Tuesday 31 May 2016

The Error of Balaam 14 -the Error of alternative obedience

“Then Balaam said to Balak "Stand by your burnt offerings and I will go ,perhaps the Lord will come to meet me and whatever He shows me, I will tell you ".So he went to a desolate height. Numbers 23:3  NKJV New King James Version


We continue to look at the life of Balaam and compare with our lives so as to avoid the many errors that Balaam made on the way to the final error for which he is most known for (greed).It seems that it was the greed and his eye on the reward he would get that shaped  the several choices that he made.

When we compare the conversation of Balaam with the messengers from Balak at the very first and second meetings Numbers 22:4-8,18-19 there  appears to be a change in  Balaam's demeanour  when he finally meets Balak( Numbers 23:3). He is no more as sure as he was of an answer from God.

Whereas when he was originally met by the messengers from Balak in Numbers chapter 22, he told them categorically that they should wait as he would hear from God and get back to them( Numbers 22:8),however some chapters down the line it is the same Balaam who now tells Balak that perhaps the Lord would speak to him(Numbers 23:3). Earlier on in this series, we  did commend Balaam for having the kind of relationship with God that is enviable. What made Balaam move from a state of absolutely sure to a state of perhaps? Could it be that his sense of perception was dulled by continuous disobedience? Sometimes in our lives, we find out that we are not as perceptive as we used to be and the issue may just be in the area of obedience. Refusing to do what we know God has asked us to do has a way of hindering our relationship or standing as a veil between us and him.

Disobedience itself is an act which stems from the spirit of rebellion. God had a right to tell Balaam what to do but because Balaam was  more concerned with having his own way, he refused  to submit to authority, thus became guilty of rebellion. And he was ready to use different ways to manipulate God and that in itself is witchcraft. No wonder the Bible likens witchcraft to rebellion (1 Samuel 15:23).

 In the next half of verse 23 of 1 Samuel 15, we are told that obedience is better than sacrifice. I must confess that the Bible is quite exact as the very thing we do after being rebellious is to be manipulative and then try to offer sacrifices to serve as alternatives for our obedience. All through the Bible however, we learn that obedience is non-negotiable. This is best summed up in the words of Apostle John  and Jesus who confirm that obedience is the mark that we really know him ( 1 John 2:4) and love him(John 14:15).

 Sometimes acts of sacrifices may be a way of avoiding what we know is our call of duty, and although they may seem impressive to others, God has regard only for the man who trembles at his word instead(Isaiah 66:2).ready to obey them.
Balaam indeed did many sacrifices for so many rams and bullocks were slaughtered during his consultation (a staggering total of almost 50 animals), but in spite of all these, God’s verdict for Israel(they cannot be cursed Numbers  22:12& 23:8 ) did not change  as He cannot be manipulated

 The place of obedience in our relationship with God cannot be overemphasised. It is our regard for God that makes us reverence and obey his Word. When God speaks, he speaks to be obeyed .Reasoning God’s word has a way of dulling our perception to his Spirit as we see in the life of Balaam.

 In His Service,

Grace Tom-Lawyer.


Thursday 19 May 2016

Error of Balaam 13 -"The Error of using God

“Then Balaam said to Balak, ”Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams”, And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken ,and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar”. Numbers 23:1-2 NKJV New Kings James Version


So Balaam commands Balak to offer the sacrifices following the building of seven altars. On these seven altars were offered seven rams and seven bulls. This is all in an attempt to pacify or appease God or rightly  the “gods” before cursing. It seems that  Balak did not have any problems with going along the notions as long as he got what he wanted.

So both Balaam and Balak offer the sacrifice (Numbers 23:2) in an attempt to curse the people of God. The error here to me seems to be the error of using God. It is the error of trying to buy God’s favour or anger , the error of using the externals. As spiritual as building altars or  offering sacrifices may be , it is wrong for us to use these things to serve our purpose. It is not surprising these days to see some believers fast and pray in an attempt to curse another individual who has perhaps hurt them or are perceived to have done so or be planning to do so.It is also common to hear the excuse of such acts being that one cannt argue with results but that in itself is wrong as we see God in the Old Testament questioning Moses results. Moses was told to speak to the rock but in his anger, he struck the rock and although the same result of water rushing out occured but not without God’s anger and pronouncement that Moses would not enter the promised land (Deutronomy 4:21, 3:27;Psalms 106:32,33).

