Shut the Door!

Whenever we embark on a significant journey with a mission to fulfill, it’s easy to lose sight of our main destination, instructions, or goals. This week, while reading a passage from one of the Gospels, I wondered why this verse seemed so familiar: “Do not greet anyone along the road” (Luke 10:4). It finally dawned on me that it was recorded in the story concerning Gehazi and his master, Elisha.

The full verse in Luke states, “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road.”

Why is there such a harsh warning against offering a salutation or friendly greeting while traveling to their destination? As I contemplated this instruction, I recalled the story involving a woman whose son cried out, grasped his head, and died. She mounted her donkey and rode to the prophet’s house, declaring, “It is well with my soul.” The prophet’s servant, Gehazi, is also present in this narrative. We learn much about his immaturity through his actions in the story. Initially, Gehazi tries to push away the grieving woman, showing little empathy. When she finally reaches the man of God on the mountain, she clings to his feet. Gehazi approaches her to push her away, but the man of God stops him, saying, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”

The prophet then gives Gehazi specific instructions: “So Elisha said to Gehazi, ‘Tie up your garment, take my staff in your hand, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the boy’s face’” (2 Kings 4:29).

There is no time for distractions in a dire situation. The 72 elders and Gehazi have an urgent mission to fulfill because of the gravity of the assignment. What happens when we pause to greet people along the way? Many things can unfold. Imagine a conversation:

“Shalom, Gehazi. Where are you off to in such a hurry with your tunic girded about your loins?”

“I’m on a mission. I’m going to the Shunammite’s house. Her child has died, and Elisha wants me to lay his staff on the child.”

“Do you think that will work? Who does he think he is, Moses?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m headed that way now. I have my doubts that this staff can bring the child back from the dead, but I’m following orders.”

“I agree. The staff is nothing special. It’s strange for a child to die for no reason. You’re wasting your time. This could it be a curse from God?”

And so it goes—fear, doubt, and slander infiltrating the mission.

Gehazi laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. When he returned to Elisha, he reported, “The boy has not awakened.” When Elisha arrived at the house, he found the boy lying dead on his bed. He went in, closed the door behind them, and prayed to the LORD.

Notably, Elisha did not allow the mother or Gehazi into the room with him. Who do you allow in the room with you during moments of loss—be it the loss of a business, a marriage, a family, a child, or a dream? When Yeshua raised the dead, he cleared the room. When my husband heard a noise in the night or when he was a police officer, he cleared rooms with his gun, making sure that he and others were safe from harm.

In Matthew, we read about Jesus entering the house of the synagogue leader. He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd and commanded, “Go away; the girl is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at Him. After putting the crowd outside, He went in, took the girl by the hand, and she rose. All the mockers and scorners need to be removed from the room. All negative voices that speak death over your life or the life of your dreams must be eliminated. Shut the door! That is the message I’m hearing right now. Remove the naysayers, including those voices that may reside within our own minds—head. We must shut out those voices and continue to speak life over death.

Elisha, too, is going to shut the door before healing the boy:

Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy—mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over the boy, the boy’s body became warm. Elisha turned away, pacing back and forth across the room, then stretched out over the boy once more, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

Mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand: all of these aspects require healing in young prophets. This child is believed to be none other than Jonah. Although Jonah must have heard the story of his resurrection, he still tried to flee his assignment and hide from God—an impossible task.

 In the Gospels, we find that 70 elders were sent out ahead of the Messiah, receiving detailed instructions. Let’s examine those instructions again carefully:

“Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road” (Luke 10:3-4). Later, during a final supper/Passover meal before his death, Yeshua offers differing advice: “But now, if you have a purse, take it; and also a bag. If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one” (Luke 22:36). Meditate on these differences. The situation has become different.

In the first calling of the 70, Yeshua provides more than a simple instruction to refrain from greeting others. He also advises, “Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house,’” and if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him. It is essential to remain focused and attentive to our assignments, even amid distractions.

Yeshua gives further instructions: “Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.”

Complete the assignment.

Gehazi was tested regarding wealth, including silver and gold, and the desire for garments/titles. He was also tested in his ability to be obedient and to show empathy and compassion for the broken-hearted. Furthermore, he was questioned about his whereabouts and lied.

“Everything is all right,” Gehazi replied. “My master has sent me to say, ‘Look, two young men from the sons of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’”

But Naaman insisted, “Please, take two talents.” He urged Gehazi to accept them. Naaman then tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two sets of clothing, and gave them to his servants, who carried them ahead of Gehazi. (Count the

2’s in the story)  The immature prophet desires silver but not the cost of purification, which comes with redemption. Gehazi wants two bags, indicating a preference for excess instead of sufficiency. Is this man double-minded? He also possesses two sets of clothing. Do we do this too? All the world is a stage, and we are players. What garments do we change in and out of?

When Gehazi arrived at the hill, he took the gifts from the servants and stored them in the house, dismissing the men afterward. When he stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?”

“Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied.

Elisha then questioned him, “Did not my spirit go with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to accept money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!”

As Gehazi left Elisha’s presence, he was leprous—white as snow.

This event parallels King Saul standing before Samuel. Saul claimed to be innocent and obedient, only to be confronted with the sound of sheep bleating.

When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”

But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?”

Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest  we devoted to destruction.”

“Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”

I Samuel 15: 13-16.

Both Gehazi and Saul stand before the prophet, caught in their lies and arrogance. Both are chastised. One dies a horrific death with his sons and loses his head, literally. The other is healed of his leprosy and lives to witness more miracles.

Let’s recap quickly:

– Gird up your loins, embark on your journey, and don’t allow distractions along the way. People, including social media, a difficult boss, or an unsupportive spouse, or family member can all be deterrents. Stay focused on your assignment and calling.

– Ignore critics and naysayers.

– When you enter your assigned place, occupation, assembly, school, or landing spot, declare peace, pray for shalom, and remain until your assignment is completed if possible.

– Remove from your space those who mock and do not believe in the power to bring something from death to life. Shut the door, as Elisha and Yeshua did, but then open it revealing the power of the Holy One to raise up dead things.Remember, both the prophet Elisha and Yeshua, after shutting the door, opened that same door and revealed NEW LIFE!

I hope this message helps someone who is going through a tough journey or has been given an assignment that seems daunting.

Blessings,

Tekoa Manning

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