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MAKERS FUN FACTORY DAY #3
We have had an amazing week of fun learning about God’s love for us at Maker’s Fun Factory.
As I reflect upon the week there was one day that really stood out to me and that was Day #3.
The Biblical principle for that day is “God is for you” and the Bible study focused on the story of how God used an unexpected woman with a sketchy reputation to spare Joshua and Caleb’s life when everybody was seeking their harm.
In the midst of so many people being against them, God showed that He was for them by giving them one special woman to help them escape the grasp of all those who were against them.
Throughout the night we intentionally looked for opportunities to reinforce the lesson and I remember when we had one of the groups of kids in Imagination Station how this point really seemed to resonate with some of the children.
I didn’t realize how much some of the children just needed to hear that God was for them.
In a world filled with so much abandonment, hate, anger and bullying it is refreshing to hear that somebody is actually for you.
It isn’t just children that benefit from hearing that somebody, namely God, is for them.
Some of the strongest marriages and relationships I have ever seen are those where two people know that the other person is really for them and on their side.
I often encourage young couples to commit to always being the other’s biggest fan and cheerleader.
I don’t know about you but I have learned that there is a special source of power, strength, and endurance to handle all sorts of problems, troubles and even unkind people when I know that somebody is genuinely for me.
Life is hard, full of trials and troubles and often full of unkind people who will come against you for a variety of reasons or no reason at all.
Life is harder still when you don’t feel that anybody is really for you when life seems to be turning against you.
GOD IS FOR HIS PEOPLE
Life is hard, full of trials and troubles and often full of unkind people who will come against you for a variety of reasons or no reason at all.
Life is harder still when you don’t feel that anybody is really for you when life seems to be turning against you.
As we continue our journey in this series called Wanderers, we are going ot look at a passage from the Book of Numbers that shows exactly how far God will go to show His people that He is indeed for them even though they have turned against Him so many times.
Numbers 22:22-
BUT GOD WAS INCENSED...
22:1-21 records how Israel had gained a reputation of military prowess and might due to God’s blessing upon them as seen in the defeat of the Amorite people who had refused a peaceful passage through their land as they followed God’s leading.
Israel had set up encampment along the borders of the Moabite people and the King of the Moabites, Balak, was afraid that they were “next on Israel’s list.”
Balak fears that his military might is not enough to stand up to Israel’s mass numbers so he begins looking for a weapon of mass destruction that may help him and his army be victorious over Israel.
This weapon of mass destruction that Balak was looking for was a curse to be placed upon Israel and he knew exactly where to go in order to get the job done.
BALAAM: THE POLITICIAN SEER
Balaam is an intriguing character in this story.
It is evident that he has a reputation of one who has success in pronouncing blessings and curses for Balak affirms such when he sends for him saying, “…for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”
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This makes us all a little uncomfortable to think about but spiritual warfare is real and there are evil forces at play in the world even today and there are those who are working side by side with evil in a very real way.
When Balak’s messengers reach Balaam and inform him that the king of the Moabites would like to pay him for his services, he does something that further muddies the waters regarding who exactly he is.
He invokes the name of Israel’s God when he tells Balak’s messengers that he will “inquire of the Lord” as to whether he may curse Israel for the Moabites or not.
Some, because of this, have questioned whether Balaam was a pagan or a believer in the One, True God.
Based on the fact that the Bible tells us where he is from leads us to think that he is a pagan and not a follower of the One, True God.
Why, then, invoke God’s name?
I believe that the politician is coming out in Balaam when he invokes the name of the One, True and Living God of Israel.
Balaam is wanting to impress Balak’s messengers about the potential of him being able to do as Balak has requested.
The messengers did not come empty handed.
They came with a fistful of money and Balaam knew this so he immediately claims to have a connection to or relationship with Israel’s God to impress them.
Politicians throughout history have used God in this way to impress a certain voting bloc/demographic of our nation.
Whether it is invoking His name in a speech, saying a prayer in public, reciting Scripture or making sure that a picture or video is captured of them attending a church service, God’s name has been used by many throughout history to impress others or advance a personal agenda.
Balak knew exactly what he was doing when he said what he said.
BALAAM’S CONVERSATION WITH GOD
Balaam inquires of the Lord about whether he could curse Israel or not.
Of course God does not allow it because God does not change.
In , God pronounced His blessing upon Israel and promised that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed and whoever curses Israel will be cursed.
Because God had spoken this, He was not going to grant anybody permission to to such a thing to His beloved people.
