Week 25: Divination or the Divine Word?

 

Balak, king of Moab, was shivering in his boots.

It was not the cold. He was clearly rattled. Israelites were at close of forty years of wandering and were camping in the plains of Moab after defeating two kings Transjordan: Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. Before they cross the river Jordan, they will have to deal with Balak.  It sounds a bit curious, but Balak has heard of Balaam a man of God, who lived far away at Pethor. He sends elders of Midian and Moabite messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, to induce him to come and curse Israel.

The story that follows (Numbers 22 onwards) is fascinating: full of visions, revelations, animal talk, persistent idiocy of Balak and rudderless wandering and wanton misleading by Balaam. After pronouncing:

“How can I curse
    those whom God has not cursed.
How can I denounce
    those whom the Lord has not denounced?”

and knowing full well God’s plans for the Israelites, he still leads poor Balak down the garden path, to altar after redundant altar.

“Arise, Balak, and listen;
    hear me, son of Zippor.
¹⁹ God is not human, that he should lie,
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
    Does he promise and not fulfill?
²⁰ I have received a command to bless;
    he has blessed, and I cannot change it.”

The only reasonable explanation is that God uses the irresolute diviner to further His plans at the cost of an imbecile king.

What’s your takeaway from this sordid narrative of seduction and slaughter (read Numbers 25)?

If you are a man of God and your ear is inclined unto Him, will you stand your ground or will you be drawn away – if not by the promise of riches – by the allure of fame and the heady feeling of self-importance?

Knowing the will of God as you do, will you deliberately mislead a poor sod, rather than sit down with him, talk sense and pray together? And possibly pave the way for some kind of peace agreement that would deliver him from disastrous consequences?

Let’s look at another story from the history of Judah and Israel (1 Kings 22)

When king Ahab asked the visiting king: “Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead?” In a moment of unwise bonhomie Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” ⁵ Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.”

⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?”

So, they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

Once they know the mind of the King, it is not difficult to find a group of “yes” men. For example: recent exit polls in India’s general election.

But Jehoshaphat didn’t get swayed by popular opinion. Discerning as he was, he was still searching for the voice of God.

Our ears must be tuned to capture the still small voice of God that comes after fire, earthquake and a forceful gale (1 Kings 19: 11-13)

Have you found your Micaiah? He may not be a drama queen sporting horns of iron to put on a spectacle for the grandstand, but he speaks the Word of Truth; regardless of the fact that he stands 400 to 1.

No yelling, jumping, writhing on the floor and hysterical laughter necessary. Hebrews 5:14 ” But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active…………… discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Does the Word of God dwell in you? Can you say like the Psalmist, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105)?