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TheleprosyofNaaman - shallcleaveuntothee - Thou hast got much money, and thou shalt have much to do with it. Thou hast got Naaman's silver, and thou shalt have Naaman's leprosy. Gehazi is not the last who has got money in an unlawful way, and has got God's curse with it.
Aleperaswhiteassnow - The moment the curse was pronounced, that moment the signs of the leprosy began to appear. The white shining spot was the sign that the infection had taken place. See on Leviticus 13:2; (note), and the notes at Leviticus 13:58; (note).
Some have thought, because of the prophet's curse, The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and thy seed for ever, that there are persons still alive who are this man's real descendants, and afflicted with this horrible disease. Mr. Maundrell when he was in Judea made diligent inquiry concerning this, but could not ascertain the truth of the supposition. To me it appears absurd; the denunciation took place in the posterity of Gehazi till it should become extinct, and under the influence of this disorder this must soon have taken place. The for ever implies as long as any of his posterity should remain. This is the import of the word לעולם leolam . It takes in the whole extent or duration of the thing to which it is applied. The for ever of Gehazi was till his posterity became extinct.
The god Rimmon, mentioned 2 Kings 5:18, we meet with nowhere else in the Scriptures, unless it be the same which Stephen calls Remphan. See Acts 7:43; (note), and the note there. Selden thinks that Rimmon is the same with Elion, a god of the Phoenicians, borrowed undoubtedly from the עליון Elion, the Most High, of the Hebrews, one of the names of the supreme God, which attribute became a god of the Phoenicians. Hesychius has the word Ῥαμας Ramas, which he translates ὁ ὑψιστος Θεος, the Most High God, which agrees very well with the Hebrew רמון Rimmon, from רמה ramah, to make high or exalt. And all these agree with the sun, as being the highest or most exalted in what is called the solar system. Some think Saturn is intended, and others Venus. Much may be seen on this subject in Selden De Diis Syris.
Let us not suppose that the offense of Gehazi was too severely punished.
1. Look at the principle, covetousness.
2. Pride and vanity; he wished to become a great man.
3, His lying, in order to impose on Naaman: Behold even now there be come to me, etc.
4. He in effect sells the cure of Naaman for so much money; for if Naaman had not been cured, could he have pretended to ask the silver and raiment?
5. It was an act of theft; he applied that to his own use which Naaman gave him for his master.
6. He dishonored his master by getting the money and raiment in his name, who had before so solemnly refused it.
7. He closed the whole by lying to his master, denying that he had gone after Naaman, or that he had received any thing from him. But was it not severe to extend the punishment of his crime to his innocent posterity? I answer, it does not appear that any of Gehazi's children, if he had any prior to this, were smitten with the leprosy; and as to those whom he might beget after this time, their leprosy must be the necessary consequence of their being engendered by a leprous father.
Reader, see the end of avarice and ambition; and see the truth of those words, "He that Will be rich, shall fall into temptation, and a snare, and into divers hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition." - St. Paul.
We have already remarked the apparently severe and manifestly kind providence of God in this business.
1. A marauding party was permitted to spoil the confines of the land of Israel.
2. They brought away, to reduce to captivity, a little maid, probably the hope of her father's house.
3. She became Naaman's property, and waited on his wife.
4. She announced God and his prophet.
5. Naaman, on the faith of her account, took a journey to Samaria.
6. Gets healed of his leprosy.
7. Is converted to the Lord; and, doubtless, brought at least his whole family to believe to the saving of their souls. What was severe to the parents of the little maid was most kind to Naaman and his family; and the parents lost their child only a little time, that they might again receive her with honor and glory for ever. How true are the words of the poet!
"Behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face."
And see the benefits of a religious education! Had not this little maid been brought up in the knowledge of the true God, she had not been the instrument of so great a salvation. See my sermon on this subject 2 Kings 5:12; (note).
Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary
Naaman, a Syrian, a courtier, a soldier, had many servants, and we read how wise and good they were. Elisha, a holy prophet, a man of God, has but one servant, and he proves a base liar. The love of money, that root of all evil, was at the bottom of Gehazi's sin. He thought to impose upon the prophet, but soon found that the Spirit of prophecy could not be deceived, and that it was in vain to lie to the Holy Ghost. It is folly to presume upon sin, in hopes of secrecy. When thou goest aside into any by-path, does not thy own conscience go with thee? Does not the eye of God go with thee? He that covers his sin, shall not prosper; particularly, a lying tongue is but for a moment. All the foolish hopes and contrivances of carnal worldlings are open before God. It is not a time to increase our wealth, when we can only do it in such ways as are dishonourable to God and religion, or injurious to others. Gehazi was punished. If he will have Naaman's money, he shall have his disease with it. What was Gehazi profited, though he gained two talents, when thereby he lost his health, his honour, his peace, his service, and, if repentance prevented not, his soul for ever? Let us beware of hypocrisy and covetousness, and dread the curse of spiritual leprosy remaining on our souls.
SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7
27. Cleave unto thee. The day that brought so great a blessing to Naaman the Syrian brought a terrible curse to the Hebrew servant of the prophet of God. Naaman went on his way in peace, his heart rejoicing in his new hope in God. Gehazi carried the results of his sin to his grave. He remained a leper to the day of his death, cursed by Heaven, despised by his fellow men, an object lesson for all time to come of the folly of greed and the emptiness of a life that seeks first the treasures of this world rather than the treasures of the kingdom of God. During his years of fellowship with Elisha, Gehazi had had the opportunity of learning lessons of the joy and satisfaction of a life of unselfish devotion and love. But he had failed to learn his lesson. The gifts of Heaven were spurned while he reached out for earthly treasure, which, like cancer, eats away the souls of men. Instead of developing a spirit of self-denial while engaged in the service of God, he had allowed himself to become selfish and interested in material gain. His interest was in shekels of silver rather than in the souls of men, in garments of linen rather than in garments of righteousness.
For ever. It must not be thought that because of the sin of Gehazi, God was pronouncing a curse upon his posterity that would endure for all time. The Lord is kind and merciful and never brings unjust or unnecessary affliction upon anyone. Gehazi, because of his greed, had brought a dreadful judgment upon himself. Because of that judgment his children would be forced to suffer. Disease and its effects are often passed on to an innocent posterity. But to say that because Gehazi became a leper, his descendants throughout all the ages to come would likewise be lepers, is to say something that is not true.
The Hebrew expression here used, le‘olam, does not necessarily mean without cessation, or to all eternity. The word ‘olam, when applied to God, means without end; when applied to man’s life, it extends only to the end of human existence. In Ex. 21:6 a servant was to serve his master “for ever.” Of the strangers that sojourned in their land the Israelites were to make “bondmen for ever” (Lev. 25:46). Shortly before the death of David, Bath-sheba bowed herself before the king with the words, “Let my lord king David live for ever” (1 Kings 1:31). So also Nehemiah said to King Artaxerxes, “Let the king live for ever” (Neh. 2:3). The smoke of the earth in the day of the Lord’s vengeance is described as going “up for ever” (Isa. 34:10). When Jonah pictured his descent into the belly of the whale, he said that the bars of the earth were about him “for ever” (Jonah 2:6). The expression le‘olam simply means “age lasting,” and the length of time involved must be deduced from the particular idea with which the expression is associated (see on Ex. 12:14; 21:6).
White as snow. This expression is used elsewhere in connection with sudden attacks of leprosy (see Ex. 4:6; Num. 12:10).
Ellen G. White
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 336
Falsehood and deception of every cast is sin against the God of truth and verity. The word of God is plain upon these points. Ye shall not “deal falsely, neither lie one to another.” “All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” God is a God of sincerity and truth. The word of God is a book of truth. Jesus is a faithful and true witness. The church is the witness and ground of the truth. All the precepts of the Most High are true and righteous altogether. How, then, must prevarication and any exaggeration or deception appear in His sight? For the falsehood he uttered because he coveted the gifts which the prophet refused, the servant of Elisha was struck with leprosy, which ended only with death.4T 336.1
Even life itself should not be purchased with the price of falsehood. By a word or a nod the martyrs might have denied the truth and saved their lives. By consenting to cast a single grain of incense upon the idol altar they might have been saved from the rack, the scaffold, or the cross. But they refused to be false in word or deed, though life was the boon they would receive by so doing. Imprisonment, torture, and death, with a clear conscience, were welcomed by them, rather than deliverance on condition of deception, falsehood, and apostasy. By fidelity and faith in Christ they earned spotless robes and jeweled crowns. Their lives were ennobled and elevated in the sight of God because they stood firmly for the truth under the most aggravated circumstances.4T 336.2
Men are mortals. They may be sincerely pious and yet have many errors of understanding and many defects of character, but they cannot be Christ's followers and yet be in league with him who “loveth and maketh a lie.” Such a life is a fraud, a perpetual falsehood, a fatal deception. It is a close test upon the courage of men and women to be brought to face their own sins and to frankly acknowledge them. To say, “That mistake must be charged to my account,” requires a strength of inward principle that the world possesses in but a limited degree. But he who has the courage to say this in sincerity gains a decided victory over self and effectually closes the door against the enemy.4T 336.3
Ellen G. White
Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 131.1
Not only have you sinned against your family and cast a stain upon your children, the fruit of your body, which shall cleave to them like the leprosy, but you have plucked the joy, the happiness, from Sister J's fireside forever.TSB 131.1
