“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.
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