Revelation 2:4 - Balaam in the Church Today.
Revelation 2:4 - Balaam in the Church Today.
Revelation 2:14 (NIV) Nevertheless, I have a few things against
you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who
taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food
sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.
Revelation 2:14 (NLT) "But I have a few complaints against you.
You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam,
who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them
to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual
sin.
As the Israelites migrated through the wilderness, the prophet
Balaam, prevented from cursing them, advised Moab's king to seduce them
into both sexual and spiritual adultery (Num. 25:1-2; 31:16). [ESV SB
2008]
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in
sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the
sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods.
[NIV SB 2008 re Num. 25:1, 2]
The doctrine of Balaam links a philosophy which was rampant in
the church at Pergamos with one of the most shameful incidents in
the history of Israel. Recorded in Num. 22; 23 and 31:15, 16, the
tragic story of Balaam's counsel to Balak to employ Moabite women to
seduce the men of Israel culminated in disaster for God's people.
[Believer's SB]
The doctrine of Balaam, which had apparently infiltrated the
Pergamos church, was that of compromise with the immoral and ungodly
lifestyle of the pagans around them, in similar fashion to the way Balaam
had influenced the Israelites to take Moabite wives. [Defender's
SB]
Your town might not participate in idol feasts, but it probably
has pornography, sexual sin, cheating, gossiping, and lying. Don't
tolerate sin by bowing to the pressure to be open-minded. [Life
Application SB]
Numbers 22:32 (NKJV) And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why
have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come
out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.
Numbers 22:32 (AMP) And the Angel of the Lord said to him, Why
have you struck your donkey these three times? See, I came out to
stand against and resist you, for your behavior is willfully obstinate
and contrary before Me.
In Numbers 22:32-35, Balaam was going forth to do as God had
instructed him, but he was going with the wrong motives. His wholehearted
obedience turned half-hearted because of his greed for wealth and
prestige. His covetousness blinded him to the angel of the Lord who was
blocking the path on which he traveled, because his eyes were focused on
hoped-for riches and not on the hope-filled mission. Balaam ceased to
reside in prayer - in a conscious awareness of God's presence. However,
three times God was there narrowing the road in attempts to stop
Balaam and get his attention. What path is God "narrowing" in your life
so that you feel his resistance? God loves us enough that if we
persist in doing things our way and ignore his presence or resist his
will, he will derail us, just as he did Balaam's talking donkey, in
order to get our attention and restore our fellowship with him.
LORD, thank you for your love that opens my eyed to see you
on every path of life and leads me in obeying your will your way!
Help me to follow you, whether it is to move forward into new
territory or to return to a previously visited place. Only you know the
direction I need to go. I will trust in your leadership and rely on your
character. Thank you for leading me exactly where I need to go! [Praying
Through The Bible By Fuller]
The fate of Balaam was similar to that of Judas, and their
characters bear a marked resemblance to each other. Both these men tried to
unite the service of God and mammon, and met with signal failure.
Balaam acknowledged the true God, and professed to serve Him; Judas
believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and united with His followers. But
Balaam hoped to make the service of Jehovah the steppingstone to the
acquirement of riches and worldly honor; and failing in this he stumbled and
fell and was broken. Judas expected by his connection with Christ to
secure wealth and promotion in that worldly kingdom which, as he
believed, the Messiah was about to set up. The failure of his hopes drove
him to apostasy and ruin. Both Balaam and Judas had received great
light and enjoyed special privileges, but a single cherished sin
poisoned the entire character and caused their destruction. {PP 452.1}
It is a perilous thing to allow an unchristian trait to live
in the heart. One cherished sin will, little by little, debase the
character, bringing all its nobler powers into subjection to the evil
desire. The removal of one safeguard from the conscience, the indulgence
of one evil habit, one neglect of the high claims of duty, breaks
down the defenses of the soul and opens the way for Satan to come in
and lead us astray. The only safe course is to let our prayers go
forth daily from a sincere heart, as did David, "Hold up my goings in
Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." Psalm 17:5. {PP 452.2}
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
There's Something About That Name & Oh How I Love Jesus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0iX0-awCvc
Seeking God Video Clip: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice
Prophecies Decoded Sermon Series:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
