The account of Balaam
always gives me pause, Am I listening to the voice of the Lord or what I want
the voice of the Lord to be saying?
God is clear with Balaam
the first time he asks, "Do not go with
them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are
blessed" (12). So Balaam refused to go with
them.
After this is when the
story gets interesting…
The king of Moab
But
Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and
gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the
LORD my God. Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what
else the LORD will tell me."
That
night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go
with them, but do only what I tell you"
(16-20).
Whenever I read this I
wonder if Balaam heard the voice of the Lord or his own voice disguising itself
as the Lord this second night. I wonder this because God dispatches the angel to
kill him during the journey. The text is quite definitive that great riches were
being promised to Balaam. The conclusion I come to is that the money seduced
Balaam!
This incident is referenced
4 or 5 times elsewhere in scripture, in each one God overrides Balaam in order
to bless Israel and in 2Peter 2:15, Balaam is described as one who loved the wages of unrighteousness.
So with this account as
background, God warns me to be VERY careful in listening to Him and not
confusing any other voice with His voice.
A second learning for me is
that when I know what God has said on a particular matter [for me this is
preeminently when I see it clearly in God’s word], I am not to go to God and ask
again and again, in effect begging God to change His mind. God spoke
definitively to Balaam and Balaam understood. Why would he go back to God
again?...
Bill, learn this lesson,
the Spirit whispered
Lord God, I
am so thankful that You speak… Your word is alive and is always present to
speak. And Your Spirit speaks as well. I draw comfort that what Your Spirit
speaks will always be in accord with that Your written Word, already spoken,
says.
Help me to be
so in tune with You that I can clearly distinguish Your voice from any
other.
Lord, I pray,
too, that I will become very aware of those things that can so easily seduce
me.
Lord, more
than fame, more than riches, I want to serve You with heart and mind and soul
and strength. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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