Monday, November 4, 2019

* Tempting God.


Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet

There was a woman who told me this story:  She was a drunk.  Then something happened to her and she believed God was going to change all that and she even told her husband she was going to stop drinking.  Her husband had heard that story before from her.  This time she went to AA for help.  But as I recall her story, she continued drinking.

One day she knew she was in "the valley of decision" and she couldn't continue to drink.

She stopped.

But this woman had an habit of pushing God, almost to the breaking point.

This is "tempting God."

In the Bible, Balaam pushed God, tempted God.


Balaam also wanted his own way and wanted God's approval in his own perverseness.


***

Numbers 22:1-12   And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.  And Balak (the king of Moab) the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.  And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.


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: 

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.

(But this people Balak wanted cursed were the people of the nation of Israel.)

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.

And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. 


9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?

And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.


12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.

This should have been the end of the story ... God told Balaam not to go with them ... God told Balaam not to curse this people ... But Balaam wanted to go with the king's men and curse this people because Balaam wanted the reward offered to him by the king if he did this.

"Perhaps God will change HIS mind and let me go do this."

So Balaam is going to ask God again though he already has God's word on the matter.

If we know the will of God in the matter ... but we keep pushing God ... God might give us over to our own lusts, to our destruction.  In the wilderness, the people lusted after meat and God gave the people their own lusts and this brought about the destruction of the people who lusted.  Psalm 78

***

Numbers 22:13-18   And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.

And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak
(the king), and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.

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.

(But Balaam is going to ask God again for he wants the reward man can give him, although God has told him that "these people" are blessed and not to curse these people.)

Numbers 22:19-22   Balaam says to the king's men:  Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more. 

20 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.

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.


22 And God's anger was kindled because he went:  

(Balaam was delighted to get to go ... but Balaam could have backed out of going, reasoning that God really didn't want him to go.  It was a test for Balaam, and he failed because his own heart was perverse, focused on what he could get from this life and from the earthly king.)

and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him

23-26     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. 


24 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.

26 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.


Three times the ass sees God's representative, the angel, standing in the way of Balaam, and the ass knows the drawn sword held by the angel means destruction to Balaam, so the ass stops to avoid destruction from God.

28-31   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


31 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.

32-35   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. 

(When God says something, we are unwise to try to persuade God to change HIS mind.) 

35 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. 

(Still this is not going to work out well for Balaam.  The people the king wants to curse are the children of the nation chosen by God.)



***


36-41    And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast. And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?

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.

And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjathhuzoth.

And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him.


And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

So far, what is the problem?  

Balaam is with a worldly king who wants him to curse the people of God.  This worldly king even takes Balaam up "into the high places of Baal".  

Numbers 23:1-12     And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.  And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.  

And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever HE sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.

And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.

And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.

And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.


And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. 


(Defy:  openly resist ... to challenge the power of, in this case to challenge the power of God ... to resist boldly)

8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.

And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth? 

(This should have ended this matter.  But it doesn't.  Balaam makes 2 more attempts, though he has heard strongly from God not to curse Israel.)

***

Numbers 23:13-26    And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence

(But God has already told Balaam not to curse "this people" for they are blessed.)  

And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder. 

16 And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.

And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord spoken?

And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

19 God is not a man, that HE should lie; neither the son of man, that HE should repent: hath HE said, and shall HE not do it? or hath HE spoken, and shall HE not make it good?   

Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and HE hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

21 HE hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath HE seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.  

God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.  Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!

Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. 

25 And Balak (the king) said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.

But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?

***

Incredibly they will try a third time to curse Israel.  

Numbers 23:27-30    And Balak (the king) said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. 

And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward jeshimon. 

And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.  

Numbers 24:1-11    And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 


And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.  


And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 


5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!

As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.

He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.


10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, 


I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.  Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.



***

Numbers 24:2-16   And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, 
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?

And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.



And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:  He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:



17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.  And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.


Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.  

And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.  Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.

And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.

25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.


***

Balaam continued associating with the people who were not of God and his end is as follows.

Numbers 31:1-2   And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.

7-8   And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: 

Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

(Balaam put himself with the enemies of God, with the Midianites.  Then being with the Midianites, the enemies of God, Balaam was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was slain by the children of God when God judged the Midianites.)

***

Concerning tempting God:

Matthew 4:5-7    Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

(The devil is trying to get Jesus to prove that HE is of God in some spectacular way.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

A Baptist woman was visiting my mother and she parked her car outside my mother's house and left her purse inside her unlocked car.  My mother asked her about her purse and  she replied "The Lord will protect it."

Someone stole the purse.


*** 

I believe the following is an example of a warning not to tempt God.

Luke 3:7-8   John the Baptist preaches to the religious people ... Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

In this John the Baptist warns the religious people, "Don't come to me saying you are a child of Abraham and 'saved' because of this."

***

I feel some in the "once saved alway's saved" doctrine are in danger of being puffed up in religion and thinking there is no need to repent or to correct themselves by scripture.

Some of this doctrine seem to think they can live any way they choose and be "saved."

But Paul warns us:

I Corinthians 6:9-10    Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21    Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 6:7-8    Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

***

I believe Paul is speaking of this subject in the following warning to the Gentiles.

Romans 11:16-23    For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.

Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith.
Be not highminded, but fear:  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest HE also spare not thee.

Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in HIS goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.


***

And to all, Paul warns:

I Corinthians 6:9-10    Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (homosexuals), nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

***

This is just a warning for us.

It has been my experience that the truly godly person does not want to live in sin.

We must not postpone getting right with God, correcting ourselves by the Word of God.


*****