There is the story of a man named Balaam which can be found in Numbers 22, click the link if you would like to read the chapter. Many know this as the story of Balaam and his donkey, but we are going to focus on a different part of his story. In summary, the Israelites were seasoned wilderness wanderers.
They happened upon the people of Moab where Balak was the leader of the Moabites. Balak wanted to destroy the Israelites and was afraid of how the Israelites had destroyed other nations by God’s power.
King Balak requests that Balaam, a prophet, curse the Israelite people. God comes to Balaam in the night and asks him to not go with the people of Moab and not to curse the Israelite people. Balaam gets up and tells King Balak that he is not able to curse them. King Balak begs Balaam to stay and curse the people and promises him power and riches for his act.
Balaam, focused on personal gain, tells King Balak to stay one more night and see if God will come back and talk with him again. God does come back the second night and spoke to Balaam and told him something different, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you,” Numbers 22:21. So Balaam rose the next day and went with the princes of Moab. In the very next verse it says, “But God’s anger was kindled because he went” Numbers 22:23.
That is confusing, why would God tell him not to go, but then tell him to go. Then why was God angry with Balaam if Balaam did want God told him to do? Are we not supposed to listen to God when he tells us to do something?
God knows Balaam’s heart and knows that he will choose to go curse the Israelite people despite God’s first instructions. 1 Samuel 16:7b says, “For the Lord sees not as man sees...the Lord looks on the heart.” Later in the chapter, when the angel of the Lord is standing in the way of Balaam, the angel reveals Balaam’s heart. The angel said, “Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.” Numbers 22:32
James 3:16-18 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Balaam was motivated by selfish ambition and greed. He was not looking to obey what God originally intended him to do. God is sovereign and over all decisions. He is the defender and will work all things out for his good. God always gives a chance, of both his enemies and his own, to do the right thing. When God instructs us are we going to listen to what God is instructing us to do, or are we going to choose the way that seems most advantageous to us? When we are given a vision or direct instructions, we must do what God first tells us.
We could discuss for days on how to hear God’s voice, or what does it mean to do God’s will. Sometimes, it is not clear and hard to discern what God wants for a specific situation. In this situation, this is not the case. God spoke very clearly to Balaam- DO NOT GO WITH THEM. It was Balaam’s greed and pride that led Balaam to disobey God’s first request. God knows Balaam’s heart so that is why God chose to change his instructions the next day. He was going to use Balaam despite his disobedience.
In the end, Balaam is not able to curse the Israelite people, but he was compelled to only do what God told him he must do. Bless the Israelites instead of cursing them. However, disgrace and the wrath of God was upon Balaam. If he had listened to God in the first place, he would have gone on his way home and not incurred any shame to his name.
Sometimes in our lives, God calls us out of something or into something. Once we are given the directive, we analyze it and think of all the reasons why it may or may not be advantageous to complete that task. When we are motivated by jealousy or selfish ambition only disorder will come. His ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts are higher than ours. Safe to say, God knows best for us, and we should listen if we are given specific instructions.
Thanks be to God that we have the grace of Jesus Christ that when we make poor choices, we can come to him and say we are sorry. We can immediately be forgiven by the power of his blood. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to them. This is a promise my sisters, if we ask for wisdom he will give it to us. Let us seek out the wisdom of God so that we may live in alignment with his will.
Let us heed the listening lesson from Balaam. Let us not be motivated by jealousy or selfish ambition but do only what God guide us to do by seeking Him in his word. I promise you; he will come through every time we earnestly seek him.
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