The Ultimate Gift

The Error of Balaam 3- Error of Wrong Company

7 The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.

9 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”Numbers 22:7-9

So  the delegation  from Midian and Moab armed with the fee set off on the  long arduous journey of over 400 miles  to meet Balaam (Numbers 22:7).After a minimum of twenty one days, they arrived safely in Balaam’s house where the typical  oriental hospitality would have been shown and  faithfully stated their mission. They retired that night with a promise from Balaam that he would consult  God about the matter (Numbers 22:8).

Balaam’s statement of faith is worthy of emulation(Hebrews 11:6). He was so sure God would speak to him( Numbers 22:8) . He had an altar that challenges us as Christians today when we watch the dialogue and not a monologue that ensued between  Balaam and God(Numbers 22:9-12).This kind of relationship is both  our right and privilege as his children (John 10:27; Jeremiah 33:3) True to his expectation, that very night, God asked Balaam “Who are these men with you”?(Numbers 22:9).

  It is important to note that God asks the question “who” and not “why”. It is not for a lack of knowledge that God asks Balaam this question, rather it was needful for Balaam  to come to a realization of the full implications of the “who” in his life .Balaam replied answering God’s question of who  and  went further to answer “why” to justify the “who”, which is the usual human tendency and a common error we make.

 But  God is concerned about "who" because he knows the influence of our “who”(1 Corinthians 15:33).This is because our “who” will greatly influence and be a cause of “why”. Who are those men with you because the men with you are a prophecy of who and what you are going to become (Proverbs 12:26; Proverbs 27:17&Proverbs 13:20).

 This “who” association is all embracing and needs not to be confined to people or the physical plane alone. Intellectually who are we rubbing minds with? It boils down to the blogs, magazines  we read or even the TV programmes we watch or the sites we visit on the internet (Romans 12 :2). Are we like the Psalmists who  said he refuses to take a second look at corrupting people and degrading things( Psalms 101:3).Even those we follow on Twitter or other Social Media should be mirrored against the standard of God’s word(2 Timothy 2:19).

 Balaam’s first error of the wrong company is one that we sometimes are guilty of and need to keep a check on regularly (Romans 12:2). Any company or counsel that is not helping us become more like Christ and fulfil destiny should be avoided (Psalms 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 5:11).There is no time we will ever grow beyond the influence of the people we surround ourselves with (Proverbs 22:24-25). Hence the need for us to rightfully select those we allow to become close to us or whose influence we come under (Psalms 101:5-6; Philippians 4:8).

In his Service,

Grace Tom-Lawyer