How can we remain faithful to the Lord despite pressure from others?
"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.
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." (Numbers 22:5–7, 15–17)
"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.
38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak." (Numbers 22:18, 38)
"8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?
26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?" (Numbers 23:8, 12, 26)
"13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?" (Numbers 24:13)
"16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord." (Numbers 31:16)
"11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." (Jude 1:11)
And here's the commentary entitled: "I can follow God’s will, even if others try to persuade me not to." :
"When Balak, the king of Moab, learned that the Israelites were approaching, he called for Balaam, a man known for pronouncing blessings and curses. Balak wanted him to curse the Israelites. Notice how Balak tried to persuade Balaam (see Numbers 22:5–7, 15–17), and think about temptations you might face to go against God’s will. What impresses you about Balaam’s responses in Numbers 22:18, 38; 23:8, 12, 26; 24:13? Sadly, Balaam eventually gave in to pressure and betrayed Israel (see Numbers 31:16; Jude 1:11). Ponder how you can remain faithful to the Lord despite pressure from others."
"Temptations lose their pow'r, when Thou art nigh". This line from the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" tells us how God is able to bless us when we are close to Him. He blesses us with the strength to withstand temptations. He blesses us with the power to resist the persuasions of others to not follow God's will. We need that blessing of empowerment from the Lord in order for us to stay firm with our decision to follow His will. Who else would empower us this way? Only the Lord (and His faithful servants). So, wouldn't knowing this motivate us to do all we can to remain faithful to the Lord, no matter what, even when a king like Balak pressures us otherwise?
No comments:
Post a Comment