What Are You Running After?
A Well-known Character… Or Something Like That
Naaman, when you read that name, I already know what thought comes to mind. “Ah yes! Naaman the captain of the king of Aram. A great man, highly respected, through whom the LORD had given victory to Aram. You know, the great leper warrior in 2 Kings chapter 5.” Not really, if you are like me when you heard the name Naaman, you went, “I’m sorry, who?” I love stories like this, though, because they are so full of history and principles which to draw life changing principles out of. A perfect example of the never-ending wellspring of life-giving knowledge and principles on which the believer is supposed to build their life!
I’ll only summarize the story here as we walk through this together, but I encourage you as the reader to pause here and go and read 2 Kings chapter 5.
A Great Man… but There’s a Problem
We are introduced to Naaman right off the bat. He is a great man who is highly respected because through him the Lord had given Aram many victories. Apparently, he is a great military commander, but he has a problem, he’s a leper. This was a big problem in ancient times and a certain death sentence! There is a little Israelite slave girl, however, who served Naaman’s wife. She suggests that if only her master were in Samaria, the prophet there would be able to heal him of his leprosy. So Naaman’s wife tells him what the slave girl said. Naaman (likely desperate) goes to the king of Aram and relays the news of the slave girl. The king sends a letter and Naaman on to the king of Israel, but Naaman doesn’t come empty handed, he brings 10 talents of silver (about 750 pounds) and six thousand shekels of gold (about 150 pounds) and 10 changes of clothes. Naaman brings his king’s letter to the king of Israel, the letter states that he has sent Naaman to him so that he may be cured of his leprosy. Obviously, the king of Israel assumes this is impossible and is troubled thinking that this is a trap. Elisha, the prophet whom the slave girl spoke of, hears of this and sends word to his king stating that he’ll deal with this situation so that Naaman may know that there is a prophet in Israel.
Now, Naaman comes with his horses and chariots to Elisha’s house. Elisha, however, doesn’t show up but sends a messenger to him saying, “go wash in the Jordan river 7 times.” Naaman is furious! He wanted some kind of show from the prophet. Then he starts talking all kinds of trash on the Jordan river. Which may be warranted, after all it is kind of just a muddy stream at times. Then he leaves in a fit of rage. His servant’s however talk some sense into him, and he does as Elisha states and is miraculously cleansed of his leprosy. So much so that his flesh is like that of a little child. He returns to Elisha’s house claiming that the God of Israel is the true God. Then he tries to give Elisha all of the riches he brough with him, which was quite substantial. Elisha refuses and Naaman departs, all of his treasure intact.
Enter Our Object Lesson
The next character on the scene is the one I want us to focus on. There are many lessons to be drawn from all the events that took place before this point, but here is where we will dwell. His name is Gehazi, he is a servant of Elisha’s. Gehazi isn’t happy that Elisha turned down all the riches. So, he’s going to take matters into his own hands. Gehazi runs after Naaman and when he catches up he does something stupid, he lies. He tells Naaman that Elisha sent him to get some of the treasure for two young men that had just shown up from the hill country of Ephraim. Now Gehazi doesn’t get super greedy but asks Naaman for a talent of silver and two changes of clothes. Naaman, in his generosity, sends him two talents of silver and the two changes of clothes. Naaman’s servants carry the riches to Gehazi’s house for him and set them inside. When Gehazi appears before his master again, Elisha asks him where he’s been. Queuing up his next mistake. Gehazi lies and says that he’s been nowhere. Elisha tells Gehazi that though he wasn’t there he knew all that had transpired.
So… What Are You Running After?
The end of the story seems a bit harsh at first. Elisha pronounces judgement on Gehazi and makes the leprosy that had clung to Naaman, cling to Gehazi. Gehazi goes out from his presence “a leper white as snow.” Not only to Gehazi but also to his descendants.
Where I want us to focus here, is on the act of Gehazi running after Naaman because he desired the wealth that Naaman had. First, this act betrayed Gehazi’s lack of faith in the Lord’s ability to provide. Gehazi viewed the worldly riches in such high regard that now the pursuit of that took precedence over everything else. Second, Gehazi’s greed cast a shadow over the integrity of Elisha’s role of a prophet of the Lord.
So, let me ask you this, what are you running after? What thing in your life has your attention? Does that pursuit betray anything about you? Are you demonstrating a lack of faith in any way. That could take many forms, from prioritizing work over your faith, or even your wife or your kids over your faith. Your pursuit of what the world has to offer could take a million different forms. Notice the fact that Gehazi got what he was after. You can run after wealth, power, influence, a career, your dream girl, and anything else the world has to offer, and you may even get it. The world is full of “successful” people who don’t care a thing about the Lord. The rub comes in the fact that Gehazi got exactly what Naaman had. I don’t want us to miss out on this fact. Naaman was a dead man walking, he was an outcast because of his leprous state. He was willing to give up all the riches in the world to be clean again. To have life in his future. Gehazi, wanted the possession of Naaman and pursued it fervently. He got what he wanted and then some. Gehazi took the possessions but failed to realize that he was pursuing death. Gehazi got exactly what his actions portrayed that he wanted. If you asked Gehazi, I doubt he would have said that he wanted to die. However, by failing to run after the Lord and running after what the world had, that is exactly what he displayed as his biggest desire. You see, actions will always speak louder than words. So, I ask you, reader, what are you running after? If it’s something other than the Lord, please change course before you lose your life!
