9/14/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 2. 5-6)

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Sheth. Edom will be conquered; Seir, His enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong. A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.”

(Numbers 24.17-19)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

What is it that you focus on as you make the myriad decisions a day which propel your life forward (even if there is some retrograde action at play)? In other words, what is the “center of your attention“? Let me stir your thinking this way. In the movie “Stargate,” Daniel causes all eyes in the war room to focus on a destination. He said, “In order to get to any place, you need seven points of reference.” He drew a box and then a line from the center of each panel creating an intersection in the middle. But, that would have only been six points not seven. Daniel then said, “The seven point is the starting point.” For the purpose of the movie, the seven point was Earth. Finding the symbol for earth completed the sequence of seven symbols which opened the “stargate.” Now, let’s make the “leap” of application to the reading of Balaam and Balak. As chapter 24 comes to a close, Balaam has presented Balak with seven messages. The first three focus on God’s continued promise to bless Israel. God cannot and will not break His promise to His people, those who choose to follow Him and are called by His Name. The last three focus on God’s promise to bring a curse upon those who refuse to follow Him and refuse to acknowledge His Name as their own. In order words, they deny the hope of any relationship with Almighty God. Instead, they would prefer to make gods of themselves and/or consort with others who have done the same. In all reality, Balaam has fulfilled the request of Balak to pronounce blessings and curses. Sadly, for Balak, none were of his choosing nor his liking. His response was “…to go his own way.”

Where was Balak going without the seven symbol, “so to speak”? He destined himself to live in the midst of curses which he believed he could ignore and without the blessings which he refused to acknowledge. You see, without the seven symbol (or in this case, the seventh message) he was committed to live as one who was lost and bound for death. Balaam, on the other hand, focused on the centering truth of God’s Word. It was as it had always been and would always be. God was at the center of it all. One could draw a “straight” line by following the “strait and narrow” declaration of God concerning the reconciliation of the past and the future with an oncoming present. Recognize that the “seventh” symbol, or message, wasn’t seventh in line. It was, in fact, number four with three preceding it and three following it. What was that “seventh” message? It is nothing less than the messianic promise and prophecy of deliverance for the people of God. Here already, in the ancient writings of the Old Testament, we find a prophecy of the coming of Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah of God. 1400 years before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Balaam declared the ultimate and defining truth for every one of our lives. That defining truth is Jesus Christ. He is the blessing for the people of God and the curse for the enemy of God. There is no other way than this central point of reference. It is our starting point and it is our finishing point. It is the gospel which draws the “strait” line between these two points connecting the past (out of which we move…our Egypt) and the future (into which we move…our eternal home with God our Father.) From beginning to end, for the sake of argument 3500 years to date, we are living in an everchanging “day.” The day, I suggest we consider it the Sabbath day, continues to remind us of our long ago past (as it should be) and the ever approaching future (as it will be.) In the midst of that journey, we are blessed with the promise and the opportunity of Immanuel– God with and within us.

Mighty ones of God, I would suggest you have not heard the story of Balaam in this light. Sure, you may know of his donkey through whom the Spirit of God spoke (which proves God can use anyone to speak His Word and do His will). You may know of Balak and his penchant for ungodliness and fear (confronting the world’s realities in much the say way as we from time to time.) But, did we know about the messianic promise and prophecy that existed in the midst of it quite “literarily”? It is our point of origination as well as our point of destination. Balaam was able to return home confident still of God’s promise, purpose and plan as we should on a daily basis. Balak simply “…went his own way” committed to a destiny of doubt, denial and death. I pray, mighty ones of God, that you will heed this word and this lesson and get your thinking “strait” so that you may journey “straightway” in the Kingdom of God on earth as it will be in Heaven. Heed the word of God: let those with eyes to see- perceive; and those with ears to hear- listen.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.