"Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendents forever." And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow. " II Kings 5:27

Then the king talked to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Tell me, pleas, all the great things Elisha has done." " II Kings 8:4

Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army was healed of his leprosy when he came to Elisha with an action-oriented faith and obeyed the Word of the servant of God and dipping himself in the river Jordan seven times. Such a marvelous deliverance was wrought in the life of Naaman, God honoring Naaman"s faith and obedience. The man was so happy and blessed that he came back to the man of God Elisha and asked him to receive an offering from him. But Elisha refused to receive anything from Naaman and sent him away with peace.

But right at that time, there was a war raging within the heart of Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. He saw what had happened to Naaman, how he was healed and how he wanted to give an offering. He said to himself, "My master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving anything from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him." He could not overcome the covetousness that was within him. He yielded himself to that covetousness and started to run after the chariots of Naaman, the Syrian. He strayed outside of the will of God for his own life in doing so. I Timothy 6:10 says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed away from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows". This was specifically true with Gehazi. There are many who get trapped by compromising with the ways of the Lord, yielding to covetousness and changing the priorities God had set for them. Are you one of them?

Covetousness was only the first step in Gehazi"s battle. Naaman noticed him soon and stopped the chariot. Gehazi could clearly hear the voice of the Lord in his spirit, warning him not to do that. But Gehazi, now fully taken over by his covetousness was not listening to the warning. He ignored the voice of the Lord speaking through the consciousness of his spirit. Elisha asked him when Gehazi returned to his presence, "Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you?" (II Kings 5:26). That tells us that there was a real contention between the Lord and Gehazi when Naaman came off his chariot. But Gehazi had ignored the supernatural, fully blinded by his covetousness. There are many today who compromise the standards God had set for them in business decisions and management decisions. Dearly beloved: Are you making such shortcuts? God is contending with you once more to come back to him.

When Naaman stopped his chariot and turned to Gehazi to enquire the matter, Gehazi replied, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, "Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to be from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments"" (II Kings 5:22). Gehazi did not ask for things for himself, which was the real case. But, he decided to use his master"s name. Gehazi was trading with his godliness. He was in fact asking for material things because he needed them for the Lord"s prophets. His actions did not contribute to the glory of the Lord"s name but made it cheap. When Gehazi came back to Elisha, Elisha spoke to him a righteous curse borne out of the commandment of the Law, "The leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever." Gehazi went out from his presence, leprous, as white as snow (II Kings 5:27) It is clear from the description that Gehazi received an advanced form of leprosy instantaneously. The leprosy did not just start to affect him slowly, but it had fully grown upon his bode. Oh! What a pity it was for Gehazi to miss God"s very best for him! God had ordained him to be a man after Elisha just like how Elisha took the mantle of Elijah. But Gehazi missed it. If you are walking like Gehazi, God is asking you to repent and come back to Him!

But praise God that it was not the end of Gehazi. It never is over until God declares it was over. Gehazi was given over to a terrible sickness as a curse since he had missed God"s mark for his life and was a cause for God"s name to be blasphemed. But, God is a God of mercy and compassion. He gave another chance for Gehazi. Four chapters later, in the book of II Kings we see that Gehazi was talking to the king of Israel. Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant o the man of God, saying, "Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done." (II Kings 8:4) If Gehazi was still a leper, the king of Israel would not be talking to him. Israelites dealt with leprosy by excommunicating the leper. The commandment was for lepers to live outside of the town. They had to cover their beard and shout, "unclean, unclean" when walking on the streets. But, the king was talking to Gehazi. That means, Gehazi was healed tremendously by the grace of God. Perhaps, Gehazi was one of the four lepers who went to the Syrian camp in the middle of the night and decided to declare it to the king"s household (II Kings 7:3-16), where he was transformed of his lifestyle and repented.

Oh, how great are the mercies of God. God is able to change your curses too today. Take Him at His word as you pray and seek deliverance. Repent of your sins and come to Him first as you claim His promises. Galatians 3:13 says that Christ has become a curse for us on the cross so that we are not under the curse of the law. Come to Calvari and claim the redemption and deliverance Jesus Christ has in store for you today!

Prayer: Precious heavenly father, I confess my sins and repent of them. I commit my life into your Lordship today. Remove all curses from my life and deliver me. In the wonderful name of your son and our savior Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.