By Christopher Dryden
16 And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” 17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,
“Rise, Balak, and hear;
give ear to me, O son of Zippor:
19 God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20 Behold, I received a command to bless:
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
and the shout of a king is among them.
22 God brings them out of Egypt
and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
‘What has God wrought!’
24 Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up
and as a lion it lifts itself;
it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”25 And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” 26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?”
Exodus 23:16-26 (ESV)
God’s relationship with His people is fascinating. Time after time, they grumble and complain against Him whenever a problem arises. After all He has done for them, to receive that response it would be understandable to just be done with them. The faithful love of the Lord, however, not only perseveres in His engagement with them, but it also has consequences for those who look to oppose His people.
Balak is insistent that something be done to thwart what he sees as a threat to his people. He does not want to deal with these children of Israel. He does not want a military conflict, because he’s heard the reports about how they end up. Such is the aura around this people, that he really thinks the best way to deal with these people is with the power of a curse.
The influence of the supernatural is still felt in modern society. Sophisticated and scientifically driven though we may appear today, it’s not all about that. From horoscopes to tarot cards and the fascination with zombies and the occult, there is still a strong undergirding interest in the forces beyond reason. In that arena, there is a belief that curses have power.
Following Jesus does not prevent bad things from happening and it does not stop significant opposition and resistance to the gospel. What this episode outlines, however, is that when you find yourself among the blessed of God, no one can come against that. Truly if God is for you, no one can be against you. This is because it’s His name at stake, it’s His reputation on the line and His assertion of being the Almighty is to be reaffirmed.
As Balak discovered for all his efforts, often when you look to oppose the people of God it only turns out to bless them. The blood of the martyrs was spilt in an effort to crush the uprising of the church that Christ died for. Yet that blood only inspired the growth and spread of the faith in Jesus.
There is also a word of caution for how we treat brothers and sisters in the faith. Annoying and irritable though people can be at times, that shouldn’t lead to a bitterness that seeks the downfall of those we happen to dislike. Indeed, as we remember the same blessing upon us as His children applies to them, it should do something to redress any tendency to speak badly about others under His covering.
This is a word of encouragement to those who have been taken from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. God’s word can be trusted, and God’s character remains faithful even when we are faithless. Those who enjoy this privileged relationship can trust Him that all efforts to oppose and curse will come to nothing. The love of God that unites us is greater than all.
Ask – What does Balak want from Balaam?
Seek – What does it mean for you to know that you are among those whom the Lord blesses? How does it affect your approach to others if you know they are the blessed by God?
Knock – As you engage with God today be grateful that if God is for you, no one can be against you and look to be mindful of that as you engage with others.
(Upper Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash)
(Inner Photo by Jan Tinneberg on Unsplash)
