Wednesday July 06th, 2023
« Then Jesu said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own »
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 theLord.
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 traveled 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 toward 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 forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.
Understand:
It is sad but true that some people love gifts more than their very lives.
In other words, they are covetous and love to reap where they did not sow.
In order not to be caught in this devilish snare, our Lord Jesus Christ warns us against covetousness in today’s memory verse.
One man who loved gifts exceedingly was Elisha’s servant, Gehazi.
His master rejected the gifts offered by someone who God had healed through him, because he understood the principle of “freely you have received, freely you should give,” which led him to say in 2 Kings 5:16aNKJV
« As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none »
However, greedy Gehazi was not happy with this response, so he decided to run after the rejected gifts. He went and collected them in secret, not knowing that in the realm of the spirit, “there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 12:2).
Imagine the shock he felt when Elisha said to him in 2 Kings 5:26NIV:
« ………“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? »
Dumbfounded, Gehazi could not answer these questions.
You need to learn some critical lessons from his experience today. Gehazi did not know that the spiritual eyes given to his master followed him as he executed his devious scheme.
If Elisha’s spiritual eyes could see the things Gehazi did in secret, how much more will God’s eyes which runs to and fro the earth, see those who secretly toy with sin?
Also, learn that there is a time for everything.
There is a time to receive gifts and there are times they must be rejected.
Elisha asked Gehazi whether it was the right time to receive gifts.
Gehazi did not consider this when he went ahead to demand and not just receive gifts from Naaman. However, this earned him God’s judgement, and he instantly became leprous.
Beloved, it is vain to run after gifts that are not approved of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 NIVsays:
10“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?
Beware of the love for gifts because some gifts are ill-motivated and can destroy your future, like it happened to Gehazi.
May the Lord spare you the agony of gifts from ill-gotten wealth in Jesus’ Name.
Prayer point: Father, please deliver me from the snare of covetousness in Jesus’ Name.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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