5 Lessons from the life of Gehazi

The events that led to Elisha's appointment as Elijah's successor were properly documented by the Bible in the book of. Around that time, Elijah was running away from Jezebel. He didn't deem himself capable of continuing the work anymore and gave God tons of excuses. Among other reasons, God, in his unending wisdom decided that it was time to handover to a younger, more vibrant and fearless prophet in the person of Elisha. On receiving the mantle, Elisha threw an induction party for himself by killing the bulls he plowed the fields with, preparing the meat using the plow-stick as firewood and then throwing a generous celebration for himself and his former colleagues.

 

There were many sons of prophets in Israel during those times, though Elijah continued insisting to God that he was the only prophet left. So why did God choose Elisha? During his time in office as son of the prophet, Elisha showed the reason why God choose him to succeed Elijah. He was focused, bold, fearless and even ruthless (the unruly youths that mocked him for his bald head can attest to the last adjective). Elisha knew his calling and mission and followed it precisely, without running away or collecting gifts.

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On the other hand, there was Gehazi. The Bible didn't quite reveal the process that led to Elisha choosing Gehazi as his servant. But it was quite clear that Gehazi wasn't a prophet, or one of the sons of the prophet. So while Elisha had to be a prophet, an outstanding one at that, so as to be selected by God to be Elijah's protege, Gehazi got the same position by being Gehazi. Maybe a family friend or a recruited servant, but he didn't go through the same procedures and protocols as Elisha.

 

There must have been better servants in Israel during those days but grace choose Gehazi to be the servant to the greatest prophet in Israel at that time. You would be forgiven for thinking that a person so undeservedly favoured would showcase his gratitude through discipline, focus and diligent servitude, but no, Gehazi wanted more. He wanted to be wealthy too.

 

There are quite a number of lessons to be learnt from the life of Gehazi, but for the sake of this article, we shall explore only a few.

 

The biggest lesson from Gehazi's life, is the cost of greed. One can never classify Elisha as poor, so Gehazi

The Bible clearly documented the situation that led to Elisha's appointment as Elijah's successor. Elijah was old and was running from Jezebel. Jezebel, The Grand Patroness of Baal, and who also happened to be King Ahab's Queen, had vowed to kill Elijah. This threat made the  prophet disappear into the wilderness where he hid in a cave. God, in his infinite wisdom, spotted Elijah's inability to carry on and then asked him to anoint Elisha as his designated successor.

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There were many prophets and sons or prophets in Israel in those days (even though Elijah continued insisting to God that he was the only prophet left). So why did Jehovah choose Elisha? Elisha provided answers to this question through his character during his days in office as a prophet. Elisha was focused, committed,bold, fearless and even ruthless. The unruly youths that taunted him for his bald-head can attest to the truth in the last adjective I used to qualify him. His ability to remain focused reflected positively throughout out his career as he demonstrated the undiluted power of God day in day out.

The Bible didn't quite reveal the procedures through which Elisha chose Gehazi as his servant. But it was quite clear that Gehazi wasn't a prophet, or one of the sons of the prophets. So how come he became Elisha's servant? Maybe a family friend or a recruited servant, but there must have been better servants in Israel. How did he become the servant to the most powerful prophet in Israel at that time? Well, Grace must have found him. 

You would expect that a person so undeservedly favoured would show forth his gratitude by being diligent, focused and disciplined, well, Gehazi had other plans. He wanted to be rich too.

There are quite a number of lessons to learn from the life of Gehazi, but for the sake of the this article, we shall explore just three.

1. Greed will Cost you 

There will always be consequences for every action, whether good or bad. I get to ask myself a question - Did a double portion of Elisha’s anointing ever cross Gehazi’s head?

Conclusion