Give Up
2 Kings 5:26-27, “26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? 27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence fa leper as white as snow.” [1]
I. Secret
A. Belief
B. Betrayal
II. Security
A. Beholden
B. Bounty
III. Sorrow
A. Bound
B. Betrayed
Introduction: We heard about Elijah in previous messages and now we have heard about Elisha. The relationship between these two was so close so that Elisha feared to be apart from Elijah. When Elijah ascended Elisha asked that Elijah leave his power with him.
Recently we have considered what it means for a Christian having the mind of Christ. Paul said that we can and we do have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16, “ mFor who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he †may instruct him? But nwe have the mind of Christ.” [2]
So we can understand from this that the Holy Spirit often gives the same thoughts to several Christians at a time. It is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Sometimes other people are led in the wrong direction at the same time by another spirit. We need to recognize the difference. The spiritual gift that allows the recognition of spirit is discernment.
Today we will see this evidenced even back in the Old Testament. We will learn of another man that accompanied Elisha. Gehazi was a servant. The relationship between Elisha and the servant Gehazi certainly was not as close as the relationship that Elijah and Elisha had. Yet in 2 Kings 5:20 it says, “xGehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God” [3]
Notice that it does not say that Gehazi was one of the servants of Elisha. He was the servant of Elisha. He might have been as close to Elisha as Elijah had been but he had motives that prevented him from attaining the station that he could have held. He let greed get in the way.
There is a saying that people use wrongly. The end justifies the means, In other words if you gain what you want in the end then no matter what you did to get what you want that is OK as long as in the end you win the game.
There is another saying just as telling. Someone who I once worked with and respected was out to get a promotion. There were things that were understood about how to go about getting what you needed to get promoted. If the other person was unable to accomplish what they needed it was understood that the others would not force themselves into a place where the others could not compete. One of the guys was a friend of mine and he had the idea that taking unfair advantage was OK in some instances. I asked him if he thought the other guy would do the same thing to him if situations were reversed. He said, “friendship is one thing but business is business.” Really he was saying the same thing. It is OK because the end result is I won; so the end justifies the means that I used to get what I want.
Gehazi wanted the stuff that Elisha refused. Elisha didn’t ask Gehazi’s opinion. He simply rejected payment for something that God had done through him. To Gehazi that seemed crazy.
Scripture: The scripture today is 2 Kings 5:26-27. Please stand if you’re able.
Prayer: Let us pray. Be seated.
Message: Last week we discussed the man Naaman who was washed clean of his illness. A man who didn’t know God accepted God through Elisha and went back to witness to Elisha. “15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is ono God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take pa blessing of thy servant.” [4] Elisha refused.
Jump down to verse 17, “And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. 18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of sRimmon to worship there, and the leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing. 19 And he said unto him, uGo in peace. So he departed from him †a little way.” [5]
So here is a Syrian man who before saw no good thing in Israel. Now that he knew God he wanted to take some dirt home with him so that he could kneel on it and pray. Elisha agreed to it. There at the beginning of verse twenty one is that word “BUT,”
But Gehazi had a different idea. But Gehazi had a secret that he thought he could keep from Elisha. But Gehazi was greedy. “21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he zlighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, †Is all well? 22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from amount Ephraim two young men of bthe sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. 23 And Naaman said, cBe content, take two talents. And he urged him, and dbound two talents of silver in two ebags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.” [6]
Gehazi asked for one talent of silver. Naaman was not greedy. Naaman was grateful. Naaman gave him two talents of silver. Gehazi took it all. When he got back he took it and hid it. He believed that his secret was safe. He never dreamed that Elisha had any idea about the betrayal of confidence. The end had justified the means in Gehazi’s eyes. He wasn’t about to give up what he wanted. If Elisha didn’t want it what difference did it make who wound up with it?
There is that word again, “25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went †no whither.” [7] There are some humorous things in the Bible. This is one of them. I can imagine hearing the exchange and have actually heard it myself. “Where you been Gehazi?” “Who me? Well I haven’t left this place.” Gehazi tried to lie which only added insult to injury.
