ESOCS Devotional 6 June 2023
MEMORY VERSE: “And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now, he was riding upon his ass and two of his servants were with him”. Numbers 22:22
TEXT: NUMBERS 22:1-35
And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:
17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.
19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.
20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
22 And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
24 But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
26 And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay.
31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
32 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
35 And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Payment of taxes to government is a civic responsibility of all residents of a country. Depending on the type of tax (whether income, VAT, business premises, vehicle license, property tax, etc). They are used by government to provide services such as security, good roads, potable water, power supply, health facilities, education, etc. for the people. There is nothing in the Torah that prohibited the Jews from paying taxes. After all, they also paid temple tax for the upkeep of the temple (Matt. 17:24-27). Their excuse was that the image of Caesar on the denarius amounted to idolatry, yet they employed the coin in buying and selling. It was the legal tender in all Roman colonies.
The tax coin had Caesar’s image, so by his statement they were instructed to pay taxes to the government. We have already enumerated civic reasons why we should pay taxes to the government.
Balaam was famous along the Euphrates for his supernatural gifts and powers. It is obvious that he foretold of events with much accuracy. However, it is not clear whether to simply tag him a diviner, seer or prophet. His references to the Lord, confessed dependence on the LORD to speak unto him (v 8), His dialogue with God on whether or not he should go to Balak (vv 9-12), his reply to the princes of Moab, saying, “The LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you” (v 13) are clear indications that he heard from God and was willing for a season to obey all the instructions of God. This position is even more prominent in verse 18: “If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.” However, a closer study of verses 20 and 21 informs us that at this point, Balaam shifted from his vow of obedience when with no further promptings by the princes of Moab, he saddled his ass and went with them, which his disobedience kindled the anger of God against him. His action of going to enquire of the LORD again was either based on pressure or greed. Whatever the reason was, it signals that once a prophet has heard clearly from God, he should not tempt the LORD by asking further. Divine instructions are simply to be obeyed, and there is a price for every disobedience. The word ‘perverse’ used by the angel in verse 32 means turning away from what is morally right, disobeying lawful instruction. Some of the consequences of disobedience are as follows: Disobedience kindles the anger of God against the offender (v 23); Death: But, for the ass that saw the angel with his sword ready to strike and diverted from the path, Balaam would surely have been slain (v 33); You could be rejected by God and dethroned – no matter whatever your throne may be. So, King Saul was rejected and dethroned for disobeying the voice of the Lord (1 Sam. 15:22-23); and disobedience incurs the wrath of God (Eph. 5:6).
Balaam’s disobedience was fuelled by greed, the desire to grab (Jude 1:11; 2 Peter 2:15-16). It was the same greed for money/gifts that destroyed Gehazi and his posterity (2 Kings 5:27). In running the Christian race, let us be mindful that the only way to be happy in Jesus is to Trust and Obey. Let us develop a godly contempt for worldly riches, for we brought nothing into this world and we shall carry nothing away. Godliness with contentment is great gain.
- No matter how enticing the material rewards of disobedience may be, resist them and obey God from whom the better reward will come.
- My LORD, my God I pray thee, give me the grace of obedience and the fear of God all the days of my life.
FURTHER READING: 1 Kings 13:1-24
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ESOCS Devotional 6 June 2023
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