I SHOULD’NT HAVE TO TELL YOU TWICE
Want to hear something amazing? Something you might not have thought about before?
Quiet as it’s kept…
God doesn’t have to talk to us at all…
We see evidence of this when we know that after the book of Malachi in the Old Testament the entire world was faced with 4oo solid years of… SILENCE. Not another word was heard through a prophet or anyone else on God’s behalf from 516 BC to 70 AD. This is what makes todays message so profound.
As we read Numbers chapter 21 we see that the Israelites had been going through the land fighting and winning against those who stood in the way of their safe passage to their destination until they came upon the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho – the land of promise.
At the beginning of chapter 22 we see that Balak, the King of Moab, thought his people were the next in line and he had been watching and keeping track of the victories the Israelites had been having.
You must be aware in your walk that people are watching you. They are always checking you out but won’t ever support or encourage you. But don’t be discouraged by the silence of the watchers. Take their persistent watching as a compliment.
Now, as King Balak contemplates the approach of the Israelites, he decides that he needs to send some messengers to Balaam, the local “prophet”, to come with them and put a curse on the Israelites. After giving him the message, Balaam tells them to wait over night while he asks the Lord what He would have him to do. So, they stayed overnight. God’s answer to Balaam in verse 12 was to NOT to go with them and NOT to curse the Israelites because they were blessed. Now, that should have been the end of it, right?....WRONG!
The messengers left but soon returned, this time they had an additional message to give Balaam. Not only did they want him to return with them to put a curse on the Israelites, but he was also promised whatever his heart desired along with great honor if he would do so. This time Balaam gave the same answer…sort of…he dressed it up by saying “though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more”, all the while he was planning to go back to God and ask again in hopes He would change His mind.
You have to recognize that when the enemy can’t get you to go against what you believe he will try to get you to compromise. Have you been going over and over in your mind about different possibilities even though you know that God has already said NO to you?
So, again, Balaam tells the men to wait overnight while he seeks an answer from God. And God tells him, “If the men come to call on you, rise and go with them, but only the word which I speak to you-that you shall do.” Did you catch that? God said, IF THE MEN COME AND CALL ON YOU. So, what does Balaam do? In the morning he gets up, saddles his donkey and goes with him. He doesn’t even wait for them to come for him. He is anxious, probably in anticipation that God has changed His mind. At this point, God’s anger is ignited.
As we continue the story, we see that as they make their way to King Balak the Angel of the Lord would stand in their way 3 times causing Balaam to strike the donkey 3 times to get him back on course, not knowing that the donkey was actually trying to protect him from the Angel who might have been in position to strike Balaam for his disobedience and greed.
It's important for us to follow God’s instructions to a T, otherwise we may find that God will deal with us accordingly.
There are many times when God has spoken things to us and we don’t take them seriously or we wait for what we think is a better opportunity but when God tells us to do something with specific instructions there is a reason for it and we need to hear in our hearts and minds that He is saying,
I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO TELL YOU TWICE.