Reluctant Believers

God's people continue to have problems being loyal to him.

Numbers 25:1-5 While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women. 2 These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. 3 In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD's anger to blaze against his people.

4 The LORD issued the following command to Moses: "Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the LORD in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel." 5 So Moses ordered Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death the men under your authority who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor."

In my recent post we saw that God was in control of situations and protecting his people at times that they didn't even know about. Israel wasn't aware at all that King Balak was trying desperately to have God's chosen people get "unchosen" with a curse from Balaam. The king was desperate to keep his job because he saw the success of the Israelites in recent battles but God never changed his mind about Israel despite the fact that they changed their mind about him.

• God was not reluctant to bless Israel, he went to great lengths in dealing with Balaam to bless Israel and to announce one of the first prophecies about Jesus.      
• Balaam was reluctant to bless Israel, he didn't care about the people he was asked to curse and he was careless about his own life because of the greed in his evil heart.       
• Israel was not reluctant to give in to their neighbors when they received an invitation to join them in worship, despite God's loyalty to them.

In Balaam's last prophecy he told about Israel's amazing future and the coming Messiah but right after he tells about it they are sinning against God the same way their ancestors did at Mt Sinai. I started to compare the two eventsfound in Exodus 32 and Numbers 25.

Comparison of the Rebellions at Sinai and Moab

1. Both of these rebellions took place immediately following a great display of God’s care for His people. 

• At Sinai, He performed miracles to deliver them from Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea. 
• At Moab, He reaffirmed their blessed future by turning Balaam’s intended curse into an amazing blessing.

2. Both of these instances reveal the wickedness of our hearts, our desire to worship but our lack of wisdom about worship, that's why the first of the Ten Commandments told us to worship the one and only real God. 

3. In both instances worshiping false gods led to immorality, the Bible shows us a very strong link between satisfying our desire to worship the wrong way and satisfying our desire for physical pleasures the wrong way.

4. Moses ordered the death penalty in both situations. The reaction of certain people to this command proved their loyalty to God and earned them a special place of service in the temple.

• At Mount Sinai, the Levites' killed the people involved and they were designated as the tribe that the priest would come from. It is important to know that all priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests, just the Levites that were sons of Aaron.
• At Moab, Phinehas was the zealous priest, a grandson of Aaron, that executed judgment. Moses had just told the judges to judge but before they could start judging somebody comes along and jumps to the front of the line to be executed.

5. What a contrast between Phinehas and his grandfather. Aaron was responsible for bringing judgment on God's people due to his role in the creation of the gold calf but Phinehas quickly reacted to the man's sin and killed the Israelite man and the woman both at the same time. 

As you can see, it only took them one generation to forget about the rebellion at Sinai and do it all over again at Moab, this pattern continued throughout the Old Testament as God's people were reluctant to trust and obey. Breaking the first commandment caused so many deaths in the wilderness and it was the reason that God's people were in exile before Jesus' arrival.

God's People Continue To Be Reluctant

Matthew 11:2-3 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?"

Even a man as great as John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11) was not immune to wavering in his faith when Jesus actions were so confusing. Early in his ministry John stated that his reason for coming was to reveal the Messiah to Israel (John 1:29-31) but he was still overcome with doubt as he sat in prison without any assistance from his cousin. I'm sure that John had no idea how true his words were when he said "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)

Even the twelve men that gave it all up to follow were not sure about Jesus and struggled with faith even as they were experiencing him in supernatural ways. Jesus did miraculous things that prove his identity but nobody was as sure as the evil spirit that Jesus cast out. The evil spirit knew but a few chapters later the disciples are asking "Who is this man?" (Mark 1:23-28, 4:35-41)

We Are Reluctant Disciples

Even today with all of the evidence we have in God's word:

• We are reluctant to worship properly. It is easy to look back at the people that God chose back in the Old Testament and be amazed that they worshiped wrong after all of their supernatural experiences with God but we are the same.
• We are reluctant to trust and obey. Doing things our way will never measure up to God's ways and his plans, it is so hard to let go of absolutely everything and acknowledge that God is in control, instead we want our way just as much as Balaam and Jonah did. 
• We are reluctant to get rid of our pride. As we look at our evil hearts and see the darkness within, it should help us defeat our pride but instead we embrace it and it is a strong proof that Jesus was right when he told Nicodemus that we love the dark. (John 3:19)

Our own lives prove to us what the Bible shows: the ongoing struggle to trust and obey God. We are just like the people in Scripture, but the good news is that God is just as faithful as He was back then. Their imperfect faith and God's perfect, gracious response to it should be a great source of encouragement for us today when we struggle to fully believe.

