“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,
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