It brings us to our focal verse. Elisha knew stuff. He discerned the truth. Gehazi would have never understood that. Elisha didn’t need worldly wealth. Gehazi only understood security to mean what the world gives, not what God gives. Elisha insisted that security is not found in money which is represented by the two talents of silver. Security isn’t found either in the garments that Gehazi took. For that matter not even oliveyards and vineyards or sheep and oxen of any value compared with what God gives. What you can hold in your hand or in other words that which you are beholden that you can touch and take and possess; those things don’t count much when we are dealing with things of eternal value.
The word bounty in the outline is the same as saying abundance. There is nothing wrong with having abundance as long as you give from that part which is over and beyond that which you need.
Then Elisha mentioned another thing. He mentioned menservants and maidservants. Gehazi was Elisha’s servant. In priority of God things versus worldly things even servants don’t stack up very high. What was Elisha saying? There is nothing even including you Gehazi that is better than what God gives. If I cannot trust it then I do not need it.
Verse twenty-seven is another hard truth. This is the sentence that Elisha pronounced onto Gehazi. The skin desease that Naaman had; he was cured of because Naaman came from being an unbeliever to a believer. Can you think of a more sorrowful thing than to have an opportunity to serve a servant of God and then to only allow greed to cause you to walk away from a relationship that will last into eternity? That is surely enough to cause sorrow.
To understand that your actions will not only be bound or tied to you but will also be carried by your offspring; that is just too much! Do you suppose that Gehazi felt betrayed by what he had allowed himself? All because he trusted worldly wealth over a relationship with one who knew God and who even knew Gehazi. Elisha wanted to know Gehazi as a confidant. Instead Gehazi would never be trusted again and would always carry the mark on his skin to remember what he had done. Can it get any worse than that? Yes, it is worse for so many unbelievers.
Prayer: Let us pray
Invitation: Gehazi had with Elisha what Elisha once had with Elijah and Gehazi threw that away for stuff. We are Jesus’ bride! We are His church! We are walking Jesus’ walk and yet we are walking away so that we might rather be accepted by those who refuse God.
Nobody else could have made the decision for Gehazi. He had to decide for himself. For a time Jesus gave up heaven. Jesus walked this walk with us here so that each of us can know Him as Lord and Savior. We want a Savior but do we want a Lord? Are you ready to give up the stuff? Just as Elisha knew Gehazi Jesus knows our motives. Do we?
Are we capable of the same acts of treason towards Jesus as Gehazi was towards Elisha? How can we resist the world and still walk with our Lord? The march towards victory becomes easier with each step, each prayer, each time we read the Bible. To stay with Jesus, stay with Jesus! To stray from Jesus listen to the world and fall in.
We must give up on attempting to satisfy that which even sometimes our own families expect from us. We must give up and let Jesus have His way if we truly want Him as Lord. It cannot be both ways. Somebody will lose and that will be you.
Elisha wanted the power of faith that Elijah had. He got that. What do you want? Let us consider. Let us sing…
f ch. 15:5. See Ex. 4:6.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 5:26–27). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
m Cited from Isai. 40:13. See Rom. 11:34.
† Gr. shall.
n So John 15:15. & 16:13.
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Co 2:16). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
x See ch. 4:12.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 5:20). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
o So Dan. 2:47. & 3:29. & 6:26, 27.
p See Gen. 33:11.
[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 5:15). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
s Comp. 1 Kin. 15:18. Zech. 12:11.
t ch. 7:2, 17.
u See 1 Sam. 1:17.
† Heb. a little piece of ground. See Gen. 35:16.
[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 5:17–19). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
z Gen. 24:64.
† Heb. Is there peace? ch. 9:11. See ch. 4:23. So ver. 22.
a See Josh. 24:33.
b See ch. 2:3.
c ch. 6:3.
d See Deut. 14:25.
e Is. 3:22 (Heb.).
[6] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 5:21–23). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
† Heb. not hither or thither.
[7] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 5:25). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