The wilderness is still God's classroom where he leads us into situations that give us opportunities to exercise our faith, helping us become less reluctant to believe and trust Him. We will always have room to grow in this area, it's a slow, lifelong process that we can't simply check off of our to-do list and move on.

Mark 9:23-24 "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

Just like the believing father that desperately wanted his son to be healed, our belief will always be tested with some degree of unbelief that we should pray to overcome. Despite our imperfections and inconsistant faith, we can expect the same grace and faithfulness that God offered His people long ago as he takes us to the Promised Land.

Reluctant Prophets - Balaam and Jonah

Be willing to seek out God's plan and adopt it as your own.

Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.

Jonah 4:11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"

One of the predominate themes that runs through the Bible is the contrast between something true and something that is false. There is true and false: worship, doctrine, believers, and as we have recently studied there are true teachers and prophets and there are also false teachers and prophets.  

In my study of Balaam I have learned that God used the ungodly prophet that had every intention of cursing God's people and preventing them from receiving the blessing that God swore to give them. That study made me think of another prophet that was unwilling to bless a people that he would rather curse. 

Reluctant Prophets

I started considering the contrast and similarities of Balaam and Jonah and how God worked through both of these men despite their desire to allow people to perish. God had much better plans for the people that they were called to bless that could not be stopped by man's free will.

It is interesting to notice that after sparing Nineveh from the punishment that Jonah prophesied they would be raised up against God's people to bring God's punishment to the Jews. The Jew and the Gentile were both used by God to bless and to punish their enemies.

God's undeserved mercy is available to everyone, the reluctant Jewish prophet and the reluctant Gentile prophet both saw God's undeserved mercy given across ethnic barriers to their most hated enemies.

We like to think that we are in control but Balaam and Jonah help to prove that man's free will isn't as powerful as we would like to think it is. Neither one of these men were willing and they both actively resisted God's will but that didn't stop God, he changed their plans, not his own.

Rebuked Prophets

A refusal to obey God isn't going to hinder his sovereignty, both of these men experienced life threatening situations with nature that were sent to correct them so that God could use them as a tool for his purposes and his glory. 

Saved by a donkey - Balaam had a visit on the road to King Balak that was probably God himself and Balaam suddenly finds out that he owns a talking donkey. (Numbers 22:20-22)

Saved by a fish - Jonah's intervention with God that also involved nature, he had an experience with a huge storm and a huge fish that ate something he didn't like. (Jonah 1:17-2:10)

In church circles we like to say that we need to be willing to be used by God, that' a great attitude to have, but Balaam and Jonah prove that God can use us and have great outcomes even when our hearts are not in it. 

God Is In Control

God's plans cannot be opposed successfully, he often works through human resistance or ignorance to bring about his will. (A few more examples: Genesis 50:20, Isaiah 10:5-10, Romans 9:17) 

God's control causes Balaam to bless Israel and he goes even further and includes a prophecy about King David and the victory that he would have over many nations including the people of Moab that Balaam was trying to help. (Numbers 24:15-19 // 2 Samuel 8:2) 

God's control causes Jonah to bless Nineveh as he reluctantly gives them God's message of repentance that brings a great revival that puts off their destruction. Jonah's short sermon brought about a greater response than the prophet ever saw from preaching to Israel but he didn't like the response. (Jonah 4:1-3)

God's control will bring a greater blessing, the ultimate fulfillment of these two prophets are seen in Jesus. Balaam and Jonah both give us a picture of who Jesus is and what he will do, Jonah gives us a picture of Jesus resurrection and Balaam tells us that we still have the reign of Jesus to look forward to.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 

God's will takes over our story, even when we don't want it to, his will is causing everything to work together in harmony for his unstoppable purposes but we still think that we know better. Since it is all working out to God's good purpose, we should be more willing to seek out his plan and adopt it as our own.

