Monday, August 4, 2014

The Wise Ass and the Salesman

Some are just in it for the money. Others talk a good story, but their heart is not sincere. Pleasure comes in many forms and competes for the soul of man! I'm no different. We all battle with some "thorn in our side" or else Jesus' death would not have been necessary. If I, or you, could do it on our own, then the world would be a different place. Are own sin and the need for Christ certainly changed things!

Balaam was a diviner. He is one who provided insight to those with question using the occult. For Balaam, he mixed divination with prayer to God. Diviners usually use a ritual to find answers. Even great generals have sought supernatural direction to succeed in battles or turn around and flee, depending on the message.

Balaam was asked to curse the Jews by King Balak son of Zippor, who were moving into the land of the Kenites. and Moabites. "Cursing" in this sense was praying for evil or misfortune to occur to the Jews. Balaam was asked to damn the people who were coming to this land; the land promised by God to Abraham.

What type of man was Balaam? He would do anything for money. He was much like people are today! Solomon told us that "there is nothing new under the sun" and Balaam wasn't the first to sham and certainly wasn't the last! Balaam was a bad influence as well as a conniver. He showed his "colors" eventually:
Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord."
What did Balaam do to "trespass against the Lord? We find that in the Bible much later:
 Revelation 2:14 "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication."
It seems that Balaam was sort of what we call a "pimp" and was sacrilegious as well. We all know that pimping is wrong, but the "Counsel of Jerusalem" in Peter's time taught of the gravity of eating foods sacrificed to idols. It's totally disrespectful to God whom we must love and the Jews are still not to do this! (Gentiles have the liberty to do so that the Jews, because of their rejection of Christ, are not allowed to do.)  Balaam, we find in Numbers 22, did things for gold and silver. His profession appeared to be lucrative because people paid him big money to do harm with his curses.

God told Balaam not to place a curse on the Hebrew people. Balaam at first honored God's request. Here it is to be noted that Balaam professed God!  Are you surprised? Wicked people often profess righteous beliefs. It's their desire to be admired openly and wicked secretly. Many wicked people are evil in the name of the Lord! However, most people are naive. They say "What he said was really good. He said he believes in God and is saved!" Salvation isn't a claim. It's a lifestyle based on firm steadfast confidence. Salvation can be seen in the walk of the believer. If one has to declare their faith, perhaps the faith is false of weak!

God gave instructions. In Numbers 22:20b "If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them...". However, verse 21 tells of Balaam not waiting to be asked. He was anxious to go! Silver and gold beaconed him!

God was angry because of Balaam's "love of money". On the way, the Angel of the Lord, blocked the pathway through the vineyard three times! Balaam prodded his ass onward and smote her. Who was "the Angel of the Lord? My regular readers should be aware that I tell of Jesus (before he was Jesus) that exists throughout the entire Old Testament!  John Chapter One refers to the "Word' who became flesh; and was with God in the beginning. Any reader should ask "Where was Jesus while this was happening?" In this case he was right there blocking the way of the ass!

"Angel" means "messenger". Philo, the Jewish philosopher, identifies the "Angel of the Lord" when it appears in singular as "The Logos"; or "The Word". Hence, the Jews themselves concur that the "Angel of the Lord" is God when God speaks. In John Chapter one "The Logos" is identified as the person of God who was to become Jesus! You see, Jesus was the spokesman for God and he appeared to man because God couldn't! His glory is too magnificent for man to view!
Exodus 33:20 "And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live."
It's obvious then that the role of "The Word" was to represent the Lord when it was desired that God appear.

So here we have it. God who was to be Jesus, stood in front of the ass, and the ass saw the Angel of the Lord. Balaam, who claimed to believe, did not! It would appear that God had more confidence in the ass than he did Balaam!
Numbers 22:28 "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? 29 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. 30 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."
The Lord made the ass to speak? It would appear that the ass spoke what she felt!  Not only did God give her speech for a time, but reason and intelligence as well. Why not? He did just that for humans. God is never limited to what man conceives. His power was without bound. He made the ass more human than was Balaam! We feel badly for the ass and have disdain for Balaam. It would appear that the ass was respected more by God than was Balaam!

Now we travel in time many years. The church at Ephesus after the Resurrection of Jesus had already left their first love (Jesus). It didn't take long before the likes of Balaam infiltrated the Church. This time the Balaamite was a deacon:
Revelation 2:5 "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate."
Note here that John hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, not Nicolas or his followers themselves! This is akin to saying "I hate the sin, but love the sinner!" Again, it was said, this time to another church; the church at Pergamos:
Revelation 2:12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."
 Here we have The Word, Jesus who inspired John to write to the churches. He mentioned not only Balaam, who he confronted years ago, but brought up "the sword of my mouth". That's pertinent because when the Angel of the Lord, the man who was to be Jesus, confronted Balaam with a sword Numbers 22:23a "the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand".

Jesus knew Balaam. He knew his schemes and his love of money. He also knew that Balaam talked a good story! Likewise, Jesus knew Nicholas. He was appointed as a deacon to the church, but he, as did Balaam, ate things sacrificed to idols and caused others to fornicate. Just as Balaam did evil for money, it's certain that Nicolas did too!

Just as Balaam, Nicolas and his disciples talked a good story! Revelation 2:13a says " I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name..." It would appear that the Nicolaitans had cleverly combined the acts of Satan with the worship of Jesus. This was a heresy of the early church. John repudiated them, but as with any heresy, there are those still in the church who fornicate and love money as did Balaam with his silver and gold. In fact many churches put the finanical well-being of the church over preaching the word. This action is much like eating things sacrificed to idols; the thing which I'm sure you never dreamed!

A qualification for deacons (and bishops) is that they be "the husband of one wife". Since Nicolas was a deacon and was lascivious, he likely had more than one sexual partner since he was involved in propagating fornication.  This, coupled with the woman at the well, who had multiple sexual partners, and having five husbands, it appears that the qualification for a deacon is that he not be involved with the heresy of Balaam, and a Nicolaitan whose sin God hates!

Look who was wise! The ass was smarter than the "salesman", Balaam! The "smart ass" was wiser than the sex salesman, the pimp in modern terms!  The Lord saw right through the "righteousness of Balaam" and promoted the servant to man (the ass) over the master! The Lord hates the Nicolaitans. He hates the Balaamites. Unfortunately, little has changed. Posers are still caretakers. Each of us are to take care to be sincere in our love for the Lord. We all have a thorn in our side, but we're not to let that thorn become subject to the sword carried by the Angel of the Lord. Perhaps, the Nicolaitans are the asses!

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