(New book coming in September)
Dreams, Visions, Angels, and The Holy Spirit
Joan Boney
In the following Bible example, Balaam wanted the reward offered to him by the king. All Balaam had to do was to curse the people of God. However God refused to allow him to do this. Yet he wanted so much to get that reward offered by the king, that he kept reasking God to see if he could go with the king's representatives. Perhaps God would change HIS mind and let him curse the people of Israel! (Balaam thought)
God let Balaam go with the king's men but God open the eye and mouth of Balaam's donkey and showed the donkey to have more sense than did Balaam.
Numbers 22:16-35 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:
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.
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.
Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.
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.
Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.
(Balaam
wants that reward from the earthly king. So he is going to appeal to
God again though he has already been told not to go with the king's
men.)
And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do. (Balaam
wanted to go with them though God told him once not to go. Now God is
going to let Balaam do according to his own desire.)
And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him.
Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay.
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him.
Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay.
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
We
see that God can even speak through an animal if HE chooses to do so.
God can give HIS wisdom and understand to a "dumb" animal and withhold
it from the rebellious human.
But
God never allowed HIS people to be cursed. Balaam ended up leaving the
king and not receiving any reward from the king as he desired.
In the end, Balaam was choosing to put himself among wicked men and he was destroyed with those wicked men by the sword of God.
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There is an unseen world of God out there. We know this by accounts given to us in Bible.
When I read about it in Bible, I can believe it exists for us today.
Here is an example of an angel preparing food for the prophet Elijah.
Elijah had just killed all of Jezebel's prophets of Baal and Jezebel swore she would kill Elijah. He fled into the wilderness as a result and even asked God to let him die.
I Kings 19:2-8 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets (of Baal) with the sword.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
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God is more than able to supply all our needs at the time of trouble.
When
we think on these examples shown us in the Bible we are helped to go
forward in peace and joy knowing God always has a way to help us. Our
faith in God lunges forward as we build these truths from the Bible
inside our hearts and minds!
God says to Abraham concerning Sarah: Is any thing too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18:14
God says to Mary: For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37
Our
problem can seem overwhelming as a human. But when we remember God
built the entire solar system by just speaking the word. And God keeps
the sun and moon and stars in place by telling them to remain in place.
And God created this earth and trees and mountains and man. Man needed
a wife so God simply caused a deep sleep to come upon the man and God
took a rib from the man and created woman to be a help to the man for it
was not good for the man to dwell alone so God created that which the
man needed!
Jesus said to HIS disciples:
Matthew 28:20 lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the (your) world.
Jesus even sits right now at the right hand of God and intercedes for you and for me.
Romans 8:34 It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
And Jesus will do this as long as we are kept alive on this present earth.
And so does the Holy Spirit intercede for us.
Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
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We keep our faith in God alive through thinking on those things told us in the Bible and by remembering those things done by God for us in our own lives.
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