Faithful Prophet

Jeremiah 10:23-24 I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

Jeremiah's willingness and faithful obedience despite suffering stands in contrast to Balaam and Jonah. His concern for the people really stands out as he is called the weeping prophet, Balaam and Jonah were never for the people.

I need to remember the prayer of the prophet Jeremiah, he knew that "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." In fact Jeremiah came from the Tribe of Levi so being a priest was probably his plan but God called him at a young age to become a prophet instead. (Jeremiah 1:4–10)

I need to remember that my life is not my own, I need to hold on loosly to my plans and be anxious to change when God shows me what his plan is. Thankfully he has bigger and better plans than I have ever made for myself so I need to trust and obey.

The True Prophet, Priest And King

The bright morning star will return with the royal scepter to rule the nations.

Numbers 24:15-19 This is the message Balaam delivered: "This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, 16 the message of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

17 I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab's people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.

18 Edom will be taken over, and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered, while Israel marches on in triumph. 19 A ruler will rise in Jacob who will destroy the survivors of Ir."

We have seen in the past few post about Balaam and King Balak that a false prophet, a false priest and an evil king cannot stand against the will of God. They were sure that God's people didn't deserve the promises after the way they have been behaving in the wilderness so they tried but failed to change God's mind.

There are a lot of images of Jesus seen in the Old Testament, types of Christ, but this is the only opposite type of Christ that I am aware of. Balaam and King Balak have formed an unholy alliance against God's people that looks similar to the unholy trinity that the Bible shows us in Revelation.

The Unholy Trinity

As a prophet and priest, Balaam is:

• A false prophet that is an unwilling messenger for God, he wants to prophecy that God's people are cursed in order to please the king but God is in control so he is forced to bless
• An unholy priest that used excessive sacrifices multiple times in high places the way the pagans did to manipulate their "gods" to try and get different outcomes

As a king, Balak is:

• Trying to be in control against God's will in order to protect his own interest
• Furious that his money, military threat, and religious activity are powerless (Numbers 24:10-11)

It is easy to see how Satan is using these men to imitate what is holy, these men give us a clear preview of what is going to be seen in the end times. Satan, the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet will be defeated as God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit win the ultimate battle with a permanent outcome. (Revelation 16:13)

The True Prophet, Priest And King Comes With Blessings

Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the LORD's favor has come."

Jesus came to earth on a mission to bless, he makes it obvious at the beginning of his ministry by applying the verses in Isaiah 61:1-2 to himself in Luke 4:18-19. It is interesting that Jesus stopped reading in Isaiah mid-sentence to omit the next phrase that talks about his second coming as the king that will judge the nations.

Jesus came to be Emmanuel, God with us, to be a blessing to us. Because of God's great love he came to redeem his people from slavery to the kingdom of darkness where we live still today. Scripture gave us a picture of this when God took his people out of Egypt and made them into a holy nation that would bless the world.

Jesus told us that he came to seek and save the lost to save us from the day of judgment that has been postponed until after the church age when grace and salvation will be replaced by judgment and wrath. (John 3:16-17, Luke 19:10)

Jesus is our:

• Prophet, Jesus spoke only what the Father gave Him, blessings instead of curses (John 7:16; 8:28; 12:49–50)
• Priest, Jesus blessed us by offering himself as the true sacrifice that became cursed for our sins (Galatians 3:13-14)
• King, Jesus established a new, eternal kingdom that is not of this world and he transferred our citizenship there (John 18:36, Colossians 1:13-14, Revelation 11:15)

Thankfully the prophet and priest came first, we need the true high priest to forgive us of our sins and the true prophet to help us know God so we can prepare ourselves for the arrival of the king. The same Jesus who came as the gentle shepherd to care for his sheep in this life as he prepares us will take care of us eternally as he prepares a place for us to live with him. (Revelation 19:9 21:4–5; 22:3)

The Bright Morning Star

Revelation 22:14-16 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs-the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie. 16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star."