 Some Christians today open some Bible passages, rather than reading for meditation, use it to confer curses on other people. Even during Jesus stay here on earth, we see some of his disciples asking that they used the power available to call down fire on the Samaritans who had not received Jesus and it is pertinent to note that Jesus rebuked them sharply and  reprimanded them  saying  “ye do not know what Spirit you have received(Luke 9:55).
The kind of spirit we have received is not the one that allows us to go cursing individuals like Balak intends Balaam to do. It may be something we do subtly with accompanying  spiritual exercises and disciplines but if our motive is borne out of vengeance or self preservation  rather than  out of love, Paul admonishes us that it amounts to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-4).

All through the Bible, there have always been people who were enemies to God’s people and time and time again, we have seen how God fought for his people. Our current case study is an example that God is well able to defend us. All we see happening behind the scene is unknown to the Israelites yet they cannot be cursed.
This is not to discredit spiritual warfare and prayers against the forces of darkness as the Bible enjoins us to (Ephesians 6:12),  but it is one thing to be praying against spiritual wickedness in high places and another thing to be praying against our neighbours, friends, family and supposed enemies. God is able to fight for us without us trying to curse people. It may be popular or people may have claimed it worked for them but the end does not justify the means rather let us take heed as everything will be judged by the test of love.
Yours in His Service,

Grace Tom-Lawyer.

Wednesday 11 May 2016

Error of Balaam 12- The error of compromise

At the very beginning of these series, when we began to consider the errors of Balaam, one of the errors we examined was the error of wrong company and we later saw how this error led to wrong battles. Once again , in this chapter we see Balaam fully associated with wrong company go further down in the path of compromise  which led  to  erecting wrong altars and sacrifices.

Eventually he arrived in Moab where he was rebuked by Balak for not trusting in his ability to honor him. Balak dangles in front of Balaam the fact that he is able to promote and enrich him. Balak asked three questions of Balaam and did not receive any answers. Balak seems to place himself in the position of God as regards providing honor.The enemy cannot provide us with honor as it is the Lord who gives promotion ( Psalms   ).In verse 40 , we see Balak offering sacrifices and sending to Balaam. There is however a sad progression as we see Balaam in the next verse accompanying Balak to the high places of Baal.

How did a prophet get to the place where he began to offer sacrifices on pagan altars? It was not possible for Balaam to associate with wrong company without doing wrong and we see that there is no defined path for the way of compromise. Once we start to compromise , it is most probable that along the way,we will continue to take little steps.The path of compromise is always spiralling downwards with every little step going beyond our original boundaries and convictions till we are left with none. We  sometimes do this  to keep the peace but  the price is usually too high and peace bought this way eventually alludes us.

The perfect will of God for Balaam was already stated the very first night the men from Balaam  came with the instruction for him not to go with the men. To further buttress the point, we see the angel of the Lord coming to kill him for his disobedience, still Balaam was bent on going and indeed he comes to a place where his compromise leads him far beyond what he has bargained for. For his company’s sake, he has begun to eat things sacrificed to idols and to offer sacrifices on altars of Baal. God knows the fluidity of the human experience and how we love to be like those around us That is why he warned the children of Israel not to intermarry with other nations as one of the first things they were sure to do was to turn their hearts to other gods. Idolatry is the first commandment God warned against.

The company we keep will eventually be the company we worship with. What they put in the place of God will naturally become our god in no distant future. Perhaps this is another time for us to revisit our company, check those people who have our ears for indeed they have our lives.

Yours in His Service,

Grace Tom-Lawyer

Wednesday 4 May 2016

Error of Balaam 11 -a look at Balak


Balaam’s First Message

1 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 
2Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height Numbers 23:1-1 NIV New International Version 

For quite a while now,we have been discussing the "Error of Balaam" with the emphasis being the several different errors Balaam made along the way to the main error for which he is popularly known. It appears that the various choices he made along the way were feeders into the stream that eventually brought his downfall.

As I read through Chapter twenty three of Numbers and moved closer to the scene when Balaam begins to eventually do what Balak wanted him to do, I have been reading with the desire to see not only errors but if there are some things he did that we can emulate.I noticed another error which appears to have been committed by Balak and it is an error we sometimes commit.

Balak prepared his offerings and also built seven altars. This was someone who was not a believer but had the outward show. He built altars and was ready to sacrifice bulla and rams so as to achieve his purpose. As a people. we must be careful not to be involved in spiritual acttivity in a bid to further our cause rather than the cause of God. In the Bible whenever altars were built, it usually signified a place of meeting with God , as a place of divine encounter that brought change to the lives. Sometimes serving as a place of worship, it also serves as a place of revelation but with Balak, we see him building this altar not to further enhance his relationship with God but to curse his enemies.

And what is interesting is the fact that the very next verse states categorically that  although Balak was the one who built the altar, it was both Balaam and Balak  who offered the sacrifices on each altar. I am not sure why Balaam did this and would like to consider that in the next post.

Yours in His Service
Grace Tom-lawyer