Tag: Balaam

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Numbers Devotionals

How God sees us

worship

How can I curse someone God has not cursed?

How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced? (Numbers 23:8)

As I read those words, I thought about what Paul said to the Roman Christians.

Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.

Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. (Romans 8:33-34)

Satan would denounce us before the Father for all our sins and failures.

Sometimes, we even denounce ourselves.

But how can we denounce someone our Father has not denounced?

Our Father justifies us by the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross. And Jesus himself stands by the Father’s side and defends us.

God foreknew us. He predestined us to be his children and to be like Jesus. He called us. He justified us. And he glorified us in his sight.

That’s how he sees us. He sees us as our loving Father.

And the good news is, he won’t change his mind. I love Numbers 23:19.

God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind.

Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?

God is determined to bless us and he will. (Numbers 23:20)

We may face his discipline at times for our sins, but he will never abandon us.

And because he never changes his mind, nothing can separate us from his love. (Romans 8:38-39)

God is with us. So let’s rejoice in our King. (Numbers 23:21)

And every day, let’s cry out, “What great things God has done for me!” (Numbers 23:23)

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Numbers Devotionals

Only words?

Crossroad

As I was reading Balaam’s story, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees and scribes:

This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:8)

At times, Balaam sounded very pious.

“I can’t possibly go against God’s command, small or great.” (Numbers 22:18)

Bu though he honored God with his lips, his heart was apparently far from God.

Because of his greed, it seems he was trying to find some way circumvent God’s command to him. (2 Peter 2:15-16)

But God saw his heart and made sure Balaam knew that he was not fooled. Only then did Balaam refrain from cursing the Israelites.

But even then, Balaam later found a way to bring trouble on the Israelites. (Numbers 25:1-5, 31:16)

It’s easy on Sunday to sing songs saying, “Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, yes, Lord. Amen!”

But is it just words?

Or is it our heart?

A heart that is fully given to God, not just on Sunday, but all week, moment to moment, day to day?

Do we wholeheartedly follow him? Or do we try to find ways to get around his commands?

Father, I don’t want to be like Balaam. May my heart be completely yours.

Categories
Numbers Devotionals

Truly seeking God?

Numbers

Balaam and Barak sounded very pious didn’t they?

“I’m going to seek the Lord.”

“Great! I’ll wait…So what did he say? I want to hear.” (Numbers 23:15, 17)

And yet, when God spoke, both Balaam and Balak were upset.

Balak was frustrated because he wanted God to curse Israel.

Balaam was frustrated because he wanted to get paid and desperately wanted God to change his mind, something God refused to do. (Numbers 23:19)

How often are we like Balak and Balaam?

We say we want to hear from God. But when he speaks, we want nothing to do with his words.

Are we only willing to listen to God when we like what he says?

Or are we willing to listen to God even when we don’t like what he says?

Are we trying to bend God to our will?

Or are we yielding to his?

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Numbers Devotionals

According to what God says

Numbers

Balaam said to him, “Look, I have come to you, but can I say anything I want? I must speak only the message God puts in my mouth.” (Numbers 22:38)

As someone who gives messages on Sundays at my church, I was really struck by those words.

I’m not at liberty to simply say whatever I want. I need to speak the message God puts in my mouth.

But the same is true for all Christians. There are times we receive a lot of pressure from those around us to say what they want to hear.

As Paul put it,

For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)

Our Lord received that same sort of pressure all the time. But he always spoke according to his Father’s Word. (John 7:16-17)

And unlike Balaam, he always sought to honor his Father. (John 7:18)

May we always follow our Lord’s example, speaking to people in grace and truth.

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Numbers Devotionals

Going beyond what God has said

Numbers

My daily reading and my church’s Bible reading plan have a certain parallel that I found interesting.

In Numbers, God tells Balaam that when he goes with the men of Balak (who wants Balaam to curse Israel),

“You must only do what I tell you.” (Numbers 22:20)

When Balaam seemingly goes with the intention of circumventing that order, God stops him and warns him again,

“I came out to oppose you, because I consider what you are doing to be evil…

Go with the men, but you are to say only what I tell you (Numbers 22:32,35).

And so when Balaam meets Balak, he tells him straight out,

“Look, I have come to you, but can I say anything I want? I must speak only the message God puts in my mouth.” (Numbers 22:38)

When Balaam then goes to hear from God, God sternly warns him once again,

Return to Balak and say what I tell you. (Numbers 23:5)

Balaam, of course, is commanded to bless Israel and so he does. And when Balak complains about it, Balaam replies,

Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth? (Numbers 23:12)

The same thing happens a few more times until Balak finally gives up and sends Balaam away.

What does this have to do with 2 John?

John told the church,

Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and don’t greet him; for the one who greets him shares in his evil works. (2 John 9-11)

Different context, of course, but the same idea: It is very unwise to go beyond the words that God has given us. And if we do, we just may find ourselves in opposition to God.

How faithful are we to God’s Word?

Do we take into our hearts teachings that stretch his words far beyond what he intended? Do we take into our hearts teachings that are in absolute contradiction to his Word?

That’s a dangerous place to be, as a teacher or as a listener.

We who are teachers cannot simply say anything we want. We must only teach the things that God has said.

To do more than that puts us in a very precarious position.

If we stretch God’s words or flat out contradict them, it may make us popular with the people around us, but it will also put us under God’s judgment.

And if our listeners buy our poison, they’ll fall right along with us.

That’s why it’s important for everyone to test everything they hear and never accept any teaching that goes beyond or contradicts the Word of God.

Let us ever be careful to remain in the teaching we have received from Christ.