The end of the story, way back in the end of our Bible in Revelation, assures us that the star that was to come from Jacob really did come! When Jesus was with us the first time he told us that he is the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46) and at the end of our Bible he makes it clear that he is the bright morning star.

The Bright Morning Star will return but this time he will arrive with the Royal Scepter to rule the nations. When the king returns to reign he will allow those who have washed their robes to enter the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. We will dwell with him in his kingdom where no sun or moon is needed as Jesus himself will be our everlasting light (Revelation 21:23; 22:5).

The same King who gently calls, "Come to me, all who are weary and I will give you rest" will one day say to the unrepentant, "Depart from me" (Matthew 11:28, 25:41).

This Christmas, as we celebrate the Star that rose over Bethlehem, the question remains: Will the King invite you in? 

Come to him today willing to accept him as your High Priest so that you can live with the King for eternity.

The False Prophet Becomes A False Priest

Giving God bigger and better worship will not help you get your way.

Numbers 23:1-3 Then Balaam said to King Balak, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for me to sacrifice." 2 Balak followed his instructions, and the two of them sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here by your burnt offerings, and I will go to see if the LORD will respond to me. Then I will tell you whatever he reveals to me." So Balaam went alone to the top of a bare hill.

In the previous post we learned that Balaam is not at all who he seems to be from a casual reading of his life story in the Book of Numbers. We have to look at all of the scriptures about him to get the rest of the story. This is a double minded man that God will use as a tool to tell us about his chosen people.

After Balaam encounters God on the road he arrives to find that the king is irritated with him for taking so long to get there, this would have been a great opportunity for Balaam to tell the king what happened that caused the delay, instead he suddenly changes the conversation. Maybe he didn't want to give a testimony of what God had done in his life because it may lead to the king changing his mind and canceling the offer to pay him big for his services. (Numbers 22:35-41)

Balaam didn't testify about his experience with God on the road but later he does testify that he cannot say what God doesn't allow. But the king doesn't care about the disclaimer, in the morning Balak took him up to a location that was a good lookout to see God's people. The people of Moab are so involved in worship to false gods that every time the king takes Balaam to a high place it is a location that is used to worship Baal.

The False Prophet

The blessing is the Lord's and a prophet for hire cannot change what God has declared about His people. Balaam is paid to speak the king’s desires, but he is shrewd enough to protect his reputation. If he curses Israel and God still blesses them, his credibility—and future business—is destroyed. Who would hire a prophet proven so wrong?

Balaam demonstrates that even the most extraordinary revelations from God can be squandered by a stubborn heart. God revealed Himself multiple times—sending an angel with a drawn sword, even opening the mouth of Balaam’s donkey—yet Balaam still sought to curse God’s people for profit.

The False Priest

To become more effective as a false prophet, Balaam tries to gain God's favor by also pretending to be a priest, he is probably hoping that he can get a different answer from God after he sacrifices a bunch of animals. Balaam ordered the building of too many altars, and he sacrifices too many animals as if he were trying to impress God with his worship in order to get what he wanted from God.

Balaam seems to know the number seven is used by God to signify that something is set apart as perfect, complete or holy. The number seven shows up hundreds of times in the Bible starting in Genesis with the days of creation and the day set aside for the Sabbath. Seven's continue throughout the Bible to Revelation where there are seven churches, seals, bowls and more.

Balaam tried to give God "better worship" in order to get his way, instead of serving God as a real priest should, this priest is self serving, trying to manipulate God to get the desired outcome. That might work on the other "gods" that he is familiar with but not the God of Israel.

"Better Worship" Didn't Change God's Mind

Numbers 23:20-21 Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it! 21 No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel. For the LORD their God is with them; he has been proclaimed their king.

Balaam has done everything possible to gain favor with God and change God's mind about his chosen people but none of it has made any difference. God sees the heart of his worship and is not impressed, instead of Balaam getting his way, God's will is still going to happen. Balaam will be used as God's tool to confirm and clarify the blessings of God's people.

