Slices
Prepare
Pray: Heavenly Father, nothing is hidden from you. Let your Word speak to me in the secret places today. Amen.
Bible passage
15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.’
16 The prophet answered, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.’ And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.
17 ‘If you will not,’ said Naaman, ‘please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. 18 But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: when my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also – when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.’
19 ‘Go in peace,’ Elisha said.
After Naaman had travelled some distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, ‘My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.’
21 So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running towards him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. ‘Is everything all right?’ he asked.
22 ‘Everything is all right,’ Gehazi answered. ‘My master sent me to say, “Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.”’
23 ‘By all means, take two talents,’ said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. 24 When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left.
25 When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, ‘Where have you been, Gehazi?’
‘Your servant didn’t go anywhere,’ Gehazi answered.
26 But Elisha said to him, ‘Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes – or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? 27 Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants for ever.’ Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous – it had become as white as snow.
Explore
Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, is an example of the type of people Isaiah prophesied about, who are ‘ever seeing, but never perceiving’ (Isaiah 6:9). He saw Naaman’s healing, and the Shunammite’s son raised, and even uses the phrase ‘as surely as the Lord lives’ (v 20). But he doesn’t seem to have perceived that this living God also saw him and his actions.
Notice how he justified his greed to himself – ‘My master was too easy on Naaman’ (v 20). He knew Naaman was able to pay for the service he received, so he reasoned that it was only right that he should. Taking more than I should have – of things freely offered – is a sin I have had to repent of in the past and still battle with. Elisha identifies the root of this greed (v 26) – it is putting our faith in possessions rather than in God’s provision.
Having thought he could hide his sin, Gehazi found himself having to wear the consequences on display for the rest of his life (v 27). At the beginning of the story, Gehazi knew God lived, now he understood that on a life-changing level.
Respond
In Isaiah 6, we also find hope for those who understand that God lives and sees even our hidden sins: they may ‘turn [repent] and be healed’ (Isaiah 6:10). Through Christ, we can receive forgiveness and cleansing. Confess your sins to him today.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Job 41,42; Philippians 3
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Mission Partner Wildfire Youth Project as they prepare to launch a two-year Youth Work Trainee Programme across Winchester in September, partnering with SU and Westminster Theological Centre. Pray that God will send the right applicants and prepare both them and the existing Wildfire team for this new venture.
Because a strong start begins with smart preparation
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