Numbers 23-25<\/p>\n
At first, it would seem, Balaam does well and obeys God.\u00a0Balak, the king of the Moabites, needed outside help to attack the Israelites.\u00a0By outside help, I mean supernatural, spiritual help, and he didn’t care what kind of spirit.\u00a0So Balak contracted Balaam, a prophet for hire, to curse the Israelites.\u00a0However God met Balaam on his way to the king.\u00a0The angel of the Lord, with a drawn sword in his hand, made it clear to Balaam, “Speak only the word that I tell you” (Numbers 22:31, 35).\u00a0Balaam feared the word of God more than the sword of Balak and obeyed.\u00a0“Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?” “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” (Numbers 23:12, 26)\u00a0And finally, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak’?” (Numbers 24:12-13).\u00a0Those are good words, words we would do well to remember.\u00a0So, rather than curse, Balaam blessed Israel.<\/p>\n
So, the question of Balaam, borrowing from Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz<\/i>, \u201cAre you a good witch or a bad witch?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reading a few chapters ahead, we come to Numbers 31:16 and discover the deceit of Balaam, “Behold these [women], on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord.”\u00a0Balaam could not curse the Israelites, but he knew how to defile them.\u00a0He enticed them with the women of Moab to worship Baal.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.\u201d ~Revelation 2:14<\/i><\/p>\n
Sin is a seductress and we walk willingly into its hell. What Balaam couldn’t do by appealing to the demonic with a curse, he accomplished by appealing to the flesh with temptation.\u00a0And it worked. Balaam was a bad witch.<\/p>\n
My Father, may I always obey you, no matter how costly. And obedience is costly. Your Son obeyed Your will and paid the price of the cross, bearing My sin. And obedience is rewarded. You gave Him the Name above all names, that at the Name of Jesus every knee would bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord.<\/p>\n
And obedience is costly. I offer my body a living sacrifices. And obedience is rewarded. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness. May I store up treasures in Your home, not mine.<\/p>\n
Amen<\/p>\n
What has it cost you to follow Jesus? What has been the reward?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Daily Reading Numbers 23-25 Daily Thought At first, it would seem, Balaam does well and obeys God.\u00a0Balak, the king of the Moabites, needed outside help to attack the Israelites.\u00a0By outside help, I mean supernatural, spiritual help, and he didn’t care what kind of spirit.\u00a0So Balak contracted Balaam, a prophet for hire, to curse the Israelites.\u00a0However … <\/p>\n