This false prophet, false priest and the ungodly king are a picture of the opposite of Jesus (anti-type). This unholy trinity will come against God's people but Satan's power is limited in strength and it will only last for a season. (Revelation 12–13 and Revelation 16:13)

Just as God had a plan for his people in the wilderness in the days of Moses he has a plan for his people in the wilderness of today's world. God has declared a blessing in my life that can not be reversed. I can be confident that God will take me to the Promised Land despite the accusations of Satan about all of my shortcomings. 

The Blessing Of Consequences

Sometimes God gives us what we want so we can learn from the results. 

Numbers 22:7-8 Balak's messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak's message to him. 8 "Stay here overnight," Balaam said. "In the morning I will tell you whatever the LORD directs me to say." So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.

In the previous post we saw that God's people are almost home despite themselves, they have proven that they are not worthy to be God's people that will inherit the promises made to Abraham, but they will do so anyway. We saw that the blessing is the Lord's and nothing that they can do will change the blessing. God always knew that they would be undeserving so there isn't any reason to change his mind hundreds of years later.

As the story of Balaam continues to unfold we will see that it creates a lot of questions than it doesn't explain. We will see that God and Balaam will both say and do things that are surprising and confusing, they will both go against what we expect. If you disregard the other scriptures about Balaam and just focus on the next couple of chapters of Numbers it will seem like Balaam is a pretty good guy, doing the right thing most of the time, but don't forget that is how Satan always presents himself. 

God's people are probably unaware that King Balak is so afraid of them that he is planning to attack them, they are in their camp minding their own business, unaware that God is working to protect them in supernatural ways even though they are probably complaining about him while all of this is going on.

Balaam Has Visitors

Numbers 22:9-12 That night God came to Balaam and asked him, "Who are these men visiting you?" 10 Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 'Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come and curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will be able to stand up to them and drive them from the land.'" 12 But God told Balaam, "Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!"

A delegation sent by King Balak visits Balaam to hire the false prophet to curse Israel. When Balaam receives the invite to curse God's people he seems to react the way that he should, you would think that he would not hesitate to make some quick money but Balaam responds wisely, stating he will seek God's will first and he would only do whatever God tells him to do. 

God takes the initiative and visits Balaam and opens the conversation with a question. When God begins a conversation, especially with a question, there is usually a very good reason to be afraid, but  Balaam seems very comfortable talking to God. It seems like he has probably done it before, instead of fear, the prophet seems to be acquainted with the idea of talking to God or possibly with other spiritual beings.

Balaam appears obedient and spiritually sensitive when he sends them away because God said no. We are not told that he felt disappointed about missing out on the large sum of money and fame that could be his. At this point, all we know is that Israel is a nation blessed by God, and Balaam’s role is to stay home and not interfere.

Balaam receives visitors again, this time it is another delegation from the king and also a return visit from God. The king sent more important people with bigger prizes, what a picture of how Satan works, he is the best at making his offer better and better to try and wear us down.

Numbers 22:18-19 But Balaam responded to Balak's messengers, "Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD my God. 19 But stay here one more night, and I will see if the LORD has anything else to say to me." 

Balaam never sounded more spiritual than when he referred to God as “the LORD my God” but don't be fooled. Balaam wants a God he can manipulate and negotiate with, he knows God and he knows his will but he is pretending to love God more than money. He is constantly searching for a loophole that will let him have both God’s approval and Balak’s money. 

Balaam Gets What He Wants

Numbers 22:20-22 That night God came to Balaam and told him, "Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do." 21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,

Imagine the delight Balaam had when God told him to go to King Balak, he was probably as delighted as we are surprised that God seems to make a complete turn around from what he said before without any explanation. And then surprise again, God is angry that he went. What's going on?

What looks like permission was actually God letting Balaam have exactly what his stubborn, money-loving heart insisted on. Balaam is going to learn that God's permission is not the same as God's approval. God is going to graciously give Balaam the opportunity to learn more about the God that he thinks he already knows.

