7 The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.
8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.
9 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”Numbers 22:7-9
So the delegation from Midian and Moab armed with the fee set
off on the long arduous journey of over
400 miles to meet Balaam (Numbers 22:7).After
a minimum of twenty one days, they arrived safely in Balaam’s house where the
typical oriental hospitality would have
been shown and faithfully stated their
mission. They retired that night with a promise from Balaam that he would
consult God about the matter (Numbers
22:8).
Balaam’s statement of faith is worthy of
emulation(Hebrews 11:6). He was so sure God would speak to him( Numbers 22:8) . He had an altar that challenges us as Christians today when we
watch the dialogue and not a monologue that ensued between Balaam and God(Numbers 22:9-12).This kind of
relationship is both our right and
privilege as his children (John 10:27; Jeremiah 33:3) True to his expectation,
that very night, God asked Balaam “Who are these men with you”?(Numbers 22:9).
It is important to note that God asks the
question “who” and not “why”. It is not for a lack of knowledge that God asks
Balaam this question, rather it was needful for Balaam to come to a realization of the full
implications of the “who” in his life .Balaam replied answering God’s question
of who and went further to answer “why” to justify the
“who”, which is the usual human tendency and a common error we make.
But God is concerned about "who" because he knows
the influence of our “who”(1 Corinthians 15:33).This is because our “who” will
greatly influence and be a cause of “why”. Who are those men with you because
the men with you are a prophecy of who and what you are going to become
(Proverbs 12:26; Proverbs 27:17&Proverbs 13:20).
This “who” association is all embracing
and needs not to be confined to people or the physical plane alone.
Intellectually who are we rubbing minds with? It boils down to the blogs, magazines
we read or even the TV programmes we watch or the
sites we visit on the internet (Romans 12 :2). Are we like the Psalmists who said he refuses to take a second look at
corrupting people and degrading things( Psalms 101:3).Even those we follow on
Twitter or other Social Media should be mirrored against the standard of God’s
word(2 Timothy 2:19).
Balaam’s first error of the wrong company is one that we sometimes are guilty of and need to keep a check on regularly (Romans 12:2). Any company or counsel that is not helping us become more like Christ and fulfil destiny should be avoided (Psalms 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 5:11).There is no time we will ever grow beyond the influence of the people we surround ourselves with (Proverbs 22:24-25). Hence the need for us to rightfully select those we allow to become close to us or whose influence we come under (Psalms 101:5-6; Philippians 4:8).
In his Service,
Grace Tom-Lawyer
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