Balaam is an interesting character. He must have recognized God in that God told him not to curse the Israelites. In fact God told Balaam to not go with the men from Balak. The men from Balak came back and promised more (Numbers 22:17) and Balaam went back to God to see if God changed his mind. He should have told them to go back where they came from, but Balaam was interested in what they could provide. God could not make Balaam send them away and Balaam had free will choice to do whatever he wanted. God did what he could to convince him even using his donkey to try to knock some sense into him.
Balaam was drawn by his greed to tweak what God had said for his own benefit. He never did curse Israel but he did some other things that would cause the Israelites some problems. He helped Balak find a way to lure the Israelites to go against themselves.
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Number 31:16
14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Revelations 2:14Balaam may have thought the fabrication of his mind in achieving his fame and fortune would bring him great blessings, but he ended up being drowned in the mire of worldly greed.
It is a great lesson for us. Sometimes we push the envelope on what we 'imagine' would be godly blessings and direction for ourselves. 'Imagination' (images that exert pressure) could involve something less than God's standard. Staying humble to God and His word, living in thankfulness for how He continues to love us and staying flexible and receptive to Him are key components for living above the fray. These actions are also great indicators where our mind is at to ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment