DISHONESTY IN THE FAMILY

One of the most intriguing biblical accounts of a miracle healing is found in 2 Kings 5. The cast of characters: Namaan, the leper; Elisha, the prophet; and Gehazi, the servant of Elisha.

Namaan’s story is unusually interesting because he was the commander of the army of the Syrians, who were longtime enemies of the Jews. Apparently, Namaan’s leperosy was not contagious and would not immediately take his life. But he was desperate and when he heard of Elisha’s powerful ministry, he secured permission to go into enemy territory for help. In order to get the full impact of Namaan’s journey to healing, read all of 2 Kings 5.

Namaan knocked on Elisha’s door begging for help and Elisha did not even bother coming to the door to talk to him. The prophet simply instructed his servant, “Tell Namaan to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and he will be healed.”

Elisha was not anything like Naaman thought he would be; in fact, Namaan was dumbfounded and all his preconceptions were destroyed. His retort to the servant was, “But I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand and the leprosy would be healed.’” I wonder if he had seen a certain evangelist on Christian TV back in Syria? Namaan had serious misconceptions of how his healing would unfold.

After some debate, Namaan reluctantly did what the prophet of God had instructed…and he was miraculously healed! Leprosy was a type of AIDS of his day and the miracle was astonishing. Namaan did exactly the right thing in response to his healing. He testified before the prophet and all those who were with him with these words, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.”

Namaan was so filled with gratitude to God and to the man of God, that he offered a gift to Elisha for his part in directing him to his healing. Elisha quickly and rightly turned down the gift and Namaan and his companions left to return home, healed and happy.

Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had a different thought, however, and decided that it might not be such a bad thing to take some money and clothing for the miracle. Secretly, Gehazi slipped away from Elisha and chased down Namaan.

Gehazi lied to and manipulated Namaan into believing that he did need to give a gift for his healing and Namaan, fresh in the afterglow of a miracle, not only gave Gehazi what he suggested but he doubled the amount that was requested.

When Gehazi returned to Elisha’s home, the prophet asked, “Where did you go?” Gehazi lied to the prophet and said “I didn’t go anywhere!” Elisha then recounted what he had seen in the Spirit and what Gehazi had done in manipulating Namaan’s miracle for his own dishonest gain. Elisha’s chilling closing statement in verse 27 was, “Namaan’s sickness will be upon you and your family, forever!”

What does this story have to do with us? Well, the fact is that the spirit of Gehazi is loose in the church today.

When a teacher or a preacher suggests that your healing, your blessing, your miracle, the answer to your prayer is bound up and can only be released by a financial gift, we are seeing the spirit of Gehazi at work in the church.

The spirit of Gehazi is a lying spirit. It is a lie for anyone to tell you that your answer is contingent on your making a gift to them or to their ministry or to any ministry. God’s gifts are free and cannot be bought with money. God’s Word teaches us to give and to give generously but not like this, not “buying” a miracle. God extends His miracle-working power not because of us but in spite of us. God blesses us out of love and mercy; it’s called grace and it’s a free gift! (Ephesians 2:8)

The spirit of Gehazi is a manipulative spirit. It is not just a lying spirit, but it is a spirit that is willing to manipulate the Word and God’s people for unjust financial gain.

Sadly, the spirit of Gehazi has not brought the blessing that it promised into the church. What the spirit of Gehazi has brought is weakness and sickness of spirit. It has compromised the body of Christ and brought reproach and shame instead of blessing and liberty. Greed and covetousness are not a blessing—they are a curse.

The spirit of Gehazi is loose in the church!