A Man Smitten with Leprosy
Gehazi was the servant of Elisha, the man of God. He was a very privileged man, having spent much time with Elisha, observing a life pleasing to God, and seeing him perform miracles by the enabling power of God. Gehazi was, however, covetous, and determined to acquire for himself some of the gifts Elisha had refused to take from Naaman. He loved money, and "the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Tim 6.10). He went to Naaman and lied to him, saying that Elisha had sent him to ask for a talent of silver and two sets of clothing. Naaman gave him two talents of silver, the garments he requested and two servants to carry the items. By his actions, Gehazi had given the impression that God's gracious healing of Naaman was not freely given. When he arrived at Elisha's house, Gehazi went in and stood before him. He denied having gone anywhere, but God had revealed to Elisha that Gehazi had gone after Naaman to obtain the gifts refused by his master. Gehazi was punished, for we read that Elisha said "The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow". His sin affected both Gehazi and his descendants (2 Kgs 5.20-27). Gehazi, like Demas (2 Tim 4.10), must have known a great deal about God; about His ways, holiness, righteousness, grace and power. Gehazi loved riches, and Demas loved this present world. However, a man is not truly rich who acquires wealth in this life, yet is not rich toward God (Lk 12.20, 21).
An Axe Head Recovered
The sons of the prophets had increased in number, and the place where they dwelt with Elisha was too small to accommodate them. They asked Elisha if they might go to Jordan, get some wood and there build a new place where they could live. When they were at work felling trees, the head flew off an axe being used by one of the men and went into the water. The man lamented "Alas, master! for it was borrowed". Elisha enquired as to where it had fallen in and, on being shown the place, cut a stick and threw it into the water at the spot where the axe head had gone in. Miraculously it floated, and was retrieved by the man who had been using it (2 Kgs 6.1-7). The axe had been borrowed, and the man was very concerned about having lost the lender's property. The power of God which raised the axe head saved the borrower from distress, for although the loss of the axe head might appear to be a trivial matter, it was not so to the man who had lost it. Our gracious God is concerned with every aspect of our lives, even those which might seem unimportant. We should live in an atmosphere of prayer, casting all our cares upon Him, because He cares for us (1 Pet 5:7). We should not be over-anxious about anything but should rather pray about everything, with thanksgiving letting our requests be made known unto God (Phil 4.6). The Lord is with us always; He will never leave nor forsake us (Heb 13.5), and He is able to do infinitely more than we can imagine to be possible (Eph 3.20).
The number of the sons of the prophets was expanding, and action needed to be taken to accommodate this. Although it is often said that we live in a "day of small things" (Zech 4.10), nevertheless, our responsibility is, by the grace of God and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to lead lives pleasing to God and to tell the gospel to all those with whom we come into contact. When there was a need to provide for the results of the expansion, all of the sons of the prophets were involved (2 Kgs 6.2), and every believer should likewise be involved in the work of the local assembly. When the head fell off the axe, the work would have been impeded had it not been for the power of God graciously working through His prophet, Elisha. If we lose our power for witnessing then we must be careful to find out, before God, exactly why and where we lost that power. The axe head was recovered where it was lost (vv 6-7), and if we have lost the power to serve we must find out the cause of the loss and put right that which has gone wrong so that, by His grace, we might continue our work for the Lord.
Eyes Opened and Eyes Closed
At a time when the king of Syria was at war with Israel, he conferred with his officers to decide where he should set up his camp. Elisha warned the king of Israel not to go near the camp because he would be ambushed there. This happened several times. When it became obvious that his plans were always known by the Israelites, the king of Syria tried to find out who had been revealing the plans. One of his officers explained that Elisha was a prophet and able to tell his king what was going to take place. The king of Israel was warned of the strategy of the king of Syria and of the traps he was setting. Through studying and meditating on the Word of God, believers can learn the wiles and devices of Satan and, by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, seek to avoid being ensnared (Eph 6.11; 2 Cor 2.11). The Syrian soldiers were ordered to find and capture Elisha. They learned that he was in Dothan, and a large number of soldiers with horses and chariots went by night and surrounded the town (2 Kgs 6.8-14). The next morning, Elisha's servant got up and saw that the town was surrounded. He said to Elisha "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" (v 15), and Elisha answered "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (v 16). He then prayed that God would enable his servant to see what Elisha could see, "And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha (v 17). Spiritual realities cannot be understood by the natural man. It is only by the grace of God that spiritual truth can be seen and appreciated, for "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God … because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor 2.14).
When the Syrian army came forward, Elisha prayed that the soldiers might be blinded, and God granted his request. Elisha told the troops he would lead them to the man they were looking for, and led them into Samaria where they did indeed see Elisha. He prayed that their eyes might be opened, and the men now knew something of the power of God. The king of Israel, acknowledging Elisha's authority, asked him if he should kill the Syrian army. Elisha said that the king would not have killed them if he had captured them in battle, and now, instead of killing them, he should provide them with a feast. This was done, and they were treated with grace and not with violence. The troops returned home and marauding bands did not come into Israel again (vv 15-23). The gracious treatment of the Syrian army brings to mind the Lord's gracious words "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Mt 5.44). The power of our omnipotent God is available to shield and protect all believers at all times, and we can live and rest in the reality of the words "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 Jn 4.4), and "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8.31).
(To be continued …)
