soon be spent, the leprosy will abide. No waters of Jordan will cleanse Gehazi.
He came in before his master as a liar; he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. In grasping at the wealth of Naaman, he inherits the disease of Naaman, and loses his place as the servant of the prophet. Once more he appears in the court of the king, but no more as the servant of Elisha.
In estimating the sin of Gehazi, the prophet first looks at it in connection with God and His grace. How will his act affect the testimony of God? He sees that Gehazi's sin presents an entirely false view of the grace of God. Elisha had been careful to refuse Naaman's gifts, lest this Gentile should think that the blessings of God can be obtained by gifts. Gehazi's sin would tend to nullify this testimony to the freeness of the grace of God. It was no " time " to receive gifts.
Are we not warned by this solemn scene that if we allow unjudged lust or covetousness in our hearts, we shall be ready to fall into temptation when it crosses our path. Further, one sin leads to another. We cannot stop just according to our own will in the path of sin. As one has said, " A man cannot stop his boat at will in the strong currents just above Niagara, though he might have avoided them altogether."
Then it is obvious that great religious advantages will not, of themselves, protect against grievous sin. Who could have had greater advantages than Gehazi? He lived with one of the greatest prophets the world has known—one who, again and again, is described as a man of God—and yet Gehazi fell. " Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall."
Finally we learn that the pursuit of sin destroys all sense of the presence and power of God. Gehazi must have had repeated experiences of the power of the man of God to read men's hearts and discern the motives of their actions. No one knew better than Gehazi this power of God that was with the prophet. Nevertheless, while Gehazi is seeking to gratify his covetous heart, it is so absorbed with the overruling passion of greed that, for the time, he entirely loses all sense of the presence of the omniscient God.
Thus, with the judgment of God upon him Gehazi goes out from the presence of the prophet, as in the day to come a yet greater sinner will go out from the presence of the Lord into the night, and Ananias and Sapphira will fall dead under the judgment of the Holy Spirit.