It is difficult to understand that God’s sovereignty means nothing happens outside of his ultimate permission, but he permits things that are contrary to his perfect will that grieves Him. We have the freedom to choose to accept God's will or go our own way. (Matthew 23:37, Romans 1:24-28)

This not the first time that God allowed something outside of his will, we will see this concept play out after Israel was settled in the Promised Land, they will ask to have their heavenly king replaced by an earthly king, despite God's will. 

I always wondered why God chose Saul as their first king but now I think that God gave them exactly the type of king that he warned them about so that they would be blessed to learn from the consequences. (1 Samuel 8:1-22, Numbers 23:21)

Balaam did what we all do, we assume that the path of least resistance, with wide open doors, is the will of God but Balaam shows us that we need to be careful about that logic.We fail to see that God's permission is not the same as God's approval and he often permits things that he doesn't approve of.

Balaam Enters God's Classroom

Numbers 22:22b-23 As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam's donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.

Balaam wasted no time getting on the road without any idea that he was entering God's classroom where the angel of the Lord stood ready to teach him, opposing his path with a drawn sword. It is amazing that Balaam is in this situation without any understanding of what is going on because it isn't until God allows himself to be seen that Balaam becomes aware of his presence. (Numbers 22:31-33)

Balaam's knowledge of God continues to show after he sees the angel of the Lord, he isn't afraid because he sees an angel with a sword, Balaam is afraid because he believes that the angel of the Lord is actually God. We know the angel is not an ordinary angel because he speaks in the first person as God and Balaam responds in fear with a confession and repents.

All of these encounters with God should have drawn Balaam to God but instead he is dangerously close to God's drawn sword. Ultimately Balaam chooses the path that leads to the sword, tragically he dies by the sword because he ignore God's kindness. (Numbers 31:8, Joshua 13:22) 

The “way of Balaam” proved to be the way of destruction, Balaam is proof that intellectual knowledge of God, spiritual experiences, the ability to speak true words about God, and even miraculous encounters with God does not guarantee your eternity with God. (2 Peter 2:15, Matthew 7:22–23)

Balaam Reminds Me Of The Prodigal Son

Let's compare the two, both men know the father, they know the fathers will and they both chose greed and lived to please themselves. God was merciful to both men and blessed them with a wake up call while they were in the middle of the consequences of their sin. (Luke 15:11-32)

Both men show us that getting our own way can be the severest judgment of all. However, they also offer a stark contrast in how to react to the consequences of rebellion. God's blessings were wasted on Balaam as he failed to learn his lesson, leading to an unhappy ending. The Prodigal Son, in contrast, repented and returned to the Father.

Their stories should make us think twice about our demands. Instead of demanding that God agree with us, we should ask God to help us agree with Him. We need His wisdom to discern which "open doors" are truly His will and which are paths He is merely allowing us to walk against His perfect plan.

These two men should make me think twice about what I ask for, instead of demanding that God agree with me I need to ask God to help me to agree with him. I need to remember that God might let me have my way and he may let doors be wide open that he may not want me to enter. 

I need to pray to discern God's will without asking for my own, I need to realize that he may have plans to use my will to teach me more about his will. (Romans 2:4)

The Blessing Is The Lord's

Will God keep his promise after 40 years of grumbling and disobedience?

Numbers 22:3-5 And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified. 4 The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, "This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!"

So Balak, king of Moab, 5 sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: "Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me.

After wondering around in the wilderness for decades, God's people are approaching the Promised Land again, but this time it is the grown children of the previous generation that God said would not enter. The first generation refused to trust God but the second generation seems to be doing better as God has given them success in battle against their enemies because they put their faith in his ability.

But their success brought about a new problem, the nations fear God's people and will do anything to protect themselves even when Israel didn't threaten any violence against them. As they approach the Promised Land the attacks begin with King Sihon, this win for Israel gave the Moabites their independence from King Sihon but instead of being thankful King Balak and his people were fearful that Israel would be their new captors.

Balak didn't know that God already told Israel not to attack Moab, his unfounded fear reminds me of Pharaoh's fear of God's people while they were living under his reign in Egypt. (Exodus 1:7-10) Satan used that unjustified fear to try to get rid of God's people once and he is about to use fear again to get rid of the threat that God's people would have a Messiah that would be the end of him.

