Lesson of Three Servants part 2

Last Sunday I spoke about the Lesson of the Three Servants.

Jesus said in Matthew 20:28 “The Son of man did not come to be served but to serve!”

In the Books of 2 Kings ch 5. We get a glimpse of two very different servants.

The second servant was Gehazi, or the “believer working for a believer”.

Gehazi was the servant of Elisha the prophet. He represented outwardly the faithful servant – putting on a show both for his master and others. He was an Israelite so he knew about the Living God. Gehazi had witnessed the power of God through Elisha.

But in this passage in 2 Kings we see Gehazi’s reaction to his master refusing the incredible riches offered to him by Naaman after he received his cure from Leprosy.

Gehazi was incredulous! To just say no to so much wealth was unthinkable to him. He immediately hatched a plan to gain some of the riches for himself without his master ever knowing.

Of course Gehazi’s concept of God was fatally flawed. Sure he understood God’s vast, incredible power but he was completely unfamiliar with God’s intimacy with His creation. The smallest detail of your life God is cognizant of – not as some would have us believe – to pounce on us or keep a running tally of wrongs, but to take every opportunity to be involved in our lives upon the faintest invitation on our part (Joel 2:32).

Gehazi was completely caught off guard when upon returning from his errand of mischief, Elisha gives him one chance to confess his misdeeds. Then Elisha demonstrates God’s power to Gehazi in providing one more thing from Naaman – his Leprosy!

So what are the keys to the attributes making up Gehazi’s character? As we look at these keep in mind it is a believer we are describing, not just some idol worshiper, atheist or agnostic.


1. Two faced – Gehazi was looking out for himself while representing that he was only concerned with fulfilling Elisha’s wishes.
2. Liar – Gehazi lied to both his master, a believer, but also to Naaman who had become a new believer by that time!
3. Materialistic – Gehazi did not go after the treasure of Naaman to enrich his master. By hiding the booty and returning to Elisha as if nothing happened, he showed his only concern was selfish in nature.
4. Ignorant of who God is – Gehazi knew about the Creator God. He knew God was more powerful than any idol. Gehazi knew Elisha was the prophet of this Living God but somehow compartmentalized this awareness to “God is concerned about great issues and people of status but not aware or concerned with me”.

The ache of my heart is that this servant is a believer! This servant is in the church! This servant may be sitting next to you on Sunday! Two faced, deceitful, a liar, materialistic, “having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof!” (2 Tim.3:5).

Tomorrow we will look at the last example of a servant from the New Testament – the non-believer working for a believer.