Desperate Measures

 

Monday, February 1, 2021

Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.  Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites.  And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified.  The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!”  So Balak, king of Moab, sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River.  His message said:  “Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt.  They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me.  Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land.  I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”  Balak’s messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel.  They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message to him.  “Stay here overnight,” Balaam said.  “In the morning I will tell you whatever the Lord directs me to say.”  So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.  That night God came to Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men visiting you?”  Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message:  ‘Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come and curse these people for me.  Then perhaps I will be able to stand up to them and drive them from the land.’”  But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them.  You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!”  The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home!  The Lord will not let me go with you.”  So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”  Then Balak tried again.  This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first time.  They went to Balaam and delivered this message to him:  “This is what Balak son of Zippor says:  Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to help me.  I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me.  Just come and curse these people for me!”  But Balaam responded to Balak’s messengers, “Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord my God.  But stay here one more night, and I will see if the Lord has anything else to say to me.”  That night God came to Balaam and told him, “Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do.”  So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.  Numbers 22:1-21

Balak was the king of Moab, and he could see the cracks in his kingdom’s foundation; Israel’s armies were camped on the doorstep of his land, and it led to desperate measures. 

If you follow the story[1] all the way through, king Balak continually applies political pressure on the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites.  Every effort backfires and the curse turns back on Balak’s head.  The end for Balak and the kingdom of Moab isn’t pretty.  Some days it just does not pay to get out of bed and sit on your throne! 

If you have any kind of leadership role, civic, business, family, education, or whatever, don’t forget that it is God who sets up (and pulls down) kingdoms and kings.  Remember where your “power” originates.  It isn’t up to the leader to dabble in curses to make his enemies weaker; the leader’s real job is to be strong enough to humble himself before God…and let God do the heavy lifting.  And that is a major lesson for any kind of leader – all earthly thrones are just that temporary. 

For You Today

History teaches us that humans do not often hearken to that lesson; they would rather be popular for a New York minute than humbly right with an eternal God.

It is better to bow at the throne of the one, true, and living God, than to sit on a thousand thrones constructed by humanity.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For another post on Numbers 22 see City of David   

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[1] Read it here:  Numbers 22 - 24

 

City of David

[1]

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Praise the Lord!  How good to sing praises to our God!  How delightful and how fitting!  The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel.  He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.  He counts the stars and calls them all by name.  How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!  His understanding is beyond comprehension!  Psalm 147:1-5^(NLT)

Representing the people of the United States, last month President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the Capitol of Israel.  That unexpected announcement raised more than a few eyebrows around the world; it created a controversy storm that will have tsunami-like waves of criticism and pushback for the foreseeable future.  Now, that’s not unusual for America’s most controversial president since…well, the last administration.  Controversy is the medium in which world politics swim, and some political fish have bigger gills than most.

Now, I’m not a politician, per se; neither am I a political science scholar.  What I am this morning is a man sitting at his keyboard in the wee hours of the morning considering the actions and words of another controversial, historic leader, Nehemiah, who led Israel to rebuild Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity.  Nehemiah’s words in Psalm 147 are an outburst of praise from a heart so overflowing with gratitude and emotion you can just about feel the release of joy and unburdening of his heart. 

It is easy to get all excited about a comeback.  Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonian Empire.  The city walls were in ruins and those carried away had spent seven decades in prison camp.  Just the idea of re-construction was like a dream.  Yet it happened.  In Nehemiah’s account we read that because of the people’s willingness to work, the project was completed in less than two months[2].  With today’s labyrinth of building codes, permits, and labor issues you can hardly build a doghouse in that time.

Now, I’ve never found any place in Scripture where the United States of America is listed.  I see nothing in prophecy about anyone named Trump (unless, perhaps there is a play on words for the instrument Gabriel will use to signal the end of times J). 

But what we do see in Scripture and history is a constant, continual, immutable commitment of God to His promises.  And those promises center on His special people and the city of Jerusalem.  Given the President’s lack of familiarity with Scripture and faith issues, or even the rudiments of theology, it is an oddity to see him willingly spend his political capital to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.  However, if you look at some of the other surprises in Holy Writ concerning the City of David and how God displays His Sovereignty over the affairs of humankind, it becomes less surprising that He would use a dumbed-down version of “faith” to remind the world Who is really in charge! 

·       Didn’t God use a floating axe-head to display how nothing is ever lost?  ^{(2 Kings 6)}

·       Didn’t God use the little city of Ai to defeat Israel’s mighty army because one of Israel’s soldiers had secretly sinned?  ^{(Joshua 7)}

·       Didn’t God use a talking donkey to startle a prophet?  ^{(Numbers 22)}

Who is to say God didn’t inspire a flamboyant politician to focus our attention once more on what will be the center of the end of this evil age?

For You Today

Someone wise once said that the Kingdom of God was already a present reality. 

It is the job description of every follower of Jesus Christ to build that Kingdom as if He’s not coming back for a thousand more years…and to live each moment as if He is coming back today.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Nehemiah 6:15 is specific – 52 days