The Error of Balaam - Feasting at the Table edition

Having completed the very enlightening" On the Way to the Palace"& the "Why" series, I feel led that we should begin to consider yet another  biblical character. We have looked at two examples that are worth emulating and now begin on our radio programme "Feasting at the Table" to look at a character that the Bible actually warns us about.

It is quite unfortunate that although this man has a lot of credentials and in his day , he would have been regarded as one having some sort of spiritual status considering the fact that he heard from God, he unfortunately did not end well and the Bible being true to itself, fails to shield from us the errors of the men that we sometimes tag as heroes.

I still remember clearly the first time I heard the name Balaam as a high school student. Most likely I had been taught in Sunday School about a talking donkey but my first awakening with Balaam came after I honoured an invitation from a neighbourhood friend to her school Christian Union fellowship. That day, the brother who was exhorting us took his passage from the book of Jude with the emphasis on verse 3 which encouraged us to fight earnestly for the faith following which it began to give us examples of apostates warning us not to go in their same direction as doing such was bound to land us in where they unfortunately landed .

The story of Balaam is seen in the Old Testament in the book of Numbers chapter 22-25  and is what we will be considering as we begin this series on the radio. I have decided to highlight some previous lessons and the new ones that light is being shed upon .As you may be aware, whenever we study God's word , there is always a new light.

If there is one thing that this series has in common with the one about Joseph as we looked at on the Way to the Palace is the fact that it was not just one error that Balaam committed, before the main error that we know about Balaam, he made several detours and bad decisions along the way which eventually made it possible for  him to make that error he is so popular for. At several points in the life of Balaam, he refused to repent .He continued headlong with increasing insensitivity to  God.

Balaam is brought into the picture in Numbers chapter 22 after the Moabites and the Midianites decided having observed the success of the Israelites  as they defeated their enemies. Balak the king of the Moabites under the false premonition that his land was the next to be attacked decided that it was a battle that would need spiritual forces and as such, he was ready to send for Prophet Balaam who lived across international borders.

One of the lessons we first learn from Balak is not to make decisions based on fear , also there is a lesson there for not assuming things as the Israelites had no intention to attack Moab having been warned by God not to do so since they were relatives . I also learnt from Balak the need to realize what we can and cannot do. Balak knew that this battle was not one he could handle on his own. He knew that it was not just a battle his country could fight alone and that there was a need for a spiritual dimension. Once again, dear reader I ask if we are aware of the battles we are in and the various strategies that are needed. Are we fighting a "we" battle using an "I" strategy or perhaps , are we just engaged in a needless battle like the Moabites and the Midianites here  as revealed in this story. To follow the lesson properly, it would be great to reread the story of Balaam as outlined in Numbers 22-25.

Throughout this season, I  encourage you to listen to the Broadcast and or the Rebroadcast, note the new things , ask questions and do not forget to share as I am also keen to hear .

In His Service,

Grace Tom-Lawyer

“The Error of Balaam” is being run now as the current Bible Study series on “Feasting at the Table” on Peace &Joy Radio @11am every Saturday with a Rebroadcast on Tuesday@7pm

A man SENT from God

I hope you had a great Easter. Mine was really filled with some outreaches that I am grateful  to God were successful. While we were discussing the “Why series”, under the “Why he came”, one of the reasons we looked at for the coming of Jesus was the fact that Jesus came because he was sent.. This question of being sent is seen all over Scriptures. Several of the prophets were ordinary men who the word of God came to and they heeded the call. Today ,I would like us to consider a man who was described in the scriptures as “sent from God”.

The name of this man is John who happens to be Jesus’s relative. His birth was foretold (Luke 1:8-17) and he was an answer to the prayer of an aged couple who the Bible described as righteous although they had found  themselves in the predicament of childlessness because Elizabeth was barren(Luke 1:7). His father, Zachariah was a priest while his mother was a daughter from the lineage of priest (Luke 1:5-6). This Elizabeth was a cousin of Mary (Luke 1:36), the mother of Jesus and as such John was Jesus’s cousin. The name John means ”Jehovah has been gracious”.

Several years ago when I studied the life of the father of John, I was greatly encouraged that the Bible records some positive things about his life. The first of these is the fact that he and his wife were said to be righteous. Yes, they did have a problem which may have made the society look at them with disdain as barreness was seen as a curse those days( and a sign of disapproval from God. But in the midst of their own pain, I am deeply challenged by the fact that this couple continued in the right ways and Zachariah was introduced as still serving in the temple. He still went around ministering even though there was no hope that his needs would ever be ministered to, he is a typical case of though he slay me(Job 13:15) . He is also a reminder of Habakkuk’s cry that” though the fig tree does not blossom,…yet will I rejoice in God my rock” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

“There  was a man sent from God whose name was John .He came as a witness to testify concerning that light so that through him all might believe .He himself was not the light, he came only as a witness to the light ..”-John 1:16-18 NIV New International Version

This John was sent and he had a sense of vison and purpose. This two things defined who he was and what he did.When the Pharisees sent people to ask him if he was the messiah, he clarified that he was not and then they asked him why he did the things he did. He also informed them in reply that he did those things because those were the instructions he received from whom had sent him ( John 1:19-28) .

John teaches us in his conversation with the Pharisees that the man who has been sent is one whose life is shaped by purpose and sometimes when we do not know these, people will want to define us and give us their own ideas of what we would be doing. John was sent to reveal Jesus  and in order to do this, he had to go baptizing (John 1:31).

The lives of Zachariah and Elizabeth was attractive enough for God to entrust them with someone he sent on a special mission. Their problems did not stop them from serving and their wait on the Lord was not in vain. John teaches us several things that we must learn and have if we are sent from God . He challenges us to go beyond our comfort zone but still allow our lives and works  to be shaped by our purpose as received from him.

We will continue this discussion in our next posts.

 In His Service,

Grace Tom-Lawyer

Why he rose 2