NUMBERS 22:21-23:30
The new generation won't die without inheriting the Promise, but their flesh still has to die in preparation. The "lust of the flesh" (uncleanness) must die, as does self-preservation. This death of SELF presents us with the option of the obedience of faith, which leads us to REST (the Land - see Heb 3 and 4).
Balaam: Yes, he must be dealt with if we want to enter the Rest of God. Here he is, standing in the "high places of Baal" (22:41). What's he doing there? I'd be shaking in my boots, waiting for the devil to come and try to get me! BUT, 23:4 says "God met Balaam"! Here's the key: v.8 "How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?"
Here is Moses' spin on what happened: "Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee." (Deut 23:5) And so, four times Balaam "prophesies:" (1) God's people are HAPPY, most particularly because we belong to God and so are "out-of-reach" of any curse! (2) God's people are BLAMELESS and so haven't left a door for a curse to come on them. And here's another key verse: "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?" (Num 23:19)
RESPONSE: Now I know why I am so happy! Because I was CHOSEN BY GOD. That means I am included. Now I am also blameless and blessed, and what God has blessed, CANNOT be cursed. And anyone who tries it - his foot will be crushed (He won't be able to walk the walk.). Didn't Balaam know something was up when his donkey talked to him? Sometimes I hear God speak through an unexpected situation or person, and it makes my hair stand on end. I try to listen for that - which means everyone who speaks to me should get my undivided attention. It might be my donkey!God had shown "great mercy" on Elizabeth in her old age (another Abraham and Sarah situation). And how come the relatives (v.59) got to name the baby? Of course, they were corrected because God had already named him John.
Zechariah's Prophecy: He announced that God would "perform the mercy promised to our fathers" "through the tender mercies of our God". This is the ONLY NT book to use the OT word "tendermercies", which is "compassion" or the "ACTION of the womb on the fetus to nourish, cherish and protect." And what was that "mercy"? He came and redeemed His people, He saved us from our enemies and those that hate us, He created the possibility to serve God without fear, He brought the remission of sins and guidance for our feet in the way of peace.
RESPONSE: My favorite part of this prophecy is that we "might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life." I can be in God's presence without fear because of what Jesus has done. When I was pregnant with one of my kids, I lost a few teeth because the fetus took the calcium that I needed for my own body. I hated milk, and so I paid the price. That is the way it is - many times the "tendermercies" given to us cost God, but He does it anyway, to nourish, cherish and protect us.
PSALM 58:1-11
The title of this is "Do Not Destroy", probably referring to 1 Sam 24:6-7 and 1 Sam 26:9-15, two occasions when David and his men had the advantage over King Saul, and didn't use it. Although David thought these things, he never put them into action. Vengeance always belongs to God, as far as David is concerned.
The wicked are corrupt by nature and by choice. Psa 58 argues that God's character, and God's justice and righteousness demand that He judge the wicked. That in order for the righteous to prevail, the wicked have to be brought down. "Then men will say, Surely the righteous are rewarded; surely there is a God Who judges the earth."
PROVERBS 11:12-13
No one but a person "void of wisdom" would show contempt for those around him. A wise man, if he has nothing good to say, at least knows to say nothing. (Isn't that what Mom told us? "If you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything at all." Anyone who tells you someone else's secret, will probably tell yours too! He shows contempt both to your face, and behind your back.
RESPONSE: Just as I suspected! David is venting to God. He would never take matters into his own hands because he is determined by the fear of God to obey the Word of God. There is a difference between giving God your viewpoint and just plain complaining. If it is complaining, He doesn't want to hear it! I think God's take is: "Do you want sympathy? Or do you want a solution? If you want sympathy, you have come to the wrong place!" God hates whining! However, I also believe that David hates injustice and evil almost as much as God does. We get "offended" by these "imprecatory" Psalms because we don't hate evil or love righteousness like we should. We have been "politically corrected" to death!
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