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
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