Blessed To Carry Out God’s Will

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Numbers 23:8

How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?

And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

NKJV

The people of Israel, like all people, are not perfect.  However, God chose the Nation of Israel and promised blessing, something that would soon become clear to Balaam.  As such, Israel provides an excellent picture of our standing with God as Christians.

To place Numbers 23:8 in its proper context we must read the entire account of Balaam in Numbers 22-24.  Balak the son of Zippor witnessed all that Israel had done to the Amorites a complete and total victory with no survivor left (Numbers 21:25).  Balak the king of the Moabites at that time did not want his people to suffer the same fate.  In an effort to stop this devastating defeat, he hires Balaam, instructing him to curse Israel. 

However, in a dream, God instructs Balaam to only speak the words He gives him.  God then sends an angel and after hearing from of all places, his donkey, Balaam once again receives instruction by the angel to only speak the words God gives him to speak.  After seeing a vision from God in a dream, hearing his donkey speak, and seeing an angel with a sword drawn, Balaam makes an offering to God and agrees to go with the princes of Balak and speak only what God instructs him to say.  However, instead of cursing Israel, God instructs Balaam to bless them four times.   

Most of us are familiar with John 3:16 but John 3:17 reminds us that the purpose of God’s son coming to the world was not to condemn it, but to save it.  However, in order for one to experience salvation, one must accept the gift of salvation offered through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10).  Like Israel, this gift of salvation does not make us perfect but like Israel it does mean God has only good to say about us and not cursing. 

The world however tries its best to bring Christians down and discourage them.  Throughout church history and even in many parts of the world today this manifests itself in violence against Christians and death.  In other parts of the world where there is constitutionally protected religious liberty, this bringing down manifests itself in social rejection and ridicule.  While this rejection and ridicule is not life threatening, it does wear on Christians emotionally. 

This is why we as believers in Jesus Christ as our savior must realize our standing with Christ and not cower in fear of rejection or ridicule for the truth is, the very people rejecting and ridiculing Christians need what they have to offer  or their fate will be to die in their sins eternally separated from God.  These lost individuals need to see us remain strong standing on the rock of our faith knowing that no matter what occurs in our life, we have eternity with Jesus as our reward. 

We therefore must pray for these lost individuals but also pray that we will not be distracted by ridicule or rejection and instead stand strong.  Jesus told his Disciples that on this rock, he would build his church.  Many believe the rock Jesus was referring to was Peter.  However, I believe the rock Jesus was referring to was the statement by Peter in Matthew 16:16 where he declared Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  The rock we stand on as Christians is not faith in a flesh and blood man like Peter but faith in the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ. 

As John 3:16-17 reminds is, those choosing to anchor their lives to this rock will not suffer condemnation but instead have eternal life with Jesus Christ for eternity.  I therefore urge everyone reading this to anchor their lives to this firm foundation not just to enjoy personal blessing, and avoid condemnation from God but to be an example to a lost and dying world of what it means to live according to God’s will for our lives. 

Balaam was unable to curse the people of God because he promised to only speak the words God gave him.  Even if Balaam had chosen to curse the people of God, his curse would have been ineffective for Israel is the nation God chose to give His Law to and the nation from which His Son would be born.  Likewise any rejection, ridicule, or even physical harm levied against followers of Jesus Christ is ineffective and not something we should fear for our salvation is not based on what we do but what has already been done for us in Christ (Ephesians 2:8). 

Therefore, let us stand strong, anchored to the rock of our salvation, and demonstrate the power of God in our lives to a world in desperate need of God.