Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 5
Gehazi believed that he had acted wisely. He did not believe that he had acted wrongly either against Elisha or against God. Rather, in his opinion, he had corrected Elisha’s mistake – he even promised to God that he would do this (5:20). So, he took silver and valuable clothes from Naaman, and he stored them in a safe place. The harvest had failed in Israel and prices were expensive (8:1). Gehazi was sure that these valuable things would be useful at this difficult time.
However, Elisha proved that Gehazi had acted wrongly by a simple question (compare Acts 5:8). Gehazi had returned to Elisha, and stood in front of him, ready to do his duties as a loyal servant. However, Elisha asked Gehazi where he had been.
Gehazi knew that Elisha had firmly decided not to accept any gift or payment whatever from Naaman (5:16). He knew, therefore, that Elisha would not approve of his actions. So, Gehazi chose to lie to Elisha. He (Gehazi) had not gone anywhere, Gehazi said.
However, Gehazi was not merely lying to Elisha. He was also lying to God. God had directed Elisha not to accept any gift from Naaman – so Gehazi had acted both against God’s instructions, and against Elisha’s desire. That is not how a loyal servant behaves. God knew what Gehazi had done – and he had shown it to Elisha. So now Elisha declared God’s judgment against Gehazi.
Next part: Gehazi's leprosy (2 Kings 5:26-27)
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