The Ways Of God

The only way to defeat God's people is to reverse the blessing that God gave to Abraham and his descendants. But God has already confirmed the blessing with Abraham, Isaac and again with Jacob seven times and then he reconfirmed it again with his people at Mount Sinai so how could there be any doubt?

But there will always be doubt because the blessing is so amazing and God's people are so undeserving. This is the way we think today, shouldn't we have to do something? How could it be a gift that can never be taken away? How could such a blessing come to such a faithless and disobedient people without some strings attached? 

Is God Really For Them?

Exodus 19:5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.

Didn't God say that if they obeyed him then they will be blessed? Perhaps Satan is hoping that God will take the promise back after the way God's people have behaved for the past 40 years in the wilderness. 

The covenant God made with Moses had an obedience clause (Exodus 19:1-6)

Just before the law was given at Mount Sinai, including the Ten Commandments, God promised that he would treat his people in accordance with the way that they treat him. In the covenant God made with the people through Moses it was clear that they would be blessed for following the rules and disobedience would bring punishment which could mean that he would hold back his blessings.

So this covenant was conditional, maybe Satan was hoping that this covenant was a good sign for him but the promise made to Abraham didn't have any of these terms.

The covenant God made with Abraham was unconditional Genesis 12:1-3)

God's people have disobeyed and complained about God so much that maybe Satan is counting on God's holy justice and wrath to overrule his mercy and grace. But when God made this covenant he knew how the people would be, he knew his people would fail to live up to his standards. 

God gave the covenant anyway even though the laws that he was going to give them in the future at Mount Sinai wouldn't be followed. God would hold back some blessings but their disobedience would not cancel out the blessing of the Promised Land.

Is The Blessing Still True

Moses reminds Israel multiple times that the Promised Land is due to God’s oath to the patriarchs, not because Israel did anything to deserve it. None of their bad behavior could cancel the promises to Abraham but they could delay the fulfillment of the promise.(Deuteronomy 6:10, 9:5, 29:13, 30:20)

It will seem like God has good reason to cancel it and Satan will make sure to accuse them but thankfully what Satan says about them and what they think about themselves is not what matters. 

The most important question for any of us is what does God think about us?

Excerpts from "John Darby Synopsis of the Bible" explains it so well:

It is of the highest interest to see the special character of this prophecy. It is God who, of His own will, interferes to take the part of His people against the enemy, and that even without their knowing it, or asking for it.

The people know nothing about it; they are perhaps still murmuring in their tents against the ways of God with them. It is God declaring His own thoughts and confounding the malice of Satan.

He can see no iniquity in the redeemed people. How could He see any in those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb?

It is amazing that God's people were so unfaithful, Satan comes along to point out this fact by accusing them like he accused Job, but once again God wins the debate with Satan in the life of his children in the wilderness wonderings just as he did before in the life of Job.

New Testament Fulfillment & Final Confirmation

The New Testament shows us that God's unconditional promise is partially fulfilled with the arrival of Jesus. (Luke 1:68–73, Hebrews 6:13–18) And they knew that it was fulfilled in spite of their imperfections. Just look at what Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians:

Galatians 3:17-18 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God's promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

The promise was made to bless us even though God knew the law that was given later would not be fulfilled. Man hasn't changed, we are all guilty still today for not fulfilling the law but thankfully God is also the same today and he will complete the fulfillment of his blessing despite what we do.

Galatians 2:16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.

I must strive to obey God's rules even though I will never come anywhere close to the command to be holy as he is holy but thankfully my performance doesn't terminate the promise. (Matthew 5:48 // 1 Peter 1:16)

God could not and would not revoke his blessing to his people no matter how bad they have been on the short trip across the wilderness that turned into 40 years. The wilderness experience shows me that God is willing to give grace and mercy that cannot be lost.

Balaam could not prophecy or give a curse against God's people way back in the Old Testament and despite his efforts God is still for his people and he will see them through to the Promised Land.

The great promise of eternity with him is still good!