II Kings 3-5

“Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards …?” (5:26). The prophet Elisha rebuked Gehazi’s greed because he knew that using God’s power to gain wealth would lead to all sorts of evil.  God’s power was for truth and blessing: the widow’s jars of oil overflowed, the Shunnamite woman gave birth to a son who was later raised from death, and the foreign officer Naaman was healed of leprosy.  Getting rich from these miracles would damage the integrity of the prophets’ witness.

"Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel” (5:15).  The purpose of God’s gifts is to point us to the Giver.