Amidst this conversation between God and Balaam, God presses upon Balaam to consider who these men are that they would have the right to request such a thing to come upon His people. it wasn’t so much that God did not know the answer to this question.
This question was asked of Balaam repeatedly because He knew that Balaam was impressed both by their thought of him in this matter as well as the payment they were offering him for his services.
In other words, Balaam was being pressed to make a choice right then and right there as to who he was looking to serve.
The One, True and Living God or man and money.
Balaam is so infatuated with the potential for financial gain that he does not take God’s “No.” but ends up asking God again for permission.
God sets a crossroads before Balaam.
He can go with the men if he is so infatuated with financial gain but he would be doing so at the risk of his own life because he would not be able to pronounce the curse that he is being paid for.
In other words, Balaam can either refuse the offer turn to God or he can put his own life at risk by going to the king and then facing his wrath by not being able to perform the task he was hired for.
BALAAM, A DONKEY AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
The one that is supposed to be able to see, say and discern that which nobody else can (Seer) cannot see or discern what is going on right before his very eyes.
As Balaam traveled to the land of the Moabite to meet with King Balak, he encounters some traveling woes.
Apparently he forgot to ask for traveling mercies before he set out because he has some major transportaion issues.
On three seperate occassions Balaam’s donkey refuses to continue along the path that he is being led on.
The first time she bailed off of the road and took a field.
Balaam was frustrated and eventually got the donkey back on the path.
The second time the donkey pressed up against a cliff and injured Balaam.
Balaam again corrected the donkey and the journey continued.
The third time the donkey simply laid down in the road.
Balaam cannot take it anymore and begins to beat her with a rod.
Out of the clear blue, THE DONKEY BEGINS TO TALK!
The donkey actually begins to verbally object to Balaam’s antics and reminds Balaam of how she had been a faith companion and trustworthy transport all these years.
In other words, the donkey is saying, “If something is not right don’t immediately blame me!
Maybe there is more than meets the eye!”
At this point Balaam doesn’t care what the donkey has to offer up as an excuse for her actions.
All Balaam is concerned about is his own reputation.
The donkey’s actions has embarrassed him in front of these high ranking officials of Moab and he cannot believe that this is happening to him today.
Ironically enough, Balaam is concerned about his reputation before these high ranking officials and here he is having a conversation with a donkey!!!!
As Balaam was talking with the donkey his eyes are opened and he finally sees what the donkey had been seeing all along…an angel of the Lord preventing passage.
Balaam falls down in fearful adoration because he knows that this is not a good thing for him.
The angel informs Balaam that the donkey’s actions are all that has spared his very life for he has chosen to pursue evil rather than good.
Balaam offers to break the vow he made to Balak’s servants but the angel refuses to take that plea and tells Balaam to continue with them but when he called to speak before King Balaam and his leaders then he is only to say exactly what the angel of the Lord will tell him to say.
Ultimately, Balaam is given the floor before King Balak.
All are expecting him to curse Israel as he has been well paid to do but instead he reveals that Israel cannot be cursed because God has determined them to be blessed.
APPLICATION
BEWARE OF THE POWER OF PRIDE.
First, Balaam’s willingness to oppose God’s clearly revealed plan was driven by his own sense of pride.
He had a great reputation before the people as one who can see others cannot see and speak blessings and curses that came true.
Furthermore, Balaam was only thinking about himself when he saw all that was being offered to him for his services and even though he knew that he could not do what he was being paid to do, he tried to manipulate the situation to the best of his ability so that he could receive the reward even though he could not speak the curse.
The height of Balaam’s pride is on display when he reveals that his anger at his donkey is fueled by the fact that the donkey’s lack of obedience made him look like a fool before the high ranking officials of Moab.
DON’T OVERLOOK THE “BUMPS” IN THE ROAD.
At first sight, Balaam just thought that his donkey was having a bad day.
He did now know that the proverbial bumps in the road that was complicating his trip was more than just his donkey having a bad day.
These “bumps in the road” was God causing trouble in order to change Balaam’s direction.
In teh same way, sometimes our troubles are the result of living in a broken world and among broken people of which we are.
Sometimes, however, our troubles could be God intervening in our lives to reveal to us that we are headed down the wrong path and we need to reconsider some things before Him before we continue on.
GOD IS FOR US!
The central lesson behind the story of Balaam is the Lord’s determination to bless his people.
No hotshot prophet will be permitted to curse God’s people, no matter how much he wants to, because the Lord has declared them blessed.
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